U.S. Airlines Pick Up The Loyalty Pace In Cyberspace
<B>U.S. Airlines Pick Up The Loyalty Pace In Cyberspace</B>
By David Jonas
The continued focus by business travelers on earning frequent flyer mileage is creeping into just about every aspect of life these days as carriers find new partners to beef up loyalty programs. In tune with exponential growth of Internet usage, some carriers have found mileage partners in cyberspace, adding a new dimension to the accelerating diversification of frequent flyer programs.
American Airlines, for example, recently linked up with two online companies. The first of the two agreements is with industry giant America Online. The two companies are creating AOL AAdvantage, which, once launched, will be the largest online loyalty program to date. It will combine AA's 38 million frequent flyers and AOL's 20 million subscribers, and offer a slew of benefits, and earning and burning opportunities.
All mileage earned from travel with AA and its partners or through AOL's commerce partners will be stored in a single account balance. Members then can redeem points for travel, AOL membership fees, merchandise or online rewards, including music downloads. In making the announcement, AA cited recent Jupiter Research findings that said 56 percent of all consumers are more likely to undertake online transactions if frequent flyer points are offered.
Also, American today kicks off its partnership with BankDirect, an Internet banking company. AAdvantage members will earn 1,000 miles for each new checking account or money market account and for using direct payroll deposit; 2,000 miles for using BankDirect's bill payment service; and additional mileage bonuses of varying levels for holding balances and purchasing certificates of deposit.
Continental, meanwhile, has partnered with online brokerage DLJ Direct. Members earn 10,000 miles when they open and activate a DLJ Direct account with a minimum $10,000 account transfer or deposit.
Similarly, Delta has teamed with online personal finance service E*Trade. Members who deposit $1,000 into a new account will earn 5,000 miles; those opening accounts with a $10,000 deposit will earn 10,000 miles; and an initial deposit of $50,000 earns 25,000 miles.
Additionally, United and AA frequent flyers will earn 10,000 miles when they buy or lease a car via CarsDirect.com.
In other frequent flyer news, America West has been one of the more active airlines of late, recently announcing partnerships with TWA and Wyndham International. Regarding the first, the two carriers are hoping to strengthen their relatively weak positions in the domestic aviation landscape. America West, suffering from chronic service problems, and TWA, thinly surviving with a sole hub in St. Louis and severely reduced New York JFK operations, hope that complementary route structures will catch the eye of frequent travelers.
"There are a few givens in the aviation industry, and one is that no matter how good and big you are, you can't play alone," said Don Casey, TWA executive vice president of marketing. "Frequent flyer miles are increasingly important to the business traveler and now there is more opportunity to earn and burn."
On the latter, travelers will receive 500 miles for each stay at 168 Wyndham properties in North America. A triple miles promotion runs throughout June.
Meanwhile, Northwest passengers using the ConnectFirst program--first class upgrade when paying full coach fare and connecting through Detroit, Minneapolis and Memphis--through June 30 will receive 5,000 bonus miles for each four-segment, roundtrip itinerary. Travelers using the program twice (eight segments) will receive an additional 15,000 miles.
Delta's frequent flyers through July 31 will earn bonus SkyMiles for transcontinental flights. Economy class travel on flights between New York JFK and Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco will earn 12,000 miles, while travel in BusinessElite, which Delta recently brought to domestic routes, will earn 20,000 miles. To promote its increased service to Latin America, Delta also recently lowered mileage levels for free travel between certain destinations.
United in February partnered with Safeway, enabling its frequent flyers to earn 125 miles for every $250 spent at 1,300 grocery stores nationwide. The link is the largest between an airline and a grocery chain, though frequent flyers can rack up points at thousands of supermarkets through the American Express Membership Rewards program.