Co-star
 

So, I know this has been talked about in the past, and I have read comments on why one should care if they are a CO-Star or not. Well the truth be told, I do care...I fly CO a lot, and want to be recognized for this.

So, enough of the intro. Over the weekend I flew to SAN. As I boarded the flight the GA ran my BP through the reader, and up on the screen it read "STAR" - however, on board the flight, as the FA was gathering meal orders i noticed on the manafest she was using there were stars next to a few passenger's names - but not mine...she informed me that these were CO-Stars :confused:

So what's the deal my fellow Continental FF's

How do you know if you are a CO-Star or not?

When you are in Y and are allowed to use the FC restroom, you are a CO :-: .

BTW, the whole "co-stars get first choice of meal in F" is simply not true. No idea where that started...

(BTW, I am only referrring to domestic, no idea about int'l)

OK guys. top 10 ways to know you're a CO STAR while in Y...

1. If you get the whole can of soda without asking.

2. Bathroom attendants

I'm a STAR and that doesn't happen for me. In fact, I don't think I've ever had any special treatment, except for one time in HNL.

The PC agent pulled our checked luggage from the connecting HNL-IAH-EWR flight and got us on the non-stop HNL-EWR in F. That made us feel a little more special.

3) While in Y you get to sit at the bulkhead ,stare through the transparent divider and make pleasant conversation with the screaming child sitting next to you .

In my experience, it is not true domestic or international.

I don't think I've gotten anything special from being a star.

How do you know you are a STAR? ;) :p

Star Service
 

It's been my experience that any star perks are at the discretion of friendly FA's.

On a NRT-IAH flight, the FAs went out the way to point out that I was a CO * (and that I was the only * in the BF cabin) and offered me first choice of meals. On Micronesian routes, I was always offered first choice of meals, even if I was in 3F --much to the not-so-delight of 3E and those forward me. Other times, I'd get a personal thank you from the flight crew for flying ....and other times, I'd get no recognizable benefit.

Because there's no published * benefit, I don't really expect one. But it is nice to see CO occaisionally recognizing their most valuable passengers ...even if it is a heartfelt "thank you for choosing Continental" from a flight crew member.

I agree. Could care less if my order is taken first or not. What I want to eat I probably shouldn't eat anyway :p .

Best thing that has happened to me was a GA hunting me down in a PC telling me I would not make my EWR connection and rerouted me through IAH in confirmed FC. All this prior to the announcement that the flight to EWR would be delayed.

1. The website told me (for a brief period) that I am.
2. Phone agents tell me all the time
3. FAs occasionally tell me.

I haven't seen any benefits yet.

For me, the website showed it a while ago, the screen flashes when scanning my BP with SSR STAR (something like that) and it shows it on the sheets the FAs use.

phone agent should not come out and say you are a costar. If you get an extra special something from the res agent, fa, or anyone else that sounds something like that you for all your biz,thank you for all your repeat biz, etc. Odds are you are a costar.

I know they're not supposed to but I have heard GA refer to me as a "co-star".....i.e. when calling the gate in Austin, "Hey, Mr. Hucketybuck, one of our Co-Stars, is going to be at the gate in a few minutes, could you....."

And, one TA on the phone told me what, in Vegas terms, I was a "whale".
Have fun with that one.

randidliyo

No special treatment here either.

But now that I started flying AA to Asia, I do not plan on being a star for very long...that's for not letting me in on those Mileathon promos :p

Why does anyone care? Seriously

I guess its more about the intrigue; and educating myself on what it actually is (I am somewhat new to all of this)...than 'do I care'. It certainly isn't about status - as I haven't really seen any benefit from it (apart from being invited to yesterday's CO golf tournament - which by the way I would be interested to hear from those that participated).

Is Continental Select connected with CO-STAR? Or is that something completely different?

However, I have found it interesting to read replies to this thread on other *'s experiences.

I was a star for a while, but not anymore. I wasn't an elite at the time either. My only guess as to why I was made a star was the time I called Reservations to snag a reservation to Cairo--CO to AMS, KLM to Cairo, that I saw on the CO site but couldn't book. The res agent tried every possible permutation she could & just couldn't get that routing for me. After about 45 minutes, she finally got a routing & price I could live with. I thanked her for her time & bought the ticket.

A few days later, I checked the website for this reservation & voila, there was a star next to my name, and I saw she had put me in the elite section in Y.

I was still a star 2 years ago when I booked two award tickets & was able to score elite seating without asking again, even though I wasn't an elite.

I guess it pays to be nice sometimes. :)

We only care when a CO employee acknowledges us loud enough for other passengers to hear it. It is a momentary satisfaction to think, "Is everyone wondering who I am now and trying to guess how important I must be?" I understand it is almost the same feeling that some people get from philanthropy projects, etc although I find that hogwash completely laughable. We are offered few chances in life to truly impress upon our fellow man our individual importance and receiving extra attention while traveling by air is near the top of the list.

