A Warning Regarding Targeted Promotions
Oct 20, 2002, 11:35 am
#151
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Texas, U.S.A.
Posts: 19,523
FYI, on most United promotions, if the deal comes to you as a targeted postcard or letter, they always state that you are pre-registered for the promotion.
If a non-invitee tries to manually register using the targeted promo code, they get a message saying sorry, they are not eligible.
Promotions that are available to anyone via the "Promotions" page on the web site...those you have to register for.
If a non-invitee tries to manually register using the targeted promo code, they get a message saying sorry, they are not eligible.
Promotions that are available to anyone via the "Promotions" page on the web site...those you have to register for.
Oct 20, 2002, 1:31 pm
#152
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Charlotte, NC USA
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott Lifetime / Annual Titanium; Massively Missing Starwood
Posts: 5,344
I haven't been able to check FT for the last week or so, and good golly did I miss something here!
None of my miles have been deducted, but if/when they are, I will be requiring the refund of every flight that I took after I registered for those promos. Those promos are the only reason that I flew and had US shown more care, I'd not have been duped by their business practice. This includes three trips to LA, two to Phoenix, two to Boston.
The airline cannot arrogantly assume that I'd have flown those trips without the promos. To do so means they feel promos have no value whatsoever, which they obviously do not b/c of the great care they went to in getting themselves into this mess.
I also am a bit disturbed by the folks at FT becoming some sort of a spokesman for any airline, hotel or credit card company. I realize that being close to these companies gets the owners of the website/magazine a lot of miles and that this is the bottom line of their efforts. Nonetheless, I don't believe FT has passed along every complaint or championed every cause of the posters, why should the opposite be true.
None of my miles have been deducted, but if/when they are, I will be requiring the refund of every flight that I took after I registered for those promos. Those promos are the only reason that I flew and had US shown more care, I'd not have been duped by their business practice. This includes three trips to LA, two to Phoenix, two to Boston.
The airline cannot arrogantly assume that I'd have flown those trips without the promos. To do so means they feel promos have no value whatsoever, which they obviously do not b/c of the great care they went to in getting themselves into this mess.
I also am a bit disturbed by the folks at FT becoming some sort of a spokesman for any airline, hotel or credit card company. I realize that being close to these companies gets the owners of the website/magazine a lot of miles and that this is the bottom line of their efforts. Nonetheless, I don't believe FT has passed along every complaint or championed every cause of the posters, why should the opposite be true.
Oct 20, 2002, 1:38 pm
#153
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: Charlotte, NC USA
Programs: AA EXP; Marriott Lifetime / Annual Titanium; Massively Missing Starwood
Posts: 5,344
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Piegow:
Beware! All those who signed up for the Gay and Lesbian Bonus are about to have their sexual orientation investigated.</font>
Beware! All those who signed up for the Gay and Lesbian Bonus are about to have their sexual orientation investigated.</font>
Oct 20, 2002, 3:32 pm
#155
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: New Hampshire
Programs: AA Platinum, Marriott Gold, Everything else: Dirt
Posts: 802
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by PersonalCareChemist:
Dingo--Did you really mean to say "I'm screwed no matter which way I turn" with respect to the Gay and Lesbian promo?</font>
Dingo--Did you really mean to say "I'm screwed no matter which way I turn" with respect to the Gay and Lesbian promo?</font>
Oct 20, 2002, 6:24 pm
#157
Join Date: Aug 2001
Programs: CO Infinite Plat, UA Lifetime 1K, AA EXP, US(ex-CP), VX, DL, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, SPG Gold
Posts: 422
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by TomBascom:
My guess is that it went disasterously wrong (from their POV) with GOM -- someone had the bright idea of segmenting the promo half a dozen ways ...</font>
My guess is that it went disasterously wrong (from their POV) with GOM -- someone had the bright idea of segmenting the promo half a dozen ways ...</font>
Oct 20, 2002, 8:36 pm
#158
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Newburgh, NY
Posts: 129
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by jetsetter:
Finally as I said earlier, I'm disappointed in Randy's operation for doing the dirty work of the airlines, and in the way they endorsed the post. Usually journalists don't endorse something. I.e. they might say "a source tells me this will happen." They usually leave the consumer to make his or her own decisions based on what the source tells the reporter. Why should Randy care if I get two million or two billion miles if he's not paying for them. I think the answer may be that house of miles does some consulting work with the carriers, and accepts adds from the industry, so they have to take a pro industry stance. Given that, I would not mind paying for the FT service is this meant it was not so pro-industry, and if it could be more independent and take actions that help the consumer more than these huge corporations stuck in their old ways of thinking. I.e. stuck in thinking about the gravy of Y fares that no sane person would buy given todays market. Still I don't see how the house of miles is impacted no matter what I do or how I get my miles. Do they think US will sue them for hosting this forum? Does US even have the resources to do this? </font>
Finally as I said earlier, I'm disappointed in Randy's operation for doing the dirty work of the airlines, and in the way they endorsed the post. Usually journalists don't endorse something. I.e. they might say "a source tells me this will happen." They usually leave the consumer to make his or her own decisions based on what the source tells the reporter. Why should Randy care if I get two million or two billion miles if he's not paying for them. I think the answer may be that house of miles does some consulting work with the carriers, and accepts adds from the industry, so they have to take a pro industry stance. Given that, I would not mind paying for the FT service is this meant it was not so pro-industry, and if it could be more independent and take actions that help the consumer more than these huge corporations stuck in their old ways of thinking. I.e. stuck in thinking about the gravy of Y fares that no sane person would buy given todays market. Still I don't see how the house of miles is impacted no matter what I do or how I get my miles. Do they think US will sue them for hosting this forum? Does US even have the resources to do this? </font>
