I know that FF programs aren't any more than about 20 years old (not sure about frequent-stay programs), but I note that my 10th anniversary with OnePass is coming up, and I wondered if anybody ever received any anniversary/longevity acknowledgments ("Here's a little something for you, our loyal customer, for being in our super-duper Diamond Medallion Platinum level for 15 years" kind of thing).

Unlikely, in my experience. I have belonged to several since they began... since around 1983.

Interestingly, I was mostly flying then USAIR when ff programs began to spread. US AIR resisted them successfully for several years, during which I switched to Republic and then NW and went on to log 3.5 million. I wonder if USAIR ever calculated how much they lost by their early hostility to the programs.

I think it varies by airline and travel patterns. Just being a long term member doesn't really mean anything unless you've also flown a lot. It's business that gets the airline's attention.

I've been a member of United's Mileage Plus since its inception, yet my guess is that I've flown maybe 20-30 segments on United during that period. That's not very many when last year alone I did about 350 segments in other programs.

But in answer to your question, last year, one day, I returned home from work to find a little package on my doorstep that had arrived FedEx. I opened it up to find a limited edition bottle stopper made especially for American Airlines, with a card thanking me for my "millions of miles." There wasn't any visible occasion for this - just an unexpected surprise.




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/swaggie

A bottle stopper???