Posted by Seth on May 25, 2012 under frequent flyer, News | 
I suppose it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise. A customer upset with the changes to the MileagePlus lifetime elite program has filed a lawsuit seeking financial damages as a result of those changes. The filing, in the Eastern Division of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, is seeking class action status on behalf "thousands of others" who are also affected by the changes in the program.
The actual filing can be read here.
I understand the frustration with change. I can even understand to some extent the desire to seek restitution for supposed damages incurred. At the same time, however, reading the claims makes me wonder just what version of reality the plaintiff is living in. Here are a few choice excerpts:
14. The second to top tier in the Mileage Plus Program was the Million Miler
status (sometimes referred to as the “Million Miler Program”). To obtain this status, a
United customer needed to actually fly one million or more miles on United flights only.
In other words, unlike programs today, one could not reach the Million Miler status
through any non-flying means, such as an airline credit card, or by flying on any other
“partner” or “code share” airline.
15. The Million Miler Program was not simply a gimmick or give-away product
under which United could change the rules any time it wanted. It was a bargained-for
program whereby consideration was given – and taken – by both United and the Million
Miler members.
…
17. The lifetime benefits Million Miler members paid consideration for included:
a. A one-time award of three system-wide upgrades;
b. Two free regional upgrades every year;
c. A 100% bonus on the miles the customer flies every year; and
d. Lifetime Premier Executive status in United’s Mileage Plus program,
providing extra benefits and priorities such as booking availability,
pre-boarding advantages, upgrade possibilities, and seating priority.
Here’s the thing: The definition of what the program was (¶ 14) is wrong. So are the defined benefits as listed in ¶ 17. And, despite the willingness to believe otherwise, the suggestion in ¶ 16 that it was not possible for the company to change the program, that explicit detail was actually granted to the company in the T&Cs of the program and it has been since the inception of the program.
The claims are interesting, to be sure. But they seem to be lacking in a certain amount of fact that is usually required to win a judgment. It seems a lot more like the suit filed claiming that it was illegal to only accept credit cards on board, a claim that was summarily dismissed, than a proper claim to me. Then again, I’m not a judge in the US District Court in Illinois, so clearly my opinion doesn’t really matter.
Posted by Seth on May 24, 2012 under frequent flyer, News, points |
United Airlines and Avianca have announced a start date for cooperation between the two carriers, leading up to Avianca’s joining Star alliance, expected to be finalized later this year. The deal will see the two carriers operating codeshares on a number of routes beginning June 21, 2012. At the same time reciprocity for earning and redemption of frequent flyer points between the two carriers will also start.
Avianca currently has earning rates for flights on United on their website. The rates are pretty normal, with all economy fares earning at 100% and a 25% bonus for business class and 50% for first class. United does not yet have earning rates for Avianca-operated flights online. More updates to come when those are available.
United Airlines and Avianca Bring North and South America Closer Together Through Their Codeshare Agreement – Yahoo! Finance.
Posted by Seth on May 23, 2012 under frequent flyer, Mileage Run, points |
It is not at all uncommon for new routes to have fare sales associated with them to build hype and attract new customers. So it is not much of a surprise that United Airlines is doing exactly that with their new Denver-Tokyo route. What is somewhat surprising, however, is just how available the deal is.
Rather than booking the sale in one of their lower fare buckets, limiting the number of seats available, the current deal of $980 all-in ($298 r/t base fare) is actually booking in to the B fare class. That’s the second highest fare bucket in the coach cabin and it comes with no co-pays for miles-based upgrades (30K points each way) and it also earns 150% PQMs towards elite status. Oh, and it is basically wide open for availability any day you want to fly.
There was some concern yesterday that the fare was going to be updated and pulled from the system. It was updated, but the update actually wasn’t too huge a deal.
So, no, you can not book to join the inaugural flight on this deal any more, but any other trip in the first three weeks should be just fine. The fare has a 3 day minimum stay as well, so there’s an opportunity to explore Tokyo, too. The fare must be purchased by 24 May 2012, so another 36 hours or so before it vanishes. It certainly isn’t the best mileage run ever, but it is a pretty good deal and there is some 787 novelty value, too. Plus, it makes for a huge chunk of points in one trip.
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Posted by Seth on May 22, 2012 under frequent flyer, Hotel, podcast, points |
The first episode of our new podcast was met with great acclaim. Plus, we really like to talk. That means Episode 2 is now out and available online or via iTunes for your listening pleasure.
