N305AS:
"The only thing that is changing here is that US has decided not to grant Elite status to people who only want the lowest fare."
I certainly respect US's right to make and change rules regarding their FF program or their policies regarding non-refundable fares. However, as a long time customer (and as I stated in my e-mail to Mike Isom) the new policy regarding the earning of Preferred status does not address the very frequent flier who flies BOTH full fares AND discounted tickets.
I fly US Airways somewhere between 55,000 and 85,000 miles a year. And I spend $$$thousands each year doing so on BOTH full fare and discounted tickets. I have flown US Airways on everything from discounted coach fares to FULL FARE INTERNATIONAL FIRST CLASS FARE (priced any of those lately?).
The ONLY point I wanted to make clear to Ben Baldanza and Mike Isom was that I think they have made a mistake when they assume that passengers fly ONLY one kind of fare ALL THE TIME. They do not.
The truly discount traveler who flies two or three times a year will not care about this and will book a good fare on any airline when they need to go on vacation or visit grandma. The very frequent flier (say 150,000 miles a year or more) who has a huge travel budget (this segment of the flying population is shrinking btw) will not care. They will earn elite status on several airlines and be on their way in row 1. However, I think there is a large population of frequent fliers who log from 25,000 to 150,000 miles a year in the air who pay a mix of fares - sometimes full and sometimes discount. This is the revenue generating population that US has just completely alienated with the new policy on earning status only on high fares.
IMHO, US Airways SHOULD do something about the traveler who buys a discount fare and then uses the flexibility of his or her elite status coupled with a few change fees to get the same result as a full-fare business ticket. Again, IMO, making changes to the stand-by rules is a good way to address this issue. I have no problem with it and it makes sense.
However, removing the Preferred qualification from the discounted fares (a policy that ONLY US Airwyas currently has in the USA) dictates to me that I will be better off putting ALL of my business on another carrier. If my travel patterns mean that I'll only earn Silver Preferred under the new US rules but the same travel on the same fares (again, a combination of full & discounted) on AA will earn me Platinum, why would I stay with US Airways????
Those of us 'middle-class frequent fliers' who spend $$$thousand a year on US Airways tickets and club memberships etc., just do not see the logic in having the door slammed in our face.
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