Hi Everyone, here's a sneak preview of our 2010 OnePass changes, which we'll be broadcasting later today. Hopefully you'll agree that a good many of these changes are actually, dare I say, enhancements!
While most of our 2010 changes actually take effect in 2009, please note their individual effective dates. Here they are:
- OnePass Platinum and Gold = Star Alliance Gold. This is old news for many of you, but nonetheless, it’s an important Elite benefit improvement. Effective Oct. 27, OnePass Platinum and Gold Elite members will be entitled to Star Alliance Gold privileges with Continental and our 24 Star Alliance member carriers. This includes access to over 800 lounges worldwide when traveling on an international Star Alliance itinerary (regardless of your class of service), up to three complimentary checked bags, and priority airport services including check-in, baggage handling and early boarding with all Star Alliance member airlines. If you are an Elite member, you will receive a new membership card by late Oct., which will reflect your Star Alliance elite level
- Same-Day Change fees will be waived for Platinum Elite members. Yes, that’s right, free. Platinum Elite members will be eligible to confirm and stand by for same-day flight changes for no charge. This will apply to tickets purchased on or after Oct. 1
- No more Elite upgrades on Northwest Airlines. This is probably not a surprise for many of you. Effective Oct. 1, our reciprocal Elite upgrade privileges will end with Northwest. Also, on a related note, Northwest has already terminated their Elite companion upgrade program for Continental Elite members
- Full Elite Qualification is back. Effective Oct. 27, you’ll earn 100% Elite Qualification Miles and full Elite Qualification Points on discounted fares, regardless of where they’re purchased. To all of our loyal corporate travelers: message received
- Partner earning changes. Effective Oct. 27, Elite mileage bonuses, Elite Qualification Miles, and Elite Qualification Points will no longer be offered on flights operated by Emirates, Eva Air, Kingfisher, Hawaiian Airlines, Island Air, Amtrak and US Helicopter
- Better Elite bonuses on short-haul flights. Effective Oct. 27, Elite bonuses will be based on the 500 minimum mileage earned instead of the actual miles flown. This falls into the “every little bit counts” category
- Front cabin earning changes. Effective Jan. 1, 2010, members will earn 125% base miles on F, C, J and D fares (instead of 150%). Also on this date the Elite Qualification for F, C, J, D, Z, Y and B will be 1.5 Elite Qualification Points (instead of 2) and the Elite Qualification Miles earned will be 150%. These changes will apply to all OnePass members worldwide for travel on Continental
- BusinessFirst upgrade reward co-pays eliminated for B class fares. Effective Oct. 27, 2009, the $100 BusinessFirst upgrade co-pay for B fares will be eliminated
- New reward charts. Effective Oct. 27, we’ve made several changes to our reward charts. Some reward amounts have increased, but just as many have decreased. But there’s much more than that. There are new region definitions, we’ve added our Star Alliance partners (including three-cabin First Class rewards), and just as important, we have reward charts that are easy to understand. We hope these changes will help you put your hard-earned miles to good use. Our new online reward charts won’t go live until late Oct., but in the mean time, take a look at our new OnePass Travel and Upgrade Reward Quick Reference. Enjoy!
- Saturday night stay eliminated for all OnePass rewards. The Saturday night stay requirement, which previously applied to our domestic SaverPass rewards, will be eliminated Oct. 27
- New and mostly-improved reward fees. Starting in Dec., our fees for reward redeposits, reward changes and close-in reward bookings will be made consistent, and they will be charged per person instead of per reservation. The good news is the amounts themselves are the same or lower than we have today, and they get even lower as your Elite level elevates. All three fees will be $75 for general members, $50 for Silver Elite members, $25 for Gold Elite members and free for Platinum Elite members. And yes, OnePass travel reward changes outside of 21 days of travel will remain free of charge if there is no change to the origin or destination. These new fees will apply to rewards ticketed (or reissued) on or after Dec. 15.
That’s it for now. I’m sure you have plenty of questions, so let ‘em rip! There’s more goodness to come, but this is all we can talk about for now. Thanks as always for your feedback and tough love. It really does make a difference.