FREQUENT FLIER

Why loyalty programs are dead — and why that’s good news for almost everyone

Gui Jun Pen/Shutterstock
Gui Jun Pen/Shutterstock

Loyalty programs as we know them are dead.

After years of playing the game, frequent customers like John Peppin are saying, “enough is enough.”

Peppin, the director of a medical center in Lexington, Ky., said he wondered about the endless bait and switch airlines pull — demanding absolute loyalty in order to be treated with a little dignity.

He often flies to China on American Airlines, to which he has given his business in exchange for the possibility of an upgrade to business class.
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121 comments

Help, my frequent flier miles are gone!

jetblue snowQuestion: My 16-year-old son and I have had our US Airways miles taken away from us. He had 27,893 miles and I had 829 miles. They expired a few days ago.

I’m a single mom and recently lost my job. I’ve been overwhelmed and did not notice the e-mail that warned me about the expiration of the miles.

I called US Airways, but a representative said I was too late. I’ve been a loyal US Airways customer for years, but didn’t sign up for US Airways’ loyalty program until recently.
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139 comments

After loyalty program changes, airlines brace for Million Miler march

vapor trailIf you don’t like some of the recent changes to your airline loyalty program, talk to Mike Croswell. He’s a United Airlines “Million Miler” who assumed that his three decades of devotion to the airline would be reciprocated after he stopped being a frequent flier.

He assumed wrong.

“The money I spent chasing Million Mile status is without a doubt the poorest investment of my career,” says Croswell, who lives in Aspen, Colo., and joined United’s frequent-flier program, MileagePlus, in 1983. “I have zero benefits that were promised to me.”
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116 comments

Warning! Soon, airline loyalty will cost you

delta7Like many frequent travelers, Glenn Haussman recently received an e-mail from Delta Air Lines about an “update” to its SkyMiles loyalty program. It was so understated that some passengers didn’t bother to read it. But Haussman did.

“I was not thrilled,” says Haussman, who works for a hotel industry Web site in New York. “It made me feel less valuable to Delta.”

How can a loyalty program make passengers feel unappreciated? Delta is the first legacy airline to tie the value of its frequent-flier program to the amount of money you spend, as opposed to the number of miles you fly. Beginning Jan. 1, 2014, the airline’s frequent fliers will earn “elite” status, which gives them access to upgrades and other perks, through a combination of miles or segments flown and annual spending on Delta flights.
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62 comments

Airline loyalty programs’ dirty little secret? They’re not really that loyal to you

Songquan Deng / Shutterstock.com
Songquan Deng / Shutterstock.com

Laura Noell recently discovered a dirty little secret about her airline loyalty program: the “loyalty” only goes one way.

For years, she and her husband, both faithful United Airlines Mileage Plus members, flew United whenever they could. In return, the airline offered them a guaranteed upgrade to United’s “Economy Plus” section, she says, which gave them about the same amount of legroom as they had in coach class before airline deregulation.

The Noells, who live in Bethesda, Md., and often fly to California, believed it was a fair trade: They stuck to United, whether or not another carrier like Virgin America offered a less expensive flight. They put all their purchases on an affinity card that helped them collect miles and maintain their good standing with Mileage Plus.

The Noells thought they were the perfect customers.

But they were wrong.
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102 comments

What do you do when points vanish into thin air?

What's the point? / Photo by Mitchell Bartlett - Flickr
Question: I’m having an issue with Points.com I thought you might be able to help resolve. I recently traded 6,000 American Airline miles for 6,000 JetBlue miles, with a transaction fee of $100. The interface stated that the estimated processing time was five to eight business days.
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43 comments