Delta.

As an infrequent flyer (except on B6) , one way flights would be nice but better availability would be nicer . Its nice that I can fly on UA for 1/2 the miles on Continental . I think the airlines make more money selling the miles to the credit card companies than actually flying the plane.

Agreed, but that's why they add a reasonable surcharge to the one-way award that is still nevertheless below the full cost of the roundtrip award, so that the one-way reward cost 75% of the rt award, not 100%

Let me name a few more:

UA, US, BA, AF, AZ, SK, LH, LX, and so forth.

Of course, all this means is I can book a roundtrip reward on these carriers at the full cost and simply not fly the return leg, if I'm truly doing a one-way award. Or just rebook at a later time.

What's the difference?

One more note about this issue. It's really about giving the "house" every bit of advantage it can possibly wrench out of the players.

If one-way awards were exactly 50% of rt awards, then there would be no drop in value to either customer or company.

Fly one way and you'll pay half. Fly roundtrip and you'll pay full. What's the difference?

Of course, the house doesn't like to play nice, so if they're going to make it easier for players to spend their miles, they're going to--at the same time--make it harder for them to spend their miles.

In other words, customers are going to pay for the convenience of one-way awards.

Fair enough. That's capitalism baby. But 100%? Where's the incentive to the customer? Where?

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9630/4.7.1.40 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I actually do believe that the stopover benefit is quite closely tied to the one way option. Ask the AA folks if you disagree. They lost the vast majority of the stopover value when AA switched to one way rewards. Most of the other carriers you cited as offering one way awards also do not permit stopovers, including B6 and WN.

So while it doesn't have to be an either/or scenario (BD does still permit stopovers, for example) in most cases it actually is a choice of one or the other.

sbm, I deeply respect your intellect and your profound knowledge of the frequent flier game, which exceeds my own by a factor of many magnitudes.

But sometimes, honestly, I feel that you are afflicted with Stockholm Syndrome. In this case your captors are the airlines, and no matter how outrageous or wrong-headed their moves, you sympathize with them.

AA made this change, and only AA.

As you wrote, it is certainly not required, a priori.

B6 has one-way awards that are 50% of the round trip awards. Somehow, they seem to be able to survive, despite this show of generosity.

But there is one more question: Why would anyone book one of these so-called CO one-way rewards when they can spend the same number of miles to book a roundtrip?

If they're really just flying a one-way, they'll simply discard the return, or, if not, at least have the option of rebooking the return at a later date.

Why does CO believe that it is a good business practice to provide their customer with literally zero incentive?

Add a premium, sure. Make the one-way award 75% of the roundtrip, or even, let's say 90%. But you have to build in an incentive.

This type of tone-deaf policy, which has characterized the Kellner tenure, is not only clearly bad for the customer (who would want to buy a one-fer?) but, ultimately for the company, as well.

Making money isn't just about the numbers. There has to be a constant value equation and its concomittant incentives to the consumer.

Without these incentives, any company ends up doing worse off in the long run.

More Latin

Oh boy, now we're in trouble...

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry9630/4.7.1.40 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

It isn't just AA. Many carriers who offer one-way awards don't offer stopovers. In fact, I've named several of them.



And, like I said before, in the industry today most of the time it is a trade-off between one-way rewards or something else. The key is to walk in eyes wide open. I am not trying to romanticize CO's version of one way rewards. They are a joke. But it is also to foolish to evaluate one benefit in a vacuum without considering the other aspects of the program. If you prefer one way rewards CO is a bad choice, just like many others. If you prefer stopovers and entertainingly loose routing rules it is a good program.



I am presenting the facts and adding some personal commentary about what works for me or what I think the person is asking about. If you were to ask about CO where oneway rewards were important I'd tell you to go elsewhere because CO's scheme sucks for that. But it also has its upside. Of course it would be better if one way rewards were closer to one way prices, but I'm willing to accept that it might just not be possible in every case so I'll take my chances with what the actual options are rather than hoping that the perfect program shows up one day. And they are not always trying to play you for a fool.



But once you decide that they are out to get you it is hard for the paranoia to subside.

It's very simple. CO has a reasonably good stopover policy, which some others do not. Of course, some carriers have both stopeovers and one-way awards.

But what CO does not have is a one-way reward feature. That is nothing more than a semantic fallacy. Sure, they'll let you book one way on your roundtrip reward, but that's not the same thing.

And who would do that? Who? And why?

Might as well just start giving the miles back to CO for no reason. Here, Jim Compton, here's 200,000 miles. Hope you enjoy them. Let me know if you need more. Just call me and I'll fork 'em over to you.

