Do airlines discriminate among elites?
 

I've been reading these boards for quite a while now as they are a treasure trove of useful information.

Since there are many different and sometimes roundabout ways to achieve elite-level status, I've been wondering if the airlines themselves distinguish between a "traditional" gold level flyer that brought in (for example) 30 or so CVG-ALB full economy walk-up fares and the savvy leisure traveler who checks published fares religiously to get the best possible deals with multi-segment itineraries almost exclusively on heavily discounted advance purchase fares.

Don't get me wrong, I see nothing wrong with getting what is offered in the easiest and simplest way possible and of course upgrades still depend on class of travel of the original ticket, etc.

But do the airlines have a way of knowing who is the bigger asset? And if they know, how do they use this knowledge. I have heard that US looks very carefully at its Platinum level (Chairman's Preferred) FF'ers and not all of them are getting complimentary club memberships (to take one example).

Welcome to FlyerTalk jonesy565.

My experience has been they do not. Over the years I have been comped on America West, Continental, TWA and United. I was never treated as a second class citizen with any of my comped memberships. I have been treated first cabin as well, with my earned (the old fashioned way) memberships even on extremely low fare roundtrip tickets. I'm sure the airlines have access to and profile the amount and type of our business.

------------------

Reputation is built when there are people around to see your deeds. Character is built when there are not.

Yes, the airlines have ways of knowing who spends how much. For example, UA will sometimes reward the big spenders by giving them top-level status (1K) even if they have not flown the required 100,000 miles or 100 segments. Other than this situation, I am not aware of any other differences in how UA treats its elite flyers. Essentially, all members of a specific elite category are treated the same. The airlines can mine their databases to see who spends what, but they don't seem to make any use of that information in their routine day-to-day dealings with elite passengers.

when checking w/gate agent on ug probability [i'm on disc fare] , more than once i have been told that there is a full fare ahead of you. this implies that they go to the head of the list [ with in elite level]

seeing as I'm usually the one w/a discounted fare, I agree with this and I've seen the upgrade pecking order listed somewhere before.

Airlines will, as was posted earlier, award status on fewer miles to those who spend more. Some of this is documented, such as AA's point scheme that awards elite levels for 2/3 of the nominal miles if they were all in paid F, 4/5 if they were all in paid J.

Once you have a level, though, I have yet to see a case where anyone cares how you got it.

(Exception: In a 2001 experiment, AA gave EXP status to a bunch of people who didn't fly much but whom they thought would swing corporate travel $$ their way. It didn't work. These people generally didn't have the travel knowledge or experience of "true" EXPs and were considered a pain in the neck by EXP desk reservation agents. They got LESS than the usual level of service, though nobody from AA will admit that for the record.)

An airline may care how much you paid for a specific flight, as in prioritizing within an elite level for operational upgrades, but that does not carry over from one flight to the next.

I had a 94 % upgrade sucess rate once I achieved the lowest tier (25,000) on Continental.

Of the three segments not upgraded two were a round LAX IAH LAX trip booked @ $ 186.50 direct through Continental.

On the other one I checked in after my boss, I had more current year miles, he is multi year Platinum I am first year since I switched from Delta (Who admits they discriminate by fare class) to Continental.

Anecdotal probably - However ???

------------------
"A Southwest line never gets longer, It only gets wider"

The harried desk agents discriminate in favour of the high status flyer who is nice to them. If you want flight changes that should cause re-pricing of the ticket try warm words!
The service hasn't changed in years I fly double the required miles to the years I scrape in to status level.

Continental absolutely tracks fare class and fare class history on its elites. In the pre-Sept 11 world, fare class history was one of the criteria in determining whether an Elite member would be comped to whatever level. I've even heard, if you push hard enough, they will sometimes cut people a break on reward seats if you're an historical Y flyer (and Plat).

No guarantees, though.

maybe i miss interpreted the question, but if not, i'm curious. okay CO tracks, but does your average agent know whether i'm a plat who got there on Y fares, Q fares, or was comped?

i've heard that banks use a similar priority scale, and that it shows up in an identifier on the tellers screen. wonder if the airlines have put something like that in your FF profile?




------------------
Bad Gordon!

No Freddie for you!

...and a $20 half-bottle of decent champagne and some kind words have been known to get an elite an upgrade to F. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

islandcub

The USAIR Club originally limited free memberships to the top 10% based on revenue. This was done several months ago. I didn't qualify but USAIR did give me the club membership this week gratis based on my having CP now and every year back to '98... the club admin rep said her computer didn't go back further. I'm glad loyalty data is available, not just revenue, otherwise I would switch airlines. I think AA still doesn't look beyond current status. As a comp Platinum two years in a row, I get the same treatment as all other Platinums get flying back in coach. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by outoftown (edited 01-19-2002).]

I doubt any gate agent knows your history (meaning how much you paid for tickets on average), but the airlines may run some programs to reward the Y payers.

The GA of course knows about your CURRENT ticket and will give a full fare lots of priority.

To be honest, GA's barely notice your status. They have more pressing issues most of the time.

As already noted, it is not indicated on your PNR how much you spent to achieve your elite status, or even if it was comp'd. Just the current paid fare on the ticket you happen to be travelling on that day. Remember, it takes 100K to make top tier in most programs. This can be done with a lot of domestic travel over the course of the year, and at great cost [$25K+], or with 5 mileage runs from the east coast to HKG, SIN or BKK at about $550 a trip, or to SYD or MEL or AKL at about $750 a trip [slightly more than 1/10th the higher cost].

In either case, you get the same benefits.

With AA, the higher your Q point total (in relationship to your mileage total), the better the chance you have of getting that confimed upgrade.