“It has now cost me $1,200 to go nowhere”

April 7, 2010

Award tickets are not free. Victoria Casey knew that when she made plans to fly to Europe on US Airways this summer. Each reservation cost her $50, in addition to the 320,000 miles she spent for four first-class tickets.

But Casey never imagined she’s be paying the airline for nothing — and paying it a lot more than $200.

Hers is a cautionary tale about the value of frequent flier mileage programs.

First, let’s hear her story:

I wanted to pass along what I consider an incredibly unfair practice to frequent flier customers. I have been a US Airways frequent flyer for many years, and use their visa card to accrue miles.

Last summer I booked four first-class tickets to Italy for this coming summer. Due to an unfortunate family situation, we are forced to cancel our trip. When I called to do so, I was informed that there would be a $250 fee per ticket to get the miles redeposited in my account. Add this to the $50 fee to book the ticket, it has now cost me $1,200 to go nowhere.

Of course, we intend to go on this trip at another time, so there will be more fees accrued. I spoke to a supervisor at US Airways and asked them to waive or reduce the fee because I had been a long-time member, which she said she was unable to do. She did suggest that I wouldn’t have to pay the fee if I just gave up the miles.

My question to you — this seems like an unduly punitive fee to loyal customers. If it only costs $50 to book the ticket, why charge five times that to give the miles back? I have always been a loyal customer to US Airways, but I feel ripped off by this.

I asked US Airways about this. Here’s what a representative told me:

We charge $150 to change/re-deposit a domestic award, and $250 to change/re-deposit an international award ticket. This is consistent with what we charge for changes to revenue tickets.

We charge the change fee regardless of form of payment (miles or cash) since we’ve held the inventory. We’re not alone here as all legacy carries charge for re-depositing miles. Our award travel policies and fees are clearly indicated on our Web site.

I ran that answer by Casey.

I understand a fee, but $250 per ticket seems extreme.

Also, they will be able to sell the seats as I canceled three months before the flight! I guess next time, I should just wait until the day before. While the policy is spelled out, I doubt that people accrue hundreds of thousands of miles to book special trips with the intention of canceling their vacations.

I am disappointed in US Airways. I have been a 20 plus year member. So, after I use my miles, I will transfer my loyalty elsewhere. Not that it will matter to them…

US Airways is entirely correct, and at the same time, entirely incorrect. Just because the other legacy airlines do something, doesn’t make it right. And now Casey has decided to take her business elsewhere. That should matter to US Airways, which has lost $1.3 billion in the last 24 months.

So how is US Airways entirely correct? Well, to the extent that its policy is clearly spelled out, and that Casey should have known about the consequences of canceling her award flight, the airline is right.

These punitive policies shouldn’t exist at any airline. But that’s not the world we travel in. It hasn’t been for a long, long time.

(Photo: Caribb/Flickr Creative Commons)

SirWired

Change fees most certainly do suck. I can understand a fee for canceling at the last minute, similar to common practices at hotels. But a fee for canceling months in advance is just emblematic of the many ways “full service” airlines are proud to demonstrate they hate their customer base.

Isn’t it odd that “discount” airlines like Southwest are mostly free of nuisance fees, in addition to having cheaper fares?
larry

This type on nonsense is why I changed my loyalty to hotel points and cash back earnings on credit cards years ago. Unlike airlines, hotels do not have fees associated with point redemption and the rooms are free, really free, as you don’t pay any of the taxes and fees associated with “free” airline award tickets. The fact is, most folks would be fare better off with a cash back credit card that has no annual fee. There are a few cards that pay 2% back on everything. There is no fee to redeposit cash in the bank.
http://www.ffocus.org Bruce InCharlotte

I’m not surprised that US acts like this – they have shown in the last two years that they think they neither need nor want elite customers. When Victoria is ready to use these miles, I hope she will consider using them on a Star Alliance carrier instead. I can’t say if United or Continental would act differently, but my experience suggests that they would.
Alex Stevens

Chris -

Depending on her level of flying (and she sure did have a lot of miles) it might have been cheaper for her to buy up her status on US Airways to Chairman’s Preferred, where she could have redeposited her miles for free.

