why does everyone hate OnePass so much?
 

i hope i am not starting trouble, but i would like to know why everyone hates onepass. Yes, i do realize the recent changes are terrible, but maybe im missing something.

Since the "enhancements" ive been considering swtiching my business to AA or DL. DL's terrible, so AA was muy logical 1st choice. it seems that in terms of free upgrades CO, NW and HP have them all beat.

just would like to know what you all thought, and if anyone that has left, is truly happier with their choice.

Well, I can only speak for myself, but firstly let me say I don't hate Onepass or Continental.

What I hate includes some of the following *behaviors* of OP and CO - without these issues, I would consider my CO experience to be near perfect.

* having to jump through ridiculous hoops to redeem my miles at published rates
* having to dial around to a half dozen different agents to find out who knows what is going on, undestands the rules or has the slightest inclination to help me
* having to figure out a convoluted series of program rules that only Dr. Robert Oppenheimer could understand
* behind the scenes secret tinkering to make sure that certain passengers receive or do not receive published benefits according to a mysterious non-published logic
* many front-line agents who need a reminder that Elite members represent an important piece of the bottom line which keeps them employed, so they should think twice before treating us like something they found on the bottom of their shoe
* making any customer who didn't pay full Y feel like a cheap bum who should be sitting in cargo
* a coach class that was designed to fly a planeload of munchkins in comfort
* a negative attitude towards elite customers who fly on mixed or lower fares, like our money has no value or we should be discarded as customers
* the worst international upgrade program around - unless extortion and gambling are considered good things
* modifying the fleet to reduce the number of available FC seats so that there are only enough upgrades for high fare Elites or just enough to sell to full Y passengers - thereby removing a core benefit without having to say you removed or changed it

Personally, if I had to start over, I would fly NW or AA. If I flew 100,000 miles per year, I would now choose AA handsdown - unlimited free domestic upgrades, easy international upgrades, easy award redemption, dedicated agents for Elites, etc. etc...AA wins hands down.

If I could only manage 75,000 miles, then I would choose NWA.

In the air, CO offers a pretty fair product, relative to the other domestic carriers. Despite typical ground delays for being a EWR-based flyer (no fault of CO's), CO offers me a good, reliable in-flight experience on aircraft that are relatively new, and more often than not, clean. I don't rely on an airline to feed me or entertain me better than I can reasonably expect to feed or entertain myself, which is why I always make my own sandwich (even when traveling up front) and travel with my laptop or iPod. That written, I don't love OnePass as a loyalty program.

I guess I could cut and paste what bocastephen outlined, because I pretty much agree with everything that he wrote, and roughly in the order that he wrote them. I really dislike the fact that it is sport to try to redeem my miles at Standard levels. I don't always love the fact that I have to do a lot of the research (ahead of time) to redeem my miles. As a group, I think that FlyerTalkers are a pretty sophisticated group when it comes to program rules and how to search for availability and such with partners, so it must be very trying being a casual flyer who just wants to use his/her miles for a family vacation twice a year. This person might not always think to ask for partner flights, and the OP representatives are not as forthcoming as one might hope; they generally offer seats at EasyPass levels, rather than finding partners seats, which seem to have better availability to begin with. I have earned a lot of miles (in-seat) to use for reward travel, and everytime I try to use them, I have to (as bocastephen wrote) jump through hoops.

I can live with a lot of the other blemishes OP offers, but the inability to use my miles at Standard levels (while being beyond flexible with my dates) is a point of contention.

Continental is a good domestic airline. OnePass is an inferior loyalty program.

As far as this part of the question goes, from what I've seen, few if any people who have left CO for AA have been unhappy with their choice-- I can't think of a single example here-- but there must be a few. However the vast, vast majority of people who have left CO for AA share the one, single regret that I have-- I'm sorry I waited so long to leave.

That having been said, it's a pretty informed bunch on FT, so, if someone leaves an airline, they probably already have a pretty good reason and therefore are unlikely to regret the choice. In my case it was over as soon as they implemented the international upgrade policies. Left soon thereafter, and never for a second regretted the decision. From what I see on the AA board, all of the former CO fliers are very satisfied with the move to AA-- most are ecstatic to be done with OnePass and it's duplicity.

You shouldn't leave just for the sake of leaving, obviously-- or because other people have, etc.

I'd have to agree with what bocastephen wrote. In general I think airlines should tell it like it is with regard to program changes. They should not lie to customers. They need to just tell us what the rules are and we'll be happy to follow them. Instead, CO seems to try to obfuscate things as much as possible. Announcing with great fanfare the arrival of the fancy blue EliteAccess carpets one day and silently introducing 50% EQM the next is a perfect example. Alas, it is but one among many .

CO has a generally good product (31" seat pitch aside). It needs to stop treating its customers like the enemy.

