Why Earning British Airways Status Makes No Sense (Even for Brits and NYLons)

by Gary Leff

Jun 14 2015

British Airways has devalued their mileage in a major way. They’ve built a system that rewards paid full fare business and first class passengers who want to redeem their miles for short haul economy. They’ve made status harder to earn. And the truth is that once you earn it, it isn’t very valuable.

Indeed, even a British Airways Gold member who primarily flies BA and lives in London even would likely be better off flying the airline but crediting their trips to American AAdvantage.

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Loyalty Program Fraud Working Groups Too Often Hate Members and Refuse to Look in the Mirror…

by Gary Leff

Jun 14 2015

I’ve been around several ‘loyalty fraud’ discussions recently amongst airline and hotel loyalty program executives. Fraud by members is a huge topic of conversation for loyalty programs these days.

And I’ve figured out that there are really four kinds of loyalty program fraud. And programs are focusing on the wrong ones. They think their members are out to get them, even though they write the rules… and too often are themselves the ones committing the fraud.

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How Delta Charges You More Miles for Awards Even When Saver Space is Available

by Gary Leff

Jun 13 2015

Earlier today I wrote about how Delta charges you extra miles for award tickets even when saver space is available on all your flights.

It’s not a secret. In fact, Delta actually spells this out on their website. They won’t publish an award chart, but they’ll tell you why they may not price two segments that have the lowest available inventory at the lowest level when booked together.

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Banks Don’t Want Your Credit Card Business Unless It’s for the Long-Term

by Gary Leff

visa and mastercard cards spread out
Jun 13 2015

Banks have in many ways tightened their criteria for issuing premium rewards credit cards over the past year, especially for folks who have had the same product in the past or who have a pattern of switching around their wallets frequently.

It’s not just about avoiding giving customers the same bonus multiple times — it’s also about realizing they need cardmembers to stick with them and keep a card top of wallet in order for the customer to become profitable.

Bonuses are expensive, they recoup the cost over time when a cardmember behaves with typical spend into the future — but not if the consumer is someone who tends to switch products.

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