I admit that while I'm not very egotistical much of the time, I patted myself on the back for the SWU prediction (particularly w/r/t my view that CO would set qualification for SWUs at 100K to incentivize us to fly more). That said, I think we've seen all of the major CHANGE CO has in store for OnePass for the near future, with the possible exceptions of: 1) adjustments to earnings levels on LH and AC flights as the JV gets up and running in 2010; and 2) bringing United flights into the OnePass mileage upgrade regime at the same levels as CO flights (like the old days of CO and NW mileage upgrading).

I do think the big takeaway for everyone, whether they previously believed CHANGE had come or not, is that CO and United are clearly operating in "no bullsh!t" mode with respect to making any and all adaptations necessary to succeed in the new competitive environment of the US airline industry.

This raises a good question. What happens to the current CO*STAR program?

... not that CO* actually had any tangible benefits except for an occasional "thanks for your biz" remark from FAs.

Certainly the miles would go to the employees traveling, but would they also receive the dollar credit that someone else (i.e. the corporation or let's say someone's father) spent?

It would be a simple way to calculate this benefit, but the odd thing is the entity paying would receive no benefit, and a traveler who never spends a penny of his or her own money all year could then receive a credit for "$30k" spend they never made...

Not a biggie, just a little odd...

Regarding who pays and who gets credit I would bet on it being directly tied to the traveling passenger, regardless of the booking channel or what name is on the CC that processes the transaction. If J. Doe flies on a $2000 ticket purchased by T. Fan then J. Doe gets the credit for the spend. I don't know this for sure, but that's my bet.

Scott,

Great News for top-tier flyers! Even though I will probably never reach the $30K threshold.....However, I am curious....

I know AA counts AA/Citibank credit card earned RDMs that count towards the 1MM, 2MM and 4MM program...would CO consider doing this for people with the CO Branded Chase cards? Taking that idea further, how about for people who has the Pres+ Card can get a percentage of their spending (say 5% or 10%) COUNT towards their $30K yearly total for Pres+?

I think THIS would be a nice change because I think most people would find the 4MM is hard mark to reach (even with the CC miles it is still hard)...but I know I would break down and get a Chase CO Card or the Pres+ if I know that some of my spending would count towards 1MM/2MM/4MM status.

Otherwise, good show CO ^^^

- HobokenFlyer

That's what I figured. I'm sure you're right (this is how TWA did this when they had a similar scheme with their ff program).

I can understand why the traveler should receive the miles (they do the BIS time), but the fact that one can spend $30k on someone's else's travel and for the traveler to solely benefit just doesn't seem completely right to me...

Hi Everyone, thanks for your comments and below are some answers to your questions. Please let me know if I missed anything.
Sorry PhillyPhlyer40, at this time our new System-wide Upgrades will only be valid in conjunction with published fares, not travel rewards.
Hi Delta3MM, we will allow you to waitlist up to 24 hours before the first segment in your itinerary departs. After that point, you will be transitioned to the airport standby list upon check-in. For more information about our waitlist and airport standby policy for System-wide Upgrades (which will be identical to our policy for OnePass Upgrade rewards), please check out our System-wide Upgrades FAQ.

There are a number of considerations that factored into this, Delta3MM, not the least of which was the extraordinary cost! In simplest terms, we wanted to make sure that we rewarded our members who flew us a bunch with a confirmed roundtrip upgrade for themselves and a travel companion, and without a lot of complication. While these can be used in numerous other combinations, like four one-ways, this nonetheless was the motivation behind the four.
Hi cova, I can't blame you for asking, but I'd respectfully ask that you not hold your breath for this one. Commercial reasons aside, this would be a nightmare to administer.
Hi GeneDoc, the answer is yes, if the Million Miler has earned Presidential Platinum status, then his or her designated spouse or significant other will also get Presidential Platinum status. The one difference is that the spouse/significant other membership will not include the fee-waived Presidential Plus credit card benefit (or 25,000 miles for offshore customers).
Hi OnePassMan, I hope you will agree that Infinite Platinum in itself was an extremely generous proposition, and that we have delivered on our end of the bargain. Simply put, Presidential Platinum is a private tier and will be limited to those who we choose to invite. For now, this means Platinum Elite members who reach a certain spending threshold, our Four Million Milers and our Chairman’s Circle members. As an Infinite Platinum Elite, you do have one less hurdle than everyone else who has qualify for Platinum in addition to meeting the spend threshold.
Hi okrogius, not at this time.
Hi CObigtimefan, the operating carrier is the one who gets the dough, therefore a CO-coded flight operated by one of our partners would not count toward your Presidential Platinum spending qualification. For the revenue (or prorated portion of the revenue) to count, the flight has to be operated by Continental, Continental Micronesia, or one of our Continental Express/Continental Connection regional affiliates.
Hi cova, Presidential Platinums will be prioritized ahead of Platinums for all upgrades and standby.

Yes, cova, as long as you're a Platinum Elite, you're eligible to be invited into Presidential Platinum provided you meet the established spending threshold. Doesn't matter how you got there.

