It’s that time of year again! US Airways is having their annual Grand Slam Promotion. The promotion started on Wednesday, September 14th and goes through November 14, 2011. To register for the promo, click over here.
Collecting frequent flier miles is like a game for me, so when it’s actually presented in the format of a game, it makes it that much more fun!
Some people spend a great deal of money racking up hits in this promotion (with final costs at around half a cent per mile, which is a stellar rate!), but since I’m not an avid US Airways flyer, I just go after the hits I can get for free. I figure one day I’ll have enough miles in my account to redeem for a sweet award flight, but until then, I’m in no big rush.
My Goal: 12 Hits (15,000 Miles) for Free
Last year, I made it to 8 hits for a total out-of-pocket cost of $1.69, and received 8,000 bonus miles. This year I plan on getting 12 hits and 15,000 bonus miles for FREE (plus another ~6,000 miles for completing the hits themselves). Right now, I have around 26,000 miles in my account, so that will bring my total mileage up in the 47,000 range. That gives me enough miles for an off-peak trip to the Carribean, Canada, South America, or Europe.
I’ve already completed 8 of my hits for 2011, so I should receive 10,000 bonus points from those (plus the points I receive for doing the individual hits). I have 4 more hits planned (e-miles, SPG conversion, US Airways Dividend Dining, and Priority Club points transfer).
Here’s How to Get an Easy 4 Hits (3,000 Miles)
If you’re a newbie looking to ease your way in, here’s my picks for the easiest four hits. I’m probably going to register Tony just to get an easy 3,000 miles in his account. Just make sure to register for the promo before you complete any hits!
- Like Thanks Again on Facebook. Then register with Thanks Again and choose to earn US Dividends miles if you aren’t already a member. Then send an email to facebook@thanksagain.com with your full name and email address to claim your miles. The first 10,000 fans to do this will get 100 miles each, and they’re only at 3,626 fans at the time of this post. I liked Thanks Again on FB and sent an email on 9/14. I received a confirmation email four hours later, and 100 miles posted to my Thanks Again account under “Manual Reward” on 9/15. In my email it said: “Please allow several weeks before the miles are transferred to your US Airways Dividend Miles Account.”
- Sign up for points.com and transfer miles or points from other programs into US Airways miles. Some options include: 3 Best Buy points –> 1 US Airways Mile, 4 Continental miles -> 1 US Airways mile, or 4 AA miles –> 1 US Airways miles (you must have a minimum of 25,000 AA miles in your account to be able to do this transfer). I had enough American Airlines miles in my account that it let me transfer 4 AA miles –> 1 US Airways mile. I initiated the transfer on 9/14 and it posted to my US Airways account on 9/15.
- Download the US Airways toolbar and complete 3 searches. From reports on FT, the miles post monthly and always on a Thursday between the 4th and 9th of the following month. I downloaded the toolbar and completed 3 searches on 9/14. I expect my miles to post to my US Airways account ~Oct 6th.
- Shop through the Dividend Miles Shopping Mall. Amazon is a participating merchant, and we shop there at least once a week, so this was an easy hit for me. You can also buy a song through iTunes for $1.29. Another option is to donate $2 to plant a tree through Gaiam. Go to the Dividend Miles Shopping Mall –> Gaiam –> Search “Go Zero Plant-a-Tree Charitable Contribution.” I made a purchase on Amazon through the DM shopping mall on 9/16 . It says that miles will be posted within 8-10 weeks from the date your product is SHIPPED from the merchant. We’ll see how long it takes for the miles to post…
My Spreadsheet
Here is my 2011 spreadsheet where I will be tracking my hits, if you want to follow along with my progress. You can compare it to my 2010 spreadsheet over here.
For more details on the promotion and some strategies for racking up hits, your best resource is the FlyerTalk 2011 Grand Slam forum.