News Roundup: an AAdvantage loophole, some forum rumors, and Lana Turner

Well it’s been a week of big news. Demand for the first ever oneworld MegaDo was so great that it sold out in 23 minutes. Organizers are working behind the scenes to see if they can accommodate more people, and Gary Leff at View of the Wing does a great job explaining some your options if you missed out on a seat.

Speaking of big events: This weekend is the big 2011 Chicago Seminar (good luck trying to get an upgrade in or out of the city this weekend:-). Frequent fliers are converging on the area to attend workshops to learn tips and strategies for earning more miles. Here are some of the sessions:

Gary Leff Award Booking: “How to identify the best value uses of your points, find award seats, and navigate the call with your mileage program to turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes!’”

Lucky Hyatt and PC:”Forget Priceline, I’ll show you how hotel loyalty programs can be just as lucrative, if not more lucrative, than airline loyalty programs.”

Mike Goff: Advanced priceline bidding techniques and how to take advantage of the timeshare market.

Ben Lucky9876Coins: How to identify mileage run fares of interest, how to construct and book a mileage run, how to maximize miles earned while minimizing costs, and comfort/efficiency of mileage runs considerations.

Rick Ingersoll The latest on the highest source of free miles around and how to keep your scores from suffering.

Pudding Guy: A coach-class perspective on how to maximize the value of miles & points.

Beaubo (Steve Belkin): The Mileage Game Value Proposition: Is It Still Worth It To Play?
* The Thresholds Of When To Purchase Ticket Or Redeem Miles/Upgrades
* Mileage Outsourcing: When Over-The-Pond Programs Offer Under-The-Radar Advantages

Brian the PointsGuy: Will give us all the update and latest techniques on using and transferring American Express Membership Rewards Points

I wish I was going, but I have a friend that’s getting married.

Some of the bloggers that are attending, but not speaking, are Mommy Points, Darren from Frequently Flying, and The Frugal Travel Lawyer. Daraius and Emily from Million Mile Secrets are sponsors and they’ll be giving away prizes. There will be more than 500 frequent fliers in Chicago, including fellow AAdvantage Geek (and reader) @IPBrian. So to everyone that’s attending, I hope you have a great time!

Speaking of the Frugal Travel Lawyer, she just signed up for a Twitter account so now you can follow her @frugaltravellaw.

Speaking of Daraius, he writes about a loophole that some have used to earn miles while flying on an award ticket with one of American’s airline partners.

Speaking of American’s airline partners:

oneworld member and AAdvantage partner, Royal Jordanian is moving to terminal 8 at JFK to be closer to American’s gates.

Air Berlin announced that next year you’ll be able to earn 11,608 round-trip AAdvantage Miles when they start service between LAX and Berlin.

The Points Guy compares the old and the new Business class product from oneworld member Cathay Pacfic.

Plane and Simple writes about how 2012 is going to be a busy year for the oneworld Alliance.

And now in other news:

Even Megan McArdle, the senior editor for The Atlantic, is unhappy that Citibank is discontinuing the AAdvantage Debit card. And while people aren’t taking to the streets over the issue, someone decided to start a Facebook page in an effort to save the card.

A couple of weeks ago, American’s AAdvantage team and Citi transformed Grand Central Terminal into a temporary Admirals Club in order to promote their new Citi Executive / AAdvantage World Elite MasterCard. If you’re wondering how it looked, go here to see some photos that the AAdvantage team posted to Facebook.

American ran a special 5-hour flash promotion in downtown Chicago with their “Gateway to the Globe Sweepstakes”. They gave away first class American Airlines tickets, AAdvantage Miles, cameras, and other prizes. Jay over at the First Class Project has photos.

I’m not sure that I can call anything that JonNYC writes in the Traveling Better forums a rumor, more like informed just not yet officially confirmed, but he reveals that AAdvantage members with elite status will soon be able to enjoy some new benefits when traveling with Alaska Airlines:

Priority Check-in and Boarding – Gold, Platinum & Executive Platinum
Express Security Line – Platinum & Executive Platinum
Preferred Seating – Platinum & Executive Platinum
Bag Fee Waiver – Gold, Platinum & Executive Platinum
Alaska Mileage Plan elite status members will have similar benefits when traveling on American Airlines.

Another item from JonNYC is that you’ll soon be able to book partner awards at AA.com.

Admirals Club New: you still have a few days left to save $25 and give $25 to Komen for the Cure when you renew or purchase an Admirals Club membership using promo code KOMEN11. Offer expires October 31, 2011.

Speaking of the Admirals Club, Lana Turner’s Admirals Club membership card is for sale on eBay. If you’re interested, it has a “Buy it Now” price of only $300. Go here to take a look.

Have a great weekend!