UA Devaluation - Blogs Incentives
Nov 1, 2013, 11:19 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: JFK
Programs: -
Posts: 178
UA Devaluation - Blogs Incentives
Even though I don't ever complain about bloggers (I learned a lot from many of them), I couldn't help but notice how I haven't seen them talk about the impact of UA's devaluation on Ultimate Rewards.
I'm no expert but I would think Chase points are worth a lot less now. Are they not allowed to say anything "bad" about Chase per their affiliate agreements?
I'm no expert but I would think Chase points are worth a lot less now. Are they not allowed to say anything "bad" about Chase per their affiliate agreements?
Nov 1, 2013, 11:27 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 642
Well, obviously they won't be able to use the same examples of amazing UA awards possible merely from the card signup bonus + a little bit of spend to promote their offers in the future...
So it will have an impact (I would think a relatively minor one) on their conversion rates/revenue -- there are still appealing ways to promote the cards even with the new UA program.
I am pretty sure there is no pressure from above to not relate the UA devaluation to Chase's points program. Obviously this is not in the bloggers' interest, though - why would they draw attention to it in a direct manner?
So it will have an impact (I would think a relatively minor one) on their conversion rates/revenue -- there are still appealing ways to promote the cards even with the new UA program.
I am pretty sure there is no pressure from above to not relate the UA devaluation to Chase's points program. Obviously this is not in the bloggers' interest, though - why would they draw attention to it in a direct manner?
Nov 1, 2013, 11:28 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Los Angeles / Basel
Programs: UA 1K MM, AA EXP, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 26,919
Even though I don't ever complain about bloggers (I learned a lot from many of them), I couldn't help but notice how I haven't seen them talk about the impact of UA's devaluation on Ultimate Rewards.
I'm no expert but I would think Chase points are worth a lot less now. Are they not allowed to say anything "bad" about Chase per their affiliate agreements?
I'm no expert but I would think Chase points are worth a lot less now. Are they not allowed to say anything "bad" about Chase per their affiliate agreements?
My post will be up later today.
Nov 1, 2013, 11:34 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: JFK
Programs: -
Posts: 178
Transfer ratio is still the same, but "value" is less. Basically it will take more Ultimate Rewards to get the same award.
Nov 1, 2013, 11:36 am
#6
Join Date: May 2005
Programs: Million Miler, 1K - Basically spend a lot of time on planes
Posts: 2,202
Even though I don't ever complain about bloggers (I learned a lot from many of them), I couldn't help but notice how I haven't seen them talk about the impact of UA's devaluation on Ultimate Rewards.
I'm no expert but I would think Chase points are worth a lot less now. Are they not allowed to say anything "bad" about Chase per their affiliate agreements?
I'm no expert but I would think Chase points are worth a lot less now. Are they not allowed to say anything "bad" about Chase per their affiliate agreements?
Nov 1, 2013, 11:37 am
#7
Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: California
Posts: 1,127
Why would you tell your readers that a UR point is worth a lot less than before? Then the reader might not sign up for a credit card anymore if the bonus is a pittance. That tells you something about the ethics of the bloggers (which is quite low IMHO).
Nov 1, 2013, 11:43 am
#8
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 642
What business highlights the negatives of the products they are marketing?
Nov 1, 2013, 11:46 am
#9
Original Member, Ambassador: External Miles and Points Resources
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Digital Nomad Wandering the Earth - Currently in LIMA, PERU
Posts: 58,597
Nov 1, 2013, 11:47 am
#10
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Mry
Programs: UA silver (soft landing from 1K), AA plat, HHonors gold, Ambassador club, DC
Posts: 92
UA Insider post with links:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21705672-post1.html
and here's a link to a blogger upset about it:
http://travel-summary.com/united-air...s-award-chart/
Nov 1, 2013, 11:49 am
#11
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PBI / FLL / YUL
Programs: UA 1K, Delta Plat, AA Plat, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Courtesy Card
Posts: 1,983
Thank you! I've been waiting to see the "re-evaluating Chase Sapphire vs SPG Amex vs Amex Platinum post- United Awardageddon" blog entries all day. Sucks for us but it is like the Tiger Woods scandal of award redemptions.
Nov 1, 2013, 12:03 pm
#14
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: IAH
Programs: UA nada, Hyatt Disc, Hilton Gold
Posts: 846
Gary Leff mentioned in his post this morning that UR points take an (understandable) hit after gutting the chart this badly. Still, UR points have so many places you can dump them off -- and Hyatt redemptions are still a pretty good value -- for me the impact is minimal. Definitely an impact to their value, but not a catastrophic one (like, say, MileagePlus miles).
Nov 1, 2013, 12:20 pm
#15
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: PBI / FLL / YUL
Programs: UA 1K, Delta Plat, AA Plat, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Courtesy Card
Posts: 1,983
I don't feel bad at all. You reap what you sow. "We may have given you PQDs, gutted alcohol selection at the clubs, minimized complimentary beverage options, took away ExpertFlyer and our award chart just got nuked, but come chat live with an O'Hare customer service agent as a way to make it up to you!" It's a joke.