This episode talks a decent chunk about hotel programs and the value they do (or don’t) bring. It is actually one of my favorite topics, mostly because I pretty much hate hotel loyalty programs as they exit today and I go out of my way to avoid them in many instances. Give the podcast a listen to find out why and let me know if you agree or not.
It is a bit long at 47 minutes, but there’s some good stuff in there. Give it a go.
Posted by Seth on May 20, 2012 under frequent flyer, News, points |
It seems that some folks are still in denial about the fact that some customers are more valuable to an airline than others. Then again, it is not common that the CFO of an airline comes out and says it quite so bluntly. United Airlines CFO John Rainey, speaking at an investor conference last week, seemed to have no trouble speaking his mind with regard to the company’s MileagePlus program and the driving forces behind some of the recent changes:
Additionally, we also changed our Mileage Plus program, some of the benefits that accrued to the members…. [W]e had certain groups in this group were over entitled if you will…we have realigned the benefits…and this is a good change going forward….
The philosophy is similarly represented in one of the slides included in the presentation (see the first full line of text):
In both cases the CFO has essentially made it clear that the company is moving towards a different version of defining customer loyalty than the days of yore. No longer is just flying a lot of miles the measure of a good customer. Now customers must also provide value to the company to be desirable and well rewarded. At least that’s the direction the company wants to be moving in.
But is it the right direction?
Once again, this question pits a number of folks who are low revenue, high volume against the company. The company seems quite willing to write those customers off without too much apprehension or concern. Those customers (of which I’m almost certainly one) are simply no longer desirable to the company, likely for being too expensive to service, or for getting in the way of the benefits offered to other less frequent but more profitable customers. Or the company just hates all its customers and wants to go out of business. But that seems less likely.
It is also somewhat interesting to note that every revision or release of a loyalty program I can think of from the past decade has shifted the balance more towards revenue and away from simply miles flown. There’s probably a reason that has been happening.
Perhaps the greatest challenge at this point will be for the company to actually deliver on the better benefits for those whom they see as valuable customers to keep them around. It will definitely be interesting to watch that unfold.
Also in the same presentation was an interesting slide on the benefits of the PSS integration effort which happened in early March:
Of course, all the benefits listed here are for the company, not necessarily to all customers. Still, there are some aspects of these changes which will probably be beneficial for different groups of customers at different points over the coming years. Yet another thing which will be interesting to watch unfold in the coming years.
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Posted by Seth on May 19, 2012 under frequent flyer, points |
Star Alliance is celebrating its 15th anniversary this month, including a few promotions to get customers excited about the birthday. Alas, the promotions are somewhat less than stellar. Still, worth checking them out, I suppose.
First up, there is a 15% discount available for RTW fares. The deal is only valid for bookings completed by 29 May 2012 and it applies only to economy fares.
Next up there is a contest that each member program of the alliance is participating in. Within each program the 15 customers who fly on the most Star Alliance partners before 14 November 2012 will win 15,000 bonus miles. Seems a bit chintzy to me as a prize, though I suppose getting all the programs to agree on giving away a lot of points would be difficult. Also, as would be expected, only revenue flights count so award trips on partners don’t add to the count. Bummer. Some programs require registration while others don’t. Check the above link to find the details for your program of choice.
Finally, there is a grand prize contest being run by the alliance which actually sounds pretty cool. They have identified 27 different festivals around the world (a surprising number of which are tied to Mardi Gras/Carnival) and they are giving away a trip for 15 passengers, including business class tickets and "5-star treatment all the way" for hotels and such. There is a second prize (two RTW biz tickets, including a festival visit) and a third prize (15 pairs of coach tickets to a festival) available as well. This is probably the best of the opportunities out there, though also the hardest to win. And you have to pick which prize you want before you enter; I’m having trouble choosing so I haven’t entered yet.
Hey, it is all for free so I suppose I shouldn’t complain too much, right?
Good luck!
Posted by Seth on May 15, 2012 under Dining, Flying, frequent flyer, Mileage Run, points, Review, Trip Reports |
Having had so much fun the last time around (plus, I did book five of these!) I was off again last week for a quick trip to Portland, Oregon, again for just long enough to have dinner before heading back home on the redeye flight. And, like last time, the trip was pleasantly uneventful. I didn’t put together a video this time, but it still was a reasonably fun trip to document.
