(Start of 1st session)

MileKing
It appears AOL/AAdvantage is up and running, but the program appears to be a dud, in my view. Any thoughts on the program?

Randy Petersen
So you want comment on AOL AAdvantage....here goes:

Randy Petersen
Actually, it is in soft launch right now, or so it appears. This simply means that they have some work to do. Actually, I think it has some lags to it, knowing the absolute power that AOL and AAdvantage have as businesses....

Randy Petersen
I think we're all going to need a period to adjust in that these types of programs are enhancements. not replacements for a free trip to Hawaii. I like the fact that it extends the opportunity to earn more miles, afterall, i can simply ignore the fact that i can redeem some miles for a Harry Potter book. Look at it as a new partner, nothing more and it will probably make sense. I'm a little dissapointed that with the 6 months or so they have been owrking on it that they don't have a bigger network, but then again, they haven't fomally launched yey and there may be more to come.

spiff
Randy, I'm interested in your thoughts on the changes to Delta's Medallion program for 2001, specifically the elimination of the System Wide Upgrades.

Randy Petersen
Honestly, I don't like them. I would hope that any airline program that provides a benefit, finds a way to make it work, rather than taking the easy way out and changing the rules. While they have given what is considered proper notice for the change, that's not the answer I think most of us are looking at. Having returned from a 3-week business trip, I'm going to spend time over the next week or so the figure out how they might change their minds or to make it work. The answer lies in the fact that BusinessElite is popular because of the same people they are taking the benefit away from. The old problem of earn international but only burn domestic simply is not acceptable......

Tolarian Wind
I am pondering switching airlines on January.. What are your thoughts on programs for someone who just qualifies for low level elite

Randy Petersen
Good question, let's see....

Randy Petersen
I think you need to work more on choosing the right airline to begin with. It's a balance between awards and benefits. Among benefits you'll find smaller programs like Alaska, America West and TWA to be somewhat better for you since some have lower elite qualifications and fast track solutions at the basis level. The larger programs are only attractive for the more frequent flyer. Also....

Randy Petersen
because of the basic benefits of the number of miles you will fly, you might want to considerhow to get more awards from the miles you have. Both America West and Alaska and TWA have generally lower award levels domestically than the bigger guys. But the real answer lies in what benefit you cherish for the elite. Some like the upgrades, some like the early boarding, some like the bonus miles...more research will give you the answer, once you figure out the benefits you aspire for.

Flying Dutchman
In the March 2000 InsideFlyer, Guy Booth promised to lift restrictions on bonus mileage transfers to Hilton HHonors. Yet a week ago, LatinPass imposed a limit on transfers to both HHonors and Marriott Rewards, and applied that limit retroactively to existing requests. What's your reaction to the news?

Randy Petersen
Actually for the LatinPass news, it's the first I've heard - except for an earlier email from Pudding Guy. (Again, I've been on the road for a solid 3 weeks). I'm dissapointed because he/they are biting the hand that made them a media darling for a frequent flyer prograqm. I will begin to chat with them tomorrow and find out what's going on. Like it or not, I think they face embarassing themselves for the very same way they made themselves. There may be a legal rememdy here and while I always suggest that's the last resort, i think there must be a grandfather clause here to protect members such as you and me.

hfly
Randy, can you expand on the DL situation some more (none of us saw the question)?

Randy Petersen
Let's go back and restate my answer to the prior Delta question: Essentially I'm not happy with the changes. My reasoning on this is that why would an airline limit the access to anything they own as part of that airline, afterall, I can earn miles up the ying-yang for my revenue side of business with them. And I think the point that most iritates me, is that here's another example of earn international, but only burn domestically. Since just getting back, I plan on reviewing this and understanding what better solutions that Delta should be considering..... (P.S. this complete transcript will be available the next few days on FlyerTalk)

Ed
Thanks Randy, I recently had my flight cancelled due to mechanical problems on a Sunday. They rescheduled me for the next day and comped me first class tickets. However after I left I realized they had me on three segments and spending about 7 hours to make a 3 hour flight. My travel agent easily changed the itinerary that night but could not move the upgrades. Can I get them back?

