More Than Points

Dear point man:

I thought you would be the perfect person to ask this question.  In your view, what is the best way (website or otherwise) to keep tabs on all your miles and points?

Sincerely,

Faraz Q

Honestly, Faraz, there is no real benefit to keep tabs because points are not the same as cash.  They cannot be economically used for anything else besides flights, free stays, or free rentals.  Therefore, I would just check the balance when planning trips. In the case of Southwest, where coupons can expire, just sell them on Craigslist or give them as gifts before their expiration date.  I would also add that points actually decrease in value these days with all the restrictions and additional "processing fees" so it would be in your best interest to use them as soon as possible and avoid having a balance at all!

Keep those questions coming.

In other words, they are reducing costs at your expense.

What This Means to You:

• Less planes
• Less airline staff
• First checked bag fee $15
• In-flight beverage "purchase" program
• No more bonus miles with Preferred status

“US Airways is also eliminating its bonus miles program for Preferred status Dividend Miles members. Preferred members currently receive mileage bonuses based on their status level. The Preferred bonus program will be discontinued for tickets purchased on/after Aug. 6, 2008.”

• Increased fees for booked at airport or through call centers
• "Redemption Processing Fee" for using Dividend Miles

I hate being the bearer of bad news.

This is just another sign, airlines are moving towards an "a la carte" menu to extract additional dollars from their customers.

In business school, this approach involves extracting additional customer surplus to maximize company profits.  By further segmenting the flying population, the airlines can extract additional surplus which it was giving away on a first come, first serve basis.  With oil prices at a record high, airplanes are competing to stay in business, not steal away customers from other airlines.  By cutting down on flight schedules, seat capacity is now in short supply so there is no concern about flying empty airplanes.  In a market with limited competition, the customer will pay the price. 

Just when you thought it was over…

Here’s a few choice quotes from the article:

"…the combination of reducing seating capacity within the airline’s fleet, moving toward an a la carte system of charging fliers for such things as checking bags, eating and drinking, along with expense reductions, will save the Tempe, Ariz.-based carrier $500 million annually."

"In addition to charges for baggage and refreshments, US Airways has raised the $15 charge to book flights through its call center to $25 for domestic flights and $35 for international flights. The $20 service fee to buy a ticket at an airport or city ticketing office increases to $35 for domestic travel and $45 for international travel."

"Most airlines except Southwest have announced capacity and personnel reductions, and a la carte charges."

"Fare-paying now looks like the customer is just paying the base price for the flight…You want doors – that’s going to cost you more."

"Right now, you’re dealing with a panicked industry which, after fuel costs, is making about 30 bucks a seat…If they can get an extra $10 out of a passenger, that’s a 33 percent increase. The industry already has sold most of its product for July and August below cost."

Don’t hold your breath - you can expect the other airlines to follow shortly.

This is good news.  It’s better than Continental and United merging.  It means your points can be used to get to more places (with the potential for less layovers) and you have access to more airport lounges all without the consolidation of flight segments that usually happen with a merger.  It’s an unexpected gem amid all the cost cutting and ala carte pricing we’ve been pummeled with in the past 6 months.

If you fly either airline you will enjoy the flexibility of the many more airports available to you since every Continental hub can be considered a United hub and vice versa – assuming it gains regulatory approval.

The email follows in all its entirety.  Have an excellent weekend!

Dear Mr. point man,

As a valued Mileage Plus member, we wanted you to be among the first to hear that Continental and United today announced plans to cooperate globally, linking our networks and services worldwide to deliver new benefits to you. In addition, Continental plans to join United in the Star Alliance®, the most comprehensive airline alliance in the world.

 
Once implemented, this new partnership, will easily enable you to take advantage of the resources of both airlines to enhance your overall travel experience, and receive more value from your Mileage Plus membership.

First and foremost, this partnership will include new frequent flier reciprocity that will enable you to earn miles when flying on either airline and redeem awards on both carriers. Travel on either carrier will count toward earning elite status. Similarly, members of either airline’s airport lounge program will have access to both Continental’s Presidents Club network and United’s Red Carpet Club® lounges.

