Have you ever wanted to go on a MegaDO? Now is your chance. BoardingArea is giving away two seats for free to the currently sold out Star MegaDO 4. On top of the free seat, which you will be sitting right next to Randy Peterson, the miles and points guru – he’ll get the middle seat and the two winners will be on either side of him, your hotels will be paid for and you will receive $250 for additional expenses (which trust me, there really aren’t much – taxi to/from your home airport, and that is about all). They only thing you’ll be responsible for are the positioning flights to/from MegaDO (starts in San Francisco on 11/13 and ends in Chicago on 11/16).
For starters, if you are wondering what the heck a “MegaDO” is, let me explain. It is a very cool experience for overly obsessed flyers (like myself), where you will get some behind-the-scenes travel opportunities. This particular MegaDO will be sponsored by United Airlines and Hyatt, where you will fly United planes to various hubs (SFO > HOU > ORD) and stay at selected Hyatt hotels. You will meet other obsessed travel junkies, tour some cool air crafts, and earn some points and miles along the way. This is essentially a party on a plane. If you are looking for a quite ride, this is probably not for you!
I am currently scheduled to go on the MegaDO, however, there is a high probability I need to cancel – stupid global work meeting! I am really bummed about this as I went on the past MegaDO in January (sponsored by American) and had a blast.
MegaDO Schedule – you can see the official complete itinerary here, but to summarize:
- Tuesday November 13, 2012: MegaDO starts at 8pm with a welcome reception at Hyatt Regency SFO.
- Wednesday November 14, 2012: Morning program at SFO then 1pm flight to Houston. BBQ in Houston and accommodations at the Hyatt Regency Houston.
- Thursday November 15, 2012: Morning flight to Chicago and spend the rest of the day with United. Reception at the Hyatt Schaumburg in Chicago.
- Friday November 16, 2012: United Program continues and eases in to the 15th anniversary Star Alliance reception hosted by Star Alliance. There is also an optional dinner this Friday night for an additional $99 and all proceeds will be donated to charity.
- Saturday November 17, 2012 (OPTIONAL): Cowboy day in Chicago. This event will be an additional $169 and again all proceeds will be donated to charity.
How to win: In the comments section of this blog post, tell me the best airline deal you’ve ever gotten on. One reader will be chosen at random, using random.org. This reader will then be sent along with the other winners from the other participating BoardingArea blogs. BoardingArea will then select two readers to receive the MegaDO seats.You are only able to enter once on my blog, but you have the opportunity to enter on all the BoardingArea blogs! Make sure to check out the other participating blogs to increase your chances! Make sure to include your email address when posting a comment. Enter by 11:59pm EST on October 7.
The full official rules can be found here. You must be at least 18 to enter.
Terms: The seat giveaway gift from Randy Petersen consists of one economy ticket on the 2012 StarMegaDo4, hotel accommodations at partner hotels, and $250 cash for personal expenses. Expenses not specified above, including, but not limited to ground transportation and incidentals, are winner’s responsibility.
Two (2) winners will be chosen in a random drawing on Monday, October 8, 2012 from all eligible entries received during the Giveaway Period, as posted in the comments section of participating BoardingArea.com partnering blogs. The random drawing will be conducted by Randy Petersen, whose decision is final and binding in all respects. The winner will be notified via email within two (2) days after the selection is made. Each winner will have five (5) business days to reply confirming his/her acceptance of the giveaway seat. Failure to reply in the indicated time frame will declare that the seat has been refused and forfeited for all time and the first alternative entry will be chosen in random drawings as outlined above and provided the opportunity to claim the seat giveaway.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
unfortunately, i haven’t been able to take advantage of any airline deals yet. i did manage to book the recent 4 miles ticket on united, but it was cancelled!
LIM-CUZ roundtrip on LAN for four passengers = 36,000 Avios points (9000 each) which I picked up on the Nordstrom 36X deal. Saved $1,200 essentially for free.
I got my family of 4 RT from Atlanta to Norfolk for 9820 miles plus $20, then earned over 11,000 miles while there for a week between dining promos and an Avis promo.
There used to be some great (25K) mileage bonuses for activities other than CCs. AA ran a huge bonus for number of flights, so we used to fly back-and-forth from SJC to visit friends in LAX for the day every weekend using nested tickets. IDine used to offer 25K bonuses once in a blue moon too. All my “deals” have related to the use of earned miles, not spectacular fares.
I used to be able to buy round trip tickets spanning 2 weeks and use half of each one each week thus taking advantage of the old stay over the weekend and 7 day round trip special pricing
$14 RT LAX – SFO on JetBlue. Double dip of the $50 coupon.
Last Thanksgiving, 4 nights in Vegas at the Hilton and r/t airfare from MCO via LAX $199.30 all in (all upgrades cleared, too). Made money on that trip!
RT from Phoenix to the Oregon coast for a $60 last minute fare on Allegiant. Not extravagant travel, but a great last minute vacation.
Cabo-DFW (3 month stopover) DFW-Tokyo-DFW (2 month stopover) DFW-LAX all in First class for only 115k AAdvantage miles thanks to the “free” one-ways trick. $12,000 airfare for ~$100 in fees and 115k miles!
BOM-STV when the new route was first announced on SpiceJet. The fares shot up three times shortly after we booked our tickets.
