Disagree completely. While the focus of the FF program will always be on the mother carrier, every FF that is part of an alliance is effective competition as you can cross earn.

Well they said the same about AC.

But the point is that UA is in significantly worse condition than AC is in.

And there is massive consolidation going on in the industry. Even LH doesn't have that much confidence in UA. But I guess you don't remember that they bought a nice chunk of JetBlue.

I do not get worked up at all. But wrong is wrong, whether other airlines are also doing it or not.

Fly 100K miles and we'll give you an SE status. But when you get the SE status, I'll tell you what benefits we'll grant you.

We're talking business/consumer relations here not human rights. It is neither a privilege nor a right, it is a contractual and promotional matter about earning customer loyalty. If enough people get mad, it fails; if enough people are happy or don't care, it succeeds.

While I would agree this is true for perhaps 90% of FFs, it is not if you are purely a domestic AC traveller. Then you're pretty much stuck. UA 1K isn't going to give you squat if you're just within Canada.

I just got an e-mail from United announcing "2009 program changes‏"... Interesting changes for sure.
So, Air Canada should be soon to follow.

I see your point in that airlines keep on saying they will make announcements on significant changes to their programs at the end of the "qualifying year" for next year.

But generally speaking, it's no different than any other loyalty program out there, such as Via Rail, hotels, car rental companies, Chapters, Air Miles, and even credit card companies. You participate in their loyalty program with the assumption of status quo and any changes in the future will hopefully not adversely affect you.

But regardless, you are always at their mercy regardless of loyalty program. So let's not over exaggerate this. It's just that for airlines, hotels, car rental companies, etc., you know of when changes will be made. For others, you don't know.

Let's post those changes here and people can make up their minds on how many many improvements have been made to UA's program.

I'll do the honours of posting the e-mail that I got.

---

The changes to the Mileage Plus program for 2009 will reward our premium customers with highly competitive benefits, while responding to increased demand for United's new international first- and business-class cabins.

Please keep reading for a brief overview of each program change, then visit united.com for FAQs and details.

Restoration of 500-mile minimum accrual for elite members

Our elite members are the cornerstone of the Mileage Plus program. To reward these members and allow them to requalify for their benefits more quickly, the 500-mile minimum accrual on United flights will be restored for elite members effective January 1, 2009.

This policy change will be applied retroactively to flights between July 1, 2008, and December 31, 2008. For elite members who flew United flights of less than 500 miles during that timeframe, all affected mileage balances and bonuses and earned upgrades will be adjusted by the end of the year to ensure that your elite status is correct for 2009. Please see united.com for full details.

Mileage awards

Mileage Plus continues to offer members more awards to popular destinations. In fact, through August members redeemed 12% more awards in 2008 than in 2007. Also, United continues its policy of no fuel surcharges on award tickets. However, changes will be made to award levels on January 1, 2009. Note that our most popular Saver and Standard awards within the continental United States will stay the same, but other routes and classes will change.
View revised Saver, Standard and partner award charts.

Upgrade awards

As United continues to introduce the new international first and business class, which include lie-flat seats and other enhancements, demand has increased. To ensure that the upgrades adequately reflect the value of a first- or business-class seat, we are generally reducing the mileage requirements and will be collecting a co-pay when miles are redeemed to upgrade an Economy ticket. This change will be effective for upgrade awards requested on or after July 1, 2009.

The co-pay amount will depend on the origin and destination cities, as well as the type of ticket purchased. If you upgrade from a higher fare class, your co-pay will be lower or even non-existent. Upgrade awards from Business to First will not require a co-pay.

And to ensure that all Mileage Plus members have a chance to experience the new international first and business class, beginning July 1, 2009, all paid international Economy-class tickets can be upgraded with miles and a co-pay. Currently, only select Economy classes can be upgraded internationally.

Please visit united.com for details about these changes, including helpful FAQs and examples.

Thank you for choosing United and Mileage Plus.

Sincerely,

Graham Atkinson
President, Mileage Plus

Oh, and the link: http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6722,52895,00.html.

So no fuel surcharges, but higher "reward levels" and the need to pay both cash and points for upgrade awards.

Airlines are starving for cash to stay in business. Pick your poison.

But you can collect points on UA/US/soon CO/BD/LH etc. and use them on AC domestic flights, etc., and that's the point.

And for those referring more broadly, then you have WS and Air Miles or Porter and VIPorter or Via and Via Preference. But don't start up with that crap of not having domestic competition. You also always have the choice of making your own FFP and just fly the cheapest always. Vote with your wallet and pick your poison.

Sometimes that's true, but with many programs they give you notice of changes in time to cash out if nothing else. For example, when Sears dropped their optimal cash-out rate, they sent a mailer.

And in fact BA gave almost a year's notice of changes to redemption rates, plenty of time to (a) book tickets, and (b) decide if we wanted to continue collecting with them.

=aw

Actually not close, I can't post any details for obvious reasons but I hope others don't get misled by your post that we are going to gut the program like you said above, because we don't have any plans to.

Well I made it pretty clear those were "my expectations."

In any case, are you saying that unlike the past 8 years where there have been significant cuts each and every year, that this year there will be no cuts?

A couple of "overlooked" details.

1. Unlike Air Canada which normally announces changes of this nature after they have already occurred and usually only after someone "discovers" them when they are denied the benefit, UA has chosen to announce the change 8 months in advance.

2. For upgrades, the number of points required is being reduced.

3. The requirement for a co-pay is eliminated for higher fares, and for J to F upgrades.

4. While AC claims not to have a co-pay, in effect they do. The difference is that with UA (and most other US carrier programs) is that you only need to "co-pay" if you actually get your upgrade. With AC you need to prepay the effective co-pay by purchasing a higher (sometimes much higher) fare, and then cross your finger and hope you can get upgrade space.

5. Other airlines offer miles/points upgrades, so that even if they do charge a co-pay, they are offering something that AC does not, while they still offer certificate/sticker upgrades, and in many cases offer unlimited, free, and sometimes from any fare upgrades to their most frequent fliers.