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"I'm responding to Shannon's response to Michael G. about the Diners Club card [in last week's Crier].
"I don't know what kind of agreement she has with Diner's, but her info is definitely not accurate as far as my card's policies are stated. The billing period for mine is now statement to statement, about 30 days. And they are ruthless in enforcing this with forfeiture of miles and late fees. It would probably be a good idea to research this and post on the next Frequent Flyer update so that people will not lose miles and incur fees. Losing the 60 day pay period is the biggest issue for me, and I probably will not renew my card because of it. That, and primary car rental insurance, was by far its greatest value. As for as airline miles, that has become a non-issue for me because I find it inconvenient and expensive to convert them for use toward frequent flyer awards." [Barry F.]
[As mentioned above, the 60-day billing period remains in effect for Diners' corporate cards, but not for individual cards.]
"For sure they [Diners] have changed from 60 days to 30 days, at least for normal non-corporate cards. Basically it has become a standard kind of MasterCard from Citibank. The only benefit is maybe a lounge here and there and primary rental car insurance." [Stephen R.]
"I, too, have stopped using my Diner's Club card; again, not because of billing cycle but because of their decision to stop using some of the major airline carriers.
"Used to LOVE that card but am now not happy." [Betsy W.]
"I read with interest your note regarding US Air canceling miles in dormant accounts. I did take some US Air flights a year or two back. I transferred miles from my AMEX account to USAir in December. This was designed to leave we with a large enough balance in one account when my America West and US Air accts merge in the spring. Anyhow, will the act of transferring mileage into the account qualify as activity, thereby starting the 3-year clock? I wrote to USAir for clarification, but do not have any answer yet. Feb 15th is less than 2 weeks away!" [David W. - JFK]
[FrequentFlier.com responded - According to US Air's website (http://www.usairways.com/dividendmiles/programinfo/expiration.htm), an Amex transfer is a qualifying transaction and should extend the life of all miles for three years from the date of the transfer.
Having said that, if it looks as though the transfer won't be posted before Feb. 15, you should probably call the US Air service center (800-428-4322) and discuss your account's status, before any action is taken.
I spoke to a US Air spokesman earlier this week and he indicated they would be quite accommodating in making exceptions on a request basis.]
In a follow-up e-mail, David reported: "In fact, the miles did post. To the surprise of both myself and the person at AMEX, the transfer was completed (showed up on USAir's web site) in about three minutes! Amazing. Sometimes the net works as it should."
"Regarding the story about US AIR getting strict on expiring miles:"
"First - Thank You. I ordered a magazine for 400 miles (keeping my available miles just over 25,000). I ended up doing it by phone. The web site US AIR referred me to didn't show US AIR as a participant.
"Second - The US AIR web site claims that February 15th is the last date to redeem miles for magazines under the current offer. BUT it also says that miles will not be deleted until sometime in the SPRING.
"If my reading is correct there may still be a chance for those who delay until after 2/15 to save thier miles - but why take a chance." [Carl]
"As for one-way award tickets (mentioned in the last issue): Southwest requires you to earn enough to get a round trip before giving you the award, but you can split it into two one-way trips with no penalty. AirTran goes you one better and lets you redeem for a one-way trip as soon as you have that many credits (8).
"And as for United's 'strategy' of trying to segment the market and offer services to all segments: you hit the nail on the head as to the problem. On a true low-cost airline you know that they aren't going to offer affordable seats only at times nobody wants to fly, The seats are for the most part spaced evenly, there are only a handful of plane types (and they're equivalently configured), and there's an overall sense that nobody is getting gouged or making out like a bandit.
"On United, you still have a fare system that seems tailor-made for a marketplace in Basra, too many planes and plane configurations, and the company is still giving the impression it's out to skim every dime it can from you (for example, the fee for curbside checkin). I have no doubt that if they could get away with it, they would try to depressurize the cabin and sell access to the oxygen masks, and I think if pay toilets still existed on the ground, they'd put them on their planes as well.
"On the flip side, the high-end competitors (generally the overseas airlines, as opposed to the other domestic dinosaurs) can out-class and out-service United in first and business class any day of the week.
"I think Joe's [Brancatelli] got it exactly right--the folks who want low-cost no-frills flying won't be able to find it consistently on Ted or United, and go elsewhere. Meanwhile, folks accustomed to better treatment who find themselves stuck on the ever-growing number of commuter planes and Ted flights (booked as United) will see no difference between them and the airlines they scorn. It's sad, because I can remember, even in my short flying life, when flying United was an experience.
"To be fair, I don't know of any airline, save JetBlue, which can make that claim any more." [Kevin M. - Baton Rouge, LA]
Until next week...
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