Alaska Air (one of my favorite Airlines, by the way) is giving double miles on select routes:

1. Double Miles between Seattle and San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland for travel between June 1, 2008, and August 31, 2008.
2. Double Miles on nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Flagstaff, Arizona from June 23, 2008, through August 31 2008

Why go?

Mid-summer is a great time to visit SFO and see all the crazyness of mass tourism around the wharf and spend a few crazy evenings in typically warm bay area weather. But coming from Seattle, you probably won’t be too picky since the chances are that you’ll be missing one of the 226 cloudy days anyway.

Most people cringe at the sound of Arizona in late summer, myself being one of them. Having spent 5 weeks in Phoenix this year has pretty much changed my mind. Sure, it’s warm – no doubt about it – but it’s a dry heat. It isn’t like high temperatures in the tropics, and the 10-15% humidity (or should I say lack of any noticeable humidity) makes it way more bearable. Flagstaff is also higher in elevation and in a forested environment which makes it a great getaway in the summer. If you don’t want to stay in Flagstaff, it’s less than 30 miles to Sedona which shares a similar climate but is much more appealing as a vacation destination.