Originally Posted by
mikeef
I'm guessing all the information is out there already and that the partners know exactly what is going on, not to mention US Airways. There's a trade-off to be made on their part, of course, which is a potential new customer versus the marketing cost of participating, since I don't know if US Airways is passing along part of the bill to them during the promo. Bloggers were likely more influential on the "accidental hits," i.e., I don't think AR trivia was meant to be a hit, but that's part of the price they pay.
I don't see an end to the program per se, since it's likely profitable for everyone involved in the end. But I do think that US continues to tighten up the rules.
Mike
ETA: For those of you who really want to thank Beltway, use him as a referral for the SPG Amex if you are at all thinking about getting it. I have it and it's my go-to card, particularly since 20K points equals 25K airline miles.
That's a good thought for
beltway who put in a lot of effort that helped me understand the many options.
My concern about the publicity stems from the very limited nature of this promo. This is a promo that specifically seems designed with the FF public in mind. I saw no MSM-type advertising. I think many non-FT frequent flyers may have simply tossed the materials advertising this promo. Everything else advertising this promo seemed to be through the US website and the websites of most of its partners. I'm sure US and its partners have a target for the amount of participation on which they've based their assumptions about costs, etc.
Widespread publicity, such as an article in the Wall Street Journal or New York Times, would likely skew numbers for the entire promo in such a way that US and its partners would take a big hit that's not likely to be tweaked away the following year.
I don't want this promo to go away, believe me. On September 1, I stood at 0 US miles. At the end of this promo, and with 36 hits and a successful application for the Barclay's US card, I'll have 160K. Back in the 1980s and 90s when I regularly flew US out of ORF for work, I earned approximately 125K in total.
I am definitely a happy camper!