Randy Petersen
Generally you can't becuase the airline probabally took that reservation based on First Class confirmed availability. Having said that, I've had luck in the past getting a credit for the upgrades by providing the airline with the original locator of the first class flight and boarding passes for the coaqch trip i took in substitution. You must have the orginal locator for this to work, that or settle yourself into asking for the miles for both trips, since most airlines won't credit you for the original canceled trip, only the trip you finally took.

DoggyDaddy
Randy, I understand that some airlines (American and United) reward their flyers who have flown large amounts of miles (1 million). Do you know of any other possible carriers who have this type of plan proposed? I used to fly United, and I may have had close to 1 mil but this was before the days of FF. (I have a plaque with a whole bunch of destinations on them). How long can you go back, and what "proof" would you need?

Randy Petersen
I love this question because it has been something I've worked on before. United doesn't honor flight activity outside of the launch of their Mileage Plus program. I've got plenty of those plaques from members who fell into the same problem. Only Mileage Plus miles count toward million mile status. In addition to American and United, both Delta and Northwest have million mile programs, though very suspicious that Continental does nothing. Delta's has changed over the year - not for the good - since all miles used to qualify but now ajust actual flight miles are pretty standard for most, but not all programs......get to the million with United and be pretty happy and there's not much beyond that......

Clairol
Recently I was scheduled to go on UAL from SFO to KOA (Kona, HI). Because of a mechanical problem I was unable to make the UAL connection so UAL put me on NWAirlines to HNL then Hawaiian Air to Kona. I got ff miles on Hawaiian Air but NW said they could not give me ff miles because I didn't purchase the ticket from them. Is that so? Should I try calling again & talking to someone else?

Randy Petersen
That is not so and I challenge Northwest for telling you that. United paid Northwest for that and in all my experience - and i've had my share of similar experiences - I've gotten the miles. What you should have done was present your Northwest or Continental card to Northwest at check-in for that flight. Dealing with a retro credit is simply the wordt thing you can do to yourself. If you don't carry all your cards all the time, simply carry a card in your wallet that lists all your numbers for all programs and you'll be ready next time. You should have also gotten the miles from United for the canceled flight. I'm really mad that they told you that and if you contact me via email ([email protected]) I'll personally take it to Northwest. I get so mad when these airlines pull this kind of crap. Northwest has had their problems with cancellations, you'd think they would learn - don't tread on us.

hfly
Randy, could you schedule an exclusive DL chat in the near future to strategize with us?

Randy Petersen
I will. As i have tried to explain, I have flown over 40,000 actual miles in the last three weeks and have only been in Colorado for 1 day. I've got a lot to catch up on and would love to help where I can. Look for a post and announcement regarding this on FlyerTalk probably on Monday. The bottom line, it means a lot to all of us. Consider it done.......

Xeno
I sent a fax to the office of Melvin White and about a month later his office called to say that I probably saw the problems with upgrading to BE - which is not true in my case - and that hopefully Delta will make some adjustments like that did in response to the outcry to no L upgrade. Whatever Delta did they did not help me not do I think they would help me now. Is now a good time to approach UA and ask to transfer me in with an elite status?

Randy Petersen
I'd probably wait a little while. United has some other things to sort out and you may not be immediately happy. But, i don't expect a quick solution at Delta either, but let's remember, we have a little time before things change for (their) good. I have some inside information that I'll share with the DL Chat that I think will help all of us. But, if you really like United (and I actually do) I think you can get an elite transfer with no problem. but remeber, you may have to prove your business to get it and the question is - are you really ready to start flying United tomorrow? And with all your business.

BostonBoy
Hey, Randy. Welcome home. I was reviewing the Continental OnePass program, and the 30-day BusinessFirst upgrade policy is awful IMO. For those of you who don't know, you can't confirm a BF award seat or upgrade until 30 days out, regardless of status in the OnePass program. What is your opinion on this? Also, Northwest is revamping World Biz Class. Could they take suit in a similar policy?

Randy Petersen
I've never ever liked the restrictions on BusinessFirst in the Continental program. The 30-day policy is too elite for me and not a pleasant planning process, and I say that as a lifetime Platnum member which means I will always get first serve at available seats. Good observation about Northwest. I don't know that answer, but it seems to me we better find out and maybe even try to pre-empt anything they might be thinking with a FlyerTalk campaign for flyer rights to the decision. I don't think they have the same philosophy as Continental, but let's not take any chances......

