Perks Come at a Higher Price from Condé Nast Traveler on Concierge.com

Perks Come at a Higher Price

by Mike Haney | Published January 2004 | See more Condé Nast Traveler articles ›

New mileage program rules mean fewer benefits for most fliers

Beginning this year, members of Continental's OnePass frequent-flier program who travel on discounted tickets will be credited only 50 percent of the actual miles flown toward earning elite status. Although fliers will continue to receive full mileage credit toward free flights, the changes will make it more difficult to get the perks that come with elite membership, such as priority boarding and free upgrades. Those traveling on higher-priced, unrestricted tickets, on the other hand, will be credited with 150 percent of the actual miles flown toward elite status. Continental is also following American, Delta, and United in raising the mileage requirement for a one-class upgrade by 50 percent, to 15,000 miles.

Why the changes? With loyalty programs allowing people to rack up miles for everything from buying groceries to making telephone calls, airlines have decided to reward their best customers: travelers who earn their miles by actually flying. "The proliferation of loyalty programs in the past five years has meant that suddenly everyone has enough miles to upgrade to what is still a limited inventory of first-class seats," says Randy Petersen, editor of InsideFlyer magazine and WebFlyer.com. "The airlines found themselves saying no to their best customers. Now they're trying to get the 'middle class' out of the picture a little bit so when their most loyal passengers want a benefit, they can say yes."

Continental echoes Petersen, explaining that the changes are simply a way of rewarding the highest-paying customers. But when Delta announced similar adjustments to its SkyMiles frequent-flier program in January 2003, the action prompted an outcry from angry business travelers, who are increasingly flying on discounted tickets. Hoping to avoid that kind of backlash, Continental is offering a grace period, awarding full elite-status mileage credit for flights booked online through December 2004.

While it may soon be harder to earn elite status, Petersen notes that the huge mileage balances fliers are now accruing make it easier than ever to purchase nonrestricted award flights. In general, these require twice the miles of restricted award tickets but are not subject to any blackout dates or capacity controls. He adds that the recent changes by Continental, Delta, and other carriers will ultimately make it harder for the average traveler to earn elite status and seat upgrades, allowing true frequent fliers to claim "the benefits they really want—the seats in the front of the plane."