Am I missing something here? Got an email today about The Extra Mile Program where you can add OP miles for a nominal fee. Of course they cannot be used towards elite status, understandably. But I already have 120K OP miles (from AMEX MR) that I can't even take advantage of now...so what could I or anyone do with extra miles? It seems the only way to take advantage of OP is to fly more that 25k miles, and even then the rewards can be tough to come by.

...just another topping on the pizza.

Would you like fries with that?

fries with pizza? c'mon...

Just another Gordo trick to schmooze you out of your hard-earned dollars. As a reminder, airline miles are worth 1-2 cents/each. With CO that value is closer to 1c/mile, so if you want to buy 'the right' to some POSSIBLE miles, go ahead

'Work hard. Fly CO and we'll take all of that hard-earned money!'

I got the Extra Mile pitch today, but I didn't really understand what it was about.

The offer leads by saying that I will earn a fifty percent bonus on all paid flights next year, and then offers three levels. Each of the levels has a different cost and a different number of miles associated with it.

What does it all mean? Is the mile level associated with the level the limit on your Extra Miles earnings? That is what the structure of the chart suggests, but it doesn't jibe with the statement "earn miles on *every* paid flight between ...."

Can anyone explain this offer?

jh

I really hope this Extra Mile thing doesn't get too popular. Let's all remember that Bethune talked about charging people for different services, including FF miles. This may be a trial balloon to see how willing people are to pay for mileage programs. I hope this Extra Mile thing goes away because of lack of interest.

It was $ 99 last year for 10K +1K for online , it just a seasonal promotion to build loyalty - It's kust been expanded to three levels - Did it last year when I was building miles.

$.01 a mile is half of market { you must fly to earn the bonus} - Continetal miles are not easy to redeem.

My last redemption was 90,000 for a F/C domestic, however the ticket priced @ $3,400 which is $.038 mile, the same ticket was available in coach for $ 600 or 45000 miles which reduces the value to $.013

Let's say you will accrue 30,000 miles and you opt for the 15,000 program for $ 150 you are guaranted of getting a reward ticket - which may not happen with 30,000 miles (25,000/20,000).

It's not right for everyone. however there are certain circumstances it can resue miles that are destined to become orphan unless the traveler can be very flexible about dates.

With continental miles you need to pick and chose your redemption opportunities.

The immediate gratification of domestic upgrades comes at a cost. I will take the reduced future benifit of redemption in exchange for not dealing with SWU's of UAL or LUser fares on Delta

Would I have bought the $ 3,400 ticket, no, however it's for my wife who doesn't have status and flying separate from me.In this case it makes sense

FCDave:

Thanks for the info.

Are you saying that the 50% bonus applies until I reach the number of bonus miles in my Extra Miles level and then stops ( so if I was on the $150 level, I would get 15,000 after completing 30,000 flight miles, but not 20,000 after 40,000 flight miles)?

That is the way I understood the ad. However, it also claims:

"Make each flight 50% more rewarding.

Join The Extra Mile program -- now with three flexible options -- and earn a 50% mileage bonus with every paid flight from January 1 through December 31, 2003."

Since CO management is well known for their honesty and integrity, I though they might be telling the truth when they said the offer was for EVERY PAID FLIGHT. But, then why have three levels?

Although I am addicted to accumulating miles, the confusing (misleading?) presentation of the offer has turned me away from taking advantage of it.

jh

You understand it the way I understood it last year (haven't been solicited yet this year). The "Make each flight 50% more rewarding" should also include the words "Until you hit the maximum number of miles we'll dole out on this promo. Thanks for buying another topping."


[This message has been edited by xyzzy (edited 11-15-2002).]

In keeping with CO's known inability to make promotions crystal clear, this is just another example. It was done two years in a row about 4 years ago and it ment then, and I'm sure it means now, that you can oly earn a maximum of 15,000 miles for your $150.

The kicker was that in the original program, if you joined the first year, you got your 10K miles. You were then given an opportunity to join for the second year with no cap on earnings. I was not a member the first year, but did join the second year. After that the program was not renewed, so I did not get the unlimited opportunity I had speculated on. Alwasy beware when you read CO promotions. NW puts them to shame in promotions/marketing.

Seems like kind of a dumb promotion, as you can already buy miles (albeit at a higher price).

Also, it seems like anyone who would be able to take full advantage of this is already swimming in miles.

I've gotten this promo in the past and the earnings cap always made it very unattractive.

And you are right, when I was given the offer I was collecting so many miles from biz travel that buying more with out flying did not make any sense.

I have gotten the notices in the past and when I saw this posting wondered why not this year.

I went to the CO website and the offer is listed there. It clearly states that there is a cap on the miles you can earn under this program bases on teh $$$ you pay for the program.

Sorry to rehash an old item, but for my particular brand of CO travel the "Extra Mile" promo does not seem to be too bad. I already have two (2) cheap tickets booked for Q1 03 [SFO-IAH-MCO and SFO-EWR-BNA]. Total air miles for these trips is just above 10K. By paying Gordo's fifty dollar ($50.00) fee, I will pick-up 6,000 additional miles [5K for the promo and 1K for enrolling on-line]. If math is correct, the bonus miles come in at $0.83 per mile. I am open to critique here, but, assuming travel awards can actually be redeemed, this looks attractive.

You better check your math again.

MisterNice