I don’t usually go out of my way to agree or disagree with contrary opinions but Fortune’s recent article on airline loyalty programs by Stanford University professor Jeffrey Pfeffer is simply wrong in so many factual ways. Sounding like he was separated at birth from soon-to-be BoardingArea blogger Christopher Elliott, Professor Pfeffer thinks everything about frequent…
Rewards Programs
Tag Archives for Rewards Programs.
Do Delta SkyMiles Suddenly Have More Value?
I know, most of the Boarding Area bloggers told you yesterday of the doom awaiting the Delta SkyMiles changes beginning next year, but for those with accumulated miles, this may actually be good news. A short recap; Delta is changing their mileage earning method for redeemable miles (RDM) next year from one based on miles…
Review Your Marriott Stay For a Chance To Win a 7 Day Vacation
For the month of June, Marriott Rewards is running a sweepstakes where your review could win you a 7-day, 6-night vacation for two worth 250,000 Marriott Rewards points. The Marriott Rewards Insiders Review Your Stay Sweepstakes is giving away two of those grand prizes, as well as weekly drawings for 10,000 Marriott Points and runner up…
Frequent Flier Miles are Pointless? Heresy!
Listened to this recording over the weekend between Marketwatch reporter Kelli Grant and Wall Street Journal’s Gordon Deal discussing the value of frequent flier programs. While they concede that frequent flier programs have value for those who fly, well, frequently, both feel the benefits are very limited for those who fly infrequently. In part, their…
Are You a Travel Award Spender or Saver?
A neighbor of mine used to be a corporate travel manager, flying frequently for business. She saved her air miles and hotel points … and saved . . . and saved. They paid for their vacation travel with money, not points, saving all their award points for when they retired. Then she got the news…
What’s Happening to the Frequent Flier Upgrades?
Most frequent fliers say the crown jewel of status benefits is the free upgrade to first class by legacy carriers. But this year the boards are lighting up with common complaints of no upgrades at the early window (usually 4-5 days before) while others are saying they are simply not receiving upgrades at all. The…
Is Going Down in Status Making You Sick?
Are you approaching the end of the miles and points year with the realization that you’ll be a lesser person next year? A person with a lesser airline, hotel or car rental status, that is! While I’ve reached top tier status at three hotel chains (Marriott, Hilton and Starwood) and will reach 100k on Continental/United,…
Airline Gold Elite Status: The New Silver
Ah, the good old days when there used to be three elite levels for airlines – Silver, Gold, and Platinum. Generally, those levels were recognized at 25K, 50K, 75 or 100K respectively for miles flown annually. I realize this is a bit of an oversimplification because not all the legacy carriers followed this strict status.…
Got a Business? Earn Even More Frequent Flier Miles
The contest we just had on Boarding Area was fun, especially for the winner, of course. There were some excellent tips offered (thank you!) but I was looking for one tip and never saw anyone post about it (sorry if I missed it). Some airlines offer business programs for employees where the companies actually accumulate…
The Depression of Losing Airline Status
For frequent fliers who did not reach elite status by the end of 2009, your privileges will soon be expiring … typically by the end of February. That’s about the time the depression sets in. I’ve felt that pain before. Not only was it a miserable feeling to know that I would always be going to…
