Airline Miles Revisited

[huskies90]

You may (or may not) remember my post last year about losing airline miles:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1994748

Well, I saw this article this morning and felt I had to share it with my friends on the Transportation board. It appears somebody out there agrees with me:

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2009/11/23/frequent_flier_plans_may_face_review/

ALBANY, N.Y. - Senator Charles Schumer is calling for a federal review of complaints by consumers that they are losing millions of frequent flier miles without notice in confusing agreements.

Currently, there are few restrictions on how airlines manage and redeem the miles.

Schumer said he suspects consumers are actually paying for frequent flier programs through airfares and fees. If so, he said, rules are needed to protect consumers. He is asking the Department of Transportation to review the complaints.

“When a consumer accumulates valuable frequent flier miles, they should not have to constantly worry that they are going to expire with little or no notification from the airline,’’ he said.

About 10 trillion unused frequent-flier miles worth $165 billion are in circulation, Schumer said. But 20 percent of them may never be redeemed, he said.

The Air Transport Association, a trade group for airlines, said each air carrier tailors its frequent flier miles programs as it sees fit. The group has seen reports of consumer complaints but does not track them

 

[bavaria]

I don't agree with regulation to replace personal responsibility.

Edited to add: and rereading the linked thread, which is certainly one of the more memorable ones (and that says a lot for the Transportation Board) reinforces my feelings on the subject. I suspect that there are many others who would agree, again based in part on the contents of that thread.

 

[KevGuy]

I think they should be regulated and limits on when they expire greatly extended for consumers. Look what limiting regulation got us all in the financial market.....need I say more....

 

[Lewisc]

The FF mile programs are set up with the expectation a significant number of miles will wind up going unclaimed. I don't see that changing. What may change is better disclosure, particularly with the credit card deals.

FF programs are a perk intended for frequent business travelers. Intended to promote loyalty with one airline, or alliance. We don't pay extra for miles so there really isn't any reason to regulate the programs.

Sorry this has nothing to do with the financial markets. You want to compare airlines with the financial markets? Then the government should require minimum fares to prevent airlines from asking for money from the government (directly or via bankruptcy courts) when too many tickets are sold at unprofitable fares.