Randy Petersen
For e reocrd, Continental doesn't get my Freddie vote in the award category for this reason, but I'm only one person.

BostonBoy
Another question, I was reviewing on the OnePass board about Infinite Elite, where CO offered elites lifetime Platinum (then called Gold) for flying in the dark ages. I know TWA is currently doing this (Lifetime Platinum a 1MM). Do any other airlines in holes plan on doing such a thing? Northwest, perhaps? Even though it was tough back then, flying CO in the early 90s turned out to have good perks in the future, ie, now.

Randy Petersen
BostonBoy - i think i might have touched on that with a previous question in that there are many programs that give you lifetime status at one-million miles. At 2 million with American you get lifetime Platinum. The choices are there, though as you know the Continental offer was very short term and limited and unfortunately, to this day, they don't have a million mile program...something they need to fix, and it must be retroctive.

Tolarian Wind
Randy, with your hectic schedule and the demands placed on you, and with the recent thread in the "Randy" section that has been growing since the first week in August, what should us FT'ers expect in regards to your input and response. Issues to some are unimportant to others and sometimes things reach a critical mass with unintended results!

Randy Petersen
Tolarian Wind - good question. I think that some members forget that to influence the industry and to really know what goes on that i must spend time away traveling. This last trip was the longest I've taken in 14 years of doing this and it seems that some weren't appreciative of my time or the explanation. I'll get back into things now that I'm back, but the question remains, maybe i need to be like any other Fter and have the same amopunt of responsibility as a poster, rather than the expectation to fix every little thing with programs. We cover in excess of 90 programs and it seems some thought that the Delta situation was the only thing going. The reality is that I've been very active in a class action l;awsuit against American Express Membership Rewards in Canada for the benefit of members who lost benefits several months ago. With that now in hand, I plan to look over Delta, but honestly, I like to treat all programs equal and American Express Membership Rewards in Canada was in line before Delta.

(Start of 2nd session)

Dan at WebFlyer
I am new to this. I am a member to several programs and I have noticed that each airline redemption is different: (one takes 25,000 another takes 35,000 to fly with in the continental US). My question is, which airline takes the least amount of points or frequent flyer miles to fly with in the continental US?

Randy Petersen
Yes, they aren't all the same though most don't do their research before joining just any program. For the lowest award, you may want to look closely at the TWA program which has an award for only 15,000 miles for award destinations less than 750 miles. Other than that, you'll find 20,000 mile awards at Continental, America West, Northwest and US Airways for non-peak award use. Also, you'll find many lower awards from American and Continental on the Deal Watch section of WebFlyer. There they post weekend awards offered by both airlines for as low as 12,500 miles. I strongly suggest you learn to use that resource...Hope this helps and congrats for asking about awards before getting started in the wrong direction. Yes, all programs are not created equal.

flyerfanatic
What choice is left for a flyer based in Toronto, with Canadian Airlines dumping American and Canadian Airlines disappearing into the Air Canada reservations system at the beginning of next month?

Randy Petersen
Simple answer - None. While there is hope that some of the American carriers will realize that the market may be underserved with choices now, they don't have the equipment it takes to make a presense. I'm afraid you're going to have to learn to live with it - but rejoice in the comments of all those experts who said that Canada only needs one carrier......they will now get a chance to change their minds over the next year.

indogulf
does LH M&M award 100% miles in econ for non trans-atlantic flights?? i've never credited an economy flight to LH b/c this is the info i've read. however today i spoke w/ a M&M VIP line agent and she assured me that there is no such restriction - so now i'm not too sure?

Randy Petersen
I'm not aware of that restriction, I know they have minium miles for flights within Germany but nothing on economy....that's a BA thing.

flyerfanatic
What is the story with these online booking promotions? Are they worth it? It seems to me fares are higher..

Randy Petersen
Reality is that fares are higher also for people that don't belong to frequent flyer programs. This is the airlines way of trying to make their Web sites compete with Expeia and Travelocity and they are for real. Look at double credits at Southwest. Essentially there make it like earning double miles for all flights booked with the airlines. Look closely at some business class booking bonuses on international travel and you'll see jsut what kind of war it is.

