Ticked off at HA and AA - Timeshare Users Group Online Community Forums

meatsss · March 15, 2009, 11:46 PM

I had a bunch of FF miles and was arranging for 8 of us to go to OGG next Jan. from SMF.
It appears HA has decided that they will only offer a couple of 17,500 mile seats per flight. Even being online shortly after the schedule had loaded, the only seats available were 30,000 for one way. So I got 2 couples set, but it used 240,000 miles. I decided to get the other 4 of of us out of SFO, but even though I was up at 12:30 AM, I couldn't get the nonstop back from HNL to SFO except on the 90,000 mile plan. They only offered a 7 AM flight from HNL through LAX to SFO, lasting 11 hours. So now I have to try and get a few more miles for the return 30,000 mile seats on HA. Thanks to the death of Aloha and ATA, the airlines have decided to limit the low FF mile seats and get people to use up their miles much faster. Bummer.

Jimster · March 16, 2009, 12:24 AM

Well the airline ff programs are certainly not what they used to be, but I am not sure your causes are correct. One thing for certain is that Delta has led the charge toward gutting these programs with their devalued miles and their ridiculous 3 tier scheme. I wish all people accumulating miles would take note of that and act accordingly. In your case, the real travesty is that you accumulated your miles under the old system and now have to redeem them under the new system. That is why people in the know long ago said you should use your miles rather than sit on them. Both AA and UA have been more reasonable, in my estimation, about how their programs are structured. Finally, I think you should also understand that trying to get so many ff tickets on one flight was probably never something that would have happened. Now maybe you can point to an instant when it did, but those times have long since passed.

Denise L · March 16, 2009, 12:48 AM

I noticed this for our trip to Maui this year on HA, so I was disappointed, too. I held off booking the seats and then in December (4 months out), I noticed that on different weeks, the miles needed to fly RT from SFO/OAK/SJC were changing. Sometimes they were 17,500 each way and sometimes they were more. So when I saw 35,000 RT, I grabbed seats. We are flying out of SFO and into SJC, but that's okay. A week later, the same miles were needed to/from SJC, but it was too late for me to change. Oh well. I was happy to get 4 seats for 35,000 x 4!

I haven't looked lately to see what the miles requirements are, but I thought I would tell you what I noticed when booking for Easter.

Good luck.

meatsss · March 16, 2009, 01:30 AM

I have reserved trips like this inthe past on three different occaisons while being able to get flights for basic mileage. When you're online as the schedule loads, and there are no basic RT seats available out the gate, for any number of seats, that tells me the airlines have changed the rules.

Jimster · March 16, 2009, 02:54 AM

Yes, they have changed how they approach this. First they dont release all seats at the outside limit. Second, they often only release 1 or 2 at a time. Finally, on some routes they release very few ff tickets at all. That is why I said you probably will point to a case in the past but now that is generally not how things are done.

Carolinian · March 16, 2009, 03:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimster

Well the airline ff programs are certainly not what they used to be, but I am not sure your causes are correct. One thing for certain is that Delta has led the charge toward gutting these programs with their devalued miles and their ridiculous 3 tier scheme. I wish all people accumulating miles would take note of that and act accordingly. In your case, the real travesty is that you accumulated your miles under the old system and now have to redeem them under the new system. That is why people in the know long ago said you should use your miles rather than sit on them. Both AA and UA have been more reasonable, in my estimation, about how their programs are structured. Finally, I think you should also understand that trying to get so many ff tickets on one flight was probably never something that would have happened. Now maybe you can point to an instant when it did, but those times have long since passed.

DL and US seem to be in competition for winning the race to the bottom in ff programs. US has, however, backed off of more of their negative changes than DL has. For more info, check out www.dlsucks.com

Here is a good flyer that explains how a DL or NW elite can get a complimentary status match from UA or CO:
www.dlsucks.com/nwaseis.pdf
AA has also been known to do status matches.

LisaRex · March 16, 2009, 07:41 AM

I can sympathize. However, as others have said, I wouldn't count on ever getting too many tickets at the base rate anymore. The rules of the game have changed and will likely get worse as travel is way down.

My rule of thumb has always been to smoke 'em if you've got 'em.