Second, together with Continental, we will be able to offer you a more comprehensive domestic route network and together with our Star Alliance partners, greater choice of service throughout the entire world.

Starting in the U.S., you are going to see United and Continental develop extensive code-sharing that will facilitate travel whenever your itinerary involves both carriers. We will be able to provide you with a coordinated process for reservations/ticketing, check-in, flight connections and baggage transfer.

Internationally, Continental and United will establish joint ventures that will allow us to cooperate with each other and with other Star Alliance airlines throughout the world. These joint ventures will enable us to provide you with highly competitive flight schedules, fares and service to more destinations than we do today.

In short, once regulatory approval is obtained, this new partnership between United and Continental will expand your choice of flights and destinations, and improve your ability to earn both miles and elite status in Mileage Plus. Together we will offer you more value whenever you fly. We expect to bring you the benefits of our cooperation starting some time in 2009, and until then, we will keep you informed about our progress.

 
We appreciate you and your business, and we look forward to seeing you on your next flight.
Sincerely,

Robert Sahadevan
Vice President – Mileage Plus

There’s not much to say other than register especially if you’re already staying at a Marriott hotel between July 1st and August 31st, 2008.  You’ll earn 10,000 Marriott Rewards points for every third paid stay you make at Marriott.

Term and Conditions:

• Marriott Rewards members who register for this promotion will earn 10,000 bonus points every third paid stay, when their first paid stay and subsequent paid stays are made between July 1 and August 31, 2008, at a participating Marriott property – up to a maximum 30,000 points.
• Registration is required.
• Registration ends June 30, 2008.
• This offer is not transferable.
• Nights spent while redeeming an award are not eligible for credit.
• A stay is defined as consecutive nights spent at the same hotel, regardless of check-in/check-out activity.
• Only one room per hotel is counted towards a member’s nights or stay.
• Members electing to earn miles are not eligible for this promotion.
• All Marriott Rewards program terms and conditions apply.
• Visit MarriottRewards.com, call 1-888-MARRIOTT, or call your local Marriott Rewards Guest Services office for complete details.

I don’t know why Marriott and other hotels do not automatically sign up frequent travelers for these promotions.  Just imagine what a nice surprise it would be to see bonus points on your point statements without having to go through the tedious process of registering every quarter for the special promotion.  Perhaps they are testing to see if you still care.

USA TODAY has a very good read which highlights what to expect in the next year regarding flight schedules.  It’s not pretty, especially for those of you who travel out of non-hub cities.  Some tiny airports will lose the majority of their air service as smaller carriers such as Mesa Airlines fall victim to the high fuel prices (currently @$130/barrel).  Regional jets, a popular choice for smaller cities and shorter routes are no longer profitable at these oil prices so many airlines are planning to ground these types of planes.

The fall-out for travelers:

• Higher fare prices as reduced competition allows airlines to raise prices on less profitable segments
• Higher travel times in the form of less non-stop flights and more required connections
• More crowded planes as people squeeze into the available flight schedules
• Less flexibility in travel times and dates, especially for vacation destinations

We may not see this immediately, but it will hit us at some point depending on where we are departing and where we are going.  There’s not much we can do to prevent high oil prices, but you can minimize the impact to your travel plans by planning early.

As frequent travelers, sometimes our flight schedules are fixed so book out as far as possible.  Southwest gives you an edge as there are no costs for applying unused tickets to other Southwest ticket purchases.  The same cannot be said for all the other major airlines.

Plan your vacations and book early to get the dates which fit your schedule.  If you wait too long, you may not have the option to get on the flight and if you do, you may be paying up the nose for the few seats remaining.

In any case, expect higher prices regardless of when you plan to fly in the future.  Play it smart and don’t procrastinate.  Have a good week.

A reader pointed me to a site which may be useful for international travelers.  The purpose of the site is mainly focused on unlocking phones for use across different phone carriers, but they also provide free tools and guides (http://www.uniquephones.com/Phone-Travel-Guides.html).