Oct 20, 2002, 9:17 pm
#159
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: CT (NYC Suburbs), Gulf Stream, FL
Programs: United Premier 1K, American AAdvantage Gold
Posts: 3,089
I have been silent on this thread because I rarely register for any of these, and probably haven't ever registered for one that I wasn't targeted for. The reason is because I object to the whole process. We are (were) all customers, and I find it unfair, and discriminatory that some people should get things like accelerated status qualification, or extra bonuses, because of some accident of geography, or level of non participation. Like genetic engineering, these airlines start screwing with the natural order of things, which creates the unlevel playing field that further invites people to try to beat the system. Add to that the fact that the company didn't have the means to figure out who was doing it, and you have to sympathize with the customer. The program was unfair. This idea that you only get bonuses if you find them, turns the loyalty program into a game of "gotcha" (as in, too bad you didn't see that one). Screw that. If there is a bonus for doing something, and I do it, why the hell is it up to me to know about it in order to get it? Pull that stuff, and you eventually get the customer base doing what it can to game you back. This is no new revelation for USAir. They can read. This is more of the payback I said would be coming as a result of frustrating their attempt to screw us out of our benefits. It's why I am flying someone else. I also agree with the earlier assertion that this forum should not be used by it's organizers to send messages to the customers of a third party. Doing that just serves to underscore the fact that dependence on advertising from the airlines severely limits one's ability to confront them. Despite the claim that there was "behind the scenes" activity from Randy & Co. (it's not a knock, just an expression of what I believe), I see little evidence that anything besides the pressure exerted by the participants of this (and other)forums stopped them from changing the elite requalification procedure. Quite simply, they caved when the other carriers didn't follow, and my bet is, that was because of the stink we created.
Oct 20, 2002, 9:21 pm
#160
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: NY Metro Area
Programs: AA 2MM Yay!, UA MM, Costco General Member
Posts: 49,051
I find the most interesting thing about Randy's mileage run article is that it says US Airways gives double miles to everyone. Well, do they or not? What has been here over the last few days is that they dont. So what is really going on? I only signed up for one double miles code, and nothing has posted since the 15th.
Oct 21, 2002, 8:46 am
#161
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: PDX
Programs: DL Plat, UA Plat 1MM, AS MVP, Hyatt Discoverist, Avis Presidents Club, Hertz President's Circle
Posts: 3,938
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by GadgetFreak:
I find the most interesting thing about Randy's mileage run article is that it says US Airways gives double miles to everyone. Well, do they or not? What has been here over the last few days is that they dont. So what is really going on? I only signed up for one double miles code, and nothing has posted since the 15th. </font>
I find the most interesting thing about Randy's mileage run article is that it says US Airways gives double miles to everyone. Well, do they or not? What has been here over the last few days is that they dont. So what is really going on? I only signed up for one double miles code, and nothing has posted since the 15th. </font>
This double-miles promo was LAST YEAR (post 9/11 bonus). Interesting that Randy never even finished this mileage run report...
Oct 22, 2002, 6:54 pm
#163
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Pittsburgh
Programs: US Chairman's Preferred, Intercontinental Platinum
Posts: 983
They aren't going to take anything away from anybody. Their lawyers have certainly advised them that if they do, after ACCEPTING bonus registrations and MONEY for tickets, they'll be ripe for legal action.
Not to mention the fact that most of us will take our business elsewhere.
That crap about being "targeted" is a joke. They screwed up these promotions and are paying the price of handing out millions of bonus miles.
There has been no "offical" announcement because they would be laughed at by the industry and general public for being so incompetent.
Not to mention the fact that most of us will take our business elsewhere.
That crap about being "targeted" is a joke. They screwed up these promotions and are paying the price of handing out millions of bonus miles.
There has been no "offical" announcement because they would be laughed at by the industry and general public for being so incompetent.
Oct 23, 2002, 8:45 am
#164
Join Date: Aug 2001
Programs: CO Infinite Plat, UA Lifetime 1K, AA EXP, US(ex-CP), VX, DL, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Plat, SPG Gold
Posts: 422
Does anyone think that having ANY miles post to your account right now might flag your account for review? Since you can't unregister for bonuses, you might get "too many" miles for a trip.
edited for spelling
[This message has been edited by infiniteflyer (edited 10-23-2002).]
edited for spelling
[This message has been edited by infiniteflyer (edited 10-23-2002).]
Oct 23, 2002, 8:54 am
#165
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Philadelphia, PA, USA
Programs: UA 2P, AA LT Gold, Marriott LT Titanium
Posts: 3,159
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by infiniteflyer:
Dose anyone think that having ANY miles post to your account right now might flag your account for review? Since you can't unregister for bonuses, you might get "too many" miles for a trip.</font>
Dose anyone think that having ANY miles post to your account right now might flag your account for review? Since you can't unregister for bonuses, you might get "too many" miles for a trip.</font>
Not sure what you are suggesting - stop flying? Fly other carriers?
I have been sitting on a bunch of unused NAU's because a) don't want to draw attention to my acct b) rumor they might be exchangeable 1:2 with new 500 mile NAU's