spin88

am i correct that a bunch of FT folks would actually think about taking this offer? I have always laughed at the 2 cents per mile (now 3 cents per mile) "get an extra 1000 miles with this flight" deal, this just extends it.

Since UA is selling miles to the credit card companies for slightly less than 1 cent per mile, this is a huge, huge profit for them.

I assume that short of being a few miles short of that ticket overseas for F or C, that only folks who don't think about it will take this deal.

but power to UA, if folks don't think carefully about it, or value their miles at 3cents per mile (with no EQM or BIS miles from the deal) let them buy all that they want. it does not devalue my miles...certainly not compaired to all of the UA credit card miles arround...

mahasamatman

Sorry, but what hole have you been living in?

JonathanIT

[edit] woops, see next post.

JonathanIT

How would devising and implementing a massive plan to increase customer service levels involving the training of thousands of employees cost "nothing"?

I don't think sending out a company wide e-mail telling everyone to "be polite" would do the trick.

CommittedLurker

You have totally missed the point.

CommittedLurker

Please be more specific. I was responding to your comment that the economy is abhorrent, and that everyone is rightly desparate How so?

The economy is technically not in a recession yet. Even if you think it is, unemployment is not at very high levels, by historical standards. Inflation is up, but that is true everywhere around the world. Honestly. I think the US economy and the US consumer has shown remarkable resilience at $120-130 oil.

Unfortunately, people who bought a home they could not afford, with little or no equity, on ridiculous finance terms, and at the peak of the housing bubble (10-20% annual appreciation is not realistic) are in for tough times.

My business is closely related to the homebuilding industry. Our rae material costs are up more than 100% in less than a year, and up about 400% in 5 1/2 years. It is challenging, but most of my customers tell me things were much worse in previous downturns.

JonathanIT

Perhaps you could enlighten me, as you didn't answer the question.

My point is that the sorry state of United customer relations and bad employee attitudes at UA should not be simplified to and equated with some old adage (like "it doesn't cost anything to say thank you" that my grandma would say). Probably half or more of the complaints in this forum have some relation to customer service... or have the added complaint of "and on top of all that, they were rude about it!"

To fix a deep seeded problem like this in a corporation the size of United is a pretty heady task... and would cost far from "nothing."

zhuyanfei

That's mean! ))
But it's true, what will they begin to sell next?
Maybe on intl flights -
"if you don't eat our food, we will give you 1,000 miles for each meal you skip!"

mahasamatman

Inflation, wages, employment. If you don't see this, you're awfully insulated from mainstream society.

JugglingMonkeys

If you purchase the United Award Accelerator on the online check-in, do you get additional EQMs or only additional miles?

This is not 100% clear from the fine print:
"These miles credit to your account along with the Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) and base flight miles that you will already earn for your flight."

Thanks!

mahasamatman

RDM only. They're not going to make it that easy to get status...

SEA1K4EVR

No it's extra RDM's only, not EQM's.

JugglingMonkeys

Thanks!
I would have been surprised!

FortFun

Not that there's any residual doubt, but just for i-dotting/t-crossing purposes...

If you click the "Award Accelerator Details" list on the UAL.com page referenced in the main thread, the first bullet point says:

"The miles you purchase with Award Accelerator are redeemable miles."

CommittedLurker

Again, you are missing the point (2nd time I am saying this).

I said nothing about Customer Service training.

I am talking about dealing with customers in a polite manner. Employees at UA have gotten very bitter over the years, and too many of them are wrongly taking it out on customers. This is the issue I am talking about. (There are many complaints on FT about this as well, separate from the issue you are referring to).