Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott asks, “Frequent flyer programs have become increasingly elitist. Is it time to end them?” No. It is not…
I could just say “THE END” and be done, but let’s flesh out his argument and why he is way off-base.
If you’re looking for the best frequent flyer program to join, maybe you’re asking the wrong question. Because the best frequent flyer program might be none at all – at least when it comes to air travel.
That’s a misleading lead, because even Elliott himself later concedes in the same column:
If you’re going to fly anyway, you might as well receive credit.
Uh, yeah. That’s pretty much why EVERYONE should add their frequent flyer numbers to each booking.
But Elliott believes loyalty programs are a false religion.
Even though frequent flyer programs have a cultlike following, they’re a false religion. Program members must pledge their business to an airline or make all of their purchases on a branded credit card.
Classical deductive fallacy.
But the points lose value over time or expire. And these schemes have deepened the divide between the “haves” and “have-nots”: people without status who receive the worst service and pay outrageous fees.
Delta points don’t expire and United just joined the bandwagon. Expect American to as well. Rather than say those “have nots” pay outrageous fees, I’d argue that those who fly often are rewarded with lower fees. Surely that is not unreasonable, is it?
Elliott presents an anecdote of one very satisfied American Airlines Concierge Key (top status earned by high spending) to argue:
Airlines want you to believe they treat all of their loyalty program members like [this]. But only a fraction of passengers are real VIPs. A vast majority of us mindlessly give all of our business to an airline, but when it comes to getting something back, we face high hurdles: blackout dates, high fees, and severely limited award travel availability, to name a few.
Again, a classical deductive fallacy.
Dumb Traveler = “Proof” Loyalty Programs Are A Waste Of Time
But Elliott has a counterexample for us.
[Airlines] collects our travel dollars and data and gives little of value in return for our loyalty.
At least that’s the assessment of David Pring-Mill, a consultant from Vancouver, Canada. He abandoned his frequent flyer program a few years ago after his miles expired. Between the promise of “free flights” misleading benefits, he considers it a poor investment of his time and money and believes his years of loyalty were all for nothing.
“I value my time too much to mess with these schemes now,” he says.
So some consultant who was foolish enough to let his miles expire is now an authoritative voice in asserting that it is simply a waste of time to learn the ins and outs of loyalty programs?
The Parade Of Horribles
But wait! There’s more!
Loyalty programs are filled with “gotchas” like extra fees to redeem your “free” award tickets, blackout dates and the almost constant devaluation of miles.
Yes, and that is hardly a surprise considering it has been that way for nearly 20 years. And extra fees and blackout dates hardly make miles worthless, only comparatively less valuable than a system that never really existed. Capacity-controls are necessary when demand generally far outstrips supply.
Then Elliott bemoans the general state of flying in 2019, which I think he greatly exaggerates.
Today, non-elite passengers are outcasts. Hit with nuisance fees, squeezed into tiny seats, served by disgruntled flight attendants, they are treated worse than cargo. No wonder airline customer satisfaction scores are circling the drain.
And he cannot help but to mock the very people he ridicules for chasing status in the first place:
Perhaps the reason for our collective suffering is in the front of the plane. There, you’ll see the elites in lie-flat seats enjoying the royal treatment. You’ll also find the wannabes in their “premium” economy seats, hoping for an upgrade. They think they’ve found the best frequent flyer program.
Yes Mr. Elliott, that is why I concentrate my flying with one airline, not several. It is because when I do that, I get to enjoy lie-flat seats and better (not royal) treatment.
Award Redemptions Are Not A False Hope
I run an award consulting company…I know better than most how many excellent award redemptions still resist for those who are willing to seek them out. It often does take time, though airlines are making it easier than ever before by adding the ability to book partners online.
Yes, airlines still offer over-the-top perks for their platinum-card customers. But most of us sit in tiny seats and cling to a false hope we can someday earn an upgrade or a “free” ticket.
It is not a false hope!
The gap between elites and non-elites has never been wider, or more shameful. We’d be better off without this ridiculous caste system.
I don’t really see this is the case. I see more segmentation of the market, with basic economy fares as a way to squeeze more money out. But I also see airfares remaining at consistently low levels. Americans have made their preference clear: they are not willing to pay for extra perks that were once included in the price of the ticket. They prefer to pay less.