March 15, 2009, 11:46 PM	#1
meatsss TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 29, 05 Location: Sacramento Posts: 72 Resorts: Diamond Resorts Lake Tahoe Hono Koa Diamond Resorts Flamingo SXM Lawai Beach Club	Ticked off at HA and AA I had a bunch of FF miles and was arranging for 8 of us to go to OGG next Jan. from SMF. It appears HA has decided that they will only offer a couple of 17,500 mile seats per flight. Even being online shortly after the schedule had loaded, the only seats available were 30,000 for one way. So I got 2 couples set, but it used 240,000 miles. I decided to get the other 4 of of us out of SFO, but even though I was up at 12:30 AM, I couldn't get the nonstop back from HNL to SFO except on the 90,000 mile plan. They only offered a 7 AM flight from HNL through LAX to SFO, lasting 11 hours. So now I have to try and get a few more miles for the return 30,000 mile seats on HA. Thanks to the death of Aloha and ATA, the airlines have decided to limit the low FF mile seats and get people to use up their miles much faster. Bummer.

March 16, 2009, 12:24 AM	#2
Jimster TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 11, 05 Location: Crystal Lake, IL Posts: 1,461 Resorts: Orange Lake in FL; Silverleaf's Holiday Hills in Branson, MO.; and Murray Valley, Queensland, Australia	miles Well the airline ff programs are certainly not what they used to be, but I am not sure your causes are correct. One thing for certain is that Delta has led the charge toward gutting these programs with their devalued miles and their ridiculous 3 tier scheme. I wish all people accumulating miles would take note of that and act accordingly. In your case, the real travesty is that you accumulated your miles under the old system and now have to redeem them under the new system. That is why people in the know long ago said you should use your miles rather than sit on them. Both AA and UA have been more reasonable, in my estimation, about how their programs are structured. Finally, I think you should also understand that trying to get so many ff tickets on one flight was probably never something that would have happened. Now maybe you can point to an instant when it did, but those times have long since passed.

March 16, 2009, 02:54 AM	#5
Jimster TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 11, 05 Location: Crystal Lake, IL Posts: 1,461 Resorts: Orange Lake in FL; Silverleaf's Holiday Hills in Branson, MO.; and Murray Valley, Queensland, Australia	seats Yes, they have changed how they approach this. First they dont release all seats at the outside limit. Second, they often only release 1 or 2 at a time. Finally, on some routes they release very few ff tickets at all. That is why I said you probably will point to a case in the past but now that is generally not how things are done.

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March 16, 2009, 12:48 AM	#3
Denise L TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 6, 05 Location: West Coast Posts: 2,548 Resorts: Hyatt, Disney, Starwood	I noticed this for our trip to Maui this year on HA, so I was disappointed, too. I held off booking the seats and then in December (4 months out), I noticed that on different weeks, the miles needed to fly RT from SFO/OAK/SJC were changing. Sometimes they were 17,500 each way and sometimes they were more. So when I saw 35,000 RT, I grabbed seats. We are flying out of SFO and into SJC, but that's okay. A week later, the same miles were needed to/from SJC, but it was too late for me to change. Oh well. I was happy to get 4 seats for 35,000 x 4! I haven't looked lately to see what the miles requirements are, but I thought I would tell you what I noticed when booking for Easter. Good luck.

March 16, 2009, 01:30 AM	#4
meatsss TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Jun 29, 05 Location: Sacramento Posts: 72 Resorts: Diamond Resorts Lake Tahoe Hono Koa Diamond Resorts Flamingo SXM Lawai Beach Club	I have reserved trips like this inthe past on three different occaisons while being able to get flights for basic mileage. When you're online as the schedule loads, and there are no basic RT seats available out the gate, for any number of seats, that tells me the airlines have changed the rules.

March 16, 2009, 07:41 AM	#7
LisaRex TUG Member BBS Reg. Date: Mar 10, 07 Location: Cincinnati, OH Posts: 2,343 Resorts: Westin Kaanapali North	I can sympathize. However, as others have said, I wouldn't count on ever getting too many tickets at the base rate anymore. The rules of the game have changed and will likely get worse as travel is way down. My rule of thumb has always been to smoke 'em if you've got 'em.