Until 12/31 you can get a 100% bonus when you buy, gift, or transfer USAirways miles.
You can’t buy, share, or gift miles unless your USAirways Dividend Miles account is 10 days old.
Officially you can get up to 50,000 bonus miles from each of these activities, although there are anecdotal reports that you may get the bonus past this point.
You can buy or gift 50,000 miles for $1,373 with all taxes and get a total of 100,000 miles with the bonus (1.37 cents per mile purchased)
You can transfer 50,000 miles for $567 with all taxes and the recipient will get 100,000 miles with the bonus (1.13 cents per mile “purchased”)
USAirways may not be the best airline, but they have a couple dozen great partners as part of the Star Alliance.
Their Star Alliance chart is actually quite good! For example a ticket from the US48 to Hawaii is now 40,000 miles in coach or 80,000 miles in first when using Continental or United miles. When you use USAirways miles that same flight is only 35,000 miles in coach or 70,000 miles in first regardless of whether you fly on USAirways, Continental, or United.
You can also transfer miles from Starwood to USAirways at a 20,000:25,000 ratio.
Just beware that USAirways is notorious for their award fees and high baggage fees.
USAirways Star Alliance Chart Linky
HT: FT
will we get the bonus on a transfer from starwoods ??
I believe Continental charges 115k miles for business to Israel so does that mean either
1) I can buy 30k miles for $412, receive a total of 60k, then transfer to Continental (or only another UsAirways account?) to receive a total of 120k miles?
OR
2) Like you say, buy 50k miles for $1373, receive 100k miles, then just buy another 15k miles for $206 making it a total of $1580 for business class to Israel?
Not even so confusing!!?
DOES ANYONE KNOW IF MARV’S FIRST IDEA ACTUALLY WORK?
do you recommend buying the 50,000 or not?
How many miles to fly Continental to Israel coach? e.g. If it’s 65,000, can I buy 33k miles, which doubles to 66k for myself, and also buy an additional 17k which doubles to 34k and transfer that to my wife for another full ticket to Israel? Is that worth it?
@Anon:
No.
@Marv:
1 is incorrect, you can’t transfer miles from USair to Continental.
2 is correct, but there is a limit of 50K from purchasing for yourself, so either choose the gift or share miles options unless you’re feeling lucky.
@Reader:
That depends on how you want to use it.
@Mordy:
It’s 80K in coach/120K in first. Remember you’re using USAirways miles so you’re bound by their redemption chart even if you use their miles to fly on Continental or United or any other Star Alliance carrier.
How long does it take till the points post?
@w:
It should be immediate.
*****SAVE MORE $$$$*****
It seems that you can save over $100 on purchase of 100K by simply buying 25K in someone elses account which will give 50K with the bonus. Then transfer those 50K miles to the final recipient for the total 100K. For a total of $1253.50.
I haven’t tried itm but I cant imagine why this wont work.
@Dan (not the mechaber):
Yes, that would work.
For mileage storage?
If we combine some suggestions, and buy for a friend 28.75K which will grant him 57.5K, the friend can transfer to you for 115K which will end up being a cheap price on a business ticket on continental. The more friends the more tickets.
@bh:
Again, you’ll need 120K
@bh: You can only transfer 50k of that 57.5….
Dan, could I transfer SPG to one account, then gift to another?
For instance, 40k starwood = 50k US Air 1 = 100k US Air 2
Can you do 50k at a time? For instance, if I have 100k in one US Air Acct, can I do two 50k transactions?
@Todd:
Sure.
@Also:
I’m not sure, but if you do please let us know if it works!
@Dan/Ctownbochur: Dan – How do you figure – re your answer to #2 of Marv’s idea: Once you have received the max of 100k in your account , how will gifting/sharing help? Are you assuming, or do you know if any miles gifted over the max (purchased) will be honored for the bonus?
@dealchapper: ANY ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION?
Two things…
1) They just extended this deal into March! So, though you can only purchase 50K/year, now that it’s 2010, you can get another (potentially) 100K miles…great stuff!
2) This one is a question. I know you can only purchase 50K for yourself…But, lets say you get the 50+50 for yourself…can you then buy 25 on someone else’s account? And transfer them to you with the bonus?!