DoggyDaddy
Randy, what suggestions would you have for someone who is almost elite, but is just short of segments or a few thousand miles short? I realize that a mileage run could be a solution, but my finances may not support this and the better half would think I am slightly nuts (like a whole bunch of fellow frequent flyers). CO's Bronze was attainable for a moderate amount of flying, but now Silver takes a bunch of flying. Maybe this is why they raised the ante. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Randy Petersen
It depends on the airline. Look closely at some of your hotel programs, some of them will offer a base elite status with an airline and some airlines will give a base elite status for a service convenience. If you are within 2,500 miles, I'd consider that a "gim-e" and chat with the airline about honoring you. If more than that, I think you have no choice other than a mileage run. Now, mileage runs are sometimes taken out of context. Most elite levels give you a 50% bonus at the base level. If you are close to 25,000 miles the next year, that's a gift of 12,500 miles. For anything less than $100, it worth the run. Seriously, I would post the question up on FlyerTalk on the Buzz and find out from some others where the "free" elite offers are coming from. They are out there and you may not have to fly again to get that level.

Andy
Randy... I'm about 70% of the way to attaining Platinum on TWA, is it worth doing a couple mileage runs before 12/31/00 ? or should I stick with Elite One?

Randy Petersen
With the basic differences being how far in advance you earn an upgrade and a few lounge privileges I'd probably be happy with Elite 1 which isn't too bad. The other major difference and it depends on how valauble it is to you is the no blackouts or capacity controls on awards. If you've had little or no problems in the past, then be happy. If there was a major difference such as a 100% mileage rather than the 50%, then i'd say take the mileage run because at that elvel, that can be worth miles for an additional two free tickets.......

moria
What's the latest on the possible Starwood/Bass merger? And when is Starwood planning to return to the Las Vegas hotel market?

Randy Petersen
Even Las Vegas doesn't know the odds on this one.

Randy Petersen
Starwood will return to Las Vegas in October is my guess with a marketing arrangement with Ceasars hopefully. That date may creep a little, but that's where I'm putting my money, so have your points ready for redemption if you want to be first. As for Bass/Starwood, my guess is that it won't get done. I think Barry is liking the fact that he has started to make progress on his goals with Starwood. The latest I've heard is that Bass is having a fine talk with Hyatt and then not looking to acquire a single brand, but rather one of the larger or severl large franchise owners that will bring many brands to them which they can re-flag. They've got some time and with the economy healty right now, they are hoping to wait and see a better price level.

hfly
Even though the KLM talks have been called off, what is the future of BA/AA/KLM/NW 1 world etc?

Randy Petersen
Despite the recent lapse in progress, I still think BA is unhappy that American is a lighting rod for their business goals at Heathrow and will bet they continue to find a work around for another partner. Some of the best deals come about when everyone thinks they are dead. Face it, KLM doesn't have many choices and Northwest is not the true answer for them.

wewishyouwell
Lanchile hasn't posted my miles or given me 1world bonus. I sent them them boarding passes from all the partners i flew, but they also want my ticket. it's an AA rtw ticket, that was hand rewritten, so too faint to fax/copy. It still has 3 cities left on it. Is there anything i can do short of mailing it to them? i'm afraid i'll never see it again. should i fly to Miami to try to meet with them? it's a lot of miles and they have not been helpful. what can I do?

Randy Petersen
I would never part with the orginal since you have value on it. What has worked for me is to have a copy notorized and send that to them. Often because of the Notary "offical" seal and signature on it they take it for the value you present it to them for. While LanChile may be asking, I'd ask American for help, afterall, it's their ticket.

Tolarian Wind
I know this is a customer service education thing but an example of confilcting information.... the DL golf 500 mile email program. First no requirement to fly. then a flight required. some people told posting immediate. others told standard 6-8 weeks. I emailed the posting time question for myself and was told 6-8 weeks. I mailed on behalf of a friend from his account and that answer was 4 months. Do you have any suggestions on confronting airlines about this without getting on the bad side, as from postings on Flyertalk, Delta seems to be keeping detailed profiles of their flyers in the FF records. I dont want to ask a vaild question and get branded a troublemaker. Thanks TW

Randy Petersen
The toughest question in the world to answer because there are so many circumstances that occur. In cases like this, if the miles are really needed immediately to meet some need, I don't mind helping since they can put all the notes they want in my file. Also, the people I chat with are far more forgiving when presented with the logic of timely customer service. Other than that, I too agree with your concern. Later let me help.

hfly
Randy, last month you said that BA may move closer to DL, is this still likely? Also, if Dl buys a stake in Air India, can they play some "wet lease" games and get a JFK-LHR route? One more, Is it true that UPS got the China routes?