Even if it wasn’t cheaper, at least she would have gotten something out of the $1000 she spent (the $50/ticket would still be gone).

I bought up to CP this year and have gotten incredible usefulness out of this perk, not to mention the other upgrades, etc.
http://blog.adsdevshop.com Robert Dempsey

Ah the wonderful customer service of the airlines. Though sad this story is not unexpected. It’s another example of a company sticking to an inflexible policy, thus appearing more like a machine than someone who cares, which apparently they do not.

I would do the same and tak my business elsewhere.

U.S. airlines are in trouble and cannot afford to lose customers, especially in times where stories like this can spread like wildfire. It is no wonder they are doing bad as their fees continue to rise and the services provided are taken away.
http://waynedayton.tripod.com Wayne Dayton

1)- Even on award tickets, one can purchase cancellation insurance to cover for change and cancel fees; she did not.
2)- Air Canada only charges approx. $90 for changes/point reinstatement…the fact that US Airways, a fellow Star Alliance carrier, charges 3X that shows that this is either a pure and simple gouging with no relevance to the actual costs incurred, or, that their cost structure is so out of whack that they will be bankrupt within the next year….your choice, but most likely truth in both.
3)- There is NEVER any incentive to cancel your seats months in advance…the airlines give you no break on the fees, and then turn around and sell your space again in a flip reminiscent of Lenny & Vinny speculating on the corner lot….hence why I wait until the 2hrs prior to the flight as they request for the limit to make changes/cancel…I do not allow them the pleasure of screwing a second party in my name.
K.

I also used to have a mileage-plus credit card that rewarded me with United miles, and I happily paid $60 a year for the privilege! But there came a time when the red tape and fees associated with award travel made it lose its luster, which never happens when you choose CASH as your credit card reward (and not having to pay an annual fee makes it even sweeter.)
MikeG

I understand the change fees. They are not cool but the rules are published out there. But I do agree that when you leave USAirways as a loyal customer, they genuinely do not care. At the end of last year, I qualified for silver status, and wrote them a letter briefing all of my travel experiences, both positives and negatives. I first received a form letter response; but I wanted my voice to really be heard because I am one of the few, I think, that loved USAirways (if you fly them out of Philly like me, you probably are cringing that I just said that). So I sent a letter higher up the ladder. I received a phone call from someone who sounded offshore and told me that they received it. No changes, no further contact, and barely a thank you for flying with US. So, I’ve switched to their new * Alliance partner Continental. Ill drive the extra time to get an airline, who probably would react the same way that US did, but atleast has decent onboard service.
Mike S

Change fees are a fact of life not a surprise. On an expensive trip, I always buy trip insurance in an amount sufficient to cover non-refundable costs. What I save on non-refundable hotel space usually pays the premium.

So far I’ve only used trip insurance once to cover $190 in medical expenses. But the risk of needing to cancel is real and the insurance even for a senior like me costs just 6% of the non-refundable portion of a trip. That includes frequent flyer redeposit fees.

Now someone said that Air Canada was $90. That is not what I was told. I was told that it was $150 and that the miles were not redeposited but held for my use. With redeposited miles I can get tickets for my children, with these I can get tickets just for the award ticket holder.

I have not verified whether that is true. For me using Air Canada was a no-brainer as it offered a business class ticket to South America for 75,000 miles where American wanted 200,000 and Delta 275,000. The rub was that it did not have availability going down but I was told to keep calling (no wait list :( ) and that the odds of getting into business class going down were good. If it becomes available, there will be no extra miles or fees charged.US Airways (the return flight partner) also had availability down only for 100,000 miles but wanted 80,000 miles for coach down and business back plus 20,000 miles and a change fee.

Anyhow, know the rules and protect yourself when you can or be prepared to take your lump without whining.
Carver

This is extremely short sighted on the part of US. At least on AA when I was in a similiar situation, they were able to get a supervisor to take care of the issue for me.

