United Months of Miles
Sep 3, 2011, 3:42 pm
#901
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: AA Platinum
Posts: 278
My opinion is that the $10 min won't apply on the dining. A lot of the info they have given out so far indicates any amount will apply. My belief is that if they wanted the $10 minimum to apply in Dining, they would have(should have) stated it up front in great detail. Now, I think it has gone on too far to try to put that into effect now. Would cause a PR backlash. In the long run, this is a good deal for UA, they get some good publicity in different blogs, etc. I doubt think they would risk that good publicity coming back like a boomerang.
When you look at this thread, some of the posters have already fallen by the wayside because this is a pretty intense program to try to work for an extended period of time. Yes, like with any promo there are a handful of people that will sweep every bit of gold dust out of the corners, but the majority will probably just spend money they wouldn't have spent anyway and that is why the program will work for UA and its partners. Add to that the people that will never use the miles they accumulated and it makes it even better decision for UA. Those that do use the miles might be non UA flyers that will then get introduced to the new UA/CO airline, like the service, and switch over from other carriers.
UA should have plenty of qualified Financial Analysts that have run all the numbers and accounted for the "risk". Yes, their communication should have been better, IT should have been better, executiion should have been better, some of their partners have screwed it up.
Now, having said all that, if I don't get all my miles, I am going to be really ticked off!
Sep 3, 2011, 3:56 pm
#903
Join Date: Dec 2010
Posts: 1,860
The point of my posts are to re-iterate my expectations of the United "spending" programs. Cartera and etc. We rely on terms and conditions, linked cards, and so on. I want all of these purchases to post obviously, and I am not out ordering 2x$10 Best Buy gift cards to go buy ipad's in hopes of thousands of miles. Which I believe takes things a bit extreme.
Last edited by factory81; Sep 3, 2011 at 4:01 pm
Sep 3, 2011, 5:07 pm
#904
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: AA Platinum
Posts: 278
Dining points in programs that I have participated in during the past have always posted much, much quicker than shopping points. My hope is we will get some quick "bonus miles posted" and we can at least put that issue to rest.
Sep 3, 2011, 5:15 pm
#905
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 847
Just bought a new tablet from Best Buy in-store due them price matching an in-store only coupon. Can't wait for the points from my linked card to post to United shopping.
Plus I found out a local pizza place (with some pretty good pizza if I may say so) is a partner. This one is going to be a no brainer. Pizza diet until the contest ends...
Plus I found out a local pizza place (with some pretty good pizza if I may say so) is a partner. This one is going to be a no brainer. Pizza diet until the contest ends...
Sep 3, 2011, 5:17 pm
#906
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: So Cal
Programs: UA Gold/0.744MM, WN AL, Hyatt Diamond, MR Scum, Hertz PC, National Exec, Avis PC
Posts: 5,567
Welll, not quite sure how that worked out. The store manager had to do it. he obviously wasn't real happy about cashing out 80 GCs, but remained cordial throughout. However, he was able to put the money back on the CC??? I'm not sure how that is going to work out. If it shows up as a return of those purchases, that would be bad. If it just shows up as a bulk credit to the card, I am probably OK, although I think I will lose out on some miles on the CC (vs me making a pymt of the same amount). I think it took over an hour to get thru everything. At one point something got fouled up and one of the GCs rang up for 34.35 instead of 5.00. All got fixed in the end.
Home Depot worked just fine. A couple of people inquired what I was doing and seeing if they could speed me up (no big lines behind me). I explained what I was doing and everyone seemed fine. On the next to last transaction I thought the self checkout machine jammed up. I thought it had run out of money, but the manager came over, opened it up and fixed it. They must stock those things with A LOT of cash and coins.
So all in all at HD, on $400 of GCs, I spent a net $16.48 and everything will be donated. It took about 45 minutes I'd say to work thru 40 GCs. It would be so much faster if the machines weren't so dang slow.
Came home to a USPS crate full of Sears GCs, more HD, and more KMart. Logging everything in definitely takes some time.
Home Depot worked just fine. A couple of people inquired what I was doing and seeing if they could speed me up (no big lines behind me). I explained what I was doing and everyone seemed fine. On the next to last transaction I thought the self checkout machine jammed up. I thought it had run out of money, but the manager came over, opened it up and fixed it. They must stock those things with A LOT of cash and coins.