Poor Advice
Lastly, Elliott offers three pieces of advices, which necessitate clarification and correction.
Find a program that plays fewer games with you. Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines get consistently good marks for their programs…
Delta? In what world? I’d say look beyond U.S. airlines to foreign programs like British Airways Avios or Air France/KLM Flying Blue as an alternate to U.S. loyalty programs. But what loyalty program makes sense for you depends upon your specific travel preferences and what you want to redeem your miles on.
Sign up for a better card. Although some travel reward programs deliver on their promises, you might get more bang for your buck with a rewards credit card or a card that offers cash back, says Greg Mahnken, a credit industry analyst with Credit Card Insider. “A cash-back card gives you more flexibility than frequent flyer miles,” he says.
Oh dear. Yes, a cash-back card may make sense if you are just redeeming your miles for economy class domestic travel. But if you value premium cabin redemptions at all, stay away from cash-back cards and use cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred or American Express Gold card.
Use your loyalty as leverage. “Demand they take care of you,” says frequent flyer Travis Chambers, who owns a video production company in Los Angeles. “Play hardball.” When customer service gets bad (and it often does), use your loyalty and status to negotiate better treatment. If necessary, he adds, “threaten to leave.”
But I thought he just told us that loyalty status is worthless and no one should waste their time pursuing it?
CONCLUSION
Elliott’s sentiment will resonate with an uninformed public which does not understand how airline loyalty programs work. But for those who invest the time to learn programs and make the choice to concentrate flying on one carrier or alliance, the awards are indeed palatable. It is one of my primary missions on this blog to show you how.
Is Elliott off-base or right on?
If he’s trying to make the point that flyers who are not part of an airline’s frequent flyer program are (generally) treated worse, I think that there is a good point to be made there. I find the arguments to be logically wanting for two reasons: 1) Elliott does not make any strong case that non-elite passengers would be better off if frequent flyer programs were eliminated (only a vague suggestion that everyone *might* enjoy a little more legroom in economy if those portions of the economy sections with additional legroom had the same pitch as the rest of economy) and 2) there are no restrictions as to who can join any given frequent flyer program; to my knowledge, anyone can enroll.
There are lots of valid complaints to be made about frequent flyer programs, airline customer service and how airlines treat their general passengers. These aren’t the right ones.
I used to enjoy reading Christopher’s various columns, I believe he also writes for magazines, or at least used to, without disclosing his name. But as I became more informed with travel and the nuances of the points game, I found his general advice to be less valuable. Not a big fan anymore.
Many forget the frequent in frequent flyer program.
If you are not flying on any great frequency you should not be focusing on a single airline. Matthew even writes about his conflicts with this based out of a monopoly / fortress hub.
That is good advice, especially in the potential one way ticketing world we have these days.
I’ve taken trips that had stops for FF miles and status (alone). I’ve booked non stop on carriers I barely have miles on and other family members have expired miles on because schedule and price and departure or arrival airport.
Actually wish you hadn’t written that article as every person takimg his advice is one less we have to compete for upgradea or crowd the lounges
I don’t think his arguments make much sense, nor are they consistent. If I were to charitably take a stab at what I think his main complaint is, it is that flying is so complicated, with the various rules for different tickets, upgrade policies, mileage policies, credit card benefits, things to do in an IRROPs, tricks for gleaning information on airline websites and all the rest that those who master them – not the rich but those who take the time to learn (or learn the hard way)- have a much, much better experience than the person who only flies occasionally. And it is something of a shame that you have to know so much to fly efficiently.
But little of that has anything to do with FF programs.
By the way, I did see someone get the royal treatment at IAD one time – the queen of a small European country.
Yeah, I dunno if that’s what he was trying to say. In contrast to what Elliott wrote, yours is a coherent, logical point.
Maybe you should have written that piece! 😉
He is a total moron.
This guy (Christopher Elliott) has been making the same idiotic and self-contradictory arguments for years now, under the guise of a “class warrior”.
