Score8

Another option would be to do what some of the non-US airlines do...create one mileage hurdle to make status and another to keep it (e.g. 100K to make top tier and 75K to retain it.) This way, anyone who is with HP's top tier will only need to fly 75K to make it.

As an aside, I wonder how many GP's flew between 75-100K ie. what would be the program dilution.

gar777

As I see it, Doug has quite a dilemma on his hands.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but his idea of a flight mileage bonus means bonus revenue to the airline. The only promo bonuses I've seen in my two and a halve years on HP are 'fly X flights to XYZ and earn a companion ticket to Mexico or from XYZ airport' and the 'generous' 500 hundred mile web booking bonus. Not exactly what us DM's come to expect.

He has reduced gold and platinum flight mile bonuses down from a generous level to industry standard levels (50%/100%). This I don't really hold against him, I'm just trying to convey the stinginess that flightfund is all about.

Oh, and how does he handle the current HP policy of companion upgrades at the gate versus confirmed pre-upgrading.

The only very positive thing that FlightFund can add to DM is 15,000 mile RT Awards for destinations less than 750 miles from the originating airport. This was added to FFund at the same time of the flight milage bonus reductions. Tit for tat.

I am eagerly awaiting how he will reward me as a top tier on both HP/US. Or will a new Plan B in my future? HP was my original Plan B when 1st US bankrupcy was declared, since I mainy fly transcons from the east and between western cities.

ILUVCITIBANK

SAT night stayover rule for basic 25K awards has meant this was one more lonely credit card for me and mine. After it became clear one could not GIVE away these airmiles (even the miles for mags guys gave up on Dividend Miles a week or two ago)...and then that awful industry non-standard SAT stayover...meant no more Dividend Miles accumulation for this mile hound.

I forget even who the issuing bank is behind this airline...and I still have my cards....they just sit unused.

maybe US Air will wise up and become more aligned w/ industry use of ff miles. And then again, maybe not.

Continental and AA do it another way (secretive capacity controls, and not so secretive in the case of Nonepass)...US Air just loads up the gotchas and goes at it another [inept] way..

Has sure driven me away.

TPA us ff

On absorbtion:

"You will be absorbed.
Your individuality will merge
into the unity of good,
and in your submergence into the common being of the body,
you will find contentment
and fulfillment.
You will experience...
the absolute good." - Landru

Welcome to DM!

kudzu

The unpublished benefit of the CP carryover has kept me flying US well past the threshhold. With the merger and the possibility that the CP carryover may be an alien feature to the new bosses, I'm not sure what's best for me - my heart says to continue flying US and hope for the best, but my head is urging caution. I hope they'd do it for another year at least, and give a heads-up if a change is coming.

EnvoyBoy

Ditto!

Robertsonland

Forgive my ignorance but is there a cap on the number of miles you can "roll over" to the following year? If there is no cap and say you fly 175K in a year. Meaning you need 25K to make CP quals for the next year. Now you need to give US 25K of your miles and then you could technically go to another airline and be assured of CP for the following year meaning US could lose your business for most of a year.

Whereas if you dont' rollover and have to re-earn 100K each year then US is "guaranteed" 100K out of you every year instead of say 175K then only 25K. They could potentially lose you as a customer for the better part of the year instead of losing you as a customer for say 3 months out of the year.

I would like the rollover but I'll prolly top out at 110K this year as I do only domestic flights and only 1 rt per week so yeah getting that extra 10K would be nice to start the year over with but I could easily see them "dropping" this part of DM at least up front.

Lance

dukeman

No cap. I started this year with over 50K from rollover, others had many more going back to the days of GOM. I can see both sides of the argument for/against rollover. However, looking at your rationale the airline would lose the additional 75K from one year. Ultimately the lost revenue would be about the same unless there are dramatic shifts in pricing or flying behavior. And while some flyers would only be lost for the 3 months you suggest, I could stop flying US today and still be CP next year. That is over 6 months of lost revenue.....

kudzu

AFAIK, there's no carryover cap for this unpublished benefit. Another unpublished benefit is a complimentary basic Club membership for 150k fliers (and longtime CPs too) - not much, but a nice gesture of appreciation.

One of the nice features of the *A is the ability to credit Miles on *A flights to one account only. Since I fly predominantly on US and knowing that the CP carryover would more likely than not continue as it has for the last 3 years, I've just used my US account for all *A flights.