Randy Petersen
BA is still in play and for all those that said they would never leave American, I can say, that may be true, but thay may play house with someone else also. As for DL and BA, there's still some talk because Delta doesn't have the power to yet create a world class alliance with just Air France and the others. I'm looking at something in January at this point on that issue, but don't count it out yet. Delta probably doesn't need any more JFK-LHR routes if they want to continue to talk to BA, so I don't think that's a plan. But they can connect the round-the-world stuff is they are smart since others are mving quickly into that space. As for the UPS-China story, I honestly don't know. Being a little out of touch lately, I thought I remembered while in China recently that FexEx had blown up their chances on that issue which means UPS would have be a major recipient of that decision.

indogulf
following up on hlfy's q - who do you think is a frontrunner for Air India? BA - Jet, AF - DL, EK, SQ, or someone else?

Randy Petersen
Jet Airways is still too domestic so that's not a consideration with BA. As it stands, the smart money will go with AF/DL and I have to agree, though does that mean that TWA might be in the mix with their long time relationship with Air India? We'll see.

opus17
Delta is shutting down Portland. Are they serious about the west coast? Is buying Alaska in the cards?

Randy Petersen
Probably not at this time. Alaska is a great opportunity for anyone, though until they get healthy again I don't think any airline wants the attention of the FAA at this time. Really, American is in a better position to look at Alaska than Delta at this time. I don't think Delta feels they need that area with their new alliance feeds coming farther south along that coast.

bannoy
Randy, Will Wings ever be formally announced? I am tired of waiting, perhaps I should concentrate my flying with Star or oneworld as I will be flying regularly to the Middle East next year. What do you think?

Randy Petersen
For all intent at this time, Wings does exist with the concurent moves of Northwest and Continental. I'm as puzzled as you are and the only thing I can think of is that by not announcing Wings, each of those two airlines have l;eft themselves open for talks with "the establishment" and that may be the better decision afterall. I won't be surprised if Wings never launches at this time. As for international alliances, it just might be that three's company - four's a crowd.

djlawman
Is TWA going to reopen its European cities? I heard that they shut down some cities so that they could reopen them with fewer employees--that it was the only way they could lay off employees.

Randy Petersen
They don't have to lay off employees, they quit each time TWA announces their latest financial situation. Closing them down makes it easy for them to sell the route rights to the highest bidder without a lot of complications. I don't think that TWA will regain their international strength at this time, but I'm rooting for them to make - it was my first frequent flyer program.

IM4Travel
What is your opinion on the new CO EWR-HKG route? Going the polar route on 2 engines (777) doesn't seem like the smartest thing in the world to do ...given the non-availabilty to make an emergency landing.

Randy Petersen
The history of the 777 so far makes this a relatively safe decision. I'm comfortable with it and if you look at the orders for the same aircraft by other airlines with similar plans of global growth I think it will be common. 10 years ago we would have all been suspect of the decision, but these aircraft are pretty good in the air. I have no immediate worries.

Captain Mike
RANDY: Still waiting for the grand opening of the House of Miles! What's the latest?

Randy Petersen
Well, we just got our business cards and new letterhead in a week or so ago. Once we get t-shirts in stock, we'll make the announcment. Our plan is to make it a version of an FT get-together and have something for everyone. Also, we still have some more constructionto finish. My best guess (and yes even the programs themselves and employee alumni are on my case about this) is that we'll have a big blast in early Spring 2001. You however, can come anytime and I treat you to dinner or lunch.

leroy11
I'm thinking about changing to United and Star. However, for me, one of the big drawbacks is the small percentage of miles offered by some partners (LH and TG - 50% of miles) and the lack of Elite bonuses on partners airlines. Do you think this will ever change?

