CO Is Uncompetitive with Lifetime Benefits
 

An article ran this week that discusses the lifetime perks other major carriers give their very frequent fliers for their lifetime of commitment. While I completely get CO's business rationale for not wanting to do a lifetime program, I now don't get why they're the only major not doing one now.

http://www.space.com/php/multimedia/...William+Preece

I'm especially impressed by DL's lifetime perks. Compared to the other majors, I'm disappointed that Continental gives you no lifetime perk after flying 4million miles.

Well said weatherboy^

One note about the chart though, at 1 million BIS miles UA awards lifetime PremierExecutive (1P) status (think CO Gold); 1P entails *Gold status, 100% RDM bonus and 500 milers.

I've read on this board that people have become Platinum for under $2,000 out of pocket. I can't imagine how that is done. And CO probably loses money on those types?? But I'm not big on giving lifetime benefits to those who've learned how to work the system to the max (not that there is anything wrong with that). The Plats who pay through the nose for F and BF, year after year are a different story, and they should be considered. Lifetime deals should be based on bucks not miles.

CO will likely loose all of my business next year because I am lifetime Gold on AA.

Here's how it's worked: I'm currently CO Plat and have been for 5 years (CO Star for at least 3 of those). They're my carrier of choice. However, my carrier of choice has a schedule into BDL that doesn't work for me and most of my flying this year has been to BDL. So I have been flying my carrier of second choice, AA, where I have lifetime Gold status.

As a result, this year, I will barely hit Silver, if anything on CO. So, I will effectively have no status on CO as of March. So, guess what, with Gold status on AA - they will likely get all my business next year. Gold status with Exit row access on AA, vs. no status (or Silver) on CO with no exit row option - the choice is easy for me.

If CO had lifetime status, no problem, I'd be back up to Plat in a year. If CO had a step down policy - Plat to Gold, Gold to Silver - then no problem, I'd stay with CO. However they have neither, so I'm out. In addition, if I got full EQM's for my flights, I'd be Gold this year, but I have to book through Corporate travel, so Strike 3, Continental is Out.

To some extent - the fare paid does factor in earning 4M EQM -say on DL. If you bought F tickets all the time, then the BIS miles are only 2.67M BIS - because of the 150% EQM. If you had an Israel or Europe address - then only 2M BIS.

Plus - if CO eliminate the 100% EQM on discounted coach tickets - in such a 4M BIS scheme - it would take 8M BIS to get 4M EQM. The current 100% EQM on discounted tickets at co.com is still an extension of the promotion - it could go away at any time - per the footnote.

You know, every single time I hear someone say the words "lifetime platinum" a LARGE part of me rethinks my travel strategy. I'm doing different routes and lately USAir is becoming the logical choice. The VERY logical choice.

I don't want to talk out my ... at this point, but while I have been a co plat for 7 consecutive years, if this lifetime thing doesn't change and soon I may be a lifetime elsewhere. It's not like I don't have miles and status on the other two major networks...

CO is clearly my first choice, but I'm still young, I have maybe 40 more years of hardcore travel ahead, I can run a couple million wherever I feel like it. If someone wants to lure me away, lifetime elite status would probably do it.

With travellers like you, maybe there should be an auction thread on this board where the Airlines can bid on your business. You send them a printout of miles and fares and they load you up with bennies, if you agree to fly 80% of your miles with them.

(Boy, the scamsters on this board would have a field day with that one)

On this note, on the odd things about ff programs, is that many who achieve all these lofty levels of elitedom do so without ever spending a penny of their own money.

When I think of all the union directors and actors I have flown around the world in First Class, I can't help thinking about those cushy lieftime perks they have earned on my dime...oh well!

@:-)@:-)CO does not need to provide Lifetime elite benefits..they tried this allready..and replaced the Lifetime Elite program with the opportunity to requalify for Elite status every year..A person with lifetime status would not have an incentive to generate revenue for CO as opposed to someone who needs to re-qualify every year..This is a smart descision on CO part to maintain a postive cash flow..Its silly to give someone benefits who doesnt generate revenue..@:-)

Sounds good. But if the competitors give that perk and customers have a choice, why would they stay with Continental? I have come to realize it makes no sense to me to remain loyal to Continental and re-up for Platinum each year. I am incurring an opportunity cost by not switching my current business to another carrier.

Of the five global US airlines three offer one form of lifetime status and two offer lifetime lounge memberships, I've always thought it funny that with one brief exception, i.e. AA for one quarter in 2005, no airline has offered both in recent past.
Of the lifetime programs AA has the most generous-because of the ability to earn status based on miles from all sources. And, although I'm almost always a CO or WN fan, recently AA does seem to be a little better at redeeming miles. The big downside to earning lifetime status on AA or UA: having to have earned that many miles without flying CO.

Point
 

And this is why I raised the point. If no other carrier had a lifetime program for long-time elites or major mile collectors, I could completely understand CO's need to simply maintain year to year loyalty. But the fact that all of the other carriers are offering something suddenly makes CO less desirable to be a long-term elite with.

We're also talking about a reasonably small population here: 4 million miles is a lofty goal that would take even the most creative "$2k/yr platinum" years to achieve. There's probably significant drop-off along the way to 4 million miles (or some other lofty total), so the risk to CO actually having to offer some time of long term benefit is unlikely.

Also - no other US airline has 50% EQM on cheap tickets except CO. DL backed off. If it wasn't for the co.com promo - I suspect folks would be jumping ship as well.

This might be tangentially OT, but here goes: flew ATL-AUS yesterday; first leg was DL metal codeshare, and tho booked by CO w/ CO number, could not check in with CO. Ticket counter printed out the record for me so I would have the DL locater when I walked over there to check in. Glancing today at the printout while emptying my pockets, at the bottom it read:

HA FAX ** SSRS PRESENT **\
...
2. OSI DL INFINITE PLATINUM MEMBER - PLZ EXTEND ALL COURTESIES
...

I have always believed that an Inf. Plat looked exactly like any other Plat (at least electronically; we necessarily look a bit older ;)

Is that not so?

Great points. Frankly, I see only gain for Continental to offer an elite-for-life similar to the DL program. If CO set a goal of elite-for-life, I believe that some--perhaps many--FFer's would strive for it. I suspect that rather than hurt CO, it would drive activity. I may not be typical, but if there were an elite-for-life program, I wouldn't even consider stepping on another carrier. I wouldn't be happy if I couldn't generate 300 or 400,000 EQM's a year on CO. Full fares help that effort!