Any rational person would book a roundtrip reward and then chuck the return or rebook for a later date...

What CO has is not a one-way award, it is a roundtrip award at half the value. And it is, unfortunately, a pattern of hyperbole at the airline, just like its "elite" seating zone which is quite literally nothing (you book a window seat as long as it's available, and we'll call it "elite" seating, as long as it's in the front of Y).

It is actually insulting and offensive that they have the unmitigated gall to call it a one-way award...

I agree that what they call a one-way reward has a pretty low value relative to the other rewards they offer. What I don't understand is why you are getting so worked up about it. They aren't out to get you. Or is the fact that they offer loose routing rules and free stopovers something that makes them "dupes" because they didn't catch on? They have their rules. Sure there are things that could work more in the customers' favor but overall they're pretty clear and there are a number of ways for the customers to win. Just not if you want a one-way reward. That doesn't mean the program sucks and it doesn't mean that they're out to take advantage of their customers. It just means that they don't offer one-way awards.

I'm still not clear on why you've decided to latch on to this as a great affront to the OnePass membership rolls. They've never openly advertised one way rewards or even really tried to publicize them or claim them as a feature of the program. Once when asked about them here an answer was given. I might actually be the only person who remember that post. Had I not repeated that here where would the outrage be directed?

And when taking an inventory of the various benefits of the programs out there, keep in mind that the number offering both stopover AND one-way is VERY small. Tiny. Those may be the best - and maybe not as the earning rules are different, too - but to suggest that CO is out to screw their customers because they don't offer a "true" one way reward is rather silly. Indeed, for someone who doesn't care not having to find a day with open seats for the return flight might be a nice thing to not have to spend more time on the phone dealing with. That wouldn't do much for me, but there are a lot of people out there in the world and I have no reason to believe that I know what's best for all of them.

No, it doesn't have a pretty low value, it has no value, no marginal value, that is, vis-a-vis the standard roundtrip reward.

I'm getting worked up about it because it's patently ridiculous.

Why would I fork over the same amount of miles for half the reward? There is no reason, since I can just acquire a roundtrip reward and either chuck the return or rebook my return for a later date.

If I go into a hotel and I'm offered the option of two nights for 10,000 Starwood points or one night for 10,000 Starwood points, which one do you think I will pick?

Anybody, in their right mind, given that option would first laugh it off as inane and insulting and then pick the two-night reward.

Where is there any value in a one-way reward at the same price as a roundtrip reward? Even if it were as much as 90% of the rt, there would be a little value (10%), but here there is zero marginal value.

It's just a semantic fallacy.

In the end, you're right, it's nothing, really. But what upsets more than anything else is that there are actually people at Smith Street cooking up this kind of nonsense and passing it off as programmatic value. And I'm also a little upset that someone as profoundly intelligent and knowledgeable as you even contemplates sticking up for such nonsense.

REVISED:

On second thought, the one-way award has not only no value, it actually has less value. Why? Again, since it is, for all intents and purposes, nothing more than a roundtrip award that only allows you to book one-way, this is a case where the company actually expects the customer to forfeit half their value for no reason whatsoever, since, for the same miles they can book a full roundtrip reward. If the customer decides not to fly the return leg, that's their choice. But with the one-way reward this is not even an option. This is a case where the company expects the customer to willingly forfeit their miles for no benefit in return.

I ask you again, who would do that and why? As you think about your answer, we can agree that someone who doesn't know better (aka a dupe) would do this, but I'm interested in who else would opt for this.

If you need a one-way premium reward you can get it at a discount by booking the return in Y. That will provide a discount.

Do you feel that the EasyPass scheme exists to fleece the customers, err, dupes? After all, who would pay double to get on a flight, right?

And, like I said last night, I do not think the folks at HQ are trying to make this sound like a great value. They do not advertise or publicize it at all. They're not encouraging folks to book this way. Most agents apparently are unaware of its existence. Sure, it happens to be an option in the computers for the customer who does need it. But CO isn't going out and trying to sell it as the best thing since sliced bread.

To your SPG "analogy" if I only need one night and that's the going rate then that's what I'd pay. Because that's what it costs. There is no rule that says the ratios have to be linear.

Your analogy doesn't work for me. If I only have the need or ability to stay one night then why would I pick two nights? The only reason would be if the two-night award was less points and there was no early departure penalty.

In your analogy I might laugh it off but I would not necessarily pick the two-night award. AND I am of right mind.