And $250 per ticket is excessive. AA by comparis charges $150 for the first ticket and $25 for each additional ticket to reinstate miles. It would have cost her $225 had she flown AA. That differential is indicative of why we have to be vigilant and choose our programs carefully.

As far as miles v. hotel points v. cash, there is no easy answer. Anyone who suggests otherwise is only looking at it from their own travel habits. For example, I used 60k miles a few years ago (before copays)to upgrade from a $400 coach ticket to a $5000 business class ticket, a $4600 benefit.

To get that benefit you would have to spend
$60,000 on an AA branded credit card
$70,000 on a Hhonors card
$230,000 on a 2% cash back card.

So an airline card is best. Right?

Yet, I redeemed 150k marriott points for 7 nights in Paris at a value of $5500.

To get that benefit I would need to spend

$30,000 on a Marriott Visa (at Marriott hotels)
$275,000 on a 2% cash back card

So the hotel card is best?

It all depends on your travel habits
Mike S

Opps.

Last post missing a needed word NO.

I said

I have not verified whether that is true. For me using Air Canada was a no-brainer as it offered a business class ticket to South America for 75,000 miles where American wanted 200,000 and Delta 275,000. The rub was that it did not have availability going down but I was told to keep calling (no wait list :( ) and that the odds of getting into business class going down were good. If it becomes available, there will be no extra miles or fees charged.US Airways (the return flight partner) also had availability down only for 100,000 miles but wanted 80,000 miles for coach down and business back plus 20,000 miles and a change fee.

meant

I have not verified whether that is true. For me using Air Canada was a no-brainer as it offered a business class ticket to South America for 75,000 miles where American wanted 200,000 and Delta 275,000. The rub was that it did not have availability going down but I was told to keep calling (no wait list :( ) and that the odds of getting into business class going down were good. If it becomes available, there will be no extra miles or fees charged.US Airways (the return flight partner) also had NO availability down only for 100,000 miles but wanted 80,000 miles for coach down and business back plus 20,000 miles and a change fee.

That sentence reads better as

US Airways (the return flight partner) also had NO availability down. All business class if available would have been 100,000 miles. It wanted 80,000 miles for coach down and business back plus if business down became available 20,000 extra miles and a change fee.

Please edit if you can.
Joe R

I guess it all comes down to the fact that keep flying no matter how awfully they’re treated by the airlines. Extra fees, penalties, you name it… we keep flying. And as long as we keep flying, they have no incentive to change. People are sheep.
Dang

If my memory is good, US Airways belong to StarAlliance and it’s quite easy to have First Class to Europe on StarAlliance award inventory . Changing fee on StarAlliance is only 90$. I use to flight to Europe on First Class with UNITED and LUFTHANSA with Air Canada Aeroplan miles. Redeposit fee is also 90$. And the operators at AirCanada StarAlliance are extremely courteous and make everything to accommodate my request.
Victoria is right to move her loyalty elsewhere. I have very good experiences on UNITED and SKYTEAM too.
Brian

United does the same thing, and I’ve paid it once or twice to get my miles back.
United allows you to cancel them and change to another flight within 12 months and they won’t charge you the change fee.

Think of it this way, the cost of those 4 first class RT tickets to Europe would have been close to $30-40k if paid at full fare. So, $1200 is still a relatively good price.
http://rjtalestold.blogspot.com Dick Jordan

Here’s what would be interesting to know:

1) When a passenger cancels a flight and redeposits miles into a frequent flier account, how often is the airline unable to fill the seat with another passenger booking with frequent flier miles/credits or paying cash?

2) Can the passenger who cancels and requests redeposit of the miles do so on-line rather than having to call the airline? If so, presumably there is zero or next to zero “administrative cost” to the airline. If the passenger must call to complete the transaction, why not charge whatever the airline normally charges to book a flight by phone?

Presumably the fees are being charged to discourage passengers from making changes on a whim and, in particular, at the last minute. If so, why not use a sliding scale fee system like some lodgings and tour operators employ where you pay only a small administrative fee if you cancel far in advance (e.g., 90 days), and pay more as the travel date nears?

