Miles and Points Devaluations
Let’s get it straight. Brands get it wrong all the time. The travel industry is no different. Loyalty programs undergo changes. Miles and points get devalued. It’s not always due to perfidy or malice, but also the compulsions of running a business in the midst of tough competition. Loyalty programs have been changing left, right and center. Whenever a company thinks that their loyalty program is making them lose money or not making them enough money, they ring in the changes.
Reporting the Changes
Conveying bad news is always one of the toughest things to get across. You may be the most skilled spokesperson or PR person out there, but there’s always a fear of backlash. In the age of social media, that fear of backlash is only amplified further.
Word Play
Euphemisms are always used in order to communicate the bad news. When brands go even further, they try to spin a bad news as a good news. Let’s start with the basics with a look at the Oxford dictionary’s definition.
A mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing.
Actual Examples
The purpose here is to highlight specific words or phrases that clearly show how bad news about an upcoming devaluation is communicated with customers. The goal here is to help you identify these words the next time a program announces ‘changes’. Let’s have a look at some of the commonly used words brand that recently devalued. I’ve added reference links for each one of the programs so that you can view the actual document or press release.
United: The first sentence makes you feel good, the second one makes you sad.
We’re introducing a broader range of award prices. For flights on or after November 15, 2019, we’ll no longer publish an award chart listing the set amount of miles needed for each flight.
Hertz: They use the good ole tried and tested ‘enhancements’ word to mask a devaluation.
SPG/Bonvoy: The less said the better. Marriott touted how great things would be once you merge your SPG account with Marriott. We all know Bonvoy turned out.
Combining gives you one powerful account with the new Marriott Bonvoy – a single place for tracking your status, points and upcoming stays – plus booking, earning and redeeming at all hotels across our participating brands. And you just may achieve a new Elite status!
Lufthansa: This statement probably was the most open and direct in terms of communication style. This is the very first bullet point.
Going forward, the assignment of award miles will be based on the price of the flight
Starbucks: Ah, that word enhancement, right in the headline!
Starbucks to enhance industry-leading Starbucks Rewards loyalty program.
The Pundit’s Mantra
Do you think that brands should be more upfront in just things the way they are instead of wanting us to sift through the details each time? How about a press release with this headline the next time an airline devalues its miles: “Economy award tickets are getting cheaper, but business/first is getting expensive.”
Enhancements, improvements, ‘dynamic’ pricing, additions, more options, more choices, or just changes. Which other words come to your mind when you think about loyalty programs being sneaky about telling the truth about award chart devaluations? The next time you see one of these words, just beware that bad news may be on the way.
Let us know what you think in the comments section. Would better and upfront communication of these changes help these brands earn your trust?
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May 27, 2019 marked the first anniversary of the greatest act of fraud ever committed by an airline against its frequent flyer members.
For on that night, on that day, in the secret of night, in a clandestine way, without notice, without warning, Qatar Airways, a Middle-Eastern carrier, devalued the FF program to make it virtually worthless. Many of us, who were loyal members, gave all our business to this Middle-Eastern airline, were robbed overnight.
So what was so bad you ask?
They doubled the number of points you need for any award flight.
They closed down the call-centre so you could not call.
They reduced to almost laughable proportions the number of seats available for awards.
Dare to book an award ticket and even if you are Platinum, you are NOT using our main QR Business Lounge. They will punt you to the grossly inferior One World Lounge.
They increased by over 100% the airline fees.
In some cases they call them “Taxes”. I recently tried to claim an award ticket, the taxes were horrendous and I asked for a breakdown of the taxes and charges. The response was that they were unable to do that. What! Check this out: On Feb 16, 2019, at 21:57, Membersvc@qmiles.com wrote: Dear Mr. W, Thank you for writing to Privilege Club. We value your business. We have gone through your email and we are sorry to learn of your disappointment. We are aware of the expectations of our customers and certainly try our best to meet these. It is never our intention to cause you discomforts of any kind. We would like to inform you that due to system limitation, we are unable to provide the tax break. Please be informed all airports around the world have Airport Surcharges that are collected along with the taxes paid. These taxes and surcharges vary from country to country depending on city of departure and place of ticket issuance. (Please note taxes are subject to change) ……. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation. Do let us know if we can assist you any further. Sincerely, Rahul Bhati, Privilege Club Team.
They hide the taxes. I insisted on getting the breakdown for legal reasons and eventually it was forthcoming. And guess what, they were not taxes at all, they were “Carrier imposed charges”. In other words, not taxes, just a greedy money grab hidden under the auspices of “Tax”. In most jurisdictions in the western world, calling a fee a “tax” and then not paying the tax is highly illegal. Imagine doing the same thing in the USA or Australia or UK? Jail time guys.
What else on May 27?
Oh yes, they introduced a “Fee” on top of everything else, a per sector charge for having the hide to claim an award booking. Average is $ USD 50. Oh, that’s OK you say! Oh, no no no! this is a Middle-Eastern airline going broke….. try on average $ USD 50 per sector. So let’s say you fly from DEL-DOH-JFK-DOH-DEL. That’s 4 sectors, so overnight, without warning this new impost was added. An additional $ USD 200 that was not required on May 26th 2018. Thanks suckers.
