sassamanlaw

Hey GPs when you woke up yesterday did you notice that you were 50% the person you were the night before. No? Well the new US thinks you are. In their minds eye your business is only worth 50% of what it had been 24 hours before. We must be less valuable or they would not have enhanced us from a 100% mileage bonus to 50%. But, on the other hand, they did reduce the online booking bonus by 50%. Oh, wait, that’s a bad thing. But, on the other other hand they said that there will be more seats available for award redemption. Well, no kidding. They bump up the redemption levels at the same time they reduce earning capability. OF COURSE THERE WILL BE MORE SEATS AVAILABLE BECAUSE NO ONE WILL HAVE THE MILES TO REDEEM TO GET THEM.

This sounds exactly like what our old friend BBB was trying to do to us. For the new HPers, B. Ben Baldanza was a VP at US whose mission in life was to make every loyal US FFer leave the airline. It was as a result of his actions that the Cockroaches were born. Well, having seen this before, this Roach is taking a stand. I have sent an e-mail to US Customer Affairs yesterday and I suggest you all do likewise. Let them know, by sheer weight of numbers, that their bread and butter business fliers are not happy at being enhanced. We did it once, let’s do it again.

Long live the Revolution!!!

Sally4th

I'm sooo close - I make Gold the end of this month. I don't know which is worse, having the benefits and losing them or being within a gnats whisker of getting them and watch them downgrade before you ever get a taste.

Yep yep, they gave us an email to voice our opinions, lets voice them! They don't not sell these seats because we are sitting in them, we have to wait to the 11th hour in most cases to be green lighted. What does it cost them to reward their FFs? The price of a better meal? Seems little enough for loyal repeat flyers!

Vote now with your email - possibly with your feet later.

jerseyfinn

I too share your disappointment in learning that the merger has devalued the DM program for US elites. I've been holding my breath waiting to see what was going to happen to DM with the merger. But truth be told, some of the changes simply bring the DM program into line with HP's Flight Fund program. But this doesn't diminish my own disappointment.

Receiving less bonus miles for our flights is a huge setback for US elites weaned on a more generous DM program. But I don't think that one has too many options at the moment except to wait and see how things develop in coming months. We've got to see how pricing and UG availbility actually plays out and watch what kinds of offers other carriers might make to woo us over to them. It takes time and effort to build up elite status, and unless one flys out of a hub with lots of other carrier alternatives to their destinations, it might not be worth storming out at the moment.

Part of the reduction in bonus miles could be offset by lower fares ( thus keeping some sort of value in your aggregate cost per mile ), but realistically speaking, this ain't gonna happen with current fuel prices and frenetic industry competition.

I'm certainly going to look at other carriers and determine if their FF programs and their flight offerings can offer me more bang for for the buck. Given that we do a lot of travel out of PHL to Europe, I suspect that my wife and I are stuck with US as it remains the best non-stop alternative that we have.

With UA heading out of the bankruptcy tank and DL & NW bobbing in it, I'm not sure what alternatives will really exist in the future.

Let's hope for the best, but it sure looks like the good old days are gone. The one thing working in our own favor is that my wife and I are one flight away from snagging CP status for next year from that CP challenge offer that US floats last June. At least we can delay the inevitable for another year.

Barry

kinglobjaw

As I love US Airways I must say this:

First off Im just praying Gold Preffered still remains star gold

This is sick everybody must email the service center, hopefully something can change. Also I reasearched all the other us based airlines, and ALL of their second from lowest (middle) offers a 100% bonus. the new US Airways is the only airline who will be not. Furthermore, only united and i think american and possibly delta 25 percent bonus to lowest preffered! US Airways has to pull up the silver preffered up! Silver must be 50 Gold 100 and Plat 100 while chairmans should be now 125 percent like NWA! so email all the freaking emails you know to the current us airways and america west. email EVERYONE numerous times, be strict what you say and do show comparison to other airlines. so go for it and we CAN do it! ill soon be adding some info how much bonuses airlines award so we can have a good argument basis!

drtdk

Would DM members give up the new 75K tier if Golds got the 100% bonus? Personally, the 75K level should have been a transition tier for one year. Having four tiers is silly. I can't think of another major airline that has that many levels.