I suppose the only solace for this traveler is that she didn’t have to pay non-refundable fees for checked/carry-on luggage in advance at the time of booking and lose those dollars as well.
Ed

“We’re not alone here as all legacy carries charge for re-depositing miles.”
My mother told me when I was a little kid and I wanted to do something because “all of my friends were doing it” she said, “if all your friends jumped off a bridge to their death, would you want to do it too?” Of course, the answer is “no” because it’s obvious…The same should apply here!
Ed
Arizona Road Warrior

I have made several reward travel reservations over the years with Alaska, America West, Delta and US Airways. Each time I was informed of any costs to redeposit the miles. Six weeks ago, I made a reward travel reservation with US Airways and was informed of 1) the $ 250 cost per ticket to redeposit the miles if I cancel the reservation; 2) the passport requirements and 3) the recommended shots.

I remember when there were no fees (Delta charged a fee for ‘last minute’ reward travel reservations) to make a reward travel reservation as well as no costs to redeposit the miles. I don’t like paying the $ 50 fee to make a reservation as well as paying $ 250 to redeposit miles but I understand why the airlines are charging these fees.

Given the high fees to redeposit the miles, make changes to the tickets and etc, I purchase travel insurance to protect me in case if I have to redeposit the miles or etc.
Arizona Road Warrior

@ larry – The fact is, most folks would be fare better off with a cash back credit card that has no annual fee. There are a few cards that pay 2% back on everything. There is no fee to redeposit cash in the bank.
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Six weeks ago, I made a reward travel reservations with US Airways using my US Airways miles to book travel with a Star Alliance partner. I ‘spent’ 300,000 miles for the three tickets. The value of the three tickets are $ 30,000 if I purchased them with cash.

Even if all 300,000 miles that I used for this reservation came from my US Airways credit card (which meant that I spent $ 1 to earn 1 mile) instead from other activites where the cost per miles are typically pennies per mile, I am still better off using miles than getting a 2% cash back.

A 2% cash back on $ 300,000 is only $ 6,000…not even enough to purchase one of the three tickets that I purchased.
Arizona Road Warrior

@ Bruce InCharlotte – I’m not surprised that US acts like this – they have shown in the last two years that they think they neither need nor want elite customers.
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I agreed…ever since the America West acquistion of US Airways, the management in Tempe has made several changes to the FF program as well as removing seats from the First Class cabins on their A321s which demonstrated their dislikes for elite FF. It seems like Doug Parker and his team only wants the Ma & Pa Kettles with their Circle K gift cards to fly their airline.

@ Bruce InCharlotte – When Victoria is ready to use these miles, I hope she will consider using them on a Star Alliance carrier instead. I can’t say if United or Continental would act differently, but my experience suggests that they would.
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It is probably the preference of US Airways for their FFs to do reward travel on a Star Alliance partner. When miles are redeemed, they come off their books as a liability and became an expense on their income statement regardless if the reward ticket is on US Airways metal or a Star Alliance partner. Instead of taking a seat on a US Airways flight (thus the seat is non-revenue), US Airways can sell the seat when a FF book on a Star Alliance.

Regardless if it is financially better for US Airways for a FF to book reward on a Star Alliance partner, I won’t book reward travel on US Airways or its US-based Star Alliance partners because their FC and BC products and services are lacking when compared to their European-based and Asia-based Star Alliance partners…especially their Asia-based Star Alliance partners.

I do think that CO is probably the best of the US-based Star Alliance partners; however, they are still behind their European-based and Asia-based Star Alliance partners. Once an US-based Star Alliance partner start winning the best FC and BC product and services for international travel then I will start booking with them.
Arizona Road Warrrior

” Dang – If my memory is good, US Airways belong to StarAlliance and it’s quite easy to have First Class to Europe on StarAlliance award inventory . Changing fee on StarAlliance is only 90$.”
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It doesn’t matter if you book a reward reservation on US Airways metal or on a Star Alliance metal, it cost $ 50 for the reward reservation; $ 150 (domestic) and $ 250 (international) to redeposit the miles and the normal change fees apply.
Steve

“Think of it this way, the cost of those 4 first class RT tickets to Europe would have been close to $30-40k if paid at full fare. So, $1200 is still a relatively good price.”

