Weren't they talking about global warming or something?

Think they meant global cooling instead?

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Flying an aeroplane with only a single propeller to keep you in the air. Can you imagine that?

� Captain Jean Luc Picard

I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt too, which is why my post was phrased as a question with a request for explanation rather than a rant or flame. However, if one starts one's first FT post with a one-sided request with no further explanation at that time, I think my question was called for.

Suppose I'm a computer journalist (I've been one) and my first post in a computer-related discussion group is a request for "people who have had reliability problems with Toshiba* laptops" for a story. What does that suggest, absent any explanation, about my objectives - and my objectivity?

Anyhow, if the answer is that she has lots of positive examples and wants to find out if there are negative ones too, that's enough for me. I'm glad I asked, because otherwise that might not have come out, but now we can get back to our regular programming.

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*Feel free to substitute the vendor name of your choice here, or to replace this example with one related to automobiles, electric drills or any other product or service.

I've had no problems redeeming miles on AA. Being EXP doesn't hurt, of course!

Karen,

Some more anecdotal evidence to help "shape" your existing story. I'm only an AA Gold and have absolutely no trouble using miles for award travel, including a last minute trip to Chicago next week (just booked yesterday).

Good luck on your story.

- AUSMatt

Karen,

I'm in DC but I've never had any problem cashing in miles for flights and I never had status when I did it. Frankly, I think that the stories about problems are way overblown. You should keep an open mind to writing a story about how most people get the flights they want. THAT would be news, at least as defined as different from what we usually see in newspapers and magazines.

thanks for the responses everyone - here and to my email address. i got a lot, from all sorts of perspectives.

for the person who asked why dc -- it's strictly a matter of geography -- i am here, and don't have the resources to travel for this particular story (ironic huh?).

No problem redeeming miles on UA.
As a matter of fact, I am writing this from an Internet cafe in downtown Stockholm as part of three continent free award on Star Alliance network.

AndrewM

You guys are being way too tough on Karen. I completely understand her approach.
If most people have no problems redeeming miles, there's no story. News is the unusual - if the system is working, that's not news for most media outlets.
On the other hand, a "consumer" type piece on how to use all those miles would indeed be a great idea.
The other thing is, if a journalist does some research and hears about problems redeeming miles, then it's totally appropriate to try and find some real people and see whether their stories fit the initial premise of the story. But you can't just go out and say "I'm going to do a story on frequent flyer miles whether it's a happy story or a tragic story"... The happy story is not a story at all (unless it's an informative piece for consumers)

I disagree. I've seen an awful lot of stories about how hard it is to cash in miles and they've created something of an urban legend that you can never get what you want. Frankly, I can't remember a story about cashing in miles that had the spin that it's actually pretty good.

I don't think we're being hard on Karen. I, for one, am just suggesting what might be a more newsworthy story.

"Publish and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not"

-- Jeremiah 50:2

The reason why you don't see any stories on how easy it is to redeem miles is because of the old TV News addage "If it bleeds, it leads."

marginal story, or maybe even a non-story: The Smith family has lost a combined 50 pounds by eating Kellogg's cereal in an attempt to acrue American miles. It illustrates how miles for flying have evolved into miles for buying. "We're healthy as horses thanks to this promotion," Mrs. Smith said.

GREAT story that would get great play in many publications: The Smith family has racked up $25K in debt on their mileage-producing credit cards, and will soon be evicted from their apartment next month. "We can fly around the world but we won't have any home to come back to."

Hi Karen, I strongly suggest that you post your request on the Delta board of FT. If there is one frequent flyer program that has been devalued more than any other, it is DL. Many Medallions that frequent FT are currently in the middle of a campaign to restore the cutbacks in the Skymiles program that were recently announced. DL has taken Skymiles from it's position as one of the finest frequent flyer programs just a few short years ago, to what is now the laughing stock of the industry.

The Skymiles program as it currently exists gives their elite members absolutely no incentive to continue flying on DL. So to use a phrase from a famous advertising program many years ago, "come on down" to the DL board. I am sure that you will receive a very warm reception there and also find the type of story that you wish to write.

PS, I can assure you that the DL moderators will not move your thread.

I'm sure Karen will give the good side of the miles redemption equation it's due space but you have to remember, problems are newsworthy and not the mundane.

Can anyone imagine these titles as headlines?

Man drives home and gets there safely (with picture of the guy's car parked in the driveway)

Woman buys new TV, has problems, sends it in for a warranty repair and it comes back working better than new.

Bill Clinton found in Oval Office without an intern.

It wasn't long ago that there was plenty of howling around here about the need to get media exposure for all the devaluation that was going on in the airline and hotel programs.

As they say, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

In the spirit of full dislosure, I do publish a newsletter.

Karen, I can say this:

Often times, it may be hard to redeem miles (except with AA, in my experience) but the worst part is when it comes to earning. Airlines seem to give 'em when they are due (at least to me) but the promotions and partners... THAT is always the chaser!

Seems most people I know who signed up for this or that survey, or this or that auto quote or some miles bank card thing always have to try to figure out when the miles are coming or whether it was a 'targetted' promtion, etc. That can be a pain. And then you have the ones with loopholes in them that might not even work after you spent all this time on them or something.

These marketing promos are often not even fully known about by 90% of the airline call centers and if they are, it takes several calls and maybe even emails or a letter to CS management to get the real deal! Then you find out the promo is changing and so now it gets really confusing.

I am not from DC but the last time I was there I got royally screwed by United in something that I am still disputing. Long story for another time. In the end, I am demanding a $$refund on the issue but also, I want to get MILES for compensation instead of vouchers. This is because (depsite everything said) I feel miles are worth something to me right now, and not vouchers. I personally believe that vouchers are useless and have restrictions and cannot be redeemed on line in most cases. But we like miles because we can use them to fly and buy things like magazines, etc. They are more flexible currency (although the real issue is to figure out WHAT the 'currency' is valued at--and how constant that value is!)

So good luck, and if the media wishes to pay anyone in here for sharing mile ideas, many might be glad to take a cut for being part of its quest. Maybe/maybe not...

MM

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If speed is not your thing, distance may as well be. Enjoy and embrace it all!

See, that's my point - you're never going to see much coverage on the ease of redeeming miles. That's just the nature of the media.

Suppose they built a brand new airport outside Denver, and the state-of-the-art baggage moving system worked to perfection. Flyers raved about the ease of it all. No bags lost out of the thousands moving around the Denver airport. It's wonderful. This story might make the local news in Denver but only because if you're a news outlet in Denver, you've got to do a story on the new aiport and, well, the high-tech baggage moving system is as good an angle as any for your new airport story. But this story would never go beyond the local Denver media.

Now suppose they built a brand new airport outside Denver, and the state-of-the-art baggage handling system is royally screwed up beyond belief. No one can find their bags, it leads to delays, air travelors are furious and they have no idea when they might be able to get the whole mess fixed. Well, that story will be on CNN, World News Tonight, and all the rest. It will be widely reported because the system did not work like it was supposed to.

Same thing with redeeming miles - would only get widespread coverage when it doesn't work.

Objectivity for most journalists does not mean "I will do a story on redeeming frequent flyer miles and report whatever I find, whether it's good, bad or ugly."

The objectivity comes in long after the reporter decides to do a story on how some people get screwed trying to redeem miles. The objectivity is in finding one or two others who had good experiences to add some balance near the end of the report on people being screwed.

Not saying I agree with this practice or defend it, just that this is the reality.