Say what now? Yeah, I’m guessing most of you don’t participate in Coke’s loyalty program, though I know at least some of you do, which is why it’s worth a mention.

The one reason I’ve collected My Coke Rewards points since day one is because you can redeem them for Priority Club points. Well, for me the program has been more or less worthless for a couple of years now, since they capped each My Coke Rewards account at one lifetime Priority Club points redemption.

Probably against my better judgment I kept collecting the points. It’s probably not worth my time, even to just enter the codes, but I did it nonetheless. Well, today I was happy to notice that I could once again redeem for Priority Club points, so I picked up about 8,000 Priority Club points this morning. Like I always say, every mile/point counts.

For those of you curious about the conversion rate of My Coke Rewards points to Priority Club points, a 20 ounce bottle of Coke is worth three My Coke Rewards points, and a 12-pack is worth ten My Coke Rewards points. 500 Priority Club points “cost” 160 My Coke Rewards points.

Like I said, when I factor in the amount of time it takes me to enter the codes, there’s no way it’s worth my time. At the same time, my parents own a couple of businesses that go through a lot of sodas, so they collect the tops of the boxes for me. I just can’t bring myself to “throw away” Priority Club points.

At least I’m not digging through the trash for these codes anymore.

So if you’ve been saving up a bunch of My Coke Rewards points without any good use, this would be a good time to cash out!

I just wanted to make a quick post to let y’all know that there will be some slight blog formatting changes coming very soon (they’ll probably be live in the next day or so). I approached the Boarding Area web design folks with a few requests:

• To put the “About,” “Ask Lucky,” “Need award help?”, and “Trip Report Index” links across the top of the blog by the header, instead of having them hidden in the sidebar. This is because I still get several emails a week from people asking me what my website is for my award consulting business, so obviously it’s a bit too hidden. The same goes for the other three pages.
• To add a link to my Twitter at the top right of the blog. Yes, I actually do use Twitter quite a bit, and realized I wasn’t doing an especially good job integrating it with my blog. Haven’t been too active lately, though when I have a tech question or am mileage running, I’m usually on Twitter.
• To make the actual text area a bit wider.

Also, in the process, they’ll be changing the placement of ads just a bit. As I start to do my “thing” full time, trying to maximize ad revenue is obviously important, though I’m committed to not littering the blog with ads. So there will be just one minor change — the ad across the bottom of the blog will be removed and replaced with an ad below the first post.

Anyway, just a heads up so that it doesn’t come as a surprise. While it will take a bit of time getting used to, I think it’s better than the current format, which I haven’t changed at all in over three years now, since I started the blog.

I posted last month about the group flight we’ll be taking this coming weekend with Captain Denny Flanagan from San Francisco to Chicago. There will be over 20 of us aboard, and it looks to be a great time, especially given the festivities before the flight. Anyway, on Friday evening over 40 of us are having dinner at Max’s in Burlingame (near SFO) at 8PM, and we still have a few empty spots if anyone else wants to join us. You don’t need to be a FlyerTalk member, though if you are, feel free to post in the thread. Otherwise just post here and I’ll add you to the list.

Hope to see some of you there!

Earlier, while looking for videos of the infamous Hotel Carter on YouTube, I came across this video:

Basically, the guy seems to be an elevator enthusiast, much in the way that many of us like airplanes. On one hand I’m laughing uncontrollably at the excitement this guy has over elevators. I mean, he visits the Hotel Carter just to try the elevators (not that there’s any other good reason to visit the hotel), noting how smooth they are and how they’re original “Haughtons.” The guy almost seems… nevermind, I’m not going there!

So while it seems crazy to me, I do often ask myself whether our little hobby is any more normal. I mean, I take pictures of the lavatories on airplanes and bathrooms at hotels — what the heck is wrong with me? Yet it seems so normal to me.

Hey either way, the video above is still pretty darn funny in my opinion!

Before my trip to London, a generous blog reader mailed me a card for five free upgrades to First Class on the Heathrow Express. I used two of the five upgrades, though the card has three more upgrades left. It’s valid for any fare and you simply have to present it onboard with your Express Class ticket. It expires on May 31, 2011.

Also, I have an InterContinental buy one get one free weekend night certificate which expires at the end of the this month (poor planning on my party, sadly). You have to be at least an Ambassador member to use it, and the stay has to be this month.

If you could use either of these, please leave a comment below with a valid email address and indicate which of these you could use, and I’d be happy to mail them to you. Please only post if you know for sure you’ll have a use for either of these, because I’d hate to see them go to waste.

Earlier today I called the United 1K desk and asked them to connect me to the refunds department. Without explanation, the agent explained that the refunds department only opens at 11AM eastern today, as opposed to the usual 9AM eastern. Odd, I thought.

I called back shortly after 11AM. This time the agent transferred me, though instead of being connected to a human, I got an automated voice system saying that the refunds department is closed “due to the holiday today.” Hmm, Wednesday, January 26, not sure what holiday that is. I must be going crazy. Nope, after consulting my calendar, I wasn’t. So then I did what any rational United customer would do, and consulted the Indian and Philippines public holidays calendar.

Well, based on the Indian public holidays calendar, it appears that today is India Republic Day. I guess that answers some questions!

I certainly respect that it’s a holiday for them, but at the same time it’s frustrating as a consumer, since they seem to close for both US and Indian holidays.

So happy India Republic Day to those of you out there that celebrate, and not-so-happy India Republic Day to me!

