Tier above Global Services - Chairman's Circle
Oct 11, 2016, 8:51 am
#31
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA MileagePlus (Premier Gold); Hilton HHonors (Gold); Chase Ultimate Rewards; Amex Plat
Posts: 6,680
I was once on a flight with the whole executive team of a startup - the lead VC backing us asked me how I could take the whole team on one flight - what would happen if it crashed?
I said to him that if a plane with me on it crashed, I didn't much care what happened to the VC's shares in the startup...
I said to him that if a plane with me on it crashed, I didn't much care what happened to the VC's shares in the startup...
Oct 11, 2016, 9:53 am
#32
Join Date: Mar 2012
Programs: Mileage Plus 1K; Marriott Platinum; Hilton Gold
Posts: 6,355
Don't think student travel is covered/paid for by Rice... if so I should have sent my daughter there �� but I digress ^ on an average ticket price of $375 (I can note the reference data later) I find it highly improbable that the estimated 665 full-time staff would have time to fly so frequently to account for the $5M+ Rice spend. But... stranger things have occurred ��
?
Last edited by transportprof; Oct 11, 2016 at 10:19 am
Oct 11, 2016, 10:13 am
#33
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: MBS/FNT/LAN
Programs: UA 1K, HH Gold, Mariott Gold
Posts: 9,630
Interesting development on Chairman's Circle and our friend Smisek. According to a few close friends who work at UA and have access to SHARES which lists all Chairman Circle members...there is one fishy member. Out of the couple hundred members, there is one University President who has it...and it is the President of Rice University. Rice University is also where Mrs. Jeff happens to be a women's studies professor...could this have been a favor given by our old favorite CEO? Who knows...
Second, are you really implying that a tenured professor (who according to her bio does have some rather impressive credentials) in womens studies nonetheless, needs to have her husband pull a favor to have a positive light shone on her?
Finally, here is the bio for the president of Rice:
Leebron is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He serves as chair of the boards of Internet2 and COFHE; vice chair of the Association of American Universities; on the boards of the Greater Houston Partnership, BioHouston, Jacobs University Bremen and the IMAX Corporation; and on the NCAA Board of Governors and Division 1 Board. He is the recipient of an honorary degree from Nankai University in Tianjin, China, is an honorary professor of law at Tianjin University, and has been awarded Commandeur de l'Ordre National du Mérite by the government of France and the Encomienda de la Orden de Isabel La Católica by the government of Spain. He received the Roy M. Huffington Award for Contributions to International Understanding from Asia Society Texas and was recognized as the International Executive of the Year by the Greater Houston Partnership.
Oct 11, 2016, 10:23 am
#34
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: BWI<MCI< PHL<DEN<SCL<EZE<CHO<PHL<ABE
Programs: UA Silver / FA
Posts: 939
As someone who used to work in the university travel space, a TON of universities DO pay/book these. It's simply included in the students tuition. It's then on the university or travel contractor to come under budget. Group flights also do NOT book into G/K/L.
When you do the math, $5m spend at an avg of $1,500 ticket is only 3,333 students/staff. That's less than half of the students and staff. It's possible.
Rice was actually a client, but can't remember if they booked flights through us.
For another client, a program leader paid for 40+ $1,500 airline tickets on her AmEx so she'd get the points. They know what they're doing.
When you do the math, $5m spend at an avg of $1,500 ticket is only 3,333 students/staff. That's less than half of the students and staff. It's possible.
Rice was actually a client, but can't remember if they booked flights through us.
For another client, a program leader paid for 40+ $1,500 airline tickets on her AmEx so she'd get the points. They know what they're doing.
Oct 11, 2016, 10:41 am
#35
Join Date: Oct 2013
Programs: UA 1K, Marriott Gold, Hyatt Plat, GE/TSAPre
Posts: 251
Not to mention sports charters. I don't know how Rice's teams travel, but if even some of them charter UA to their away games they could approach $5m quickly.
Now whether or not the president or the athletics director should get the CC credit for that, well....
Now whether or not the president or the athletics director should get the CC credit for that, well....
Oct 11, 2016, 11:03 am
#36
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA MileagePlus (Premier Gold); Hilton HHonors (Gold); Chase Ultimate Rewards; Amex Plat
Posts: 6,680
This whole program seems sleazy. "Let's treat the decision makers better than the people who are actually flying UA on the contracts they sign, because we don't want them to know how badly we treat the majority of our customers..."
Oct 11, 2016, 11:32 am
#37
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Philadelphia, PA USA
Programs: CO Silver, HHonors Gold, Marriott Silver
Posts: 982
How is that different than any sales job?
