JRF: Even if this site turns out to be less than what "we are looking for", how does that mean "he sold us out"? Randy has a right to be involved with and do consulting for anyone he chooses. He is under no obligation to conduct his personal business for our benefit. I'd say he's already done enough for us with Inside Flyer Magazine and Flyertalk to last a lifetime.

[This message has been edited by dhacker (edited 08-31-2000).]

I don't see how anyone could be upset at Randy for this. If you don't like the concept, don't use it, and it will go out of business.

Remember that there is a fine line these guys have to walk between being a great deal for us consumers and having a viable business plan which will allow them to continue as an ongoing concern. There are a few "too good to be true" deals occasionally with miles, but they can only last for a limited amount of time or else the company will go out of business. There's no such thing as a free lunch especially now that the venture capitol and IPO sources are drying up.

My comment on Randy selling us out is based on the Delta Thread in the Ask Randy area where he has not been heard of or offered any advice. I have no idea if he sold us out or not, and hope that he has not. However, at this point he is guilty by silence. Why have a Ask Randy Board if he ignores it, which then makes me think deeper.

I fully understand he could be in a position where he has to be careful what he says, but at this point something just is not right. Perhaps read some of the comments in Ask Randy pertaining to Delta and you will better understand my concern, although I may be way off on this one. I am cynical when it comes to the airlines and Randy now seems to be "in their employee" for a lack of better words.

I find this "sell-out" concept to be silly.

Randy is on the advisory panel for this website. We don't know what advice he gave them and we don't know if they took or rejected his advice.

As for Randy "selling us out" I find that laughable. Randy doesn't work for us. He works for Randy. I for one, don;t have the right to tell him what to do.

At the worst, if Randy is really behind this concept in a major way, we could, as customers fault his judgement in advising them.

I for one doubt I'd use the sight with only 10% miles payment allowed. If anyone(not just randy)"advised them"(I'm not saying he did, just a what if) this will work with the frequent flyer crowd, then I think they gave
milespoint.com some shakey advice.

I echo the comment, that if you dont like this site, dont buy from it.

Well said Boomer.

JFR,
Keep in mind that people had the same views on latinPass as you do on Delta.yet Randy w/o getting back to the boards about his 2nd meeting w/LP did himself go on the run.
2nd as per this new so called deal,if Randy had started the thread and NOT disclosed his own stake in it as others tried to do on these boards I would agree somethings wrong w/the soup.However,Randy didn't start the thread,and why isn't he entitled to make on it?Deception? not yet in my eyes.

RE: MilePoint...my name is Mark Lacek and I am co-founder, CEO and President of MilePoint.com. As you can see from the press release, the management team and advisors at MilePoint have extensive experience in both the loyalty and the airline business. Based on this background we have created a business model that recognizes the economics of all parties..the Sponsor airlines and hotels, the online merchants and the perceived value frequent flyers put on their miles and points which we know is high. This is why our formula recognizes each mile at 2cents per mile. We also understand that online retailers are spending millions trying to attract frequent flyers to their site and then hope they shop.
This is where MilePoint comes in. We will deliver the frequent flyer, the best demographic on the Internet in exchange for them redirecting their advertising and marketing dollars so that MilePoint members can convert their miles and points into MilePoint Money and use this for the partial payment of goods and services at participating merchants. It is treated as a "real" currency because if you went to the merchants site directly you could pay with cash (via credit card) only. With MilePoint you conduct an online purchase as you normally would but when you are at checkout the merchant will allow you to apply MilePoint Money to that purchase. If not for the MilePoint Money you would have paid full price....you can validate the real application of our new currency and the corresponding savings on every purchase. We are allowing the merchants to accept as much MilePoint Money as they can afford on every purchase. Naturally, most merchants margins cannot absorb a complete purchase of their goods through miles, however, if the merchants don't have to spend the money to get access to the frequent flyer they can pass along those savings. We do not charge the merchants to particpate in MilePoint and are only compensated for sales driven. This way the MilePoint Merchants can feel comfortable providing "real" opportunities to participating MilePoint Members. We are in discussions with over 100 retailers in almost every sector...both products and services and believe we will be able to offer numerous opportunities for our members. Based on the response we have gotten from both retailers and service providers, I think you will see some pretty exciting opportunities. When we go live....go to the merchant site directly and then come to MilePoint and link through to the same merchant, you will see it is real.

We look forward to providing this environment for millions of frequent flyers. We will keep all of you posted.

Thank you for giving us a chance to prove ourselves to all of you. I have personally accrued over 2 million miles over the last decade and want to have this opportunity for myself and my family too. I'm one of you.

Thank you.

Mark A. Lacek
CEO and President
MilePoint.com

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Another point of consideration is that by using this site you would forgo the miles that you earn on purchases e.g. had you gone through Greenpoints, Mypoints, ... etc. So if you do a true apples to apples comparison, you are getting a value less than the advertised 2c/mile.

Just to help clarify the "value" of FF miles, effective September 15, 2000 after American Airlines 10% price increase goes into effect, Aadvantage Miles will cost $.022 each plus 7.5% Federal Excise Tax, plus $.00125 Processing Fee. Therefore the actual cost to a merchant for 1,000 Aadvantage Miles would be $22.00 plus $1.65 plus $1.25 totaling $24.90 ($.0249 per mile)

This cost structure applies to a merchant who is buying a few million miles. I suspect that large buyers such as Citicorp may pay somewhat less.