Originally Posted by Marathon Man
A general but somewhat related concern indeed. And I think it's a valid one. Ok, so someone got busted selling awards/miles. I think one thing, someone else thinks another. If you were the airlines, what would you do about it or how would you make it so they dont even need to or want to break that law? Would be interesting to take that tact here, if anyone cares to chime in and expand on it all.
It does relate and as you can tell, it's a passionate subject to many...
I WANT them to fix it. I want them to make me not want to "screw them" but in ways where I don't feel bullied into that mindset.
There is a point there. The airlines are making lots of lucrative money in selling miles to various merchants and all who distribute them to us through various promotions. Thus the airlines have already been paid for the miles.
But with huge amounts of miles "out there" and more being created far faster than they are being spent--many would say faster than we are being allowed to spend--they are creating a frustrating situation where people have gobs of miles and they are being prevented from spending them.
I spent gobs of miles on three business class tickets to Asia and Australia for my parents and myself, but I also had to spend literally two hours a night for a full six weeks, reading off my lists of routing possibilities over the phone to international desk TAs, trying to find routings that had business award availability for three. While it took up a lot of their reps' time, it took up all that of my own time and more (as I searched routings and time-tables to assemble convenient lists for the reps to check). How many of those experiences does it take before the enthusiasm starts to wane? And I don't fly all the time for business and so am not already worn down having to deal with airlines on a weekly basis already, seeking re-routings past irregular ops and such.
It doesn't take that many premium service awards to make fast inroads on accumulated FF miles, but the award seats have to be available in a time frame that works for people trying to plan a vacation (months to nearly a year ahead so guaranteed lodging can be arranged for also), rather than withholding award seats until a couple weeks, or days, or even mere hours before departure.
I don't agree with the selling of miles/awards, but it is true that people will find a way around barriers--that's human nature. So if there are barriers to the efficient expenditure of miles by individuals, they will find another way to expend them, including ways to convert them to cash so as to be able to buy the seats the airlines wouldn't make available as awards. It's "not efficient" (as well as "not allowed"), but if the choice is between "not efficient" and "not happening", there will always be some who will chance the "not allowed" while accepting the "not efficient" choice as still better than "not happening".
Steve