Travel

One of the most frustrating things about the airlines are their frequent flier programs. When they were first rolled out, everyone thought this was a wonderful idea. FREE travel!! But like other "too good to be true" stories, frequent fliers in most cases were a disappointment.

One of the first things the airlines did was to put an expiration date on the miles that you earned. You see, frequent flier awards are carried on the airlines' books as a liability. A liability that most airlines didn't want to carry for any length of time. Plus, it rewarded the infrequent traveler which was something the airlines didn't want to do. Most airlines have now rescinded this rule, but a lot of people have lost miles since then. 

Some of the major carriers then increased the number of miles required for an award. The standard in the industry is now 25,000 miles for a domestic ticket. . Clearly the once a year traveler was going to have a tough time getting that free trip.

If this monkey business weren't enough, Airlines made it next to impossible to redeem some of your awards. You see, most airlines only set aside a certain number of seats (an ungodly low number) for their frequent flier awards. A flight could be just half full, but if the frequent flier seats are taken, you're out of luck. On busy routes like Chicago to Las Vegas, this almost always the case. The end around on this is that if you call the airline again about a week before departure, they may just wind up giving you your award when they see that selling out the flight is a hopeless cause, since airlines are known to "adjust" the number of award seats all the way up until flight time. Some airlines like Southwest or National don't make a distinction between Rev (revenue) or non-rev seats. If you're a frequent flier on these airlines, your treated just like a paying customer: first come first served. Now, airlines are offering you any seat on any flight, but the number of miles needed usually DOUBLES! 25,000 each way!

Even when the stars aligned perfectly for your free trip, airlines usually made you jump through a few hoops to get your tickets. First, some used to require that you book your flight 45 to 60 days in advance. You could never book your flight on-line. You always had to call a "special" number (that was probably staffed by one person) and it took forever to get through. Then, you had to wait a couple of weeks for your tickets to be delivered.

Well, happily times have changed. Many airlines are changing their attitudes toward Frequent Fliers. It may have something to do with the slowing economy, but it may in the case of United Airlines have more to do with Public Relations than anything else.  Airline awards shot up 6% last year, and United has given away 10% more. Expect these numbers to go up in the coming year as well. In the first quarter, the industry was flying planes at 68.5% capacity. That represents only a 0.1% decrease from a year ago, however that represents 17000 empty seats A DAY!

Some airlines have also slashed the number of miles to receive an award. For example, Continental Airlines has slashed the number of miles for some trips to Europe and Mexico by up to 50% (although this will be ending soon). Southwest which offers a free trip after every 16 segments, awards you a free trip after 8 segments IF you book your trips through their website. 

Speaking of websites, some airlines like Delta are making plans to allow members to book their tickets on line, which is a real plus. Many airlines are now express mailing their awards tickets and have abolished the 45-60 day advance reservation policy. 

All in all, the much maligned Frequent Flier programs are improving. Some airlines like America West are still notorious for being tight fisted about giving away freebies. Others, like Southwest and National have made their programs simple and easy to use. One by one the majors are realizing that the frequent flier award actually means something: that the person cashing it in has been a loyal customer. It's high time to treat them that way. 

The one question we get is what are the awards actually "worth". Well, for airlines who require miles, a mile is worth about 2 cents, so a domestic ticket that costs you 25,000 miles, actually should cost 500 dollars. With airfares this summer going down, you may want to reconsider using your miles on that 159 dollar Las Vegas flight! 

Wouldn't you know it? Just when things get better with a program, it's not worth using after all!

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