I usually try to understand even those arguments I disagree with, but this guy makes zero sense. I recall Gary Leff highlighting one of his stranger arguments a while ago, that economy passengers “subsidise” the luxury of the business and first class passengers up front…
He clearly has no idea what he’s talking about, and it’s a mark of how poorly informed most of the public still is about travel that he still gets published at all.
I am a member of flying blue and a very happy customer.
But I see that some people obviously do not understand that frequent flyer programs are intended to make frequent flyers happy. So if somebody is not a frequent flyer, why should such a customer get the extra benefits?
Elliott is a self righteous rent a quote who’ll write anything inflammatory and just plain stupid just to keep his business rumbling along and his pockets lined. The only value in picking apart his garbage is to remind him that he writes garbage.
I wonder which airlines Elliott flies, and in which class of service? If he practiced what he preaches he’d be taking the Greyhound.
Maybe he actually cares about advocating for the “common” man. Not everyone works for a Fortune 500 company or lives/works in “untouchable” territory like Silicon Valley. Not everyone gets perks handed to them on a silver platter. What did you do to “earn” your status ? Right, nothing…..you just happen to work for a company that (accumulatively) pays your way for airfares and hotels and we can be sure you never feel the pain of needing an advocate for things that go seriously wrong – that, of course, would be done by “one of your people”. Some of us actually have to work blue-collar jobs to take those 1-2 trips a year.
What have we done for our status? Spent 180 nights away from family and friends while performing the course of our jobs. It’s not about blue collar or white collar. I used to regularly fly to North Dakota with oil and gas laborers and they deserved the frequent flyer benefits they received as much as I did. BECAUSE THEY FLY FREQUENTLY. If you fly twice a year and book a basic ticket for small dollars you get what you pay for – a trip to your destination in an economy seat that most of us frequent flyers are very, very familiar with.
Matt and USBusiness Traveller I agree totally with what you are saying!!!
@JoEllen
“Some of us actually have to work blue-collar jobs to take those 1-2 trips a year.”
Some of us are actually retired and living on a fixed income. I took trips to Europe and Japan in business class last year with FF miles that I accumulated by buying miles at a healthy discount when they were on sale, and by receiving credit card signup bonuses. My “cost” to fly on these upgraded tickets was significantly less than the published fares.
Neither of these opportunities would have be available to me if I hadn’t signed up for the frequent flyer programs that Elliot derides.
Here’s what I want to know….. Is Debit actually Chistopher Elliot in disguise?
It all depends on how much you fly. If you fly enough to barely achieve silver status, he’s largely correct. Don’t focus on frequent flyer programs as you will not gain enough status to matter. Nowadays, only platinum status or higher gives any real value. Just focus on total cost and schedule. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and hassle.
If you fly more often, it obviously makes sense to look at the programs that work for your geographic location and travel needs/wants, and you can gain enough currency (miles, points, etc.) to get upgrades or flight awards.
But whenever you fly, even if just a couple times a year, spend 30 seconds to add your frequent flyer number or spend four minutes to sign-up for the program. Points do add up over time and more programs are eliminating expiration dates or making it easier to extend the life of your miles.
…..”Use your loyalty as leverage. “Demand they take care of you,” says frequent flyer Travis Chambers, who owns a video production company in Los Angeles. “Play hardball.” When customer service gets bad (and it often does), use your loyalty and status to negotiate better treatment. If necessary, he adds, “threaten to leave.”….
Mr Travis is like all the rest of the whining elites……they are only “loyal” by virtue of the fact that their employers/companies pay for their high-priced eligible coach tickets which default to upgrades when possible, oftentimes on airlines they are forced to use. No money has come out of their personal pockets except for the road-warrior sacrifices and being away from home (of which some see that also as a perk). I hope he is writing/complaining to the right area when he “threatens to leave” because presenting that notion to a counter agent, gate agent or flight attendant just falls on deaf ears while they laugh at the thought of how many times people have said that when they don’t get what they want (not necessarily qualify for). As well, this whole upgrade circus is out of hand.
Now United has this stupid point system coming in (December 2019) – they insist on giving away the store only to raise unreasonable if not impossible expectations by just about everyone who has a MPlus number. Go back to the basics (think pre-Frequent flier programs)……YOU WANT FIRST, PAY FOR FIRST CLASS, no deals.