links from the web: double alaska EQM, $50 hilton gold memberships, 250 free virgin elevate miles, and free mcdonald's coffee

1) from hackmytrip, alaska airlines is offering a double elite (and regular) qualifying mile promotion running from now through may 2014. it is only for seattle flights to and from other west coast cities. registration is required. the eligible airports are: LAX, LAS, OAK, SFO, SJC, STS. double qualifying miles sounds exciting, although if you realize that SEA-SFO is roughly 700 miles, double miles will only be a slight help. still, something is better than nothing.

2) from almost every blog out there, they're pointing to a milepoint membership offer. milepoint is a frequent flyer forum which is similar to flyertalk. for a $49.95 fee, they have a ton of partner offers including:

• hilton hhonors gold elite status for a year
• hyatt hotels 10% discount off all gift card purchases
• pointshound level 2 status plus 1,000 miles/points for your first booking (i.e., 1,000 points)
• united mileage plus 1,000 bonus award miles
• national car rental emerald club status

overall, you can buy hilton hhonors gold elite status, their almost top tier status for just $49.95. this would be perfect for upgrades and bonus amenities if you only stay at hilton hotel brands once in a while. this is almost as cheap as buying intercontinental hotel rewards' top tier status for $120.

3) on flyertalk, someone posts that you can earn a free 250 virgin america elevate points by entering a facebook sweepstakes. the sweepstakes is for a trip for two to dubai on emirates. as a canadian, you're not allowed to win the big prize, but you can certainly grab the free 250 points.

4) mcdonald's is offering free small coffee all day from oct 28 - nov 3. free is free.