hilton-gold

There is widespred dissppointment about the changes announced yesterday regarding Dividend Miles. That caused me, a life-long US loyalist, to think a lot. What I came up with was this: we are basically all just back to the old days of our own participation in the program: starting out as base members, having filled out the postcard at the counter and using the old coupons to get flight credit, etc. Nowhere yesterday did US say they were not going to give us ANY miles for our flights, just fewer of them to some people. I have only been Silver once (now) and will be so again next year. I had never been Preferred before and probably never will again. I have had only 2 segments in non-paid F so far (Silver upgrades) and am OK with that and the prospect of less in the future.

So, let's consider this: are we all fleeing from the PVD-CLT, PIT-PHL, DCA-MCO, etc nonstops (and the whole airline) just becuse of this? We will then need to connect, earn new statuses in some cases, just to get away from US. Surely our time is worth something too, along with the miles, upgrades, and bin space we are all complaining about losing in 04. I for one will not flee US, so long as they are operational, because of this. We are all still earning miles, just not as many and will need to do so while in Economy. I remember when all the airlines went from 1000 or 750 miles per segment to the current 500 (base). How many of us gave up on our respective carriers for that?

Business changes and this is a high-profile example of that.

vector

YES!

IADCAflyer

We're also fleeing from DCA-PIT-LAX when we can easily fly IAD-LAX or IAD-LGB.

JetTroop

YEP! I fly MYR-CLT-ORD on US. I could fly non-stop (MYR-ORD) on Spirit and pay $240 RT for their new first class. (Umm, that would be FULL FARE FIRST CLASS too) Gee...they want my business.

foodguy

Not to mention my current BWI-(Insert hub here)-Anywhere when I can easily fly BWI-Anywhere and not have to worry about the mess at PHL.

JetTroop

Ya know, the reason that the big boys are the big boys is because they have regional feeders who push people to their hubs to get them out to their destinations. So I'm guessing for the amount of people that fly direct from CLT, PIT or PHL, there are just as many or more of us who are connecting though. Therefore, I can switch to any other airline from here because connections don't matter. I'm doing them anyways.

Skyman

You better believe I was disappointed. I have been Chairman's Preferred 3 years in a row and am on track to be so again in 2003. I typically do not buy non-refundable fares but nevertheless, I do not like the idea of not getting ANYTHING (miles/segments) because of the class of fare paid. I would be OK with foregoing the bonus miles on certain fares but it is not OK to not give me credit when I am actually paying to fly them, regardless of the amount. US should be encouraging more loyalty but it seems to me that this stupid move will have just the opposite effect.

RDU is my base. I have other options. I would hate to give up US but if they don't value my business as much anymore, then I'll fly someone else who does. Heck, I might just start flying Southwest: cheap fares AND credit.

hilton-gold

I wonder how everyone's decision to leave US would change if the Big Six all had similar policies. Remember, AA only offers 1/2 credit towards status on discount fares. This could easily be the norm, as could the "US Way." I just tink it's a new reality and major changes in travel ways are only going to discover the same thing with another airline later on.

ClueByFour

AA offers a carrot approach. All fares (that I've ever flown on AA) get Q-miles on a 1:1 basis in discount economy.

Discount economy, however, only gets 0.5 q-points/mile. Y gets 1, F gets 1.5, J gets 1.25. So, you reward the uber-fare paying pax more quickly, but don't shaft the guy buying nonrefundables. See http://www.fewmiles.net and the section on AAdvantage.



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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

jcrb

No, AA gives %50 Q-point but %100 Q-miles on discount fares.

hilton-gold

Sorry for my lack of clarification on the AA points vs miles issue. Most airlines are 1:1, on AA discount fares, it is not ONLY IN TERMS OF POINTS FOR ELITE STATUS.

Eugene

Perhaps, you'd be surprised to learn that on AA you can qualify for status through either q-miles or q-points.

For example, flying 25K miles in discounted economy would generate at least 25K q-miles and 12.5K q-points (in reality, more than that as there is a minimum of 500 q-miles and q-points per segment flown), and you'll qulify for Gold status.

YVR Cockroach

Doesn't matter. AA lets you qualify on miles, points or segments. Buying and flying only on FC tickets just lets you qualify faster than on economy (full or discounted).

ahc

... and this is the way to accomplish what US says they want to accomplish. If they had made a change like this, FTers might be disgruntled, but we'd admit that it's an eminently reasonable way to reward high-yield travelers. What US has in fact done is as much as said they don't want the business, let alone the loyalty, of lower-fare-paying passengers. Very well--point taken! I'm off to AA!

Flying Fan

I'm sorry, but this is pretty different from reducing the min mileage from 1,000 to 500. There is NO comparison. I won't be caught dead on a USAirways flight anymore.