All,
Sorry if this was discussed in the past but I did an FT search and read through all of the threads about Award Travel fee changes and I still didn't see this mentioned.

According to nwa.com, there is now a PerkChoice Processing Fee effective September 12, 2008. Did NW slip this one by us and not mention it on the board?

Supposedly if you book a PerkChoice award ticket (any cabin, any routing) and attempt to change, cancel or redeposit the ticket you will be charged $100-$200. The $100 fee is for North America trips or TransPac trips. The $200 fee is for all other routings, including TransAtl.

But here's the real crap part...this fee is NOT exempt for elites, including platinums.

So basically if you are lucky enough to score a discount award ticket using PerkChoice, you are absolutely hosed if you need to change or refund it at any time (after the Customer's First policy expires). So NW rewards you for finding a PerkChoice ticket so far out but screws you on the back-end. I wonder what percentage of PerkChoice tickets wind up with changes in their lifetime. Since you generally have to book well in advance to find PerkChoice I would think that percentage is high.

Let's run through the numbers of a PerkChoice WBC ticket booked between North America and Europe after September 15, 2008.
Ticket: 100,000 miles
Taxes: $150-$200.
Fuel Surcharge: $50
One change: $200

Assuming you are a Plat elite you are paying up to $450. Yes, that's still cheaper than buying WBC.

I can handle the fuel surcharges on award tickets. I don't agree with them (especially with oil down 35%) but I understand them. I do not, for the life of me, understand this "processing fee". Why the hel* are we being hit with 'yet another fee' for flying your airline, earning the miles and getting dam* lucky to find a PerkChoice ticket????

-RM

Here's what I believe would be the relevant NW page:

http://www.nwa.com/freqfly/travel/unused.shtml

Platinum Elite members are exempt from WorldPerks award ticket fees (not including taxes, government imposed fees, award travel fuel surcharges, the PerkChoice processing fee, or paper ticket fees).

PerkChoice is a combined miles/cash purchase process (correct?), and not many people on FT like this option (at least in the original, or even modified version). Yes, we're now receiving EQM/RDM on the paid portion (correct?), yet there always appears to be caveats. Pay half in miles, almost all of the cash, and pay to redeposit the miles? Ouch.

As this doesn't appear to effect PerkSaver or PerkPass, this barely registers on my radar (except as another reason to stay away from PerkChoice).

Steve B.

Ok, now I feel dumb. Sorry guys.

I completely confused PerkChoice with PerkSaver. I had it in completely backwards in my head and the stupid thing is I've spent the last three hours trying to find std WBC award seats to Europe at the end of the year (using miles only, not PerkChoice half miles/half cash).

Sorry!!!!

I agree with sbagdon...PerkChoice has a very limited fit for most of us.

-RM

I don't believe you get any miles for a PerkChoice ticket.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

You're wrong. Apparently, you missed the Truly exciting PerkChoice enhancements announced yesterday.

Hard to keep up with all the 'excitings' ...

/.

So, the PerkChoice reward/cash is upgraded, and then they slap huge fees on it? Not good, NWA, not good.

The fee only applies if you change, refund, or redeposit (just like any other revenue fare). There does not appear to be any additional fee simply for making the booking.

The negative thing is that Platinums are not exempt from the redeposit fee on the PerkChoice ticket, even though they normally would be exempt if it were a PerkSaver/PerkChoice award ticket.

OTOH, the T&C are pretty clear, and I don't have much sympathy for people that don't read the fine print. Devil's in the details and all that... No one's forcing you to use this option, but I do applaud the fact that there are options that don't exist on other carriers.

That part is correct. There are no additional fees for simply booking a PerkChoice ticket.

It seems that NW is making PerkChoice follow the rules of an award ticket booking instead of the cash booking. So if you want to cancel/change/redeposit the ticket you are being hit with the relative equivalent of a cash ticket administration fee. Since elites are not exempt from that fee it sort of makes sense to not allow elites to be exempt from the PerkChoice processing fee.

I guess PerkChoice really makes sense for those who keep their WP account balances to a minimum and really need to get a last minute ticket and don't/can't/wan't to layout the cash.

Have fun deciphering all the new rules and fees and add-ons the airline industry has put on us. They are making things too hard to figure out (esp since all airlines are not created equal).

-RM

I have a lot of sympathy for folks who can't keep up with all of these fees. I have a very hard time keeping up with the incredible maize of add-on fees for airline travel that have cropped up this year; and once you understand one airline's complicated structure of fees, you've still got to deal with trying to understand each of the other airline's maize of fees when you can't travel on your primary carrier.

Southwest's new round of commercials are devastatingly funny because they are sooo true. For the first time in years, I am starting to check Southwest as a viable alternative for many trips that I can't take on Northwest. I especially sympathize for the folks who are relatively infrequent travelers who get surprised at every turn by these new fees.

Yeah, sorry about that.

I was in the air Friday so I must have missed it.