I don’t think $1200 is ever a good price to pay to receive nothing. And I would imagine that full-fare first class tickets would be fully refundable.
John

She should have purchased travel insurance. Too bad for her that she didn’t. No symphathy here. The redeposit fees may be excessive (although that’s subjective) but they’re published and not hidden.
Nun

This line is total BS, “We’re not alone here as all legacy carries charge for re-depositing miles.” Other airlines charge fees to cancel such a ticket, but most are far below $250. By the way, US charges this same fee just to change the travel date. Some airlines allow this change for free or for a very minimal fee.
larry

Carver, You are correct about the value of miles, points and cash. This is why I have all 3 types of credit cards. I do however, stand by my statement that “most’ folks would be better off with cash back. Most people, unless they are mile/points junkies, do not take the time to figure out the best use/value of their programs. I establish a value of each mile or points and run the math every time. It appears you do the same.
Arizona Road Warrior

@ Carver – “That differential is indicative of why we have to be vigilant and choose our programs carefully.”
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Sometimes you have no choices. If you live in a hub city, you have a choice of using the hub airline where you can have direct flights for most of your domestic flights or you can add two additional flights to your itinerary using a non-hub airline. Since I live in PHX and must travel for work, I am ‘stuck’ with US Airways. Personally, I don’t want to fly to SLC (Delta), DEN (United), DFW (American) or IAH (Continental) to make a connecting flight.
Carver

@Arizona

Well, yes and no. As a practical matter, you may not be able to choose the carrier, but you can choose the program. For example, I fly AA as a rule. I could choose to belong to any program with the OneWorld network and still earn and redeem AA miles. What I would lose would be segment upgrades and Admiral’s Club discounts.

Some people with heavy transatlantic flights prefer to belong to BA’s program, particularly if they fly AA domestically but BA internationally since you can’t earn AA miles on BA flights across the Atlantic. Others belonged to Alaska Airlines program when it was a oneworld member. I personally belonged to RenoAir’s program before AA swallowed Reno Air like a minnow.
Arizona Road Warrior

@ Carver – “Well, yes and no. As a practical matter, you may not be able to choose the carrier, but you can choose the program. For example, I fly AA as a rule. I could choose to belong to any program with the OneWorld network and still earn and redeem AA miles. What I would lose would be segment upgrades and Admiral’s Club discounts.”
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You are right…I could use UA or CO as my FF program but still fly on US Airways metal; however, I will lose my FC upgrades which is one of the few remaining benefits for the US Airways elite FFs.

@ Carver – “Some people with heavy transatlantic flights prefer to belong to BA’s program, particularly if they fly AA domestically but BA internationally since you can’t earn AA miles on BA flights across the Atlantic.”
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You are correct…it makes sense to join a FF program that will benefit you based upon your flying patterns.
http://www.bearshapedsphere.blogspot.com eileen

And if you wait until you’re right on top of the date, the chances of any redeemable seats being available (even if there are seats available on the flight) are nearly nil. I found I was blocked from buying tickets on another airline for the entire period of the southern summer (December to April) for my desired destination, until they opened up more seats at twice the kilometers. In the end, it made more sense for me to fly with another airline and pay cash.

I’m amazed that you weren’t able to get anywhere by talking to the higher ups. I hope your family situation improves, and that this brings the negative press the airline deserves!
paddad

I think they forgot that this is a loyalty program. US Air did the exact opposite by not being flexible, and now they have turned a loyal customer into a disloyal customer. Poor business practices.
Charmain Michael

US Airways has been in a downward spiral of abusing their frequent flier members. The abuse has not yet cost them enough participation – but now that United has started improving their benefits, I wonder if the cycle will pick up pace.
BucksterSF

The sad fact is that the airlines know that 99% of flyers choose an airline either by convenience or price. Most people in mileage programs live in or near hubs, and if they can’t ever use their miles they huff and whine and scream but they keep flying that carrier because they are the cheapest for that city or they have the best routes.