And this applies to Platinums, Golds and Silvers as well. Their most loyal customers.
The same loyal customers who supported these people through thick and thin. When UAE embargoed and boycotted the state of Qatar and refused to allow QR to fly in their air space. I was there. I remained loyal.
And Saudia Arabia did the same embargo, boycott.
Egypt the same. Bahrain the same. But we stuck with them. And yet Qatar Airways, still disrespected their most loyal members, devaluing the investment we had made in the airline and threw loyalty out the window and imposed these increases on us, overnight, without warning,
The thing that did my head in more than anything was the way they did it.
Secretly. Overnight. Without warning. Bang! Pillage the program and throw Loyalty out the door. But the worst of all, they had the hide, the sheer audacity to call it “Enhancements”. Holy cow, “Enhancements”!
And try and book a Partner Award. LOL.
First of all you “request” a flight. You’ll struggle to find what you want. It is so limited since the great devaluation of May 27th 2018.
And then the request goes in. Then they make you wait 48 hours. And guess what, the greedy things take the points immediately. Instantaneously, before you even know whether your wish has been granted.
Eventually they might grant a ticket. And if you are granted your wish, LOL, the points required are so ludicrously high, and the taxes, fees and Qatar’s money grab are more than they would be if you purchased the ticket outright, especially on short-hauls around Asia. And double what the charges were before May 27th 2018, that great day of shame and infamy for this airline.
Of course with most airlines you can book partner awards online, decide the options for yourself and book it immediately. Not with Qatar Airways. They changed it so they are in control. They like being in control and all have us obey.
( One time, I booked, they took the 40,000 points for a flight one way J CMB-DEL using One World partner UL ( yes, 40k right! not a mistake and $ USD 236 in taxes ). I waited 3 days and was told there were no flights available. This was 6 months ahead of time. But they still took the points from the account. 1 month later while I was doing an audit on my QR account, the points had not been credited back. So I called and they advised that even though I could not get a 3 hour flight 6 months ahead of time ( laughable ) and even though they had stolen the points, I had to request them back as Missing Miles! “It’s up to you sir…..”WT….
So shame on you Qatar Airways.
I understand from sources, the program has lost thousands of members since the great day of shame May 27th 2018. I have slowly moved all my business from this untrustworthy airline, Qatar Airways, to another One World carrier.
In 2016 I did 29 flights with Qatar all in Business or First, 157,800kms.
In 2017 I did 61 flights with Qatar all in Business or First, 335,700kms.
Before May 27 2018, in 2018 I did 30 flights with Qatar all in Business or First, 167,600kms ( in 5 months )
All paid, maybe 3 or 4 award flights, but the vast majority all paid out of my own pocket. No company expense account.
So I was investing in this airline by supporting them, flying with them, and doing business with them. And what do they do in return? Without warning, without notice, overnight! They screw me and steal from me.
Since May 27 2018, I have done only 8 flights and all of them award bookings. I’m using up the points I have left and then they can go and steal from someone else. These people will never ever get another cent or dirham of my money. They are recalcitrant and that is being very, very, kind.
Desperate businesses take desperate measures. And this airline is desperate. All those years of lying to the US Authorities about how profitable they were. Remember that? Remember the lies they told. Remember AA, UA and DL saying so and none of us believed them. This is an airline bleeding billions of USD every year. Supported by the government of Qatar. And in breach of the agreement they have to be able to fly to the USA.
And what do they do? They attack their most loyal customers, the ones supporting them, they call it enhancements.
What is so sickening about this act of corporate theft is that it is a great airline once you step onboard. Once you step foot inside one of their aircraft ( A330 and A340 are the exceptions LOL ) it is a flying experience like no other. How does the same airline get it so right on-board and yet is a complete and utter cluster-f with their frequent flyer program and the on-ground service ? It’s got me beat.
And until I get an apology, in writing, from these recalcitrants, no more business from me. I guess they won’t care one iota, they have a Sheikh to prop them up for the stupid and ill-informed decisions the management is making.
Sorry to hear about your ordeal, but I guess you are not the only one. There have been several horror stories of Marriott elites also being treated in the same way post merger. Removal of award charts is a big NO for me. It signifies that the airline/hotel wants to muddy the waters by charging whatever amounts of miles/points. They’re making things complicated on purpose. https://travelupdate.com/are-loyalty-programs-encouraging-customer-loyalty/
Didn’t you learn anything from 9/11? I have wondered if someday one of these pilots will flip out?
“Exciting changes coming to our program!!!” Treating your customers like idiots is demeaning for everyone. If you have to hand out bad news, don’t try to feed people bullshit and euphemisms, give it to them straight. They won’t be happy but they won’t feel deceived.
I guess they’re counting on the fact that most customers don’t pay much attention to these announcements. It’s really unfortunate that they are trying to prove that something is an enhancement when it’s exactly the opposite.