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Just a Matter of Miles
You've got miles. And points. And more miles. But what are you going to do with them? As loyalty programs evolve with the needs of their customers, they are trying to become more flexible. In the past, earning was easy, spending was hard. That's changing. More than 8,600 supermarkets, 50 airlines, 30 phone companies, 20 hotel chains and dozens of credit cards run loyalty programs. Used to be, these businesses would redeem only the credits you had earned with them. And sometimes that wasn't the easiest experience. But as travel has become more challenging, as travelers have become more harried, the better points plans have seen the light. They've learned to smooth the traveler's path. They're giving the customer more ways to convert, spend and benefit from miles. And in return, they're earning a lot more of what they always said they wanted from travelers -- loyalty.

Contents


Airlines Use Miles to
Better Serve Program Members

Flexibility is Key to New Non-Airline 'Miles' Plans

Beyond a Bed and Bath

Tech Companies Score with Travelers

Advertisers' Web Sites

Adsections Home

 

Airlines Use Miles to Better
Serve Program Members
When everyone offers miles, and everyone has more than they can spend, the best programs will be those that treat the customer
like an individual.

With dot-coms turning into dot-bombs and the experts trying to avert an economic nosedive, frequent flyers might find themselves on the cutting edge -- literally -- as 2001 marches toward its midpoint. Airline consolidation, the ubiquity of marginally differentiated miles programs, and an abundance of miles earning opportunities define a marketing tool in search of a new value proposition. In short, travelers will see the travel industry evolving its loyalty programs to foster more of a true relationship with customers.

Placing a higher emphasis on customer service is precisely why Frontier Airlines, the low-fare carrier based in Denver, created its own program, EarlyReturns®, in February. It pays members free round-trip tickets after they've amassed just 15,000 miles. "We cater to the infrequent flyer, the entrepreneur, the small business owner who needs to fly occasionally,"says Lowell Miller, Frontier's director of e-commerce. "Our bottom line is to understand who our customer is today. Being able to do one-to-one marketing in a cyber world will mean success."

Up to now, service enhancements have been more broad-brush in approach, from American Airlines adding legroom throughout all its planes, to Continental expanding overhead bins, to the spread of e-kiosks that speed the check-in process. But what's that got to do with frequent flyers? Remember, miles are for everyone these days. American's AAdvantage® program, for instance, distributes more than 50 percent of its miles through partners. They dole them out for everything from car rentals to Mother's Day bouquets.

Bruce Chemel, president of AAdvantage marketing programs, says the
program's goal is to give every member a chance to spend the miles they earn. "We are quite convinced that travel will always be the key award," Chemel says. "What we're trying to do is grow the value equation for as many people as possible. "Our goal is that people never lose their miles. The way to maximize the value of a program is to give people the opportunity to spend the miles they've earned."

Here's a rundown on what's up with the major frequent flyer programs.

AeroMexico
(Premier®)
Residents of Mexico can earn a round-trip flight within Mexico the minute they qualify for the Platinum Card American Express® AeroMexico card. In addition to an instant 20,000 Premier miles -- good for one free trip, plus a free companion ticket -- cardholders earn triple miles every time they buy travel services from AeroMexico, which, by the way, is linked with the SkyTeam alliance. Club Premier members rack up 4,000 bonus miles for their first online purchase and 1,000 bonus miles for every AeroMexico buy after that. Mucho grande. For details, click through to www.aeromexico.com.

American Airlines
(AAdvantage®)
Popular in the year 2000 with breakfast eaters -- or their frequently flying parents -- the American Dream promotion continues to give 100 AAdvantage miles to buyers of specially marked packages of Kellogg's cereals -- everything from Kellogg's Corn Flakes to Kellogg's Product 19 -- plus certain Nutri-Grain, Pop Tarts and Eggo waffles varieties. Redemption in groups of five coupons continues through November 30 this year. For details, see your grocery store, or call 800.962.1413.

Small to midsize businesses that want a little extra for their travel buck can get it with the Business ExtrAA program. Spend $10,000 with American Airlines during a given quarter, and your business will earn 1,000 Business ExtrAA points. Free travel in the U.S. begins at 2,000 points. The Business ExtrAA points accrue in addition to miles earned through the individual traveler's AAdvantage account. For details, go to www.BusinessExtrAA.com.

Continental Airlines
(OnePass®)
Members of the OnePass program could be getting an upgrade, and not even know it. Continental's new Elite Upgrade Automation System considers your Elite status priority, fare status (Y fares) and time of reservation. If space is available and nobody else is in the virtual line ahead of you, the system automatically issues an upgrade to First Class. Platinum Elite members qualify first, within three days of departure. Gold Elite members qualify within two days, and Silver Elite members at midnight on the day of departure. If you're approaching 25,000 miles in the calendar year, you could qualify. For more, go to www.continental.com.

Delta Air Lines
(SkyMiles®)
Fork over the $135 annual fee for the Delta SkyMiles Platinum American Express card, and instantly pocket 15,000 SkyMiles. Less expensive Classic and Gold cards earn 5,000 and 10,000 SkyMiles bonuses, respectively. Spend a dollar amount equal to the mileage bonus in the first six months, and double the bonus. Beyond the signup bonus miles, the cards up the ante for affinity cards; they earn two SkyMiles for every dollar spent. To apply for a card, go to www.americanexpress.com or call 800.SKYMILES.