If the CP carryover is to be dropped and with enough of a heads-up, I could try to do only 100k or so on my US account each year, and credit the remainder to another *A carrier like UA or SQ and possibly earn status and benefits there too (there are others on this forum who are both UA 1K and US CP). Of course, the thought of flying a non-*A airline has not entered my mind

Best part of being a CP and flying with US is access to the CP Desk, and I hope the stellar service remains undiminished.

Robertsonland

Well who knows if it will carry over or not. Just could see an argument for and against having it from the airline's side. You guys obviously fly a heck of alot more than I do but I fly exclusively HP and only one rt a week at most. The rollover would be nice for me but would only garner me say 10K towards next year which isn't chump milage (about a month of flying for me).

Well we'll have to see if it continues. I have a feeling I'll never get an upgrade though with all the huge amounts of flying alot of US Airways people do with only 12 seats on A319's and A320's

BTW what do you guys use the CP desk for? I mean I call up FF to change seats, check status of some flights but mostly routine stuff. The way I've heard about the CP desk it seems like they call you up to see how your family is doing and if you need a few bucks to make it to monday

Lance

US AIRWAYS FAN

You can use the CP desk for everything. They are your personal Liason. They have called me personally to 1) Tell me my flight has been cancelled or chaged. They can sometimes "bend rules" that should not normally be done. They are awesome. And when you make a reservation you are put at the top of the hold que if you are on hold at all. The longest (so far knock on wood) I have had to wait on the phone for someone to answer is 5 rings and I call a lot.

I have gotten to know Cathy and she even gave me her extension number if I would like to deal with just her. And I do. She is simply the best.

Spiff

This email was sent to you by US Airways. To ensure delivery directly to your inbox please add [email protected] to your address book today.

Dear Spiff
Dividend Miles #: XXXXXXX

Because of your loyalty to US Airways, I want to make you aware of an important step our company has taken.
US Airways Group, Inc. and America West Holding Corp. today announced a merger that will expand service, create more choice for our customers, and enhance opportunities for you to earn and redeem Dividend Miles for award travel or upgrades.

The combined airline, which will be called US Airways, will create the first nationwide, full-service, low-cost, low-fare network airline, with service extending from coast-to-coast, as well as Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Latin America and Europe. With this merger, we are pioneering a new airline business model that has distinct advantages over other competitors:

Service, network, cost-structure and simplified pricing that you have come to expect; and
Customer amenities such as a world-class frequent flyer program, airport clubs, pre-assigned seating and
First Class upgrades.
Until approval of the merger, a process expected to take several months, it will be business as usual for US Airways and America West customers, and there will be no joint marketing or operations between the two airlines. You should continue to book flights through www.usairways.com, US Airways reservations or your travel agent, check in for flights at US Airways counters and redeem Dividend Miles for flights on US Airways or any of our Star Alliance or frequent flyer program partners.

Upon approval of the merger, we will clearly communicate various customer initiatives, such as combining frequent flyer programs, co-locating airport gates and ticket counters, integrating Internet Web sites, and implementing other sales and marketing enhancements.

We have enclosed answers to a number of questions that you may have. Please be assured that as we move through this exciting process, we will keep you informed of important developments.

A dedicated section of www.usairways.com has been created to provide additional background information about this merger. As this process continues, we will be updating the site regularly.

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing you on your next US Airways flight.

Sincerely,


N. Bruce Ashby
Executive Vice President,
Marketing and Planning

shell nyc

EVERYTHING!

The men and women at the CP desk are amazing. Simply do a search here on the US board and you'll find many stories attesting to that.

I call when my upgrades clear to request my preferred seat, 2D...
I call when my schedule changes at the last minute, and I need to know my options...
I call when I absolutely need to get somewhere, and everything is sold out...
I call when I'm at the airport and **** hits the fan due to weather or otherwise...
I call when I'm running late for a flight, am stuck at security, and hear the "last call" announcement for my flight...
I call when my promotional bonus miles don't post correctly...
I call when I'm at the AC counter and they can't find my res (which I find out is due to the fact that I don't have my paper ticket...doh!) The CP desk then calls me back to make sure everything is taken care of and that I've made my flight...

Robertsonland

I guess I never run into these situations other than requesting a seat and pretty much it's full except bulkhead F seats when Plats are upgraded anyway. Sometimes bonus miles don't post but FF plat line works fine. I guess I've just been lucky but FF plat has been enough to satisfy my needs. Hopefully I won't need anymore than that in the future either

Thanks for the lowdown on CP desk.

Lance

kudzu

US has 12 FC seats on the A319s and 16 on the A320s

The most difficult UGs are the 757s with only 8 FC - especially to LAS