America West FlightFund (Discontinued Program) - New Award Chart

There is a new award chart posted. The price on BA has changed. It does appear that there is now a North America to Asia option on BA, but the cost is very steep.

http://www.americawest.com/flightfund/myffaccount/redeemingmiles/ff_redeemchanges.htm

Thanks for the heads up. 150K for an F seat to Europe is out of line.

Notice how the page says "Permium" Economy for BA?!

This is really unfortunate http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

Only one month notice, and a 70% increase in mileage requirement for a BA 1st ticket to Europe during peak season.

My schedule is already packed with flights for June, so a mileage run is out of the question. I need one more BA 1st ticket for my family. Anyone willing to loan me 100K FF miles will be deeply appreciated http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

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International airlines seat desirability map (http://www.seatexpert.com)

I was working toward two First Class tickets on BA. I'm now sitting at 175,000 miles. I guess I'll have to try to cash in for one F ticket to Africa/India/Middle East. Too bad they didn't announce this at least a week ago so I could have coordinated the ticket with an HHonors award under the old chart.

This devaluation, which was forseen by many here on FlyerTalk in light of Executive Club's own changes, along with the decrease in internet bonus miles and the steady stream of Alaska Airlines promotional offers may spell the end of America West and TransWorldOne's five year relationship. I think 2004 will be spent with Continental OnePass Gold Elite, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan MVP Gold, and Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards.

With the trips currently on the books, I can get my balance up to 185,000 miles. I can then clear out those miles with the aforementioned BA ticket @125k and an F ticket to Hawaii.

[This message has been edited by TransWorldOne (edited 05-31-2003).]

I am stunned. This is unbelievable. 30 Days Notice for increases of this magnitude. Move by move, America West is demonstrating that they are no better than the others (worse in this case -- even BA gave several months notice prior to their changes).

Three times I've spoken to Flight Fund International people about the BA award levels since BAEC announced theirs -- most recently this past week and absolutely no indication of any forthcoming changes. "We'll give plenty of notice before making changes like that." "We're under contract with our partners for years at a time, so you won't see changes like that until the beginning of next year, at the earliest." Ya, right.

America West Flight Fund: Freddie winner for best Elite Frequent Flyer Program. And this is how they thank us. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/rolleyes.gif

Perhaps it is time for a SkyMiles-style revolt.

TransWorldOne, you might want to consider the FF mileage purchase option. You can get 15K miles annually, and that would get you to exactly 200K for two BA F tickets under the current scheme.

I am just too far from getting the last ticket even with the purchase. The one-month notice does not give enough time for any significant partner mileage to post with certainty.

I am extremely disappointed, and am redoubling my effort on other programs to burn miles and points. It looks like any other program that have not already significantly de-valued will not be far behind, and they will probably give the same amount of notice to boot http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

From an outside perspective, I can see why this change would make "big time" FlightFund members unhappy. Frankly, the BA biz/first class rewards were a steal -- far below the levels of other ff programs. The fact that they were on a partner airline no doubt made most of you suspicious of their longevity (as did the changes in BA's own program).

So I would say there is nothing "inappropriate" about AWA raising these mileage levels -- even though it takes away a great perk. I would also note that there are still many int'l awards on the chart that represent good comparative value, like the NW and Virgin 100,000 biz awards (admittedly not "the deal" the BA award was, but still impressive for an airline that has no European awards of its own to offer).

What IS unfortunate here is the 30-day change notification. Most airlines seem to give at least 60 days, which is what I would consider appropriate for a change in a partner reward. I have seen airlines give longer notification periods, but that is usually for an airline's own rewards (where they obviously have more control).

So while I understand the unhappiness, all AWA has really done wrong here is to deprive you of about 30 days notification (as I say, more notification than 60 days would be nice, but would be unexpected). For most of you, I expect the 30 days extra notice is pretty meaningless. But if you're close to earning an extra free ticket, it would certainly be appropriate to ask for it.

Other than that, this is a sad change to see, but I think you should be thankful for the incredible opportunity offered in recent years when other airlines required far more mileage for such int'l premium awards. For those who flew AWA "for this award," I could see the desire to consider other carriers. But for most FlightFund members, it is simply a reasonable (albeit sad) revision.

IAHPHX, I appreciate your comments. But let me say this... The BA awards were the MAIN reason I've used Flight Fund over Rapid Rewards. Sure, 20,000 mile coach domestic awards are nice. But buy four online tickets to LAS/LAX (places I go every month), get a free basically unrestricted ticket (just a few blackout dates) will win out over the present situation. First Class on one hour flights is nice, but not nice enough to overcome the rich award structure of Southwest. As for points farther up the West Coast, Alaska confirms the upgrade at ticketing, has better awards (like the stream of 13,000 mile specials), and good meal service. I can use the Red Carpet Club at PHX T2 and the Board Rooms at PDX/SEA with my Priority Pass card and Presidents Club card respectively. Those lounges aren't as good as America West Clubs (best domestic lounges bar none). Again, I'll deal with it for the better rewards. If this were a simple 25,000 mile or so increase across the board on BA, I might feel differently. Unfortuantely, it's not. To quote REO Speedwagon, "although it hurts to say goodbye...it's time for me to fly." http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

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"We will not cut benefits from OnePass, our industry-leading frequent flyer program, because we remain committed to rewarding our most loyal customers."