Dear blog readers, you’ll see a number of changes in the months ahead, and I think you’ll like them. Yes, unlike the airlines, when I say there’s a new “feature,” I (try to) mean it in a good way. While I’ve long had “categories” on the right side of my blog that break down my posts by general topics, I don’t find that to be a particularly efficient way to search through my trip reports and reviews.

As a result, you’ll now see a new page on the right side of the blog, entitled “Trip Report Index.” This contains all my reviews of airlines, airline lounges, and hotels that I’ve written on the blog. I’ve further broken them down by year. Hopefully in conjunction with the “ctrl+F” function on your computer, you’ll find this to be a useful resource for quickly navigating all my past trip reports and reviews. I’ll be sure to update the page as I continue to write more reviews.

Sorry for the somewhat random post, but are there any mileage runners that either live in LA or happen to be in LA tomorrow (or are able to get to LA)? I realize this is pretty last minute, but if you happen to be in the area, I’d love to talk to you. Please shoot me an email and I’ll explain.

Thanks!

With the ninth anniversary of 9/11 upon us, I wanted to take a moment to mention the Captain Jason Dahl Scholarship Fund. Jason Dahl was the captain of United 93 on September 11, 2001, and from what I’ve heard, not just an airline pilot, but someone that was truly passionate about aviation.

There’s a scholarship fund set up in his memory, which in the past nine years has given out 17 scholarships, and plans on expanding nationwide next year. If you have the resources to donate, even if it’s only a few dollars, I know it would be greatly appreciated.

A question I often see over on FlyerTalk is “why doesn’t [insert your favorite loyalty program] have a higher elite tier?” People “double qualify” for the highest elite tier, and think they should receive more benefits. As someone that consistently more than double qualifies for United 1K status, and is about  to double qualify for Hyatt Diamond status, I can appreciate the sentiment. Admittedly I’m not the most profitable customer for either of those companies, but then again, I wouldn’t be if I only traveled half as much as I do either.

But why doesn’t United, for example, have a 2K status level? If you fly 100,000 miles per year you get upgraded before someone that flies 50,000 miles per year, so why shouldn’t someone that flies 200,000 miles per year get upgraded before someone that flies 100,000 miles per year? Along the same lines, if you make 25 stays at Hyatt properties you get all kinds of benefits, while you don’t if you make only 10 stays. So why shouldn’t you get any extra benefits for 50 stays?

The incremental benefits of elite status beyond the top, published tier are minimal. At United I can earn eight confirmed regional upgrades and six systemwide upgrades for the first 100,000 miles I fly, while I earn a total of four systemwide upgrades for the second 100,000 miles I fly. For Hyatt I earn four confirmed suite upgrades for the first 25 stays I make, while I earn nothing additional for the next 25 stays I make. Yet interestingly enough the incremental benefits typically increase proportionally up until the top tier.

So what’s a rational person left to do? Well, probably shoot for top tier status with more than one program. There’s nothing wrong with diversifying, though I’d argue regardless of whether we’re talking about airlines or hotels, top tier status with one program is better than middle tier status with two programs.

But that doesn’t answer the question in the title of my post. Why don’t they offer more incremental benefits? I’ve thought about it for a while, and I don’t really have a good answer. I can think of a few answers, but they’re not necessarily good ones.

One argument is that the programs aren’t keeping up with the times. I have a feeling it’s only somewhat recently that the programs have thousands upon thousands of members that more than double or triple qualify for a status level. And that’s largely due to the double miles/segments/stays promotions they have.

Another possible answer is that they’re tackling this issue by creating invitation only status levels. United has Global Services and Hyatt has Courtesy Card, and they’re not the only ones. At the same time, that’s for truly high revenue customers and “important” people. That doesn’t address the person that spends a more “normal” amount on travel, contributing double as much revenue to a company as someone that just hardly qualifies for top tier status.

The third, and only truly practical answer I can think of, is that it dilutes the current top tier status levels. I remember flying from San Francisco to Washington Dulles last summer on a Monday morning with a seat assignment in regular economy (not even Economy Plus). As a 1K I nicely approached the gate agent and asked her if there was any chance I could get an Economy Plus seat as a 1K. Her response? “You’re only a 1K, I have five Global Services in economy that I’m trying to find Economy Plus seats for.” Hmm, so I “only” have the top published status tier with your airline? I can understand what she meant, but there are definitely more tactful ways to communicate that. And unfortunately this wasn’t just a bad reaction — that’s how the employees feel when there’s a new top tier; it does devalue the former top tier.

Along the same lines, if I’m flying business class, I’d much rather do so on a two cabin aircraft than a three cabin aircraft with a first class cabin. It should be the same product and feeling, right? Either way, you’re paying the same amount. Yet some airlines differentiate service between two cabin business class and three cabin business class, like American. They offer more service in business class on a two cabin aircraft than they do on a three cabin aircraft. How does that make any sense?

So I don’t think there’s a good answer. On one hand I’d love to see airlines have higher status tiers, but on the other hand I don’t necessarily think it’s a good idea, since it does dilute the current highest tier. If I flew 100,000 miles per year with United and there were a 200,000 mile or 300,000 mile tier, and American didn’t have those additional tiers, I’d probably want to fly American.

But I do think it’s time for the airlines and hotel programs to provide more incremental benefits. It doesn’t have to be in the form of a higher published status level or even better recognition. But how about not reducing the marginal benefits? How about silently factoring in how much a person has flown that year when sorting the upgrade waitlist (even if it’s only after factoring in the fare paid)? Does it make sense that the time you choose to check-in online for your flight factors into your upgrade chance, while how much you fly doesn’t? How about offering at least as many upgrade instruments for each additional 100,000 miles as they did for the first 100,000 miles?

Anyway, just some food for thought…