Upcoming round the world trip thanks to the Singapore open availability weekend… And then getting upgraded to the A380 suite on the final leg!
Close second was Jet Blue’s AYCJ, which was just crazy but a blast!
I don’t know if this was a deal but last October I was able to fly from IAD to Brussels (through Madrid) for $497.00 on Spanair. All of the flights were codeshare flights so I flew on Aer Lingus and Brussels Airline. Now I did have to buy the ticket in January.
Haven’t gotten in on too many good deals…Flew MKE-PHX for $200 once
I don’t do anything too crazy, but I was pretty happy to snag $39 flights from OAK to SNA to take my daughter to Disneyland last year.
When Jet Blue started flying from Chicago to Long Beach, they offered a crazy flight deal for $30 or less ($15 is what I have in my head, but it may have been more). My boyfriend (now husband) and I hopped onto a flight and visited some friends in Long Beach over a long weekend. It was a wonderful trip!
[…] DealsWeLike […]
About 5 years ago, I got a RT ticket ANC-ATL-PHL-CVG-ANC for $400 roundtrip. To this day, it’s the cheapest ticket I’ve ever flown on out of Anchorage.
Got a reservation for US-NRT-BKK-SYD-AKL-SYD-BKK-ICN-US in F that includes new Asiana suites TG A380 and many 737-300 and a 737-200!
I did a ROC-LAS turn a few years ago for about $43 ai. That was a fun day, since I made $80 on the slots at the airport. Paid for the airfare, parking and lunch!
JFK- LAS air & hotel for $51
It was $39 each way from SMF – LAS for Southwest airline. Thanks.
DEN-NRT-DEN on a United 787, and apparent S fare that booked into B. Upgraded to BusinessFirst. My first time in Japan
Delta upgraded me from their one stop CLT-PVD flight to a US Airways non-stop and threw in a $200 voucher after my flight was cancelled due to an unspecified “crew issue.” And the non-stop got me home two hours earlier than my original flight would have.
Best recent deal for me was an award ticket booked through USAirways. Flew IAH to IST, with a stopover there. Continued to FRU….. that’s Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Return was FRU-IST-IAH. Cost was only 60,000 Dividend Miles and, of course, USAir’s booking fees+taxes.
Paid $175 out of pocket for a LAX-GUA roundtrip and got a $100 voucher on the way back!
I haven’t had the luck of getting any great mistake fares, milage runs, etc. But I do remember the first time I got bumped up to first class (before I even knew anything) for flirting with the check-in lady. Good times!
SQ mistake fare in F for business rates. But couldn’t fly it so had to cancel and redeposit but it would have been the best.
Booked in-laws for YYZ-EWR for total cost $4 with Expedia $200 off package at end of 2011. Threw away stay at hostel : ). Was just staring out so didn’t aggressively leverage for free spa, helicopter rides, etc.. that many others did.
I’m a newbie so still looking for the BIG deal, but in the meantime enjoying the 100k bonus on the BA card!
Booking first class “instant upgrade” tickets ORD->SJU for $3 more than coach.
I miss them all…seriously (well at least it feels that way)! 😉
RGN mistake fares
I am still waiting to find the deal of a lifetime!
$35 each way from ATL – TPA (on Delta). Also $193 ATL – LAX
The best airline deal I’ve ever gotten is way back in the dark ages: World Airlines, remember them? had a $99 round trip (or maybe it was each way I don’t remember now) from West to East coast deal. I flew from SFO to NY and had the time of my life!
Wife and I took advantage of the $300 Spanair-ticketed, US Airways-flown fare to Madrid last year. Helped us find our favorite city!
7.5K in Biz Class to Europe. Cost me negative 15K miles Because the company was paying for it.
Took my family of 4 on the $33 NYC-BEL fare a couple of years ago!
Recent Jetblue promo getting me to LGB-SEA for $7 ai
Unfortunately, I’ve never really gotten a great travel deal before.
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First class from PHX-YYZ-PHX on an award ticket, this is back when taxes were low so the entire trip was in first class for less than $15:-)
RGN-YUL
I think my best deal was Business First on CO MCO-LHR for $1,490 all in!!
Best airline deal: 2 browser trick for 150,000 aa miles from citibk cards!
The very best airline deal I’ve ever gotten was about 20 years ago. US Air had a deal that you could fly anywhere, unlimited, for 30 days. The price was just a little more than a round-trip to Chicago, which I needed to book for a conference for my job. I paid the extra few dollars and took a month off from work (except for the conference) and flew everywhere! Everywhere I had a friend I went. The only catch was that I had to go through Pittsburgh, no matter where I went!! I wanted to go from San Francisco to Los Angeles and had to do so by changing planes in Pittsburgh! It was worth it though. It was a great month, and a great way to see the country!
I’m flying from Anchorage to Nairobi (for a safari)for $350, using 125,000 Alaska Air miles to fly Anchorage to London, then London to Seattle First Class!! Have to fly coach from Seattle to Anchorage. Between London and Nairobi I’m using Capital One points accumulated when I signed up for their credit card and they matched my Alaska Air miles up to 100,000. I’m feeling pretty good about this trip.
In the good old Northwest days, DTW to AMS via HNL for $305
remember people’s express? $49round trip, JFK to boston, oh those were the days!
I have done ok for a “newbie”…i think? Have not hit one out of the park….yet.