Programs: United Premier1K (NW Apologist at large with nothing left to apologize for), UCs, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 3,670
Quote:
Originally Posted by avidflyer
We should all do this. I am going in (RIGHT NOW literally) and redepositing 240K in tickets. I will then start booking 100% on AA and NWDL will get a receipt EVERY FRIGGEN FLIGHT. How many million miles and millions of $$ can we collectively switch to let em know this is it. I am guessing enough to get a little attention but these guys obviously will not get it until they drive this program into the ground.
Greetings NW FTers:
Once upon a time, I was a NW Enthusiast as this board well knows. I am so glad I hedged my bet last year when AA did its 2xEQM promo, and I got EXP over. I am sitting in DFW at the Admiral's Club. I have 50K miles booked on AA through the first week of February, and plan on re-qualifying by the end of February. Guess where these miles would have normally gone. This sucks! Thanks NW pre DL, it was fantastic. As for now, well ......
Programs: Delta Platinum, CO Platinum, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 155
Quote:
Originally Posted by ksucats
Let me know if you have any luck with that. Luckily I just did the one year & I will likely still have to fly NWA/DL (trips to ATL, ND, etc.) enough to get some use out of it. If nothing else, I have two family vacations on awards currently booked & will probably book a 3rd with my remaining miles. But if you are successful, I would rather have my $250 back & I will do the same.
I am very disgusted by this announcement, but part of me is relieved. At least now I am not going to stress out over requalifying for plat this year. I am just going to book the most convenient/cheapest route between AA/UA/NWA & will likely end up with low level status on all 3. Although, if the schedule & prices are the same, AA will be choice #1. Maybe I will end up close enough that I can make a push for top level with them.
The part that angers me most is that I have 30+ segments booked through mid-Febuary that could have gone to AA! Arghhhh!!!!
When we are in the DL and NW and CO lounges or having a conversation in upgraded first class, how about also making a habit of discussing with other passengers about the negative changes that DL is pushing through -- the devaluation of miles through the three-tier award chart and higher award fees, benefits taken away from Platinums, and so on?
I second that idea! I am sure many people are not even aware of the change because of the stealthy, sneaky way it was embedded in a promotional e-mail. DL-NW should be ashamed of the notification method employed!
TTU seems to be taking a lot longer to get a response to than it used to. I'll post the response when I get one.
I sent TTU a note over the weekend (around 1/4/08) voicing my concerns about the close-in fees and other fees that were disclosed then (notice how they are only disclosing a little bit at a time? )
So far, I have not heard back either. They must be going through a lot of complaint letters. Or maybe just throwing them in the trash...
__________________ Rule #1 of Mistake Fares: Don't call the airline till the fare is long gone.
I wonder if there is any way to get my WorldClub membership renewal refunded. Perhaps I will call the credit card company and contest the charge. I am going to AA....I am done.
Right now I am furious! There are 2 reasons I go out of my way to make PE on NWA - upgrades, which will be fewer going forward, and the award fee waivers for plats.
I just bought WorldClub lifetime membership in the last 30 days. I really regret that decision now! My Amex bill has arrived with this charge but I have not paid the bill yet.
Seriously, is there some way I can retrack this transaction??
__________________ Getting there isn't half the fun - it's all the fun.
Location: Tucson, AZ, USA. UA 1K, reluctant but * best in class * DL GM, descending Jeff's tiers what a relief! Former BA jumpseat rider and scourge of Dilbertian management and apologists
Posts: 3,001
Quote:
Originally Posted by cmh flyer
Right now I am furious! There are 2 reasons I go out of my way to make PE on NWA - upgrades, which will be fewer going forward, and the award fee waivers for plats.
I just bought WorldClub lifetime membership in the last 30 days. I really regret that decision now! My Amex bill has arrived with this charge but I have not paid the bill yet.
Seriously, is there some way I can retrack this transaction??
I'm sorry that you're locked in to this purchase. Club membership value seems much lower without a decent FF program to keep you on board.
As for my WC membership, I considered carefully before renewing for one year, because I was very unsure how things would look. I had assumed they would look exactly like DL with no NW influence. Regretfully this seems to be what's happening.
We can assume that nothing posted before 3/1 will improve the situation. It's likely to get worse. Here's the irony. For the itins I often book, DL's award fees will resemble low-cost paid tickets. So for me there's not much point in remaining a WP member at this stage. The actual value of membership is already much lower than it was six months ago, and soon it will be minimal.
I'm very pleased I've held off on paid TPAC/TATL ticketing. Like many of you, I have to make the decision about which way to go now. I must learn a lot more about Star's system and I should also consider AAdvantage.
The defection decision is likely to be, if not irrevocable, at least solid for the medium-term. I don't want to waste a status match.
Right now I am furious! There are 2 reasons I go out of my way to make PE on NWA - upgrades, which will be fewer going forward, and the award fee waivers for plats.
