GrizShel

I was really hoping against hope that this was some kind of a bug and somewhat distressed to see several similar reports come in already. It's almost like an instant 50% devaluation of my miles because the low availabilty is so sparse (arguably worse than Delta's at the moment) that it would be extremely difficult to get a trip booked at less than 50k.

All I can say is if this isn't a temporary glitch and on top of that benefits get devalued next year I'm probably (if I am smart) get out of the elite qualifying game and move away from the mileage credit card, etc.

mahasamatman

The way to do that is to call.

This could also be the result of looking when the program is in great flux. Hopefully once things settle down, it will get better. Maybe it's because they don't even know what the program will be next year, or possibly what equipment they'll have yet. Or maybe that's just wishful thinking on my part...

Often1

This is not a good sign, but don't despair. I would expect UA to hold award inventory at this point and then release it as merged operations w. CO progress and the carriers determine capacity for next summer with the economy in flux.

If paid travel drops, look to UACO to cut capacity, not drop fares or open award inventory. They need paid F/Y/B/M to profitably operate. That's bad for award travel, but it is what it is. If things are looking up and capacity isn't cut, come next Spring, you will see inventory opening, maybe even Saver.

The one thing I would not expect this go around is for any carrier to do what the carriers did in the last recession which is to keep the capacity and slash the fares (including opening award inventory).

Orwaid

The same thing was true at WN. It was almost impossible to use a RR 1.0 Standard Award this summer.

The same thing is happening to AS also.

The fact is the canary has died in the coal mine. We are now in a new era of flying and FF programs, one brought on by by the near oligopoly now in place coupled with an industry need to at least try to earn an appropriate risk-adjusted rate of return.

My new strategy is to bag the whole loyalty thing and just buy the cheapest ticket for my needs. And yes, that includes buying miles when they go on sale; looking for exotic carriers for international C; using the cash saved from MRs to buy a Y-UP if I want.

For those that enjoy taking back-to-back JFK-SIN trips in E+ for status, I wold only say that the value proposition just isn't how it used to be. I used to take 5-10 days a year for such things.

No more.

davef139

Could it be the thinning of awards to make it easer on a transition to a merged system or possibly the fact of some routes being killed.

Often1

1. Capacity cuts
A. Fewer flights
B. Down-guage aircraft
2. Fewer discounted seats below F & Y/B, maybe M = even less awards

kb1992

We are talking about saver award NEXT YEAR.

2012 Summer.

330 days ahead.

Not this summer, 2011. Of course, you can't find anything this summer.

mduell

Use your miles for international premium cabin travel on partners. Great values and good availability.

Orwaid

Excuse me for not being clear -- When WN was making their changes in Feb and March, Standard availability for the next 6 months basically went away.

The bigger point is that low availability during peak seasons has become almost non-existent, believe for the reasons I outlined earlier. And that everyone needs to adapt to the new reality and alter how they seek maximum value.

golfingboy

Exactly... And with high load factors, in the last few years LF was pretty low, which meant there were more seats that revenue management could release for award redemptions... But now planes are fuller than the last few years, which gives revenue management less wiggle room to release seats for award redemptions...

So this experience is not just CO/UA, but true across most, if not all, carriers.

beethovengirl

There is another post about this:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/unite...d-far-out.html

I'm having trouble finding Saver awards too. My husband is a 1P, and we use his UA miles to book Saver awards for me so I can accompany him on some of his business trips. If Saver awards disappear, we're going to have to look into other airlines.

This is a much bigger problem for us than the revenue-based requirements of the rumored new MileagePlus scheme. If Saver awards have gone the way of the dodo, our miles have effectively been halved.

cfischer

Have you recently tried to get anything on LX? Nothing! Even LH is getting more difficult. I was trying to find 2 seats FRA-SFO for a 10-day window next July and there is zero availability either on UA or LH

UA vs NW

I guess a lot of us here are aware of this hint. However, for people not based in an international gateway (e.g. myself at BOS, which is not an international gateway for Asia), for my travel to Asia next July, I need to first jump on one of the domestic segments to the international gateway to use the partners. The problem now is the domestic segment.

golfingboy

The days of booking award space 250+ days out are numbered... Now as we get closer to the departure date that is when seats will start opening up...

It is a huge opportunity cost to the airlines when they release award space that could swoop up seats that otherwise would have gone to paying customers...

Since you are a Platinum [no change fees on awards], go ahead and book the seat on the international flight. Then when the award space opens up for the domestic segment, call them and add that segment.

mduell

LX has never been that easy, so I wouldn't regard it as a recent change. The BBJ service usually isn't too hard to find a seat on.