-- Gordon Bethune (Continental's CEO) two weeks before significantly cutting benefits of the OnePass program

[This message has been edited by TransWorldOne (edited 05-31-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by AZ Travels the World:
Perhaps it is time for a SkyMiles-style revolt.</font>

The Delta people are wimps. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif My attitude is, if there is something better out there, switch. If not, suck it up and stick with it. This is a frequent flyer program. Don't be "punked" by Leo Mullin et al. Sky Miles isn't worth saving.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by AZ Travels the World:
...Three times I've spoken to Flight Fund International people about the BA award levels since BAEC announced theirs -- most recently this past week and absolutely no indication of any forthcoming changes. "We'll give plenty of notice before making changes like that." "We're under contract with our partners for years at a time, so you won't see changes like that until the beginning of next year, at the earliest." Ya, right...</font>

Don't the Flight Fund changes coincide with Executive Club's changes? I think BA's new chart is in effect as of 01JUL as well as HP's.

[This message has been edited by TransWorldOne (edited 05-31-2003).]

Does anyone have a copy of the old chart?

Can you book tickets now and travel within a year?

&gt;&gt;Does anyone have a copy of the old chart?&lt;&lt;

Yes. See: http://www.americawest.com/flightfund/myffaccount/redeemingmiles/ff_redeemmiles.htm

&gt;&gt;Can you book tickets now and travel within a year?&lt;&lt;

Basically.

Yup, Trans World, I could see a VERY frequent flyer choosing AWA for those SPECIFIC BA awards. As I said, they were pretty incredible compared to what the competitors offered. So incredible, in fact, that it's not at all surprising to see them gone (as BA hoses its own frequent flyers, too).

I suspect there will be a handful of travelers who, like you, make a switch based on this development. But I suspect many more will say "Well, this isn't good, but FlightFund and AWA is still best for me."

And, I would specifically note, no matter how generous LUV's program is, they ain't earning you tickets to Europe or Hawaii (or even a half dozen of the biggest mainland US airports) for any amount of mileage.

While Rapid Rewards won't earn me Hawaii and Europe travel, I'd be hard pressed to earn such rewards with America West when flying to SAN, LAX, and LAS. Do the math!

Fortunately, I have enough long haul flying in other programs (mostly Continental OnePass) to not have reward travel outside the continental US be an issue.

You must not be too hard pressed if you were shooting for BA awards then.

I would think that the over-generous LUV on-line booking bonus will be history soon, too.

That's the problem with too-good-to-be-true offers. The trend of low fare carriers these days is not to have over-generous programs.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by IMStill4Travel:
You must not be too hard pressed if you were shooting for BA awards then.</font>

Actually, I earned a lot of miles from the old 3,000 mile online booking bonus and the California promotion that preceeded it.

Old system: 3,000+500+625+500+625= 5,250
around 19 roundtrips earn one BA F award to Europe

New system: 500+500+625+500+625= 2,750
around 55 roundtrips earn one BA F award (offpeak) to Europe

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by iahphx:
I would think that the over-generous LUV on-line booking bonus will be history soon, too.

That's the problem with too-good-to-be-true offers. The trend of low fare carriers these days is not to have over-generous programs.</font>

Southwest has been doing this for at least six years now. What makes you think they're going to stop soon? I think you're charachterization of the offer as "too-good-to-be-true" is off the mark.

We'll see about LUV's bonus. Look at what JBLU offers. Look at how AWA cut the 3000 mile bonus. The same market conditions affect LUV. With everyone "trained" to book on the internet now, I'd be surprised if LUV continues their over-generous internet credit bonus.

I sent off a letter to Parker today, letting him know that changes of this magnitude, with so little notice, has created substantial ill-will within the ranks of his most frequent customers. I explained why -- it's entirely possible he doesn't even really understand how sudden, massive changes like this have such a devastating impact on us. I don't imagine he's collected and flown much on FF awards http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I have no illusions that he will see it or that it will accomplish anything, but at least I've attempted to communicate the message to him.

I suggest as many people as possible do the same. If nothing else, he'll at least know they screwed this up. Customer feedback at Starood in a similar situation last year was certainly heard by top management -- not that it necessarily changed anything, but at least they heard it.

I'll send in a quick letter. I don't think it will do much good though. I have a feeling this was more BA's doing than America West's. Especially so with the coinciding date for the new chart with both FlightFund and Executive Club.

It will be interesting to see what happens with BA award charts at Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan (which had higher mileage requirements than FlightFund's old chart).

[This message has been edited by TransWorldOne (edited 06-03-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TransWorldOne:
I have a feeling this was more BA's doing than America West's. Especially so with the coinciding date for the new chart with both FlightFund and Executive Club.
</font>

I thought this at first, too, though now I wonder. HP is also making big increases in Hawaiian F awards -- from 60K to 100K in the summer months for a mainland-Hawaii R/T. There has been no mention of such an increase in the HawaiianMiles program, which currently matches the HP award levels that end June 30.

This, combined with Alaska not yet matching BA's new levels makes me wonder if HP is just taking advantage of the BA situation to raise mileage levels in order to burn off more miles and reduce the amount they're paying to BA for free tickets.

The thought of that possibility makes me even more angry.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by iahphx:
What IS unfortunate here is the 30-day change notification. Most airlines seem to give at least 60 days, which is what I would consider appropriate for a change in a partner reward. </font>


30 days... or even 3 days... is a luxury in GlobalPass land. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/tongue.gif