<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by NJDavid:
WARNING! DANGER! HOT BUTTON ISSUE!
In order to get me and thousands of other high paying business travelers to fly them, airlines (like CO) give us "currency" for use on their airline at a future time. This currency (Frequent Flyer Miles) is NO DIFFERENT from using cash to pay for seats. I assign it the value that the airline tells me it is worth when they use it to entice me to fly them in the first place (use for free tickets, upgrades, perks, all redemptions listed in table form in marketing literature).
Now CO (unlike EVERY OTHER AIRLINE) says "hold on there now...you can't expect us to just give you the seat, upgrade, whatever if you're not paying for it!!!!! " I AM PAYING - WITH YOUR DA*M CURRENCY!!! THE ONE YOU TOLD ME COULD BE USED FOR THE VALUABLE REWARDS ON YOUR DA*M TABLE!!!!!!
The other airlines treat the use of this currency much more like...well currency, paid for just the same as cash. CO however uses a bait and switch mentality - like trying to spend their currency on their airline is some sort of privelage we should beg for, subject to unreasonable (by other airline standards) demands like double mile "extortion pass" redemptions, Saturday night stay requirements, 30 day rules, 72 hour rules, Bend Forward rules, HoKeY fares, etc. Total bait and switch. They claim that they can't be as flexible as the rest of the industry, because they are smaller, then they claim that they reallllyyyyy want the high revenue passengers that these lying policies drive to other airlines where the bait and switch does not exist. On AA, UA, even Southwest for gosh sakes, if there's a seat, you can use their "currency" for a ticket / upgrade.
To show the effects of this in real time, just look at how many frequent flyers are transferring their CO miles to Amtrack then to UA to get unrestricted international rewards - not to mention how many people have left CO entirely for AA, UA etc.
Don't tell me I'm not "paying" for my seat / upgrade when I'm using miles. I am paying with the currency the liars in Houston have set-up. They're just not keeping their part of the bargain.
[This message has been edited by NJDavid (edited 10-27-2002).]</font>
Actually, most airlines (CO included), will tell you that they retain ownership of this "currency" and that they allow you to use it at their discretion. They reserve the right to modify or suspend their programs (in CO's case after six month notice). The points and the program belong to CO and it can be as capricious as it like in doling out rewards.
Perhaps CO could do a better job of telling the public what their chances are of obtaining benefits under the restrictions of the program. However, the question still remains why you, or anyone else, who is familiar with the way that CO administers this program and disagrees with it, would continue to participate in it.
It took years of therapy, but I finally learned that I couldn't walk through walls or closed doors. If you want I can give you a few phone numbers. :-)
jh