A couple (not so great) promos from Star Alliance

Star Alliance is celebrating its 15th anniversary this month, including a few promotions to get customers excited about the birthday. Alas, the promotions are somewhat less than stellar. Still, worth checking them out, I suppose.

First up, there is a 15% discount available for RTW fares. The deal is only valid for bookings completed by 29 May 2012 and it applies only to economy fares.

Next up there is a contest that each member program of the alliance is participating in. Within each program the 15 customers who fly on the most Star Alliance partners before 14 November 2012 will win 15,000 bonus miles. Seems a bit chintzy to me as a prize, though I suppose getting all the programs to agree on giving away a lot of points would be difficult. Also, as would be expected, only revenue flights count so award trips on partners don’t add to the count. Bummer. Some programs require registration while others don’t. Check the above link to find the details for your program of choice.

Finally, there is a grand prize contest being run by the alliance which actually sounds pretty cool. They have identified 27 different festivals around the world (a surprising number of which are tied to Mardi Gras/Carnival) and they are giving away a trip for 15 passengers, including business class tickets and "5-star treatment all the way" for hotels and such. There is a second prize (two RTW biz tickets, including a festival visit) and a third prize (15 pairs of coach tickets to a festival) available as well. This is probably the best of the opportunities out there, though also the hardest to win. And you have to pick which prize you want before you enter; I’m having trouble choosing so I haven’t entered yet.

Hey, it is all for free so I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much, right?

Good luck!