I was just wondering... Instead of taking away the full EQM from all passeneger who book deep discounted coach fares online, why not offer only to elites full EQM no matter what the fare class booking is and regardless the booking channel? ... kind of an incentive to keep elites with OnePass...


just my two cents...

-Vincent

No - my friend did not mention any other pearls of wisdom - and I did not really ask.

Many of you already know this - but I did not.

OP is run by marketing and NOT the OPSC. As the name implies, it is JUST a service center. ALL rules (as stupid and convoluted as they are) are made by Marketing - and then the poor souls have to solve them in the OPSC!

For example - the THOUSANDS of flight segments that did not post correctly for the first part of the year had to be MANUALLY inputed via an Excel spreadsheet by the folks in the OPCS to correct them. Can you imagine how unhappy this made those folks?

I wouldn't expect any announcement as such. Reality is the EQM bit is written in stone in the current elite guide-- thus, elite rules will remain unchanged from 2004 to 2005. It's just the co.com promotion that will expire-- just as every other 500 bonus or double mile promo quietly expires on the posted date.


I'm sad to see this happen, but to be frank, the writing was on the wall. This year, as a Plat, I have 2000 Elite miles-- a DCA-EWR-IAH where the agent was going to revoke the EWR-IAH 777 upgrade if I switched numbers. Luckily for me we were delayed an extra hour on the aircraft in EWR. Most comfortable delay I've had.

I think it's a great suggestion, and while discussing the EQM mess with a OPSC rep last month (even she was venting!), I suggested they consider grandfathering those of us who were elites before they announced the program change, and she really liked the idea. Not sure if the ones making the rules would ever consider this anyway.

Of note, I thought this article in USA Today was interesting and relevant:

Lowest fares cost business fliers elite status

Again, not sure if the ones making the rules even read the newspaper, let alone take this into consideration.

and think about how much money it cost them for all of that unnecessary labor! Add that to the cost of reprinting and resending the members guide when they screwed up the EQM chart--that must have cost thousands and thousands of dollars. who's running this thing?

Edited to add:
I don't understand why it matters what is written in the EQM guide...for those of us who flew CO from January-September 2003 to become an elite member or to renew our elite status, no one had bothered to tell us that starting in January '04 we'd only get 50% EQM for discount tickets. I think it's unwise to write any such rules in stone. Promotions may expire, but not always quietly---let us not forget that when the new EQM rules were first announced, the 100% EQM for online discount fares promotion was slated to expire June 30, 2004. Couple days later (probably after several angry phone calls and emails), the promotion was extended to 12/31.

Exactly !!!

Let's see more posts about status matches, even for us lowly Silvers. I'm more interested in AA and NWA, or anyone else who may actually fly out of InterContinental airport other than CO.

EmailKid

An interesting observation from that USA Today article...

It's only a matter of time before the major airlines respond to a loss of elite fliers, predicts Mitchell of the Business Travel Coalition.

They could lower mileage requirements so that more people can keep their status or consider letting members pay a fee to maintain it. They could also completely revamp the existing programs, he says.

"Before the majors figure out what to do, it means that some travelers are going to have less opportunity to upgrade," Mitchell says.

Michael Boult of travel consultants Eclipse Advisors says he doubts employers are going to give their travelers much sympathy, because companies pay for the tickets.

"The rush toward the lowest fares may have casualties," he says.

Given there is a real risk to traveling employees losing their status because of online booking tools or being pushed to discount carriers (the article is the first public discussion of it I have seen outside FT), I find it even more incredulous that CO would continue on a path to exclude existing loyal customers. The more I think about it, the more amazed I am at their thinking.

I do not believe that AA or NW will comp equivalent CO tier status. AA, however, will offer a Gold or Platinum Challenge for a short track route to elite status.

FewMiles Unofficial Guide to American Airlines AAdvantage would be an excellent starting place to read about AA's challenges.

In February AA comped Gold for my CO Platinum status, and then I made Platinum with a Platinum challenge. I've found AA to be a terrible airline though, so have flown less than 10,000 miles on AA, having returned almost entirely to CO.

Which self-respecting FFer would fly direct EWR-LHR anyway?

Seriously, I have been flying via IAD and often even via ORD (the fare isn't higher most of the time) or via RDU and ORD on AA. Consider that as a top tier on UA/AA, you will be flying BC at least 6/8 flights, can upgrade with miles easily and connecting through those airports give you more time to catch a good sleep on your BC seat.

Of course, if you were in 31" CO coach, you would want the shortest route!

There is very little benefit to flying CO internationally as an elite.

I would be careful about jumping to NWA until you know for sure they won't join the EQM bandwagon themselves. They just stopped awarded full credit for discounted DL tickets and I know there are some sweaty palms over at the NW board.

My suggestion is ignore the CO news for now, and let's see what kind of pressure DL puts on everyone with their big announcement this week. It is bound to stir up the pot and require a competitive response from other carriers...including CO, unless they are busy drinking their fancy kool-aid.

NW dropping the EQM on DL was to come in line with DL's policy. I guess they got tired of giving NW elites more for flying on DL than DL elites flying on DL were getting.

It is true that NWA MIGHT switch to 50% EQM at some point on some fares. We do not know that. NW also matched CO with 50% EQM on CO operated flights. I don't see NWA in a rush to give 50% EQM to their own elites on their own planes. NWA does seem to be the more customer friendly of the three.

I agree, and I really appreciate NW taking the stand against EQM on their own fares...but I would not want to jump ship just before the season during which programs updates are announced, only to get whipsawed by EQMs being rolled out at NW. I just think it's better to wait for the dust to settle after everyones' announcements and then have another look at the field to see where to go. It could be the only stand-up program left is AA...but I am so curious to see what DL has up its sleeves...program "simplifications" are the current buzz...let's see if MQMs go away over there, or 100% MQM fares become easily affordable.

Ugly rumors (From the Mars Hotel?)

I am in occasional contact the manager of Onepass. I have been told that the rumor posted at the top of this thread is untrue. Further, I am told that CO is seriously looking at extending the 100% EQM on Continental.com offer and that an announcement will be made in the next few weeks..

Well I appreciate your response and as moderator of this forum - I respect and believe your post.

However, I stand by what I posted above and what I was told. The person who told me said that the decision had been made.

Let's see what happens.