Frequent Flyer Sues Continental
We’ve heard a lot of grumbling in response to the changes airlines are inflicting on their frequent flyer programs to make it more costly to redeem miles for award seats. But one guy took his frustrations to a whole new level by deciding to SUE Continental Airlines for failing to honor it’s OnePass frequent flyer program guidelines.
Apparently it all started when David Simon tried to book a flight between Cleveland and Los Angeles for 25,000 miles. The airline required him to either spend 50,000 miles to get the ticket or pay $75 for booking within three weeks of travel with a partner airline.
David filed a class-action lawsuit seeking compensatory and punitive damages for those who were charged more miles or fees for using Continental’s OnePass program.
I commend this guy for trying to stand up to the airlines, but I don’t think he’s got a case. Continental clearly states that it’s awards may be subject to capacity controls and are limited in availability - so just because some routes may be available for 25,000 miles, it doesn’t guarantee anything. Moreover, it lists the additional charges on it’s site for members who book award travel within 21 days of the departure date. All of the information was there if David had dug a little deeper.
I think the bigger issue here is how hard it continues to be for airlines to effectively communicate complex program guidelines to their members. I don’t think Continental was trying to deceive David, but perhaps if there had been a better way to share this information with him then he wouldn’t have ended up feeling so mistreated.
Until there is a better way (which we’re working on), it’s up to you to keep up with the news surrounding your loyalty programs. Here are a few tips to follow so you don’t end up frustrated and in court like David!
- Set up news alerts with Google Alerts or (even better) Filtrbox, so information from your program is sent to your inbox each day. You can enter keywords such as the program or airline name, and you will be able to quickly scan updates about your program each day. This is also a great way to learn about bonus deals.
- Engage in FlyerTalk, the largest frequent flyer online community in the world, with over 11 million posts! You can learn a lot from these fanatic elite travelers, as they post detailed information on everything you could ever want to know about programs, rules, deals, etc.
- Visit your program’s sites. It’s all there and if you make an effort to stay informed about recent announcements, you will know when new fees are added or mile requirements change. Make sure you update your email and sign up to receive newsletters and other program information.
It will be interesting to see how the courts rule on this case. Good luck, David!
