Originally Posted by
artemis
I'm sure there's some folks out there with entitlement issues. But I look at it from this perspective: if UA is going to devalue their ff program in ways that make it nearly useless to me (because there's no way UA is going to be releasing more Saver J and F space on their own metal to make up for the loss of partner availability), why should I bother dealing with UA at all? I can put my spend on a cash-back card and get something back that is actually useful, and when I want to fly internationally I can book a revenue business class ticket on another carrier that offers a superior product and avoid the hassles of booking award tickets entirely.
If UA wants to emulate Delta's SkyPesos, it needs Delta's level of hub captives and (more importantly) Delta's quality of service. Right now it doesn't have either.
Agreed. Mercifully I am not a hub captive (Chicago and NYC based). UA used to offer me a better deal for my spend because I like international F *A redemption for vacations. Now AA and OW are a better deal for me. Maybe AA will go the AAdvantagePeso route as well but for now they represent a better deal for me.
Originally Posted by
smilee
This is terrible news.
I blame the power of a such a large super merged company to have the power to flex its muscles like this on the consumer. Just wait until the AA and US Airways merger, things are just going to get worse.
The US Government should do something about blocking such super large corporations.
Agree. We went for six to four flag carriers in the last five years. I'm quite glad the DoJ is fighting the AA/US merger as competition is good for consumers. Look to the failed AT&T/T-Mobile merger as a model. T-Mobile is now offering incredible deals right now to attract customers (great pricing, free international 2G roaming, very attractive international calling rates, no early cancellation fees). I hope the AA/US merger fails and AA takes the same customer friendly approach to survive and prosper.
Originally Posted by
FlytheTail
I don't know which is worse:
This new UA award chart is a potential game-changer and will force many of us to re-evaluate our preferred carrier.
This is a game changer for me as well. AA and OW work for my travel pattern. I like the sheer number and variety of *A carriers, but now AA is a better value for me as I value international F travel on award redemption.