Chairman’s Circle members will be considered Presidential Platinum for the purpose of upgrade and airport standby prioritization. Worth noting, however, for waitlists, Presidential Platinums and Platinums will have the same priority classification (PA, for those in the know). This is more of a systems/alliance-level issue than a philosophical issue.

I wouldn't read too deep into this, cova. As mentioned further up, we consider Presidential Platinum invitation-only because it is a private tier that is limited to those who we choose to invite. Unlike our three earn-based tiers, where we barely ever dare change the qualification levels, the spend threshold for Presidential Platinum likely will change (although probably not drastically) every year or two in order to preserve the exclusivity (i.e. size) of the program.
Hi sedonanative, the flights need to take place Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. It doesn't matter when you actually bought your ticket.
Although I don't have anything concrete to add to this right now, cova, we will be sure to clarify what counts with respect to eligible spend when our transatlantic joint venture takes effect.
Hi Steph3n, in terms of the spend threshold for Presidential Platinum, the published fare and the operating carrier are what matters, not the booking channel or the ticket stock.
Hi SS255, great question. The base fare and, when applicable, the fuel surcharge are what will count. All other taxes, fees and add-ons will not count as qualifying spend. This means that a buy-up to First Class would count, because the revenue paid is in the fare. Co-pays and change fees, on the other hand, would not, because they're considered fees and not part of the ticket price. As you might imagine, we ultimately want to count fees and ancillary services as much as we can, but don’t want to commit to anything until after the program is well underway.

Not right off the bat, SS255, but possibly in the future. With specific regard to flexible EQMs, these wouldn't help you achieve Presidential Platinum, that is, unless you needed them to meet the must-be-a-Platinum-member pre-requisite.

It’s entirely within the realm of possibility, SS255, but no such on-ramp is currently planned.
Sorry, mikeef, she's not that kind of girl.
Hi TWA Fan 1, it will be the traveler who gets the spend credit, not the purchaser.

We do have programs to reward our high-volume purchasers, TWA Fan 1. Presidential Platinum just isn't one of them! Specifically, we have both RewardOne and the continental.com Club, which are designed to reward travel planners who purchase a lot of tickets with us.

Hi Live4Upgrade, we are still evaluating if and how the CoStar program will co-exist with our Presidential Platinum status. No update to give at this time.

CO hasn't sent out an e-mail notification yet, so my assumption is that CO Insider whispered in our ear so that we could pick apart the announcement, and catch any errors and omissions -- glaring or otherwise.

I suspect that many of the questions which our collective minds have come up with are currently under discussion, and will be clarified in some fashion in the official announcement -- even if our Insider is not able to individually respond to each question.

Plus1 and I are thrilled! Thanks CO (and CO Insider) for listening to us. ^

I received an e-mail notice about these new developments from CO, today!

Scott,

Thank you for the clarification on the party accruing the dollar benefit. This makes sense.

At my heyday with CO, the most I ever spent in one year was a hair under $20k...so I don't think I would ever make the cut...

CO sent out an email about the CHANGE...to its Elite program.

I am a little surprised no one has seen the flaw in this proposal.

If one spends 30K to earn 75K EQM's then that person is already flying in First or Business First.

If one is to assume the primary objective of gaining this new "status" is to gain better opportunity to upgrades, then why exactly does this benefit matter? If you are already flying in the front of the cabin, right?

So then the other "benefits" of this new status are to come into play: That being what a dedicated phone line? What value does this really represent again when you are flying First or Business First you already expect (rightly so) to be taken good care of.

OK, so then you get the fee waiver for the Presidential Plus Master Card...cool, this one does have a very tangible $375 value.

So, let me get this right spend $30K to get something worth $375, to gain access to a status that really has no benefit to you since you are already paying for that level of service...am I seriously the only one who sees this?

This is another overly complicated Continental program like the wacky Mileathon which I for one am still waiting for ANY points to be posted.

Just keep it simple, I for one will switch to UA so as that I know when I reach a certain EQM level, I retain a certain status level...no games, no gimmicks.

Yes revenue is important, but control it by not giving away your seats, not by holding your "valued" customers over a barrel with a carrot on a stick...

I agree that this program will only apply to very few and effectively benefit even fewer.

On the other hand, it is possible to fly a lot of short, expensive segments and spend a small mint for relatively few miles.

I fly a lot of EWR-YQB, a route on which CO has the exclusive non-stops.

Fares are commonly about $900 rt. That's 882 EQM's roundtrip.

Assuming you flew only this route and it always cost $900 rt (I know it's not realistic, but it is possible), you would have to spend $76,500 to earn 75,000 miles.

Ouch.

It is very possible to spend $30k/year and not be upgraded every flight, as you mention. Lots of cheap coach tickets plus a couple of overseas BF flights will do it, too, in addition to your routing, above. What this does is make it much easier for a PP on a cheap ticket to get an upgrade. How valuable this is depends entirely on the travel pattern. The rest is nice, but still not up to the level of being a Delta Platinum Medallion member circa 1999.