ByrdluvsAWACO

You honest can't say you weren't warned.

I told you guys that HP would do this. Reducing outstanding miles is part of HP's way of lowering it's costs.

Doug Parker has mentioned this in one of his webcasts so ,unlike many here, I was under no illusion that DM was going to be spared the same reduction forced upon FlightFund members.

I think that deep down all the HP members knew things would turn out this way.

sassamanlaw

No doubt you called it. I just waited for the official ax to fall before I began rousing the rabble.

phlwookie

If not, I probably need to move to UA.

ByrdluvsAWACO

I hate to be blunt, but emailing alone won't do jack with HP. I've emailed them numerous times after they made the reductions to HP and all I've ever receive is some crappy form response.

If you all want to be effective book your next 5-10 flights on AA, UA, WN, or whoever instead of with US. Then email them with a list of all the flights(revenue) that they lost.

PineyBob

I think you need to look at this in terms of what is going on in the industry. Of all the things that could have happened the 4 tier structure seems to be a pretty fair devaluation.

Some carriers don't base status on segments at all. You can still earn status both ways and this benefits the customer. Especially the short haul flyers that criss cross the east coast.

The plan does NOT award miles based on fare class like DL and CO. Unless CO & DL changed.

The reality is that when you compare the new plan to the LCC's that the new US will be competing with, the plan is FAR SUPERIOR. Compared to other legacy carriers, it is now a middle of the pack program which is OK considering the situation.

The thing that Parker and Kirby IMO need to do that hasn't been done to date is find a way to win back the high yield travelers that left US over the last few years. ONE way to address this is with the FF programs. This hasn't happened.

deelmakur

As I have observed frequently, of late, there are lots of changes, and none seem to have involved asking customers what they thought. When they get their hineys in a sling, and discover this dog hunts differently, they will join a long line of managers who found reverse to be the gear they needed most. What they should keep in mind is that when you back up in a hurry, you're apt to hit something.

martin33

DL certainly did change-- they reversed course completely, and then some. They no longer have half-credit fares, but they do still offer 150% credit for high fares (with a 750 per segment minimum on those fares), AND they dropped their topmost level to 75K. Their three tier bonus rates are 25% for Silver and 100% for Gold and Platinum.
http://www.delta.com/skymiles/about_...ions/index.jsp

CO is quite similar to DL milewise, but they are even better to segment flyers-- qual at 30, 60, 90, but segments in Y+ fares count double. Top level is 75K miles, which is a mere 45 full-fare segments. To say nothing of the fairly frequent qual bonus opportunities they try to ply high-fare travelers with. Finally, once there, the CO elite bonus rates are 50%, 100%, and 125%, respectively, for Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
http://www.continental.com/onepass/elite/qualify.asp

Now, as for the Reality---US is middle of what pack? which legacy carriers offer less, FFwise? certainly not NW, AA, or UA...

Any 50K/60-segment flyer, except for the case of being trapped in a US-only city, would be nuts to stay in the "new" DM. And any 25K flyer with 15-30 segments should be looking long and hard at alternatives.

m44

Grace to irresponsible actions of one of the moderators with the long name I do not want to be here.

sassamanlaw

Who are you and what have you done with PineyBob?

I once recall when our favorite whipping boy BBB tried to pull a major devaluation of the FF program you led the charge against him. You were one of the driving forces for Roachfest and you were the bitterest about being stabbed in the back by Lime Boy. Now you are towing the HP party line with nary a complaint. Do you know something we don't?

SpaceBass

I could not agree more! Use it for one year then disolve it.

The whole structure is silly 120k to get to CP... 50% reduction in bonus for GP... I left Delta when they did that stupid qualifiying miles thing, and if US messes with their program in such a way that the bank of my buck isn't there, I'll leve them too. The only reason most of us are loyal to an airline is for the perks. If I have to travel 2 weeks a month and be away from home I'd like to think that when I want to book award travel for that one vacation a year that I can (and it will be in F). When I drop to GP (which I will in 07) I'm not sure I'll stick with US.... Suddenly UA is looking attractive out of RIC.