Randy Petersen
Actually I do. Just last week in Bangkok where I was a speaker at the latest Star Alliance marketing meeting I presented that as improvement areas and they told they have a very big announcement coming soon and that my concerns were their concerns. I think they will fix it and am very pleased with the overall efforts by Star Allaince. At this point, I consider them the better of the other two alliances - let's remember that you'll earn no miles at all on a discount coach ticket on Cathay for the oneworld alliance into American. There are similar problems with other alliances, I think Star has the least problems.

opus17
Are there cases where it makes sense for a U.S. flyer to hold membership in a European alliance partner rather than the American partner. For example, it seems to me that someone who travels on paid business class to Europe might be better off with the Lufthansa program than the United one (class of service bonus counts toward status). What is your opinion?

Randy Petersen
There are, bit only if you have enough of the appropriate international travel to get to an award or benefit level. Also, some of these European alliance partners have country origination problems for awards that make it difficult to plan...and remember the one big concern - most European programs still have expiration dates on their programs.....

hfly
Randy, will there be any good deals from the Web Site run by Bob Crandall (and with some involvement from yourself), will there be free products in the future?

Randy Petersen
Good question. I'll answer with you all understanding that I am a co-founder of the venture but have taken a back seat so far because I don't want a conflict of interest to be questioned. What MilePoint has done so far is to convince airlines to open their miles to multiple redemption. MilePoint has no plans to be the final retailer in this issue. I personally think that as time goes along, you will see items for free there and you'll see substantial discounts for other items. The challenge was chicken and egg. The retailers wanted to see the airlines buy into this first so we put all our efforts into that. We are just now starting the retail push and remember, the only thing we say to retaliers is that there must be a minimum discount.....there is ever chance that retailers will move forward into making miles a true currency with many airlines than just with one......

djlawman
Randy--Got here late. Don't know if you addressed this already. Any recent talks with Guy at Latin Pass about whether they will computerize/modernize their award redemption procedure, particularly with partner airlines? I think the talk about transferring to Hilton and Marriott has been prompted by concerns about the difficulty of using the miles for flights.

Randy Petersen
Good question. I do beleive there is a plan, but LatinPass is in the midlle of hoping to grow into a global version of the program and one of the constants of that is the ability to modernize all partner relationships because they have found the current solution is too expensive for growth. It's not next week or next months, but I do beleive it's there or they won't be around. Customer service on that issue is simply too expensive.

Rssrsvp
What would you recommend as the best flyer program for 2001 if a person lives in NYC, and travels frequently to LA, Florida, and Europe? I am currently doing Delta?

Randy Petersen
I know that Continental OnePass must figure into an option, but if it were me (benefits i think are valuable may be different than you) I would probably go with American and count on their relationship with BA and importantly US Airways to be valuable for the decision........

Dan at WebFlyer
Randy, this was posted earlier:

Dan at WebFlyer
I heard that MCI and AT&T were offering up to 25,000 Frequent Flyer miles (thru Delta, UAL, or AA) for signing up and switching phone service. Is that true? If so, what are the phone numbers to call, and what are the appropriate codes? Thanks so much!

Randy Petersen
You're probably not going to find out this type of information directly from the two phone companies since they've gotten much better about big offers like that. While they still exist, it's hard to find out about them. And not always can you take advantage of them even if you know, since sometimes they keep a list of potential customers they have extended the offer to. But, it's certainly worth a shot and the absolute best way to find out is with the FlyerTalk bulletin boards in the phone offer forums. Searching through past threads or posting a question for help from others often brings you just what you need to know for an enrollment code to get the BIG bonus miles.

Dan at WebFlyer
one more quick one:

Dan at WebFlyer
daniele florence - Fri Sep 1 05:06:19 2000 can you redeem for example Delta frequent flyer miles into a hotel guest program to get free rooms instead of free flights?

Randy Petersen
Yes and No. You can't redeem actual SkyMiles for hotel rooms yet, though I suspect with the changing landscape of award choices, that's not too far into the future. You can however, use the Hilton HHonors Reward Exchange to move some of your Delta SkyMiles into Hilton HHonors points which will give you many choices of a free hotel night. You must be a member of both programs and understand that you will suffer some "devaluation" of your Delta miles for the privilege. But, if you've got plenty of Delta miles and a real need for those hotel rooms, then you have an option.