Special to Airfarewatchdog.com
One of US Airways' most lucrative promotions is back and in full swing this fall. The Grand Slam promotion rewards Dividend Miles members with points for doing things they were doing anyway including shopping with their US Airways credit card or purchasing things (especially around the holidays) through the US Airways shopping mall. If you are thinking why pay attention to yet another airline promotion, think again. This one can yield up to 110,000 miles (if you have Preferred status; otherwise the top level of earning is 100,000 miles), which is enough for a business class ticket to Europe or four economy class roundtrips within the U.S. This promotion is not one to overlook!
To take part, however, one must follow the rules very carefully. As with all promotions, one must monitor their accounts to insure their points post properly. The first step is to register at www.usairways.com/gs11. To hit the Grand Slam (the maximum amount of points in this baseball-themed promote), one must do business with all 40 of the promotion partners. But, the best feature of this promotion is that participants are rewarded at various levels, so points are awarded for every few transactions completed.
The promotion ends on Nov. 14. Each qualifying activity earns one hit, and the bonuses kick in after every four transactions. While all points aren't elite-qualifying points, it still counts for award redemption points making this a great way to travel overseas in business class for less than $1,000 depending on which transactions you choose. With time and planning, this promotion can yield a business class ticket for less than $600. Below, we highlight some of the easiest and cheapest options that allow you to accumulate mucho miles.
Here is a breakdown of transactions and points earned:
4 hits: 3,000 miles
8 hits: 10,000 miles
12 hits: 15,000 miles
16 hits: 25,000 miles (2,000 of which are Preferred-qualifying miles)
20 hits: 35,000 miles
24 hits: 45,000 miles (5,000 of which are Preferred-qualifying miles)
28 hits: 60,000 miles
32 hits: 80,000 miles
36 hits: 100,000 miles
40 hits: 110,000 miles (10,000 of which are Preferred-qualifying miles/members must have Preferred status to earn this max amount of miles)
If you purchase these miles directly from US Airways, the cost is about $1,500. This promotion allows you to get them for much cheaper. Sure, there are some things on the promotion list that you are unlikely to complete. There are certainly several that are easy to do and yield profitable results mileage-wise.
Not everyone will earn the maximum points, but access to tens of thousands of points for such a small outlay of cash is worth taking advantage of this fall.
This chart shows some of the cheapest/easiest activities that can earn you big mileage bonuses and things you may be doing anyway. The purchases often earn miles themselves in addition to the bonuses in this promotion.
