Has anyone else noticed how the airlines have steadily devalued frequent flyer miles over the years? I just cashed in some miles to fly to Boston on United, and after much hassle with an arcane web site, managed to secure some economy seats. United has something called “Economy Plus”, but in reality, they created a new class called “Economy Minus” which used to be called Economy. When you go to check in, you are asked if you want to upgrade to “Economy Plus” from “Economy Minus”, at which point they wanted $148 for one way. I think…nah. I’m average sized and I have a wife to lean against, so there was no real value in this. Turns out that the “Economy Minus” section is full, so they wouldn’t give me a seat assignment, instead giving me a “Boarding Management Card”, which is more like a “Boarding Torture Identification Card”. Now I get to wait in the boarding area until they have verified that there is nobody traveling on this flight who is stupid enough to pay $74 for a seat that they are going to get anyway if they hold out like I am. I’ve played this game before (and ranted about it), but now it’s an established procedure so it’s merely an amusement for me.
Apparently United Airlines has forgotten that the frequent flyer programs were started in order to reward loyal customers, and have instead turned them into programs to torture customers they regard as unworthy. Warren Buffet once said that someone should have shot down the Wright Brothers and saved investors 100 years of agony. Airlines have repeatedly demonstrated a level of management incompetence that is truly amazing, and part of this is the unique ways in which they turn loyalty programs into disincentive programs. If you want to chuckle at their incompetence, read this.