If screwing people on miles really had an adverse effect on business it would stop tomorrow. But it doesn’t.

The really sad part is that we keep expecting something different.

Do yourself a favor for once and get a cash back card. $1200 to have miles re-deposited? Like they say, you can’t fix stupid.
Jim_J

The passenger was traveling internationally and, therefore, flying on Southwest was not an option. For those flying on domestic flights, Southwest does not charge a fee to redeposit award trips. The only caveat is that a passenger must use the award within one year of when the ticket was issued. This is just one of the reasons why I fly Southwest whenever I can.
Arizona Road Warrior

Most of the comments that have been posted have been how bad US Airways is and etc. Personally, I think that the redeposit fee is excessive; however, it is the right of US Airways to set their policies, rules, regulations and etc. If they want to be anti-customer, anti-frequent flyer and anti-elite frequent flyer that is their right. Passengers can vote with their wallets and feet and fly another airline.

Personally, I would like to see US Airways to survive and prosper by changing their ways but I think that this is a pipe dream. Since the acquisition of US Airways by America West five years ago, they have become more anti-customer, anti-frequent flyer and anti-elite frequent flyer…especially anti-elite frequent flyer.

Regardless how ‘bad’ or ‘anti-customer’ that US Airways might be; how unfair they are; how excessive the fees are and etc, the bottom line is that Victoria Casey failed to plan her trip accordingly. She ‘purchased’ these tickets almost a year ago. There is a risk that something could happen in a year such as losing a job, getting ill, becoming a pregnant, your parents going into a nursing home and etc. She should have purchased travel insurance to protect herself in case if an event occurred that prevented her from going on her trip.

If she couldn’t afford to lose $ 1,200 then she should have purchased travel insurance. I can have empathy with her about US Airways being anti-customer, the redeposit fees are excessive and etc. but why should US Airways assume her risks? Typically, a trip to Europe is not a spur of the moment trip or a weekend trip. Most people will spend a few weeks since it isn’t likely that they go to Europe every few months or every year. Typically, a person will spend thousands of dollars for a trip to Europe.

To me, it will make sense to have travel insurance for a trip like this. What if your luggage got lost? What if your flights were delay? What if there was a fire or burglary at your residence? What if there was a serious illness or death in your family back home? What if you get ill on your trip? What if? My philosophy is to plan for the worst and expect the best.
Kimberly

Funny…all these change fees, carry on fees, bathroom fees, luggage fees…and still the airlines that don’t make flying difficult by charging all these extra “fees” are the airlines that actually making money rather than hemorraging it. Go figure.
Carver

@Arizona

The problem of course is that not all travel insurance policies cover redeposit fees. And none cover the cost of lost miles.
greg

I understand fees to redeposit, etc. but if these airlines tell me those first class tickets would go unused is a crock. Anyone who has tried to book award tickets (first class award seats to Italy in SUMMER are rare as hen’s teeth) knows that desirable destinations are rarely available on short notice, so I think those seats would be used immediately, either by a paying customer or award passenger. But, then I don’t run an airline so maybe this is just another way to gouge their loyal customer base. By the way, I have taken 4 to 5 international trips, some paid and some with awards, over the past 5 years. This year, NONE. I am traveling the US, or spending time on my boat. Travel has just become too tiresome.
Brian

As far as I know, neither American nor Delta charge a fee to change the date for award travel, as long as the destination remains the same.
Joel Wechsler

@Arizona Road Warrior I always enjoy reading your thoughful responses to various issues on this blog so I hope you will not take it amiss if I point out that saying “and etc.” is redundant, since etc. means “and so forth.”
Erik G.

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http://www.altourleisure.com Deborah H.