So, to answer your question, do I care if I am a Continental *? No, but I care that you all care.

And I know, just KNOW, you are all wondering right now how important that BigFly gentleman must be...... ;)

Nope -- not even INT'L
 

I have flown to Europe twice in full J and to Australiand and Japan this year -- and as a fully-fledged CO-Star FF, I can tell you that the FAs are pretty erratic about how they do the meal service. Coming back from FCO last Autumn, I had to make a protest when she told me that only the salmon was available -- and I was on another full J fare to EWR.

Problem is -- there is just very little consistency about how the FAs do the menu service.

I know it has been repeated here before, but costar status has nothing to do with elite. Also true there are no benefits written in stone, but I am sure some have benefited from them. Only problem is most are blind to them which is what makes it fun. Your elite section seating occured because you were on a full fare coach tkt. Your reward seating situation seems accidental because costar status doesn't offer you a better seat either. What may have happened was that there were no more seats avail for ASA and since you were a coastar the agent made a choice to put you there. One of those blind benefits

That's not entirely true. At one time, and I'd have to check to verify the new calculations, but all elites were put into the COSTAR pool. In addition, the top 1% of customer by revenue by a rolling 12 month period were placed into that pool as well. The number of COSTARs, I believe, floats in the tens of thousands, so it's not quite all that exclusive.

The main goal of the COSTAR indicator is for the CO employee to be able to recognize our 'top' customers. With this knowledge, we're supposed to give slightly better treatment, without stepping into the 'waivers and favors' category. This is not condoned nor encouraged. It is supposed to be an internal only classification. :)

So everyone who is elite, is recognized as a COSTAR? :confused:

Why does the employee need this additional indicator? If all elites are recognized, surely the elite status thay appears on manifest/screens etc., should be enough to recognize 'top' customers?

Because some of the top customers are not elite. For example, the guy that flies on a full J ticket to Europe and back once a year along with a couple of discount domestic round-trips is a very profitable customer, but won't earn even silver elite status.

Not all elites are CO :-: s. Not even all Plats.

Maybe that was true at one point, but I highly doubt it. Let's wait until COInsider returns from vacation to confirm.

COInsider is on vacation again?!!! :eek: LOL At least he has the sense this time not to check Flyertalk!

I think everyone is misinterpreting the "COSTAR pool" comment. I don't mean to speak for CalLowleeEmployee, but I interpreted the statement to mean that all elites were put into the pool to be considered for COSTAR status, but were not automatically considered COSTAR's because of elite status. If all elites were COSTARs, what would be the point of STAR status??

In other words, the COSTAR pool looks at all elites, and the ones who are in the top 1% of revenue generators for CO are COSTARS - that's where CO starts looking for for COSTARs. Then, presumably, they would look to the rare non-elite who might be a top revenue generator, although I can't imagine there would be more than a handful of such people, if any. If you're in the top 1% of spenders on CO, I would assume (and this is a total guess) that you'd have to spend at least $25k or $30k per year on CO, maybe more. It's impossible to spend $25k or $30k without being at least Silver, unless you purchased $30k worth of CO gift certificates or whatnot.

I noticed the same thing as the OP the computer flashes SSR STAR but when I catch a glimpse at the manifest no * while others do have stars next to their names.

You guys are NEVER going to figure this Co* thing out, but it sure is fun reading these posts as you try!! :D

Yea, a couple years ago when I wasn't a "*", I was curious as well, more so "just because"...as an Infinite Elite and a "*", it really has meant little in perks...from time to time, I'll be in 4E and the FA will turn left vs. right and ask us our meal choice when she's running low and at times, there's a little extra gratitude shown, but when I've glanced at the manifest recent months there seems to be about 50% that are typically in the front cabin.

looks at all elites and revenue in a pool, but still picks the top 1%, done. I would be hard pressed to think tens of thousands are costar.

It wouldn't be hard. With 2-3 million Active OnePass accounts to use for COSTAR Calculation, 1% would be 20-30,000. (Active being flights taken within the last 18 months I believe)

I boarded my flight last night and saw this "SSR STAR" appear on the BP screen, reading this thread and others didn't answer the question, does this mean I am or am not a CO*?

My colleague also had the same message appear, if its not for being a CO* then what does SSR STAR mean?

I spoke to a supv at the salt lake call center the other day and was told there was another level above CO Star now. He said it was approx top 50 flyers and that I was in that group, but that sounded absurd to me (I flew 140k last year, mostly on high fares) I think he didn't know much about the CO Star program, but...

I guess it is never too early for 4/1.

:p :D

My best friend Carla's little baby sisters cousin Becky told me the same thing!!

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