So all in all at HD, on $400 of GCs, I spent a net $16.48 and everything will be donated. It took about 45 minutes I'd say to work thru 40 GCs. It would be so much faster if the machines weren't so dang slow.
Came home to a USPS crate full of Sears GCs, more HD, and more KMart. Logging everything in definitely takes some time.
Sep 3, 2011, 5:23 pm
#907
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SEA
Programs: AS MVP 75K, DL Diamond, LH SEN, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,360
Welll, not quite sure how that worked out. The store manager had to do it. he obviously wasn't real happy about cashing out 80 GCs, but remained cordial throughout. However, he was able to put the money back on the CC??? I'm not sure how that is going to work out. If it shows up as a return of those purchases, that would be bad. If it just shows up as a bulk credit to the card, I am probably OK, although I think I will lose out on some miles on the CC (vs me making a pymt of the same amount). I think it took over an hour to get thru everything. At one point something got fouled up and one of the GCs rang up for 34.35 instead of 5.00. All got fixed in the end.
Home Depot worked just fine. A couple of people inquired what I was doing and seeing if they could speed me up (no big lines behind me). I explained what I was doing and everyone seemed fine. On the next to last transaction I thought the self checkout machine jammed up. I thought it had run out of money, but the manager came over, opened it up and fixed it. They must stock those things with A LOT of cash and coins.
So all in all at HD, on $400 of GCs, I spent a net $16.48 and everything will be donated. It took about 45 minutes I'd say to work thru 40 GCs. It would be so much faster if the machines weren't so dang slow.
Came home to a USPS crate full of Sears GCs, more HD, and more KMart. Logging everything in definitely takes some time.
Home Depot worked just fine. A couple of people inquired what I was doing and seeing if they could speed me up (no big lines behind me). I explained what I was doing and everyone seemed fine. On the next to last transaction I thought the self checkout machine jammed up. I thought it had run out of money, but the manager came over, opened it up and fixed it. They must stock those things with A LOT of cash and coins.
So all in all at HD, on $400 of GCs, I spent a net $16.48 and everything will be donated. It took about 45 minutes I'd say to work thru 40 GCs. It would be so much faster if the machines weren't so dang slow.
Came home to a USPS crate full of Sears GCs, more HD, and more KMart. Logging everything in definitely takes some time.
Sep 3, 2011, 5:35 pm
#908
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 1,277
Welll, not quite sure how that worked out. The store manager had to do it. he obviously wasn't real happy about cashing out 80 GCs, but remained cordial throughout. However, he was able to put the money back on the CC??? I'm not sure how that is going to work out. If it shows up as a return of those purchases, that would be bad. If it just shows up as a bulk credit to the card, I am probably OK, although I think I will lose out on some miles on the CC (vs me making a pymt of the same amount). I think it took over an hour to get thru everything. At one point something got fouled up and one of the GCs rang up for 34.35 instead of 5.00. All got fixed in the end.
Home Depot worked just fine. A couple of people inquired what I was doing and seeing if they could speed me up (no big lines behind me). I explained what I was doing and everyone seemed fine. On the next to last transaction I thought the self checkout machine jammed up. I thought it had run out of money, but the manager came over, opened it up and fixed it. They must stock those things with A LOT of cash and coins.
So all in all at HD, on $400 of GCs, I spent a net $16.48 and everything will be donated. It took about 45 minutes I'd say to work thru 40 GCs. It would be so much faster if the machines weren't so dang slow.
Came home to a USPS crate full of Sears GCs, more HD, and more KMart. Logging everything in definitely takes some time.
Home Depot worked just fine. A couple of people inquired what I was doing and seeing if they could speed me up (no big lines behind me). I explained what I was doing and everyone seemed fine. On the next to last transaction I thought the self checkout machine jammed up. I thought it had run out of money, but the manager came over, opened it up and fixed it. They must stock those things with A LOT of cash and coins.
So all in all at HD, on $400 of GCs, I spent a net $16.48 and everything will be donated. It took about 45 minutes I'd say to work thru 40 GCs. It would be so much faster if the machines weren't so dang slow.
Came home to a USPS crate full of Sears GCs, more HD, and more KMart. Logging everything in definitely takes some time.
