Originally Posted by
jimcfsus
Ok, what's the cheapest way to manipulate this? Anyone figure that out yet?
So, I'm confused...or maybe I just don't get it. Either is entirely possible!
If you find a way to get points without spending any money (which is inherently cool), you don't really screw US - you screw the partner that paid US for the miles, but you didn't pay anything to get them.
US wins
Sure, you get miles to add to your account, and it adds a liability to US becuase they have to (presumably) eventually make good on those miles.
US "loses"
But US controls their own award availability, and can tighten it up/change the number of miles needed to redeem as they see fit. So, really, they control the risk in redeeming miles and can screw the FF who needs to redeem on a certain date by either not having availability or by charging many more miles for the ticket than they used to.
US wins
The miles won't post until 12/12/08...so if you've spent money to get the miles, you've "invested" in something that, by the time you get it, (while it will still get your transportation) could realistically be worth less than when you bought it (like a car!
)
US wins
You won't get the miles until December, and the new fees for redeeming miles go into effect in August. SO, you're paying US
more money to use the miles that
someone else paid them to
give to you.
US wins again
SO, in the net analysis, you only stick it to US when you add a small number of miles to their total DM liability. In every other aspect of the transaction, they either get money or limit their continued mileage liability (by charging more miles for awards), and they come out ahead.
Also, I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I'm not really jonesing to fly on US at all -- for "free" or not. True, those miles can be used on *A partners, which I guess is really the only way to get US to pay for something (transportation) that they themselves aren't providing.
It just seems like this promo is designed to benefit US at every turn -- not the DM members who are using it.
And, to me, seems like a big negative overall...
My goal is to empty the DM account and close it, along with the Juniper card I have and be done with this airline for good.
What am I missing
NB: For those of you that are sticking with US for whatever reason, I hope you do well by this promo -- just beware of the potential downsides before spending money that you wouldn't normally spend to get the miles. YMMV
Cheers and safe travels!
Phil