FYI – US Air is not the only airline charging these fees for re-depositing your miles back into your account. All the major airlines charge the same thing to do this although the fees may vary slightly. These fees will continue to go up because frankly the fees are where the airlines make the largest profit. This is why they now charge a separate fee for almost every single service offered now. It sucks but this is the way it is folks and it won’t be chnaging for the better anytime in the future…… Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!
Chris

Good grief, the airlines act like they have to hand carry each mile up a steep incline and deposit in a vault, mile by mile. We are all computer-savvy enough to know the effort involved in redepositing miles. What can it take, all of 30 seconds? It’s just plain, punitive, unnecessary, and mercenary.
Linda Snow

I think when the airlines started the loyalty programs (25-30 years ago?) they never imagined the monster they were creating. They probably envisioned giving a limited number of free trips to the high-usage business travelers. Instead we have millions of people accruing miles, not only by flying but by hotel stays, credit card purchases and who knows what. Virtually ever dollar I spend, for example (except for rent and utilities) accrues some miles. So the airlines are giving away gazillions of trips every year when their costs are up and profits are down. I have expected for years that they would cut off the programs, but of course no one wants to be the first bad guy. So instead they’re adding fees and limitations everywhere possible – it’s just not a surprise. It will only get worse.
Steve

“Instead we have millions of people accruing miles, not only by flying but by hotel stays, credit card purchases and who knows what. Virtually ever dollar I spend, for example (except for rent and utilities) accrues some miles. So the airlines are giving away gazillions of trips every year when their costs are up and profits are down. I have expected for years that they would cut off the programs, but of course no one wants to be the first bad guy. So instead they’re adding fees and limitations everywhere possible – it’s just not a surprise.”

Linda–I’d argue that if the amount of miles people are accruing via credit cards, etc., have become problematic to the airlines, then the fair solution is for them to reduce opportunities for people to accrue miles via those methods. What they’re doing instead is imposing “gotcha” fees.
Kevin M

To add to Steve’s response to Linda Snow: No, the airlines aren’t giving away “gazillions of trips every year”… they may be selling (NOT giving) that many miles’ worth of trips to the credit card companies, etc., but anyone who’s tried to book award trips on a legacy carrier, which is where the mileage glut lies, knows that inventory of those seats is tightly controlled, at least for popular destinations. (If you want to fly from, say, Omaha to Birmingham, or something equally unappealing to most travelers, you can probably find availability almost any day of the week).

Airlines can’t cut back on the sale of miles to the credit card vendors because that’s their current “lifeline” for cash flow purposes. When everything an airline owns is mortgaged to the hilt, including all of your spare parts inventory, and you need to borrow money in this kind of economy, about the only way to do it is to pre-sell a few billion or so miles to Visa or MC or AmEx. Then they cut back on the number of free flying opportunities to force people who want to fly to pay cash; meanwhile, they carry the miles outstanding on their books as a liability (so they look deeper in debt) while booking NO value for the actual worth of the mileage program.

The ONLY redeeming note in this (such that it is, which is to say not very) is that she’s “buying back” her own miles at roughly a third of a cent each. Were she buying them from US Airways as “new” miles, if she even could buy that many, the cost would be about five to six times that amount. Plus additional fees.
expatinasia

Vicky wants the airline to change its policies just for her. I always wanted to know who was the center of creation, and it’s Ms. Casey. She’s taking her business elsewhere, and I pity the airline that has to put up with her attitude.
Erest

It is all about the money. There are scammers in all aspects of life and the airlines are no exception.

I think they should charge a fair and reasonable fee based on what it cost them to refund the miles or ticket and in todays computer world, that would be about $0 dollars and 0 cents. It might be different if you canceled as the plane was boarding but 3 months out, get real. How many times do they cancel our flights at the last minute leaving us to suffer?, lots.

Funny thing about all the airline companies, not one has called me to ask what I think about their fees.
Bruce InKansas

Boycott commercial flying. Drive. Or learn to fly yourself. You don’t have to be strip searched and groped and irradiated, and ripped off by airlines and car rental companies, and you can go to the bathroom when you want, leave when you want, and stop any time you want.

Can’t drive to Italy? Don’t go. That way, Customs won’t be able to confiscate your laptop and copy all your formerly private financial information, so the IRS can use it against you.

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