Continental Elite Platinum Program Emasculated
 

Hi Flyers,

Any other Continental Platinums experience this? You purchase a ticket and start out at #1 on the standby list, only to check a day later and see that your number 1 status is now number 3 or 5, and that 3-4 people have been upgraded and not you? Then, by the time you are at the airport on the day of travel, you are at number 10 or 12, and the 3-5 seats available are gone by the time you board the plane?

I have experienced this on my last six flights. What happened to rewards for loyalty? Being a Million Miler who has been Platinum for many years, I can say that this is now the worst that the program has been in terms of earning an upgrade. I don't know exactly why it is happening. Probably the changes with offering the higher "B" class, but I cannot say for certain. With it being this difficult for a Platinum member, I can only think of how difficult it must be for a Gold or Silver member now.

I do know this, though. I predict that if it continues and if it continues to render the Platinum status "null and void", that Plats will just move to another airline. :td:

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Popcorn, table 1 please.

Losing 25% Bonus
 

My disappoinment is the loss of the 25% bonus

that now brings plats equal to gold in bonuses

If there had to be a reduction in should have

been across the board (gold = 75%)

That's not how to even it out. If CO wanted to bring the bonuses in line with other carriers (25/100/100), then they should have been prepared to offer the top tier benefits of those other carriers in terms of upgrade delivery and SWUs/PMUs.

Cheddar sprinkles with your popcorn? :)

Dear Pook123,

We understand your lament. What fare classes do you normally purchase? What routes are you flying?

It all boils down to this - the more Plats on your flight on higher fares than yours, the less of a chance you will get a complimentary upgrade. These are awarded in the order of status, fare class and then booking date (or check-in number). If you book lower fare classes on Elite-heavy routes, your upgrade chances are very low.

Either try buying a higher fare class (sometimes bumping up a couple fare levels is only a $20-$50 difference), or select flight dates and times which are less Elite-heavy, like weekends, mid-week or off-hours.

I hear you loud and clear OP, my EWR-SAN flight tommorrow was 9 empties since Weds finally they gave 3 UPs today Im still waiting but having paid $138 base fare I can complain but not too loudly.

At 1st I garbbed the middle in the exit row, late Fri an aisle opened. Now the 2 people on both sides of where I was in the middle are no longer there , I take it there went 2 of the 3 UPs but they were booked before me.

No way would I any longer book a trip on CO expecting anything but the coach seat I chose! And wait till all the newly minted Plats due to the 2x EQM thingy come aboard. An EUA will be but a DREAM or something spoken about at a DO under"Remember When"

Hey Bocastephen,

Thanks for your reply.

As someone who's flown CO for 20 years, I currently am doing nothing different than I have for at least the past five years. The program has changed significantly, and not to my liking, at least for the way I have flown and the way I was upgraded quickly up until about 60 days ago when I am now relegated to staring through the bulkhead curtain at drinks and menus being served.

It could be that revenue management is playing the fare bucket game.

When I purchased my tickets to DO III it was a I fare for approx $210 (RSW to IAH) with Y being much much higher. Three days before the event a Y fare had dropped to $240 with a Y-UP being available the F seats where sold for coach.

Has happened to me many times this year already. However, I have still been upgraded, often on the busy EWR-FLL/MIA routes (this being high season) where upgrades in the past have been nearly impossible to snag. Several things are at play here: plats paying a higher fare class than you and full Ys (as in the past); availability of B fares, which will put those customers into a F seat at booking (a new twist this year); and - in my experience, maybe not yours - weaker demand for F seats and fewer people paying higher fare classes, even with the availability of B, meaning that my upgrade chances have been at least as good if not in some cases better than they have been in the past. It's amazing to me that that I have been upgraded for EWR-MIA on a Thursday evening in late March, five days out, flying on a W fare no less.

In a couple of instances it has been instructive to be watching the pda site in the battlefield, sometimes after boarding, and see that several people either in F or at the top of the waitlist, actually do not show up -- getting me the upgrade when I had started out at 6 or 7th on the list - after F, Y, B and running of EUA. In this situation in the past, on these routes at these times, chances of upgrade would have been nil. IMO, this is the result of weaker travel demand, which makes me nervous for CO.

I have also had a few experiences where I snagged the B fare with upgrade when available, so CO is realizing more revenue from me than they have in the past.

Remember that the PDA standby list is different than the EUA list.

The upgrade list is a relatively worthless tool until about 60 minutes prior to boarding. At that point it becomes somewhat useful and reflective of approximately where the upgrades will fall. Only at actual departure is it fully accurate. Looking at it at T-24h doesn't really do much good.

As for more or fewer upgrades on various routes? My numbers are pretty high for 2009 as a platinum and cheap fares. I've got a couple flights coming up this weekend as a gold that should be a bit more of a challenge.

What happens is that the Upgrade Standby List is populated as people check in. If you are the only Platinum checked in at the time you check the list, you will be #1 in the pecking order. Later, if other Platinums with higher fare classes check-in, you move down or get bypassed in the list.

CO is a tough upgrade, no doubt about it. As a Platinum, I've been upgraded approximately 50-60% of the time over the last three years on CO. Meanwhile, on NW, my upgrade percentage is 100% over the same period.

Plus irr. ops Plats and last-minute ticket purchasers.

Dropping on the list happens to me on just about every flight I take. I figure the only difference between now and any other time I flew was that what's happening is completely transparent.

I never get in a tizzy because, at the end of the day, I bought a seat in Y so that's where I'll sit. I find EUA's to be icing on the cake.

Bups are a game changer, you may have to change your methods if you want to sit up front more often.

It's a tough call.

From CO's perspective they've got a strong product due to the fortress nature of their hubs. They're often the only non-stop game in town and can win customers on that basis alone and don't need to compete as much with FFPs as they've already got their prime O/D passengers.

CO's looking to generate revenue (just like everyone) and it's disappointing when they throw the elites under the bus to do that. Don't get me wrong, as a Plat I certainly believe that an elite on a $$$ Y ticket or higher fare class comes before me in the UG list. But at times it *seems* like CO is more than willing to turn their backs on the elites and fritter away F inventory with discount sales. Or charge Plats for same day confirmed fees. Or charge Plats for close in award ticketing.

Again I don't fault them for wanted to sell F (and I'd even argue the more F they sell the stronger they can make the product, which will in turn be beneficial for everyone) but I'm disappointed when the $ between Y and F is small as it seems like CO's easily willing to look away from their elites for couple of bucks.

Likewise if CO's willing to bank on upgrades being the sole differentiator of the top tier, they've got to understand that not all upgrades are equal. A plat who routinely clears AUS-IAH but then sits in the back on a longer flight won't see that much of a difference. Sure the % is up, but there's a miss-match between the value derived as not all upgrades are made the same.

IMHO what CO needs to do is bite the bullet and raise the Plat threshold. Gold is essentially going to be Plat (with award fees) and hopefully if they can refine the Plat pool, they can offer better benefits to the top tier.

I'm Gold and have been upgraded 5 out of 6 flights since 1st Jan 09. It depends on your route and flight time. Significant difference from last year when bus. class was nearly always full - I was only upgraded twice out of 16 flights.

I'm a Plat based out of IAH, I do mostly nonstop travel to the western half of the country, ORD, SAN, SEA, DAL, PHX, etc. So far this year I don't think I've flown longer then 60 min in coach. That being said I'm almost always buying tickets 3-5 days out and am thus on B or Y fares. The lack of a platinum bonus does irritate me though.

Choose the business model that fits your travel habits
 

CO's business model favor those (and consequently upgrades those) who pay the highest fares. It is well known and it is designed to encourage flyers to book Y and B fares to get up front. In contrast, AA favors those who purchase first and request the upgrade, within each elite level. regardless of fare paid. The first EXP who purchased any fare for a given flight will trump another who paid a higher fare and requested the upgrade on a later date. The only exception is when one purchases a P fare, usually KUP or YUP, in which case one either automatically upgrades or goes to the top of the list. IME, there is only a limited pool of KUP and YUP fares on each AA flight and unlike CO, not all Y fares are YUP fares.

On CO any silver on a Y or B fare is going to ride in first before any plat or gold on a lower fare, assuming that the tickets were purchased before the EUA windows open. AA protects its highest level elites more than CO and if all the P fares are sold, the only way a Plat or Gold will jump the queue is by purchasing some type of a real F fare.

I hate it, but I agree with this. My fares have dropped dramatically this year, and as a result, I've gone from riding up front >75% of the time to just under 50%. I'd really like to be able to "force" a B fare out of my corporate travel group, but that's just not happening any time soon, though the price difference tends to be less than a change fee. Prior to the EQM sale, I was actually getting a little worried about re-making platinum for next year since all of my international trips have been canceled, and I am hitting a few half-credit fares every now and then.

That being said, prior to the latest traveling craziness, the threshold for Pt was too low, and I still think the same, even if it puts me in greater jeopardy of missing it. If I can hang on to get full credit for BIS, then I am good to upwards of a 100K threshold. After that, I drop back to Gold and get to grumble a lot. I'm not sure that 100K is really the right target like DL used to be and AA and UA still are, but certainly something like 30k/60k/90k has a nice symmetry to it. I'd hate to be a person struggling to make 25k, though, and have the brass ring pulled that much further away. Certainly 25K/50K/90K tiers creates too many Golds. I wonder if they would consider an even higher tier beyond Pt, and no, I don't mean Chairman's Circle.

That would be me. I have barely qualified for silver the last two years, and have needed special circumstances to make it both years; 2007 = 1,700 EQM's while traveling AS SEA-ORD on a OP FC award ticket, when I was bumped down to Y from FC because of an AS error; 2008 = b/c of an mix-up at my company, I booked a trip to SJU so late that only an R fare with it's 50% EQM bonus was available on one leg.

Being silver has not gotten me too much; early boarding; one upgrade; waived baggage fees; yellow priority tags on my checked luggage; extra award availability, and the wallet candy. The biggest benefit for me has been sitting near the front of the coach cabin, which means getting served first, and also off the plane quicker.

Despite these meager benefits, I am glad to have them, and would not want them taken away.

Expect CO to change Plat qualification to 100K EQMs once they join *A. There's no way in hell the likes of Thai, SQ, LH, ANA, UA will trump a CO plat (75K EQMs) over their top tier FF or even Gold. There will be a lot of pressure, especially from LH, for CO to move to 25/50/100 qualification rule.

If I were you Platium fliers, I would take advantage of the DEQM and attain 100K this year and get used to flying the additional 25K to reach 100K/Year.

I gave up on CO years ago when I would fly +100K/year and still not get any significant benefits (no EVIP or SWU like incentives). Once I gave UA and AA a try, I swore never to set foot on CO again. I have yet to disappoint myself on that regard. I fly mostly international and CO will never beat UA or AA in term of FF benefits for its Top Tier FF...NEVER!!!

Maybe, maybe not.

Airline-specific status does not carry across airlines within *A.
UA 1K, AC SE, LH SEN, US CP and other top-tiers are Star Gold, the same as are their Mid-tier statuses such as UA 1P (Premier Executive), US Gold (50K) and Platinum(75K) Preferred.

When flying on LH, a UA 1P, UA 1K, and UA GS have exactly the same status: UA*G. LH doesn't do anything more for a high-spend UA Global Services than it does for a UA 1P barely making 50K.

Airline-specific perks, with rare exceptions due to bilateral agreements beyond the alliance-mandated benefits, only stay with the "home" airline. So there's no reason for LH to care at all about what CO requires for CO top-tier. Heck, you can get *G from Air Canada with only 35K EQM. Makes you the same as a UA GS as far as LH, TG, SQ are concerned - you're an other-airline Star Gold. You get Star Gold benefits, you don't get airline-specific benefits.

CO has already aligned with *A custom (not mandated) by giving top-tier-alliance-status Star Gold at the CO mid-tier OnePass Gold Elite level. Just like CO had aligned with SkyTeam custom (at least ST North American custom) by requiring CO top-tier Platinum Elite to get Skyteam-Alliance-top-tier Elite Plus status.

We at CO might get similar limited bilateral better-than-just-*A benefits on a few carries, similar to what CO/NW had. For example, UA elites get the UA RDM bonus (25% 2P/100% 1P/1K/GS) on all US flights, and on USA-Europe LH flights. Note that in *A programs, it's not common to get your elite RDM bonus on other *A airlines. This US and LH deal are side agreements between UA and LH, UA and US. Note that US elites don't get their RDM bonus on LH, but they do on UA, because US doesn't have any side deals with LH.

I'd expect that given the planned 4-way UA/LH/AC/CO joint venture, we might get our CO RDM bonuses on UA, LH, and AC. But we won't get all the UA MP-specific Premier benefits (maybe a few like E+ I hope), won't get LH M&M-specific benefits, won't get AC Aeroplan-specific benefits. Maybe CO top-tiers will get some limited upgrade capability (such as buying UA upgrade certs at a discount, maybe some upgrade capability for Plats on LH with a CO-style co-pay as opposed to UA 1K/GS 6 free SWUs usable on UA or LH).

But we won't get the whole package. So the other *A airlines won't care about CO elite level requirements.

Perhaps CO will create a 4th level like US. As a former US CP, I hated that they added the Plat level. It just made upgrading to First or buying an F ticket more difficult when you were 4 days out since previously CP's upgraded at 7-day window and Golds upgraded at 3 day window. My first thought was that if CO does not create a 4th level and just changes the requirements for Plat, there would be a lot of people who would revolt. Where would those people go, however? AA? They don't have a 75K level. US? They are just awful in my opinion and are giving away status, including CP status, just to get people to fly them again. DL is really the only option and I don't know if I'd jump ship to DL just to retain the highest tier status.

Also..since they are giving away Elite status now to anyone who wants it with the double EQM there will be alot more Elites so you really wont be getting any upgrades..@:-)

I'm not averse to a 100k level - but I'd want to see some SWUs (usable on affordable fares) and other goodies handed out. If I had 8 one-way SWUs (comparable to AA), I'd gladly scoot over to Asia, Paris, Rome or the South Pacific a couple times during the year on a mileage run to make up any shortfall on my EQMs.

If they took today's program and just upped it to 100k, then you would definitely see people leave. UA offers SWUs at 100k, and AA not only offers SWUs, but free unlimited domestic upgrades as well. CO would have a 75k program which costs 100k - and little to no value proposition outside IAH/EWR/CLE.

What I AM somewhat concerned about is the introduction of either no free upgrades on WESTL fares, or the collection of a copay when upgrading on lower fares. I have a funny feeling that's what some folks within CO worked very hard to stop when other management folks tried to swap the carrot for a stick.