America West FlightFund (Discontinued Program) - FlightFund Elite Silver>Gold>Plat>VIP

Hi All,

Recently flew an HP flight ORD-PHX, and the gentleman sitting next to me told me he flew VERY frequently. I asked him for a little more detail, and he explained that America West considered him one of their "top 100" frequent fliers, and that he was part of their "top 100" VIP tier.

Of course, I had to know what benefits were involved w/ this unpublished tier. He went on to explain that America West:
- gives him 200% mileage bonus
- provides comp America West Club membership
- calls him proactively on his mobile phone any time a flight is delayed or cancelled, and takes care of any changes proactively while still on the phone
- waives change fees

Just thought this was interesting... Are there any "VIP Club" members here online...or have you run across any other benefits that these members receive?

Cheers,

-Steve

[This message has been edited by smantl01 (edited 08-20-2003).]

Hmmm. This must be something new. I flew over 175k miles in 2001 on HP (PHX/EWR almost every week), and was told by several PLAT line people that they hadn't seen anyone with a higher tally that year. I got diddly (except for 3 more nominate a silver forms). I did practically have the whole plane to myself in Sep and Oct 2001 though.

That was the year they comped everyone for an additional year - I wasn't too happy about that after qualifying for PLAT more than 2 times over.

I've flown zero miles so far this year - it's nice to be home for a change! I have a local contract. I wonder if my plat will go all the way down to zilch status. I'm sure glad I'm not commuting to EWR anymore - transcons with no food (or a light plate in F) just doesn't cut it, and my day to commute home always seemed to have something pop up to prevent me from getting to the airport in time to get food.

Too bad they didn't have this two years ago.

:-) Agree, after they 9/11, HP cut down on the # of flights everywhere. I stopped using them, after many overnight stays at major cities, bumped to next day flights.

But HP still the cheapest from San Diego to East. My top status dropped to nil the last two years. Now when ever I fly to PHX, I get the last row :-)

John

HP calls these flyer's "FF TOP 100" when they book a flight it shows up in a special "VIP" screen and HP has two people that are dedicated to tracking these passengers flights though the HP system and ensuring they are handled with special care. The are notified and rebook if any changes occur and they are treated like gold. This is the same treatment as actual VIP's and celebrity's get. You can also get this treatment if you reach 1 Million miles flow on HP.

How do you know this? Did you hear it from one of your contacts?

Yes, So I can confirm the information is accurate. I did not get into all the specifics but that is the general overview. To be considered one of the FF Top 100 you would need to be flying close to 200k for at least a year maybe two. You would also be on the VIP list if you were the CEO or VP of lets say Intel or Honeywell.

I was more interested in the part where you mentioned VIP status after flying 1 million miles.

I put recognition for 1MM flyer on the list. It would be interesting if it was already a feature, albeit undocumented, of FlightFund.

[This message has been edited by ByrdluvsAWACO (edited Dec 24, 2003).]

Yes there is recognition for the million milers. They also show up on the VIP screen and are treated the same.