Awards Auction
Jun 23, 1999, 12:36 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 540
Awards Auction
Does anyone else find the CP awards auction strange ?
See https://reservations.cdnair.ca/cgi-bin/cdn/auction/user.cgi?page=auction
According to this:
(2) 2 economy from Canada to Toronto went for 54,000 points. Worth: 50,000.
(3) 2 economy from Canada to LA went for 66,000 points. Worth: 50,000.
(4) 2 business from Canada to Vancouver went for 85,000 points. Worth: 60,000.
(5) 2 economy from Canada to Boston went for 61,000 points. Worth: 50,000.
The "worth" calculated above is even less if you have a Amex or RBC Visa and transfer
some points. Is there something here that I'm not getting in regards to this auction ?
It doesn't seem like a charity issue either ?
[This message has been edited by hsi.chang (edited 06-23-1999).]
See https://reservations.cdnair.ca/cgi-bin/cdn/auction/user.cgi?page=auction
According to this:
(2) 2 economy from Canada to Toronto went for 54,000 points. Worth: 50,000.
(3) 2 economy from Canada to LA went for 66,000 points. Worth: 50,000.
(4) 2 business from Canada to Vancouver went for 85,000 points. Worth: 60,000.
(5) 2 economy from Canada to Boston went for 61,000 points. Worth: 50,000.
The "worth" calculated above is even less if you have a Amex or RBC Visa and transfer
some points. Is there something here that I'm not getting in regards to this auction ?
It doesn't seem like a charity issue either ?
[This message has been edited by hsi.chang (edited 06-23-1999).]
Jun 23, 1999, 8:41 pm
#2
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Posts: 6,222
I thought it strange when I first saw it as well. But you hit the nail on the head: All points received from the auction are dontated to charity. So I guess some have extra points they want to unload. If it was me however, I'd simply buy the award I wanted, then donate the remainder, if I was so inclined. I suppose there might be an element of "fun" as well.
Regards,
Ken Hamer
Regards,
Ken Hamer
Jun 24, 1999, 7:32 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 540
I too thought it was charity related, but cannot find any references of it on the
page. The only advantage that comes to mind is that the ticket is not capacity controlled
in the same manner as "regular" CPlus awards. Fun, yes, but what a waste of points.
page. The only advantage that comes to mind is that the ticket is not capacity controlled
in the same manner as "regular" CPlus awards. Fun, yes, but what a waste of points.
Jul 16, 1999, 9:58 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 540
Mindboggling.
According to https://reservations.cdnair.ca/cgi-bin/cdn/auction/user.cgi?page=auction&seq=64
The highest bid is 60K points. This trip can be booked for a measly 30K points, and also comes up as a Web Special often (Nortel shuttle ?). There must be something more to it than this. I wonder if some people are using bogus CPlus accounts to drive up the bidding and when they're invalidated, the winning bid is actually the next lowest valid bid, which could be significantly lower.
According to https://reservations.cdnair.ca/cgi-bin/cdn/auction/user.cgi?page=auction&seq=64
The highest bid is 60K points. This trip can be booked for a measly 30K points, and also comes up as a Web Special often (Nortel shuttle ?). There must be something more to it than this. I wonder if some people are using bogus CPlus accounts to drive up the bidding and when they're invalidated, the winning bid is actually the next lowest valid bid, which could be significantly lower.
Jul 17, 1999, 9:55 am
#5
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Half the World & More and then some.
Programs: BA, SQ, AA, QF, CX, VS
Posts: 1,202
Have any of you ever donated points to charity before? It's for a good cause. It's not for Canadian's benefit.
Jul 19, 1999, 8:45 am
#6
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Canada
Programs: AC SE 2MM, HH Dd, SPG; IC Pl/A; AA; DL
Posts: 14,321
Yes but not through the airline. I give my awards directly to the charity of my choice. As Elite this was not a problem. I did it on Canadian (when I was elite) and have done it also on Air Canada). It has saved the charities thousands of dollars in mid-week flight expenses.
Jul 19, 1999, 9:30 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 540
C340: Have yet to come across references that the award auction is for the benefit of any charity.
Jul 19, 1999, 12:09 pm
#8
Suspended
Join Date: Mar 1999
Location: Half the World & More and then some.
Programs: BA, SQ, AA, QF, CX, VS
Posts: 1,202
Just referring to what KenHamer said.
Jul 19, 1999, 1:52 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: May 1999
Posts: 540
Rules for the award can be found at http://www.cdnair.ca/eng/cpi/01discover/maing2.html
No mention of any charity.
There is definetly something fishy going on here, referring back to my original post,
referencing http://www.cdnair.ca/eng/cpi/01discover/maing2.html
(2) Went for 47K instead of 54K
(3) Went for 46K instead of 66K
(4) Went for 60K instead of 85K
(5) Went for 42K instead of 61K
In three out of these four cases, the "winning" bid is lower than the value. I still believe that some people rig this auction by entering a high bid from an CPlus account that doesn't have, but discouraging others from continuing to bid. CP should change this to a blind bidding process, or perform an on-line points verification and "hold".
No mention of any charity.
There is definetly something fishy going on here, referring back to my original post,
referencing http://www.cdnair.ca/eng/cpi/01discover/maing2.html
(2) Went for 47K instead of 54K
(3) Went for 46K instead of 66K
(4) Went for 60K instead of 85K
(5) Went for 42K instead of 61K
In three out of these four cases, the "winning" bid is lower than the value. I still believe that some people rig this auction by entering a high bid from an CPlus account that doesn't have, but discouraging others from continuing to bid. CP should change this to a blind bidding process, or perform an on-line points verification and "hold".