Somewhat shockingly we left on time from LaGuardia and made it in to Houston early. Alas, only a snack plate so I declined (I had just eaten at my favorite NYC taco truck) and took a nap instead. Incredibly exciting, right??
Flight number two had a meal service offering up two options that both sounded decent enough. I asked the flight attendant to surprise me and I ended up with a ravioli-ish option in tomato sauce. Nothing to write home about, good or bad.
A couple hours later we were on final into PDX, though we came in from the "wrong" direction. The winds were different than any other time I’ve arrived in PDX so we came in from the other side. It gave me a very different view of arrival than I was expecting
The really good part of the evening came when I arrived in Portland. A friend who lives there was available to go out to dinner that night so he picked me up from the airport and we headed out to some awesome Cuban food at Pambiche.
Just a quick stay in Portland, however, so I was soon back at the airport, just in time to clear security and head over to the gate for my departure back to Chicago.
I was happy to be upgraded for the redeye, though that may have worked against me. The two folks in the row ahead seemed to become fast friends prior to departure and they kept chatting into the first hour or so of the flight. Mid-con redeyes are already bad enough. Having chatty passengers nearby didn’t help the situation. I still managed to get a bit of sleep and was semi-functional by the time we made it to O’Hare.
I did rather enjoy being the only passenger in the first class cabin on the 6am ORD-LGA flight not wearing a suit. It was a pleasant reminder that life can be fun without having to dress up to play a part.
Departure from O’Hare was right on time and pretty soon I was napping again, all the way to New York City.
We arrived early and an hour later I had navigated the bus/subway transfer – including helping another passenger who didn’t have a MetroCard and who only had bills – back in to Manhattan. The day was just getting started and I was ready to go. Or at least ready to try to survive on just a couple hours of sleep.
Like I said at the beginning, nothing too amazing on the flights, but it was a fun day. Special thanks to Luke for driving out to the airport to pick me up for dinner, and for knowing where the good food is in Portland. Definitely made for a great night.
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Tags: Chicago, Dining, Flying, frequent flier, frequent flyer, houston, in flight, New York City, PaxEx, Photos, points, Portland, review, Trip Report
Posted by Seth on May 14, 2012 under frequent flyer, News |
When the announcement came out that the PeoplExpress brand was looking to get back into the skies it also included an announcement about a loyalty program, Club Travelati. Customers could sign up as a lifetime member for only $19. In addition to other benefits (including a souvenir pin), the Club promised access to super discounted sales and deals from the carrier once they actually started flying. It turns out that the DoT isn’t so keen on such a marketing approach; the carrier agreed to a $10,000 fine based on the effort.
The company settled with the DoT, admitting no fault, and pulled all content relating to the Club off their website. At issue is whether selling access to discounts is permissible given that the airline cannot actually legally operate flights yet. By enticing customers with discounts for fares that they cannot actually sell the DoT felt that the company violated a couple CFRs. The company has stated they disagree with that position but that they are choosing to avoid litigation in an effort to not derail their pending operational certificate application.
The company has pulled the offer to buy in to the Club from their web site, showing only this now:
Club Travelati is an exciting new club by PEOPLExpress™ for people just like you! We can’t tell you all the details just yet, since we are not yet a certificated airline. But we can tell you it will be fun! Stay tuned here for more details.
Oh, and they apparently only sold about 130 of the $19 memberships since they launched the product per the DoT claim.
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Posted by Seth on May 12, 2012 under frequent flyer, media coverage, News, points |
I’ve never been above a bit of shameless self-promotion and I see no need to start now. Fozz, Stephen and I have started up a new podcast, Points Hoarder. The goal is pretty simple: we take the obsession we have with points and miles and try to help everyone better understand how we collect them, how we value them and how we redeem them. In short, how to make travel better through points.
We’re just starting out with the concept and we’ve got one episode live right now and a second just recorded. You can check out Episode 1 here; Most of the discussion is about awesome redemptions we’ve all recently had. After all, earning the miles can be fun but redeeming them is where the excitement really comes out, at least for me.
I’ll be sure to announce a link to episode 2 and the iTunes feed once those are available. In the mean time, give it a listen and let me know what you think.