One tool, checks phone compatibility for a specific country given a make and model.  For many of the cases, it is just checking if GSM is supported in the country since a GSM phone will work in any country as long as you have a SIM card (pre-paid or belonging to a supported carrier) installed in the phone.  I cannot vouch for the accuracy of every combination, but it’s worth a check if you’re planning to make a trip into another country and want to make sure your phone will work.  You can also go to many of the GSM-related sites and just look up the country you plan to visit.  If you have a GSM-compatible phone, you’re good to go.

I’d stay away from another tool which allows you to estimate expected roaming charges when using your phone in another country based on your current carrier.  I punched in a few values and it doesn’t appear to calculate the dollar amount very accurately.  In fact, I tested 0 for all the input values but it still gave a high cost due to roaming.  Looks like a ploy to get to you to signup with one of the SIM card providers.

Looks like mixed reviews for the unlocking services so user beware.

Thanks, Vikki.

You can use it on a vacation or save your client some money.  It’s a win-win.  With gas prices continuing to rise, I can definitely see the car rental business losing some money as people start jumping on the "staycation" bandwagon.

Promotion Details Here:

The beginning of the summer travel season is the perfect time to enjoy a Free Tank of Gas from Hertz. Just rent any Economy through Full-Size vehicle for a minimum of three days and get a free tank of gas for use with your rental. Hurry, this offer is valid on vehicle pickups through June 30, 2008, with PC# 113120.

Stay green.

After United Airlines announced a $25 fee for a 2nd checked luggage, it was only a matter of time before other airlines followed suit with similar fee-generating programs.  Take out the macro effects caused by rising oil prices such as less flights for unprofitable segments (American is losing 3.3 million a day!) and let’s focus on what this means to your week-to-week flying experience.

I assume as a road warrior, you are traveling pretty light and you do not check in any luggage.  In some cases, airlines do not charge flyers who have status so you may think this won’t impact us too much.  In most cases it won’t but there are a few cases where it just might.

If you’re late for a flight or somehow fail to board with the first group be prepare to check in your luggage.  With the new luggage fees, you can bet the overhead bins will be packed to the rim.  This means more time waiting at the baggage claim.

If you need to speak to a customer service representative, you can expect lines to be longer as people are figuring out how to pay for their check-in luggage.  Kiosk lines will take a bit longer as people go through the additional step of paying with their credit card.

Let say the airlines lose luggage - you can expect to see more angry customers since they now PAID to have their luggage checked-in when before they did not.  Again - expect longer customer service lines.

If you aren’t careful - this $15 fee will cost you more than $15 in time, waiting in lines or at baggage claims.  For many of you, the following tips may be redundant, but make sure you’re keeping your travel process streamlined.

Tips to Keep Your Travel Process Efficient

• Print your boarding pass in advance.  Buy a printer if you have to.  You need to avoid checking in at the airport to avoid the unnecessary lines.
• Give yourself enough time to reach your gate and board with the 1st group - your status won’t save you if you’re boarding with the 2nd group.
• If your flight is delayed or canceled and you need to speak to a customer service representative - call the 1-800 number reserved for flyers with status or call your travel agency.  Do not wait in a line or you may miss the seat for the next flight going out.
• Smile and be polite.  You’ll stand out among the sea of unhappy flyers and that can make all the difference sometimes.

Flying goes with the territory so take control of the things in your power and keep more time for yourself.

It seems that United, as of July 1st, will be going the way of its competitors in eliminating the 500-mile minimum for Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) on its flights and moving toward earnings based on actual miles flown. Complete details here.

This may impact those folks who fly short routes serviced by UA such as DC - NY and Chicago to…well..to anywhere under 500 miles!

Mileage Accrual Details

To ensure that Mileage Plus miles earned toward elite status and award travel on United are aligned with actual miles flown, we are revising our base accrual policy. Beginning July 1, 2008, for flights of less than 500 miles, passengers will earn redeemable miles equal to the actual miles flown. Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) will also be awarded based on actual miles. Elite Qualifying Segments (EQS) are not affected.

This new mileage accrual structure will apply to travel on or after July 1, 2008, regardless of when the travel was ticketed. Flights of less than 500 miles flown on or before June 30, 2008, will accrue Mileage Plus miles under the previous policy of a minimum mileage accrual per individual segment flown.

Look for these and other changes to make it more difficult to 1) achieve status and 2) accrue miles.