True Genius In Serving Customers

[tinpadro]

Effective Oct 1, UA will start charging customers who want to redeem mileage awards 15.00 if they wish to speak to a rep. This is supposed to force them to go to the website. However, if you go to the website you can only redeem domestic rewards not STAR rewards. Therefore you must call in to redeem and there you have it 15.00 fee. The issue was explained as its a competitive move and it will please our loyal customers somehow. I personally put in a call to American and they don't do that and said they don't plan to either. I really think we need to refrain from becoming the Bankof America in the sky. I can understand competition but I cannot see aggravating our customers needlessly. Its enough that they will plan to charge 100.00 change fees to mileage tickets as it is.

I checked with American again and this is what they have:

AAdvantage Award Fees Award Claiming /Travel Dates Award Fee
Travel ticketed 21 days or more prior to departure None
Travel ticketed 20 - 7 days^ prior to departure $50.00 USD*
Travel ticketed 6 days to 2 hours† prior to departure $75.00 USD*


Book and ticket selected awards online or call 1-800-882-8880.

*Fees are per account and are nonrefundable. When multiple awards are claimed at the same time, each additional award is subject to a fee of $20.00 USD.

So I must correct what the AA agent told me but UA cannot book a STAR award online yet but you have a fee anyway.

Thanks for the info so I could edit the post.

😉

 

[Segue]

Last time I redeemed my AA miles there was a $50 fee. My miles continue to become devalued, which I am unhappy about, but this latest move does not bother me.

NW also just announced a $5 charge for using reservations.

Most airlines are trying to drive all transactions to the web. Call centres are very expensive - depending on the length of the transaction, factoring in utilization, telecoms costs, and everthing, average booking cost for a ticket including "look but don't book" for a call centre has been estimated at $10-$20 - even with outsourced labour, so the $15 is probably what UA thinks the cost is. They are bascially trying to move the transaction to the lowest cost channel.

I book almost everything on the web. There is really no reason to talk to a human anymore - it takes more time, the agents are usually rude, and I have less control over the decision process.

 

[WorldTraveler]

Rather than add a fee to speak to a human (and we thought Delta's idea of speaking to a native-speaking American was bad - maybe for free you get to speak to a non-native English speaker. 🙂 ), airlines have to make their cheapest fares available only on the web. Problem is that the LCC's costs are lower so they have an incentive to publish the fares but even they recognize it is cheaper to move as much volume to the web.

Personally, I did like NW's move to no longer fully compensate travel agencies for using a CRS when they could book through the web. CRS fees are a significant part of legacy carrier costs and provide no value that can't be provided through the web.

 

[chexfan]

Please note that it continues...

The handling fee does not apply to upgrade awards, bookings made on united.com, or for 1K® and Global Services members.

 

[gatemech]

Maybe they feel the employees won't agree to more cuts so they go after our best customers. It is True Genius.

 

[coolflyingfool]

Doesn't it seem weird that almost none of the LCCs charge for this. just my thoughts.....

 

[novaqt]

Travel Agencies have been charging $20 fee for making reservations through them since airlines stopped paying commissions. It hasn't stopped people from booking through travel agents especially when they want service. Airline reservation call centers have been acting more and more like travel agencies and are providing more and more services. People that want to be waited on will gladly pay for the service and knowledge reservations agents provide.

 

[WorldTraveler]

I still like the idea of a free call to a non-native English speaker. 🙂

 

[chexfan]

Doesn't it seem weird that almost none of the LCCs charge for this. just my thoughts.....

[post="172660"][/post]​

Well, in the case of (true reservations with) JetBlue, that's only b/c they advertise it as getting $3 off (each-way) when purchased online. :blink:

Seems like the same thing to me...

 

[Dizel8]

Well, jetblue offers the incentive by lowering the fare, where as the other way (Call UA), you get penalized and it raises the fare. IOW, jetblue gives you the opportunity to save even more.

 

[Segue]

Well, jetblue offers the incentive by lowering the fare, where as the other way (Call UA), you get penalized and it raises the fare. IOW, jetblue gives you the opportunity to save even more.

[post="172809"][/post]​

UA, AA, CO and the other majors would love to do that, but they are restricted by the GDSs. The agreements that they have do not allow airlines to publish a lower fare on the web (or with reservations) than what they put on the GDSs. NW's latest move is to try to get around that by charging a fee for bookings made on a GDS, and no charge for bookings on the website - by far the lowest cost of distribution.

LCC's like JetBlue have a very high percentage of bookings on the web - up to 80%. Reservations is more for problem resolution than a sales channel. That's were UA would like to get to, and it needs to incentify the customers to move that way.

 

[chexfan]

... so they go after our best customers. It is True Genius.

[post="172561"][/post]​

The post directly above states that they aren't.

 

[funguy2]

Doesn't it seem weird that almost none of the LCCs charge for this. just my thoughts.....

[post="172660"][/post]​

My thought exactly... This gives some passengers more reasons to try Frontier, ATA, Spirit, Southwest, Independence and all the rest...