Maybe I'm the wrong person to respond here - I don't *hate* OnePass - after all, we go back 13 years - but I thought I might share a few reflections after having defected from OnePass (Gold) to Mileage Plus (Premier Executive). I'm a UK-based discount Y traveler, who prefers US FF programs for the domestic upgrades but who obviously appreciates any perks I might get on the way over there (and elsewhere). Now that I've left, I almost cannot comprehend why I stayed with CO for so long. They give you *nothing* as an Elite in transoceanic Y, apart from the Elite check-in and the privilege to sit in front of Economy (in the same seats). With UA, I get that, plus free lounge access, plus six more inches in Economy Plus, plus free booze onboard. Granted, within the US, UA don't give you free domestic upgrades. On the other hand, neither does CO these days - they don't charge for it, but you're unlikely to get it. I can't deny, however, that what I'll really miss when my Elite status expires in a year's time is the virtually guaranteed upgrades on NorthWest. However, another huge difference is traveling within Europe. With CO, I was obliged to stick with KLM, whose service is now the worst in the business. It's been such a pleasure of late to reacquaint myself with carriers such as British Midland, SAS, and Lufthansa, who treat you to a decent meal with whatever you wish to drink with it. With Lufthansa, as *A Gold, I'm even finding myself treated better when traveling within Europe than their full-fare Business Class customers, who have to make due with the Business Class Lounges, whilst I'm being invited to sip champagne in the First Class lounges. So in a way I'm grateful to CO for eviscerating the Elite qualification rules - I haven't enjoyed flying for a very long time as much as I have so far this year!

thanks for the feedback. im still considering switching to AA. i guess my problem is that im not a big mileage redeemer, nor do i travel internationally more than once or twice a year.

i like getting the free upgrades (however nerve racking it may be) which AA doesnt really offer, so i think CO might still be the one for me.

seems that if I'm not buying a full price ticket (ok or at least a non-deep discounted ticket) that they don't value my business.....unfortunately I can't and shouldn't have to pay more to have my business valued (which NWA fully understands)

If CO's route-map fits your needs-- and with no significant international travel--and if you're getting your upgrades-- and if you'll still be elite with the new EQM scheme-- there's really no reason for you to consider switching to AA.

However, keep an eye on fares; if by some chance AA is cheaper than CO on the flights you take, AA just significantly lowered the cost of domestic upgrades, so it can even out. Other than that, no reason to leave CO in your case, IMHO.

I’m in a similar situation. I have been CO elite for many years (excluding a 4 year switch to UA in the mid 90’s). In the past I have usually been Gold or Platinum, but this year I find myself only a lowly silver. I have done 4 round trips on AA so far this year but I still have not decided what to do. My first problem was not reading the FlyerTalk AA board and learning about the Elite challenge until it was too late, so I have been flying AA without any status. This is what I have observed so far:

• CO is the only airline that can offer me a Newark hub. As a New Jersey resident this is a difficult one to get past. The drive to JFK without traffic is only about 30-40 minutes more than EWR, but there is ALWAYS some idiotic problem on the Belt Parkway… ALWAYS.
• The AA terminal at JFK is a dismal unpleasant place. The AA terminal at O’Hare is an annoying crowded place with long lines and slow security. The only AA terminal I have enjoyed so far is the one at Long Beach, CA.
• AA mysteriously canceled one of my flights from EWR to ORD on a Saturday morning. They made no announcement at the gate. I only noticed when I checked the departure screen. They finally made an announcement about 20 min before original departure time (after all alternate flights had left). Since the plane was coming from Chicago… you’d think they would have a bit more info. There were still only 34 people on the F100 flight 2 hours later – so I can’t help but suspect the reason for the cancellation. I can not recall the last time CO cancelled one of my flights.
• My transcon flights to Long Beach and San Jose were on LRTC 757s. The only thing about the flight that was an improvement over CO was a better movie and cheaper headsets (Not the usual inane romantic comedy that CO plays).
• The F100s I had to Chicago were pretty run down. These planes would not pass any white glove test.
• Many of my flights were late. Even out of EWR I have found CO to be pretty reliable and they seem to try and get planes out on time. AA seemed uninspired in this regard.
• AA NEVER made any announcements when there were delays.
• AA food was dismal.

So my experience with AA has not been very impressive so far. But even so, I’m still considering making the switch. My biggest problem with CO is their push to reward higher fares. I think this will cause more and more problems as expense account flyers are faced with trying to book more expensive fares to keep their perks. This creates a conflict of interest that over time could even cause businesses to not allow employees to keep their miles. AA is doing some of this too… but CO is leading the pack.

Perhaps I should try NW or UA… I don’t know…

The only aircraft that were modified were 9 757-300's. First class was reduced from 24 to 12 seats, thus a decline of 108 FC seats on that aircraft type. These planes are used mostly on low-yield leisure routes, and yes, they occassionally show up on other routes. To say that the 'fleet' has been modified is a bit of a stretch. It was only 9 aircraft. Furthermore, plans are to increase seats on the 737-800's from 14 to 18, a plan that has been put on hold due to the state of the industry as it costs around $1 million per aircraft to do this. When and if this increase modification starts, it will add around 250 FC seats. I can understand you other points, but I think that saying the fleet FC has been reduced is unfair.

at this point, dont all the majors work thier FF programs to reward higher yield customers. it seems like all of them get you when you choose a discount fare or by flying on a partner or codeshare flight.

I was Plat on AA for two years, and had a number of low-passenger flights "mysteriously" cancelled also. So far on Continental I have had NO flights cancelled (this is my 3rd year as a Plat).

Hmmmmmm...

Not AA-- AAdvantage has a set-up that rewards you if you do happen to buy expensive tickets but doesn't punish you if you don't. 25,50,100K miles-- on any fare class-- will get you Gold, Plat, ExecPlat. Soooooo simple.

Partner issues are the same-- or actually worse, maybe, on AA if you fly on deep discount fares-- some deep discount fares on OW partners yield little or no mileage. But on AA, and all AA #'d codeshares, ALL miles count.

Coincidence with your timing, actually. Pre-9/11 this was a major problem on a lot of carriers. After 9/11 and frequencies were cut, they couldn't get away with it, as the inconvenience to pax would be worse, so they don't do it anymore (except AS, but that's another story).


[This message has been edited by channa (edited Mar 22, 2004).]