On the positive side (gotta try to give this a positive spin), the PE exodus will open more upgrade opportunities for the other Elites that stay behind.
Programs: NW Plat, SPG Plat, Charter member of Kryptonium Medallion
Posts: 1,426
What else can we do?
I have less skin in the game than some others (PE, but have only 150K in the bank and flying less in 2009 than in 2008) ... so glad I did not extend my WC membership ....
Is anyone going to cancel their NW credit card?
As soon as one large refund posts to my card, I see little reason not to cancel it. I may wait to see if NW backs off, but certainly if March 1 comes with the $100 fee in place, that card is gone.
Maybe pressure on the card issuers would get NW to retreat?
This new $100 re-deposit fee for award travel may, as others have noted in their posts, be the fee that pushes me back to re-considering my loyalty to the merged airline along with the "new and improved" FF program. I have been a NW flyer for over 15 years and have flown almost exclusively with them during that time frame. I am closing in on my 2M BIS miles but at this point, it's looking like the airline doesn't really care if I make that milestone or not since they continue to implement these additional fees.
These nickel and dime fees are no longer just nickel and dime since they are now starting to add up. When the merger was first announced between NW/DL I was upset (the same as many posters here) and considered switching my travel to another airline. After reviewing the the potential impact of the merger I decided to "stay the course" and stick with NW and give the merger a chance to work. It appears in hindsight that with these constant "improvements" to the FF program my choice to be "loyal" to NW was probably a bad one. As the merger moves closer to reality, I'm watching with dismay as what was once (IMHO) the best FF programs in the business being dismantled piece by piece until it reaches a level of mediocrity.
Reading throught some of the posts I see people posting the responses they get from the TTU and find it amazing that with the exception of perhaps a name change as to who the response is from, most of the verbiage is the same and doesn't really seem to address the issues/concerns being raised. It's also disheartening to see that some of the comments in the responses received actually don't seem to mean a thing since it doesn't appear that anyone post-merger gives a rats behind to address the issues/concerns presented. Case in point is the following from a TTU:
"Our goal is to be the carrier of distinct preference and feedback like yours is critical to our success. Northwest Airlines is committed to providing the best frequent flyer program in the industry. Customer observations, suggestions, and experiences form the basis of improved operations."
Committed to providing the best frequent flyer program in the industry? It doesn't seem like it since these annoying fees are now being passed on to even their Platinum Elite members. Soon it will come to the point where there only "perk" of being Platinum will be the opportunity to board early. Even then, it wouldn't surprise me if a new $5 early pre-board fee is tacked on to generate additional revenue.
Do the "Customer observations, suggestions, and experiences" really form the basis of improved operations? Apparently not - unless these observations are in line with what the airline wants to do anyways. If this statement from the TTU were actually true then it would seem that there would be more of a response - either on this board or via emails - indicating that the observations and suggestions being posted here are actually being heard. It's difficult to take this statement at face value when the only feedback people are getting to the TTU process is a canned response with minor tweaks.
It's a sad day for me since for the most part, I actually liked the product put out by NW during the years I've been flying. It seems like more and more of the news out of the propaganda machine that is the NW/DL PR merger department is not directed towards improvements of the FF program but towards the dismantling of what was once one of the best FF programs in the industry.
Sorry for the rant...just a build up of reading through all of the announced "improvements" coming in the future.
__________________ "I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move." ~Robert Louis Stevenson
Programs: Priority Club plat-Hertz 5*-AA plat-Marriot silver - low status on Hilton & SPG
Posts: 1,066
Quote:
Originally Posted by Spent_All_My_Miles
Is anyone going to cancel their NW credit card?
I would if I still had it. I cancelled mine when they added fuel surcharges to award tickets. Thankfully they removed those fees. I am hopeful that we can put enough pressure on them to remove these fees also. The only thing I can do is start booking away from them and I will. I doubt they notice or care.
I'm just a GE and I'm ticked off about this too. There's no logically reason to nickel-and-dime your top-tier customers. As more of you defect, that just means a further continuation of the excess fees to replace the revenue lost by your defecting.
I will say...that $50 I paid to re-deposit an award today doesn't seem so bad in light of this.
Programs: DL 0.22 MM, AA 0.34 MM, PC Plat Amb, Hertz #1 GC 5*
Posts: 7,451
For all we know, the PE charges might be the token give-back on 3/1, for them later to say they gave something back. Take it all away, then give a little back as a measurable?
Kinda funny what straw breaks the camel's back. I'm PE 100% on my own dime, and even as a hub-captive (gotta enjoy single-segment international travel), this might have done it for me.
__________________
"It can't be done" really means "I don't want to"... there's always a way.
DL's rule changes just improves my perl golf.
Even though I recently moved from MKE to DFW, I was still content to give it a go with NW/DL for my travel for the upcoming year. Now that this Plat perk is going away, I will definitely begin moving my business over to AA. It's a sad day.
