There are none so blind...
 

...as those who will not see.

So I'm having lunch with a co-worker. He's up here on TDY, and I found him a nice place at a nice rate at the local Quality Inn. It's the same one I use when I'm working the Choice promos.

I asked him, "Are you a member of Choice Privileges?" "What's that?" "It's like a frequent flyer program for hotels."

"No, I haven't bothered. We have a mileage credit card, and we're doing fine with that.

"Really?"

"Oh yes. My wife just got a ticket to California. Free. 25,000 miles!"

"Oooooh."

"And next year, we're going to dump a huge pile and go to Hawaii! 35,000 miles each"

"Oooooh."

I refrained from mentioning that I had just picked up 47,000 USAir miles over the weekend, that starting next week I'd be getting 2000 WP miles/week, or that I had 175,000 miles with AA and haven't flown them in years. I mean, why bother, right?

Anyhow, I laid it out for him rather quickly:

1. Get the Choice credit card and pick up 24,000 points.
2. With his normal stays, he'd be getting almost 3000 points/week.
3. I briefly outlined the promos coming up, and suggested a minor bit of hotel-hopping.
4. Bottom line, I could see him with over 200,000 points by this time next year, and if we wanted to work with me we could get him 400,000 to 500,000 over the next couple of years.

So he asks me, "What would I do with them (the points)?"

I explained about the Preferred Hotels and how he could spend a nice week to 10 days in 5-star properties like the Landmark in London, some really nice digs in Paris, Rome, Milan, and so on. Even some outstanding location stateside. What's not to like?

"Nah. Can't be that easy. Too much trouble."

End of conversation.

I'm not a missionary.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Don't be too hard on yourself. We can't convert everyone.

Some will see the light and others will choose to stay in the dark...

Hey, if he doesn't want it, I got no probs. Keeps the competition down for rewards. When it comes to booking my award flights and nights, I say: The easier, the better.

Trust me, I know the feeling. I have conversations with friends, after they flew, and asked what program they credit to. "Oh, I only fly 4 times a year, so I don't bother". Heck, even at that level, they'd have a international ticket in a few years. But, I won't waste my time trying to convert them.

Last night an uncle of mine wanted to get in on some of the Intl mistake fares. The first question I asked is if he had a valid passport. No. Well, I said, you'll need to get one. That seemed to kill the urge to travel, however. Strange!

If it seems to good to be true... :D

Everyone thinks we're crazy. :p

Everyone sure loves listening to my stories. :o

I know.

It hurts.

I was crying about that very subject to my wife as we were sipping wine in the lounge at the Cavalieri last year, watching the sun set over Rome.

Then we had to get up early to catch the flight to our F trip FRA-SFO.

If they only knew the angst we suffer.

I was trying for a couple years to convert my BF (of course at that time he was flying like crazy) now he has switched and is OBSSESSED...if you look at his blood you probably see FF #'s :) too bad now he's not flying as much and I think it hurts him on how much he could've earned years ago...lesson learned :)

probably the only way of convincing someone who feels this way is to calculate and make show explicity the actual dollar value of the miles that are being passed up... And ask that person if he/she would pass by a few hundred (or thousand) dollars lying around on the street, and ignore it as too much trouble to pick up.

at least you tried to spread the gospel... ^ ^
although in this religion the more the better is not always true... :rolleyes:

i guess if everyone was doing it...we wouldn't be able to reap as many benefits :)

Amen!

I know how you feel...

I've been getting a friend of mine to stick with one airline (or two) every time he flies so he can eventually build miles. His reasons for not doing it? 1) "I don't fly enough... just 4x a year" (He flies 3x a year ORD-LAX and once to Brazil) 2) "I can fly cheaper if I look for the lowest fare" (Yeah maybe not more than $30 per flight to LAX) and 3) "It's just too much trouble... one more thing to keep up with" (Should I even comment on this?).

He's been doing this since mid-2000. Some people will never see.

Don't be so hard on the non-believers. We all were probably in that category at one time or other. If I had known about Affinity Cards back when I was doing several hundred dollars a month keeping gas in my company truck (in a prior life) I would have been able to fly frequently just on that alone. But I have seen the light, and have convinced my better half that free hotel rooms and upgraded flights are what we deserve. She is slowly coming around and will use the affinity card for most purchases. BUT she still has that one card that gives no points, no miles, but is free of a yearly fee. CANNOT get her to drop it.

Oh, if only I had a 1000 miles for every friend of mine who has said that sentence :p