Oct 11, 2016, 12:08 pm
#38
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA MileagePlus (Premier Gold); Hilton HHonors (Gold); Chase Ultimate Rewards; Amex Plat
Posts: 6,680
Oct 11, 2016, 12:14 pm
#39
Join Date: Jul 2013
Programs: DYKWIA, But I'm a "Diamond Guest" UA 1K/2MM
Posts: 2,258
It is insofar as it borders on the sort of illegal side-deals and kickbacks that are against the law in the U.S.
Let's face it, GS (and even more so, Chairman's Circle) have real monetary value. So giving them to a decision-maker is basically a kickback that the recipient pays no taxes on.
What's GS worth? maybe $15,000 or $20,000. That's roughly what I paid extra to get it with PassPlus. Chairman's circle could easily be valued at double that. So that's $30,000 of income that should be taxed but isn't. Very, very wrong in my opinion.
How would you feel about a salesperson doling out Golf Club memberships worth $20 or $30K to clinch a deal?
Let's face it, GS (and even more so, Chairman's Circle) have real monetary value. So giving them to a decision-maker is basically a kickback that the recipient pays no taxes on.
What's GS worth? maybe $15,000 or $20,000. That's roughly what I paid extra to get it with PassPlus. Chairman's circle could easily be valued at double that. So that's $30,000 of income that should be taxed but isn't. Very, very wrong in my opinion.
How would you feel about a salesperson doling out Golf Club memberships worth $20 or $30K to clinch a deal?
Oct 11, 2016, 12:16 pm
#40
Suspended
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: Houston and Dubai
Programs: United GS, Emirates iO (Invitation Only)
Posts: 67
I'm EK iO. I am the owner/president of my company, and have a lot of employees that travel on EK J, and we use EK Sky Cargo. A good amount of them are platinum, but asking EK to give them all iO just seems silly. I can only guess I received iO because I myself also fly a good amount of J/F, but also because EK knows my business is giving them a lot of money for my employee travel and cargo. There would be no purpose of these ultra exclusive tiers if everyone had them. There's a reason theres only a few hundred people in these programs.
Oct 11, 2016, 12:32 pm
#41
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,579
I've been on lots of flights with Division I volleyball, baseball, wrestling, soccer, etc. teams. From big-budget (Power 5) programs as well as smaller ones. I'm fairly certain most schools try to send those teams commercial when it's feasible.
Oct 11, 2016, 12:33 pm
#42
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: SF Bay Area
Programs: UA MileagePlus (Premier Gold); Hilton HHonors (Gold); Chase Ultimate Rewards; Amex Plat
Posts: 6,680
I don't think that is fair. They can't be giving status like chairmans circle to so many people, that ruins the exclusivity of it.
I'm EK iO. I am the owner/president of my company, and have a lot of employees that travel on EK J, and we use EK Sky Cargo. A good amount of them are platinum, but asking EK to give them all iO just seems silly. I can only guess I received iO because I myself also fly a good amount of J/F, but also because EK knows my business is giving them a lot of money for my employee travel and cargo. There would be no purpose of these ultra exclusive tiers if everyone had them. There's a reason theres only a few hundred people in these programs.
I'm EK iO. I am the owner/president of my company, and have a lot of employees that travel on EK J, and we use EK Sky Cargo. A good amount of them are platinum, but asking EK to give them all iO just seems silly. I can only guess I received iO because I myself also fly a good amount of J/F, but also because EK knows my business is giving them a lot of money for my employee travel and cargo. There would be no purpose of these ultra exclusive tiers if everyone had them. There's a reason theres only a few hundred people in these programs.
Oct 11, 2016, 1:00 pm
#43
Join Date: Nov 1999
Location: if it's Thursday, this must be Belgium
Programs: UA 1K MM
Posts: 6,484
Do you think it's really likely, except in a very unusual organization where the leaders are very conscientious and caring about their employees well-being, that someone trying to get your business would treat the top decision maker exactly the same as the average employee?
Oct 11, 2016, 1:09 pm
#44
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: MCI
Programs: AA Gold 1MM, AS MVP, UA Silver, WN A-List, Marriott LT Titanium, HH Diamond
Posts: 52,579
I have this vision of United trying to sell to the Easter Bunny and making him fly E-...
Oct 11, 2016, 1:25 pm
#45
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: BWI<MCI< PHL<DEN<SCL<EZE<CHO<PHL<ABE
Programs: UA Silver / FA
Posts: 939
Would UA "give" GS to all your employees? I doubt it. Maybe if you paid for it. In which case, you'd have to explain to your investors/shareholders that you spent a truckload of money on a UA contract that gives bennies to all your EEs.
Is it a "kickback"? Probably, but I don't find it out of the ordinary. Besides, no decision in a large enough corporation is made by a singular person anymore. And if they did make a decision based on getting some kickback or benefit, they're risking their employment doing so.