Alitalia Japan Deal: $315 Off Flights, $306 Roundtrip NYC-Madrid

10/24/12 Update:

Good news! Alitalia is indeed honoring all tickets that used the Japanese promo code, as long as they were at least 1 Euro cent. Here's the full text on the Alitalia Facebook page. My instincts were right here and with the United 4 mile Hong Kong mistake fare, will have to wait and see if they're also correct in the Wyndham promotion…

Dear Alitalia fans,

Thank you for the interest you took in our Facebook Global Offer. Alitalia was the first airline to create a global event of this kind for the Internet community: the most wide-ranging Alitalia promotion ever.

We offered a worldwide 25% discount, with the exception of Japan, where for technical reasons we were forced to create a unique E-Coupon worth 25.000 yen (approximately

250 euro) to be used exclusively for the purchase of flights from Tokyo or Osaka. This redemption rules were clearly stated in the Japanese version of the Facebook offer.

Unfortunately, due to a malfunction, the system did not recognize the limitation of this unique e-coupon to be used only on routes from Japan. As a result, the system erroneously allowed the voucher discount of 25,000 yen to be used on all routes in Alitalia’s global network.

The news spread rapidly online and in a matter of a few hours our Japanese website reported a dramatic surge in visits and purchase requests from several geographical areas.

This unusual occurrence on the Japanese website triggered a security system alert which, considering the high percentage of number of requests at zero cost, froze all transactions. The promotion’s objective was to spur and increase the sale of tickets at a discounted price, and not to issue tickets for free or at a minimal cost.

However, since Alitalia intends to protect clients who have committed a, albeit minimal,amount with their credit card, we confirm the validity of the transactions requested on the Japanese site with a value greater than 1 euro cent. Those clients will soon receive an e-mail with their ticket.

Finally, in consideration of the great success of the promotion, we decided to extend the 25% discount offer for two additional days.

10/21/12 Update: Alitalia is now cancelling tickets and has retroactively changed the terms of the promotion to indicate that it's only valid on departures from Tokyo and Osaka. Here are the revised terms:

And here are the original terms:

Naturally some folks are up in arms on Flyertalk and of course the Alitalia Facebook page. If you had a ticket that touched U.S. soil you can file a DOT complaint. And one commenter, BobKop pointed out that “European law does not give a retailer (of whatever kind) the right to cancel a contract/transaction simply because they forgot to add the conditions intended…”

As with Wyndham, we'll just have to see exactly how this plays out. Alitalia has unilaterally cancelled these tickets, but somehow I don't think this will be the end of the story. Yes, it's only speculation on my part, but not wishful thinking as I don't have any dog in this fight, since I didn't go through and purchase tickets due to other travel I have planned for this year and next year.

10/21 Update: Deal is dead, but you can still get 25% off Alitalia flights with code SPECIAL. Again, book by October 26th and travel November 5 through March 27. Blackout dates: December 20 through January 6

Original Alitalia Deal Post

Alitalia Japan is offering 25,000 JPY (about $315) off a flight using promo code PROMOJP

Details from the Alitalia Japan Promo page

Only Alitalia flights

Book on Alitalia's Japanese Web site (use Google Chrome to translate)

Book soon (by October 26, but may well be pulled sooner)
Travel between November 5-March 7, black out dates = December 20-January 6

What to Know

The lowest fare is non-refundable
There's always the chance that the Alitalia may not honor the deal; wait to ensure ticketing goes through and Alitalia is honoring these tickets before making other non-cancellable, non-refundable travel arrangements

You could use this on intra-Europe flights that are $315 or less to essentially get a free flight. For the example below, I did NYC to Madrid via Rome and got a $306 roundtrip flight to Madrid, after the 25,000 JPY discount

1. Plug in Origin and Destination

2. Look for the “Basic” Price, Select Both Outbound and Return

3. Input PROMOJP as E Coupon

4. Complete Passenger Details

5. Purchase using Sapphire Preferred for no foreign transaction fees and 2X Points for Travel, or with AMEX Prepaid and Refills Bought Using Ink Bold or Ink Plus for 5X Points

Since this transaction will be processed abroad, make sure you're using a credit card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, such as the Sapphire Preferred, so you can also get 2X points for travel (2.14 taking into account the 7% end of year dividend) or the AMEX Prepaid, which also doesn't charge foreign transaction fees, if you managed to purchase refills using your Ink Bold or Ink Plus to get 5X points, less the cost of the refill cards.

Will you be taking advantage of the Alitalia Japan deal? With a deal like this, you could even afford to splurge on one of our Best Madrid Luxury Hotels!

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