United Airlines Sued for Allegedly Manipulating Frequent-Flyer Rewards Rates
Oct 9, 2013, 6:10 pm
#1
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United Airlines Sued for Allegedly Manipulating Frequent-Flyer Rewards Rates
Two New Jersey residents are suing United Airlines Inc.'s parent company for breach of contract stemming from how the carrier rewards its miles, according to a lawsuit filed Oct. 8.
Robert Gordon and Melissa Chan have accused the company of manipulating the rates of its frequent-flyer program benefits in order to gain extra payments from its most loyal customers. According to the complaint, United charges more for MileagePlus members who have more miles. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, also alleges breach of fair duty of good faith and fair dealing.
Robert Gordon and Melissa Chan have accused the company of manipulating the rates of its frequent-flyer program benefits in order to gain extra payments from its most loyal customers. According to the complaint, United charges more for MileagePlus members who have more miles. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, also alleges breach of fair duty of good faith and fair dealing.
Gordon called United to complain and reportedly was told that United uses an algorithm that changes the number of miles needed for a reward depending on the customer's number of miles.
I've never redeemed UA miles for hotels, though I know at AA they do have different rates depending on elite status. Could that be at work here or could UA really be charging different rates depending on account balances?
Oct 9, 2013, 6:24 pm
#3
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That second quoted statement sounds exactly like something a phone agent would say to shut the customer up. Phone agents make up crap all the time.
I have no idea if it's true or not; I'm not commenting on that aspect.
-RM
I have no idea if it's true or not; I'm not commenting on that aspect.
-RM
Oct 9, 2013, 6:30 pm
#4
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I have not read the details but if the gist of this is that UA charges more to its best customers, how is that illegal? And, isn't that part of the overall anti-customer strategy? We've been discussing, at length, the many ways that loyal customers get worse treatment than kettles. Such as RDM and PQM offers, TOD rates, and so forth. This seems like SOP and not illegal, but just bad business practice.
Oct 9, 2013, 7:41 pm
#6
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Dont know if this was at play, but maybe there was only 1 room left at say $110 and the next room was $125. Sort of what would happen if theres only 1 seat left @ a G fare and you were using a Hotels pts to nab it , the next person would have to cough up more pts to get a tkt
What they would need to prove is 1 got a quote and didnt book it and then B got 1 and didnt book it. Later on when they did it in reverse the same #s came up as they did when they 1st checked out the amount of miles needed.
What they would need to prove is 1 got a quote and didnt book it and then B got 1 and didnt book it. Later on when they did it in reverse the same #s came up as they did when they 1st checked out the amount of miles needed.
Oct 10, 2013, 10:16 am
#8
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Oct 10, 2013, 10:17 am
#9
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I was wondering about the different prices just yesterday when I booked a room in Las Vegas using miles.
When I initially checked point amounts, I was not logged in. The price shown was 15,000 miles for 1 night. Upon selecting the hotel I wanted, I was directed to log in. Once I had logged in, the price dropped to 11,150 miles.
It dropped for me, so I was happy, but just wasn't sure if it was because I was a Gold, or just a coincidental drop?
When I initially checked point amounts, I was not logged in. The price shown was 15,000 miles for 1 night. Upon selecting the hotel I wanted, I was directed to log in. Once I had logged in, the price dropped to 11,150 miles.
It dropped for me, so I was happy, but just wasn't sure if it was because I was a Gold, or just a coincidental drop?
Oct 10, 2013, 11:53 am
#11
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In my previous life plenty of my best customers paid more for similar services - that's why they were best customers.. But they also had more flexibility with scheduling, better support etc etc - not unlike united...
What a meritless piece of nonsense... No ambulances left to chase?
What a meritless piece of nonsense... No ambulances left to chase?
Oct 10, 2013, 3:02 pm
#12
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A little more detail in the Chicago Tribune this morning:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...0,353018.story
No mention whether either plaintiff had elite status or whether they were logged in or not logged in. Just leaves too much open in deciding whether they have something to complain about or not. It may very well be an availability/rate change issue as one poster here had already mentioned.
According to the lawsuit filed Tuesday in New Jersey District Court, Robert Gordon of Jersey City tried to book a three-day hotel stay for a trip to Japan he was taking with his co-plaintiff Melissa Chan, but he didn’t have enough miles.
Chan had more United miles, so she tried to book the same room minutes later, according to the complaint. But for Chan, the room was quoted for more miles, the pair alleges.
Chan had more United miles, so she tried to book the same room minutes later, according to the complaint. But for Chan, the room was quoted for more miles, the pair alleges.
No mention whether either plaintiff had elite status or whether they were logged in or not logged in. Just leaves too much open in deciding whether they have something to complain about or not. It may very well be an availability/rate change issue as one poster here had already mentioned.
Oct 10, 2013, 3:34 pm
#13
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Just like all the times when Mrs. Emanon was offered a ToD for <$100 and I was offered a buy-up for >$400 on the same flight, same fare class, separate PNR. When I called, I was told the same thing, I was told their dynamic pricing maximizes revenue and makes offers based on what they believe people will pay. I didn't sue, I didn't even think about suing, I just took my business elsewhere.
Oct 10, 2013, 3:44 pm
#14
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I was wondering about the different prices just yesterday when I booked a room in Las Vegas using miles.
When I initially checked point amounts, I was not logged in. The price shown was 15,000 miles for 1 night. Upon selecting the hotel I wanted, I was directed to log in. Once I had logged in, the price dropped to 11,150 miles.
It dropped for me, so I was happy, but just wasn't sure if it was because I was a Gold, or just a coincidental drop?
When I initially checked point amounts, I was not logged in. The price shown was 15,000 miles for 1 night. Upon selecting the hotel I wanted, I was directed to log in. Once I had logged in, the price dropped to 11,150 miles.
It dropped for me, so I was happy, but just wasn't sure if it was because I was a Gold, or just a coincidental drop?
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