Top five mileage deals for October 2007

There are many promotions. But there are only a few really, really good ones.

In this monthly roundup, I’m highlighting the five most lucrative offers currently available to members of airline and hotel loyalty programs.

(Promotions are listed in alphabetical order.)

1. Buy two, get one free from American

Through November 15, AAdvantage members can earn 25,000 bonus miles for completing two round-trip flights on eligible routes. The bonus miles are enough for a free round-trip, so the offer amounts to getting a freebie after two paid flights.

The list of qualifying flights (printed in full on American’s website) includes about 20 routes, 11 of which are to/from Chicago.

The bonus may be earned twice, for a maximum of 50,000 bonus miles. Registration is required.

2. Double ATA points on all flights, all routes

The days of airlines’ routinely offering double miles for every flight, on every route, during a specified period are long gone. The current marketing approach—adopted by three of the five promotions featured this month—is to target very specific routes, and only award bonus miles to travelers who have pre-registered for the offer.

So the following from ATA is a refreshing throwback to the Good Old Days and a great opportunity for ATA customers to load up on points.

Through November 15, ATA Travel Awards members will earn double points for all ATA flights. That’s right: all flights. For flights booked online at ata.com, that means 2,000 points for flights within the 48 contiguous U.S., 3,000 points for Mexico flights, and 4,000 points for travel to Hawaii.

Registration is not required … just be sure to have your membership number recorded when making reservations.

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3. Delta offers elite miles for dining

Generally speaking, elite-qualifying miles can only be earned for flying. Which makes the following Delta promotion both unusual and especially worth participating in.

Between October 1 and November 30, Delta SkyMiles members can earn 1,000 elite-qualifying miles, plus 1,000 base miles, when making four qualified dining purchases of $25 or more at four different participating SkyMiles Dining restaurants.

The bonus may only be earned once per member.

4. Earn triple JetBlue points for New York flights

On offer from JetBlue: triple points for JetBlue flights to/from New York’s JFK airport booked by October 31 and completed by December 31. The bonus can be earned multiple times.

To participate in the promotion, TrueBlue members must register.

5. Southwest offers freebie after three California round-trips

Golden State flyers have until the end of the year to take advantage of a solid offer from Southwest.

Through December 31, Rapid Rewards members will earn one free award ticket after purchasing and completing three Southwest round-trips within the state of California. Flights between San Francisco and Las Vegas also count toward the bonus.

Flights must be booked at southwest.com or swabiz.com to qualify. Unfortunately, the bonus may only be earned once.