Sep 3, 2011, 5:42 pm
#909
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: SNA and BNA depending on work and time of year
Programs: UA Silver/ AA EXP/Hyatt Globalist/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,189
Do restaurant.com gift certificates through Thanks Again apply for this promo? If so, is there a minimum spend? The terms of this one are about as clear as mud on some things.
Last edited by chicaloca453; Sep 3, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Sep 3, 2011, 6:35 pm
#910
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: AA Gold/Million Miler,DL dirt,UA1K/Million Miler;Honors Silver,Marriott Gold;Avis Preferred,Hertz Prez Circle, Nat'l Exec Elite
Posts: 1,428
For those of you ordering gift cards that you plan to use for yourself, I have an idea to help track which ones you have received. In the section for gift message, insert your own tracking ID number that ties to that order on your spreadsheet. That way when the card arrives, the message will easily allow you to know which order it came from. Since I am not ordering more than one per retailer per day, I order different card designs each order (when possible) to more easily track them.
Sep 3, 2011, 7:52 pm
#911
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: BOS, MHT
Programs: AA ltg, B6, DL, UA, AS, SPG/Marriott Plt, HH, Hyatt
Posts: 10,052
Just curious on how the kmart.manager knew about and then referenced whatever cc you used to buy those gcs. If someone had given you all 80 then how would they have refunded and to whom?
Welll, not quite sure how that worked out. The store manager had to do it. he obviously wasn't real happy about cashing out 80 GCs, but remained cordial throughout. However, he was able to put the money back on the CC??? I'm not sure how that is going to work out. If it shows up as a return of those purchases, that would be bad. If it just shows up as a bulk credit to the card, I am probably OK, although I think I will lose out on some miles on the CC (vs me making a pymt of the same amount). I think it took over an hour to get thru everything. At one point something got fouled up and one of the GCs rang up for 34.35 instead of 5.00. All got fixed in the end.
Home Depot worked just fine. A couple of people inquired what I was doing and seeing if they could speed me up (no big lines behind me). I explained what I was doing and everyone seemed fine. On the next to last transaction I thought the self checkout machine jammed up. I thought it had run out of money, but the manager came over, opened it up and fixed it. They must stock those things with A LOT of cash and coins.
So all in all at HD, on $400 of GCs, I spent a net $16.48 and everything will be donated. It took about 45 minutes I'd say to work thru 40 GCs. It would be so much faster if the machines weren't so dang slow.
Came home to a USPS crate full of Sears GCs, more HD, and more KMart. Logging everything in definitely takes some time.
Home Depot worked just fine. A couple of people inquired what I was doing and seeing if they could speed me up (no big lines behind me). I explained what I was doing and everyone seemed fine. On the next to last transaction I thought the self checkout machine jammed up. I thought it had run out of money, but the manager came over, opened it up and fixed it. They must stock those things with A LOT of cash and coins.
So all in all at HD, on $400 of GCs, I spent a net $16.48 and everything will be donated. It took about 45 minutes I'd say to work thru 40 GCs. It would be so much faster if the machines weren't so dang slow.
Came home to a USPS crate full of Sears GCs, more HD, and more KMart. Logging everything in definitely takes some time.
Sep 3, 2011, 8:40 pm
#912
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: So Cal
Programs: UA Gold/0.744MM, WN AL, Hyatt Diamond, MR Scum, Hertz PC, National Exec, Avis PC
Posts: 5,567
Afterwards, I thought about the same thing. If someone had given me the GCs the money would go to the card holder, not the person that purchased it.
Sep 3, 2011, 9:10 pm
#913
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: ORD, LAS
Programs: AA-EXP, BAEC Silver, Hyatt-Globalist, Hilton-gold, SPG-gold
Posts: 855
just ordered a bunch of hd gift cards. going to LA on business in 10 days. anyone up for hitting hd on the 13th?
Sep 3, 2011, 10:23 pm
#914
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: NYC
Posts: 263
My opinion is that the $10 min won't apply on the dining. A lot of the info they have given out so far indicates any amount will apply. My belief is that if they wanted the $10 minimum to apply in Dining, they would have(should have) stated it up front in great detail. Now, I think it has gone on too far to try to put that into effect now. Would cause a PR backlash. In the long run, this is a good deal for UA, they get some good publicity in different blogs, etc. I doubt think they would risk that good publicity coming back like a boomerang.