The Future of Frequent Flyer Programs: What Should We Do?
#61
Moderator: Hilton Honors forums
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Marietta, Georgia, United States
Posts: 24,989
It seems as though to many FlyerTalk members, the current state of frequent flier programs is worse than ever, as illustrated by one of many quotes posted recently in airline forums around FlyerTalk:It may be a good time to revive this thread and ask again regarding the future of frequent flier programs: what should we do?
#62
Moderator: Chase Ultimate Rewards
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: SFO
Programs: UA 2P, MR LT Plat, IHG Plat, BW Dia, HH Au, Avis PC
Posts: 5,424
Travel is likely higher for me this year. I have a legitimate shot for at least mid-tier elite, if not higher. And I'm finding, the more I look at the options, the less it matters to me.
My priorities are IFE, domestic upgrades, domestic award redemption, and international award redemption, in that order.
For the places I fly (mostly small cities in the Northeast, sometimes Southeast/Midwest) my options are usually US, UA, and DL/NW.
If I take US, there's no IFE, the "upgrade" is fairly worthless, and I have high domestic award fees.
With UA, I get Channel 9 but I'm almost always going to be sitting in the back. And the fees, while lower, are still annoying.
Then there's DL... Maybe half the time I'll have IFE. I've got a good shot at sitting up front. But all the devaluation and benefit cutting leave me nervous of how next year's program will look. Finding it hard to trust DL management.
Gradually, I've begun to care less and less about the legacy frequent flyer programs. For transcons, I'm quickly approaching the point of resigning myself to a coach seat and picking whichever is cheaper, as long as there is an IFE system.
For shorter hops, I'm all VX and WN, whenever possible. Love the VX experience. WN awards are very useful for my travel patterns and the lack of change fees is great.
If DL really had taken the "best" of both airlines in the merger, they would have had a lock on my business. Now they are competing with UA and price will be a major determinant.
So, to your point, if one of the legacies tried to be significantly different from the others, rather than tacitly cooperating to lower the overall level of benefit, my loyalty is still available. WN gets a lot of my business already and they offer neither of my top two priorities, simply because it's so much easier to work with them.
My priorities are IFE, domestic upgrades, domestic award redemption, and international award redemption, in that order.
For the places I fly (mostly small cities in the Northeast, sometimes Southeast/Midwest) my options are usually US, UA, and DL/NW.
If I take US, there's no IFE, the "upgrade" is fairly worthless, and I have high domestic award fees.
With UA, I get Channel 9 but I'm almost always going to be sitting in the back. And the fees, while lower, are still annoying.
Then there's DL... Maybe half the time I'll have IFE. I've got a good shot at sitting up front. But all the devaluation and benefit cutting leave me nervous of how next year's program will look. Finding it hard to trust DL management.
Gradually, I've begun to care less and less about the legacy frequent flyer programs. For transcons, I'm quickly approaching the point of resigning myself to a coach seat and picking whichever is cheaper, as long as there is an IFE system.
For shorter hops, I'm all VX and WN, whenever possible. Love the VX experience. WN awards are very useful for my travel patterns and the lack of change fees is great.
If DL really had taken the "best" of both airlines in the merger, they would have had a lock on my business. Now they are competing with UA and price will be a major determinant.
So, to your point, if one of the legacies tried to be significantly different from the others, rather than tacitly cooperating to lower the overall level of benefit, my loyalty is still available. WN gets a lot of my business already and they offer neither of my top two priorities, simply because it's so much easier to work with them.
Last edited by MDtR-Chicago; Mar 24, 2009 at 9:57 pm
#63
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: eastern Europe & NC
Posts: 4,527
Being based in Europe, I deal with airlines farther along the curve in devaluing programs than those in the US. My response has been to fly price on intra-Europe travel, which often means LCC's. I still participate in ff programs for TATL and US domestic travel when I am in the states, and have never flown an LCC except on intra-Europe routes. Most of my intra-Europe travel is on LCC's. If the US-based legacies want to destroy their ff programs, then I'll do the same with my TATL and US domestic travel, and do my best to avoid the legacies.
The formation of a large membeship base in an associatioin of frequent flyers that influence people to move business might get some airlines attention, but I don't know that it would be worth the trouble to put together.
As to those airlines that want to shortchange on miles on cheaper tickets, I am a mixed fare flyer and always have been. Right now, business travel outweighs personal travel, and my business travel is out of higher priced buckets, while I try to get the best price I can on personal travel. But an airline that screws me on miles on my personal travel is going to lose my business travel, too.
I suspect as many airlines keep turning the screws, one will figure out that being a little more generous will way off big time in driving more business. I would suspect that airlines is most likely to be AA or CO, and least likely to be US or DL.
The formation of a large membeship base in an associatioin of frequent flyers that influence people to move business might get some airlines attention, but I don't know that it would be worth the trouble to put together.
As to those airlines that want to shortchange on miles on cheaper tickets, I am a mixed fare flyer and always have been. Right now, business travel outweighs personal travel, and my business travel is out of higher priced buckets, while I try to get the best price I can on personal travel. But an airline that screws me on miles on my personal travel is going to lose my business travel, too.
I suspect as many airlines keep turning the screws, one will figure out that being a little more generous will way off big time in driving more business. I would suspect that airlines is most likely to be AA or CO, and least likely to be US or DL.
#66
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 1,173
why
Why did you revive a 8 year old thread that hasnt been posted to in 18 months to complain about delta?.....old threads like this should be left to rot, not dug up after they're burried. They should close and archive any thread over 2 years old without a topic that is continually relevant. This is one of my major peeves with FT all the outdated useless info still popping up on front pages.
#67
Join Date: Nov 2004
Programs: Legend in my own mind
Posts: 244
Why did you revive a 8 year old thread that hasnt been posted to in 18 months to complain about delta?.....old threads like this should be left to rot, not dug up after they're burried. They should close and archive any thread over 2 years old without a topic that is continually relevant. This is one of my major peeves with FT all the outdated useless info still popping up on front pages.
#68
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Minneapolis
Programs: Delta Plat Kool-Aid Drinker, Hyatt Diamond, SPG GM, Marriott GM, Hilton GM, and Priority Club GM
Posts: 1,184
#69
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: LAX-TPE-LAX
Programs: No more status...just doing my best in burning my points/miles.
Posts: 2,002
#70
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: CLL
Programs: MS Plat, AOR ninja
Posts: 2,177
Why did you revive a 8 year old thread that hasnt been posted to in 18 months to complain about delta?.....old threads like this should be left to rot, not dug up after they're burried. They should close and archive any thread over 2 years old without a topic that is continually relevant. This is one of my major peeves with FT all the outdated useless info still popping up on front pages.
#71
Moderator: Hilton Honors forums
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Marietta, Georgia, United States
Posts: 24,989
Actually, this topic is probably more relevant than ever. Here are three examples..
There seems to be a lot of fear and anger lately regarding frequent flier loyalty programs in the United States.
If so, is it justified?
What is the future of frequent flier loyalty programs, and what should we do?
- Delta Air Lines SkyMiles: Updated: Award Redeposit and Reissue Rule Change
- American Airlines AAdvantage: Public evidence of possible changes to Million Miler Program?
- United Airlines Mileage Plus: Blog speculation on UA/CO new Mileage Plus scheme
There seems to be a lot of fear and anger lately regarding frequent flier loyalty programs in the United States.
If so, is it justified?
What is the future of frequent flier loyalty programs, and what should we do?