Posted by Seth on May 11, 2012 under Flying, frequent flyer, points, Review, Trip Reports |
I found it somewhat strange as I met folks in Puerto Rico last week; many of them wanted to know if it was my first trip to the island and I wasn’t really sure how to answer. Technically it was my third and it was the second time I actually managed to leave the airport, but it was still the only time I’d spent more than just a layover (the previous “visit” was about 3 hours in the middle of the night). Eventually I stopped trying to explain myself and went with the simple answer, that it was my first trip, but that seemed a bit like cheating. It did get me thinking about my previous trips, as well as the current one, and I realized that all three were flown on JetBlue. The first two were part of my All You Can Jet adventures a couple years ago and this time I had a choice – flights were pretty much the same price across a couple carriers – and I quite happily ended up on JetBlue once again.
Things started a bit ugly on Monday morning. The security line at Newark A2 was, as it often is at 7:30am, a complete mess. I could have splurged for the Even More Speed benefit from JetBlue but I managed to use my United elite status to get into the elite line. It helped a bit and soon enough I was inside security, ready to board If the Blue fits… for the 3.5 hour flight to San Juan. The line for departures was reasonably short and very soon after an on-time push-back we were on our way.
Booking on JetBlue I knew there would be no upgrades, something that I almost certainly would have received on United. Not a big deal for the short, daytime flight in general, and with the standard 34″ pitch on their A320s the JetBlue seats were plenty spacious for my needs. Plus, the snack options are way more fun on JetBlue; these were not the only two packs of Animal Crackers I had on the flight.
The flight was completely uneventful. I ate my snacks, read a bit and stared out the window at the Atlantic ocean.
Three hours later we were touching down at SJU, ready to get the week rolling.
There was a minor delay getting a JetBridge operator when we landed. Not a big deal at all as we were waiting on checked bags anyways and we had arrived early.
On the return flight I managed to tease myself a bit by taking a peek at the new JetBlue terminal at SJU. It is going to be a tremendous improvement from the existing facility when it opens later this month.
We successfully navigated the USDA inspection and the TSA process and shortly thereafter found ourselves in the rather Spartan gate area. This is, unfortunately, the one JetBlue focus city/hub where they do not offer free WiFi. Hopefully that gets fixed with the new terminal opening up. The good news is that we didn’t have long to spend in the terminal before we boarded our flight back to Newark.
A couple weeks ago JetBlue’s twitter account had mentioned a new feature beer in their service for the summer: Brooklyn Summer Ale. Given the opportunity to make friends with the flight attendants I rarely shy away and this seemed a perfect situation to play that game. While boarding was still happening I went back to the galley to see if they had actually stocked the new supply. It is a good thing I checked as they had it in the cart but it wasn’t cold. That could have been a disaster.
Seriously, though, it was a great ice breaker with the crew and we joked most of the trip back while I snacked away on cookies and beer – the sort of dinner that frequent fliers eventually come to know and love. Sure, I could have purchased one of the snack boxes for more sustenance, but they really don’t do much for me. I’ll stick with my empty calories, thank you very much.
Despite an evening arrival and weather in both San Juan and the Newark area the flight was, miraculously, on time. Shortly after wheels down I was in a car headed home; I was inside my Manhattan apartment only 45 minutes after we landed. Not bad at all.
For a few years now I’ve maintained that JetBlue offers the best coach class service. This trip further reinforced that notion for me. The product is simple but easy to deliver consistently and with a smile. The crew once again did that, making the few hours we spent together in the air fly by quite quickly and pleasantly once again. Yes, I gave up slightly more valuable points (though JetBlue is working on that to some extent with the upcoming partner opportunities) and I gave up the upgrade. I still had a great flight experience. Some days that’s really all that matters.
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Tags: Dining, elite status, Flying, frequent flier, frequent flyer, IFE, in flight, JetBlue, Newark, PaxEx, points, review, San Juan, United, United Airlines, upgrade
Posted by Seth on May 6, 2012 under frequent flyer, points, Wandering Aramean Travel Tools |
A couple partners have updated the earnings rates for flights operated by SAS this month. Most notable in the changes are the United Airlines‘ MileagePlus program and US Airways‘ Dividend Miles programs are now providing credit for nearly all discounted economy fares, and they are doing so at a 100% rate. Previously US Air wasn’t providing any credit for these fares while United was providing only 25%.
Additionally, United has updated the earning rates for premium cabin flights, offering 175% RDMs (in addition to the same 150% PQMs) for all business class tickets. Full-fare economy – namely Y, B and S fares – will earn 125% RDMs along with the 150% PQMs.
Actually an upgrade in the points earning game. Who knew such was still possible.
The miles calculators in the Wandering Aramean Travel Tools have been updated to reflect the new numbers.
