Eva Airlines' grand entry into Star Alliance

Last week, Eva Airlines finally made their long-delayed entry into Star Alliance.  Historically, partner alliance carriers have welcomed newcomers with open arms and bonus miles promos.  But this has not been the case with Eva as most Star Alliance carriers haven't even recognized Eva's presence.  Nonetheless, Eva's entry into Star Alliance effectively opens up Taiwan to the Star Alliance network.

Despite poor mileage earnings rates, it should be noted that Eva has a transpacific business class hard product that is second only to Cathay Pacific's.  Award availability is off the charts, so now would be a good time to book that biz class flight to TPE with US Airways miles for only 90k roundtrip.  TPE also makes a good connection point to southeast Asian destinations such as HKG, BKK, and SIN should the need arise.  HKG, which is a Cathay Pacific fortress hub, is now a smooth sailing option from TPE for Star Alliance loyalists who want to avoid United's subpar premium cabins.

In commemoration of their Star Alliance entry, Eva is throwing a campaign with 6 weekly economy roundtrip ticket giveaways through 7/15.  The last week of the campaign will also feature an additional 6 roundtrip biz class ticket giveaways (7/9-7/15).  As corny as their renewed frequent flyer name Infinity MileageLands sounds, you've got to give props to the ingenuity behind their new commercial: