The whole mile/point/elite deal is to get we frequent travelers to give the airlines, hotels etc more business (read $$$$) and consistent business. And for the most part we do if properly treated in a humane way. I (and most of us) have put up with much crap to gain a few FF crumbs. Sometimes we get lobster, sometimes we get hamburger. Lately I have become a little more critical in judgment and do more frequent re-evaluations. I will bore you with an airline example.

The perfect example was a previous flying relationship with Delta Airlines. I was Gold (top level) for mucho years and one of their first PLATs. I generally flew 80000-140000 mi/yr. For years it was great food, great upgrades and excellent service. Then came dirtier aircraft, no "TZ" coupons, then cash for booze, upgrades only on the more expensive fares (M or higher) etc. It appeared they only wanted my "business" business. They forgot I sometimes traveled for vacations, BUT I DIDN'T FORGET. For these trips, they wanted my friends and me to sit in the back. Forget about the PLAT card, if you want to upgrade you gotta pay our UPGRADE TAX (my terminology) sez Delta, ie buy a "M+" class ticket. I told the local station manager they are shooting themselves in the foot. He said it's "orders from headquarters".

I checked around, flew with other airlines for a month or two and finally settled on Continental Airlines. They had fewer flights, fewer destinations, etc, but the service was great, the food excellent, newer aircraft, and I could actually UPGRADE ON ANY FARE (well, at least in the cont48). They also flew within 100 miles of almost most Delta locations. Also, I was not a 2nd class citizen on vacation for I could upgrade on even their lowest fares. So now CO gets about 75% of my annual airline business (approx $30000), and most of my employees' business. Many more $$$$ there by the way.

No demeaning luggage templates or "sizers"......they just had Boeing put in larger luggage bins. They did not fight this customer, they reasonably tried to assist him. No "800 mile" certs, no "stickers", just a simple phone call gets an upgrade. Hey.....it aint that hard. I do analysis's of this type for a reasonable standard of living. It helps to use one's brain and education upon occasion. It also helps to walk from a bad situation....or service.

I just reviewed my flying for 1999 in order to make a decision for 2000. I will continue flying Continental during 2000 for my first choice airline for they still give the "best balance of properties" for my situation. It actually was a simple choice. It took no time at all.

You are 110% correct!!!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think CO upgrades require one to call at a given time before departure. This is a big gripe for me because one is not always able to make that phone call at the "magic hour." It'd be nice if they allowed you to make the phone call anytime after booking, and the upgrades clear at the "magic hour." No certs, just one simple request (either by phone or electronically), unlimited upgrades, no certs or other nonsense, and automatic clearance and waitlisting. That would be the perfect upgrade plan. I don't think anyone quite has it right, but CO is very close. If they'd just combine that with UA's automatic clearance so you don't have to be calling at midnight...

Great post.

I started flying CO this year for the same reason. They were more than happy to trade in my gold medallion card. For those in Delta who are watching, you've manage to charge me $20K last year but this year you are not getting a cent.

One more reason to switch is the pathetic state of their alliance.

We all have different criteria when selecting
airlines, hotels or dry-cleaners for that matter.

No program is best for all people, some like the bonus miles, some go for the upgrades, some of us want it all, some just want to be treated like we are important.

For me, the first rule is they have to go where I need to go, or in a hotel chain, have a hotel where I need to stay.

Second, treat me with respect, and offer good service. Ok the upgrades and the bonus miles help

I agree with Misternice, that to me it doesn't matter if I'm flying on Business or vacation. If I'm going to "reward" an airline with all, or most of my business I'm giving them special treatment and like any rational player I'm going to extract something of value from the airline in exchange.

As anyone who knows me, or reads my posts here, I'm a sort of walking/talking Continental Billboard. I switched to them from TWA, about 2 years ago. TWA took my business(about $6000 a year) and treated me like I didn't matter. Well TWA I MATTER, I may not be a noble prize winner, or a big shot hollywood producer, but I matter. And this rational player decided that he wasn't going to give TWA any of his money(not one cent). I promote and fly Continental because
they've given me something(miles, upgrades, great service) in exchange for that.

Continental meets my needs, and unlike Jet, I like the midnight upgrades. Why? I'm a night owl, it helps me get more upgrades.

I'll leave the debate's about the details of different programs to the various program forums here.

I was at the Freddies and noticed one thing that hasn't been generally talked about. The airlines(Continental, Southwest) and hotels(Starwood, Hyatt) that won most of the awards spent more time listening to us flyertalkers than the non-winners did.
When I spoke to the United Rep there, he spent most of the time bashing other airlines
and bragging about how many posts there are on the United Flyertalk forum. The Starwood folks, that we spoke with, did lots of listening and asked for our opinions about
Starwood hotels and their PreferredGuest program.

If that United rep had thought about it for a second or two, he might have realized that it is not necessarily a compliment that UA has more FT posts than any other airline...

My thoughts exactly, Matt...

The quantity vs. quality issue is probably not of importance to him.

[This message has been edited by shadow (edited 02-10-2000).]

On a flight to IAH, I was sitting next to a pilot trainer (in coach, by the way!). He was asking everyone and anyone nearby how CO could improve.

Certainly this is not his job. I was extremely impressed. THAT is professionalism.

I'm very happy to report that I've never had a problem with CO that wasn't resolved promptly, courteously, and to my complete satisfaction.

I'm hoping 2000 will be as good as 1999 was.


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"I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own."

i think everybody here has great points. But i do agree also that everyone has different criteria. As a FF who travels mainly long haul internationally in Business my criteria lean more towards inflight service / courtesy / comfort / aircraft quality. I also am more concerned with ground services such as lounges and the ability for my airline to take care of me in th event of weather or other such delays. Upgrading is nice (definitely more so for continental US travel) but there are many other issues which are equally important. i guess what i'm saying is that if youre happy with the overall service of your chosen airline then that should be the defining criteria.

sorry for the rant just my 2 cents

Since I've been reading this board the single thing that has impressed me the most is the extreme satisfaction CO fliers have with their airline. I've never before considered flying CO due to the upheaval there several years ago and several of my friends' (former CO pilots) remaining bitterness about it. But now I'm very eager to see what all the hoopla's about.

Excellent topic with thought provoking comments - I have been top tier at one time or another with NW,CO,US,and AA over the last 5-10 years and Mid-tier with DL, UA - I totally agree with the comments regarding DL - how can they fathom not letting PLAT's upgrade a companion ????? This one I don't get so DL don't get - I fly AA (Exec. Plat.) and am very content and you guessed it CO is also a favorite - I used to like UA but it seems that everyone is at least a PREMEX these days - seems like most flights actually have more 1k's than premiers !!!! my 2 cents - kazman

Delta is easily the nastiest airline on earth. For me, the payoff was when my wife and I were literally ordered out of a virtually empty Seattle Crown Room because we were flying someone else that day. When I wrote to complain, and ask for my dues back (I had bought a 3 year membership), I got a snotty letter saying they would make the refund, but that I was lucky I hadn't been refused entry when I had used the clubs like that earlier, since it had been the policy for years. You see that kind of arrogance in many of the DL posts on this board. Continenal is easily the most improved product in the industry, and they deserve the patronage they have gotten as a result. I flew them for years, through a couple of bankruptcies, and am an Infinite Elite. I switched to USAirways after the elite benefits debacle a few years ago, prior to Gordon & Co. getting there, and am so heavily "invested" in that (Chairman Pref.)that I don't use CO much these days, but you can still admire them. There really is no need to bash the frequent flyer. They all can limit what they give us within the "capacity control" provision, but instead, some airlines just seem to want to get in your face on this one.

In a day where customer service is so unacceptable from airlines and corporations in general, it is indeed reassuring to have Continental Airlines to uphold a standard by which all other airlines - and service companies in general - can and should aspire.

As a businessowner, consumer, and homemaker, I am constantly observing, evaluating, and re-evaluating my vendors - which I consider airlines - to ensure that I am truly getting the most value for not only my dollar spent, but time and energy as well.

Continental has consistently delivered the most satisfactory service among the US and international air carriers I have done business with during the 10 years I have been actively travelling for business and personal matters.

Some of the perceived hassles (e.g., calling at midnight) of the Continental's Elite program stated in this thread will be ameliorated by a thorough review of the the program's terms. (Calling at midnight is *not* obligatory). I believe such a review will yield the comprehension that CO's Elite program remains by far the most generous and accomodating of airlines loyalty programs on the market.

That being said, the program is not without areas where it can be improved. Complimentary upgrades on international flights would be one area in particular where I, as well as it seems many others in FlyerTalk who frequently enlist Continental as their vendor for international air travel, would be a welcome addition and truly bring CO over the top.

While this post is extremely complimentary of Continental, it is also a call to other airlines to raise eyebrows by making some consistent strides in improvements that will give Continental a healthy challenge. Competition does our system good. By all means, we wouldn't want Continental to get too comfortable in their consistent top-tier rankings and become complacent in their command of the customer service market.

Which begs the premise of this message thread: What's loyalty worth to us?