American Coupon Exchange

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Trans World Airlines can prohibit broker sales and other transfers of frequent flyer discount coupons. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would not issue TWA an injunction preventing a Newport Beach broker from operating. And it said the airline would have to go to trial to prove that the broker, which buys unused coupons and sells them at cut rates, had damaged its business. The 3-0 ruling reversed a decision by U.S.

A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Trans World Airlines can prohibit broker sales and other transfers of frequent flyer discount coupons. But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would not issue TWA an injunction preventing a Newport Beach broker from operating. And it said the airline would have to go to trial to prove that the broker, which buys unused coupons and sells them at cut rates, had damaged its business. The 3-0 ruling reversed a decision by U.S.

American Airlines has filed suit against three brokers it said were buying, selling and trading its frequent-flier awards, alleging that it loses "millions of dollars in revenues" as a result of such "abuse." The suits, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Courts in Texas, Utah and New York and announced by the company Thursday, seek an injunction against the three brokers to prevent them from selling or trading American's AAdvantage frequent-flier awards.

Once a month, sportswear executive Elliot M. Lavigne balances his checking account. Next, he reconciles his Pan American WorldPass statement. After all, a mistake on his Pan Am frequent flier account could cost him more than a bank error. Lavigne, like a lot of executives whose business requires frequent travel, has become a free mileage junkie, accruing "bonus" miles toward flights each time he flies, rents a car or stays in a hotel.

When Eric Fuller was a student at UC Berkeley in 1982, he helped make ends meet by buying and selling airline frequent-flier mileage awards. The business became so good, in fact, that after he finished law school in San Diego and passed the California bar exam, he went into it full time. At the peak of his success in 1986, his La Jolla-based Coupon Bank employed 100 people and grossed $2 million a month. But all that has changed.