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Sept. 21--Some Continental Airlines frequent fliers will have to manage their mileage accounts more closely than they have been under the loyalty program emerging from Continental's merger with United Airlines.
The airlines' parent company announced details of the program this morning, revealing among other things that accumulated miles will expire after 18 months in accounts without activity -- although members will be able to reset the clock without flying or using the miles.
United and Continental merged last Oct. 1, and have been combining their programs and services, although they still fly as separate carriers while awaiting a single operating certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration.
The combined airline will be called United, and parent company United Continental Holdings announced previously that Continental's OnePass program will end Dec. 31, to be replaced by a new loyalty program retaining the name of United's MileagePlus.
Today's announcement of program details is a "significant milestone in the merger integration of these two companies," said Jeff Foland, United's president of MileagePlus.
In the first quarter of 2012, passengers in both airlines' loyalty programs automatically will be enrolled in the new MileagePlus program. At that time, passengers will start to receive their new loyalty program cards and information. All passenger miles will be deposited into their new United MileagePlus account.
The combined program will have 85 million members, and miles that former OnePass members have accumulated will for the first time have the potential to expire -- as already has been the case for United's MileagePlus members.
"We want people to engage in the program and we want them to do that more often than every 18 months," Foland said.
There are several ways to keep the account active even if a person doesn't fly -- such as using a United branded credit card or buying products from some of the airline's partners.
A new perk is access to the Global Entry program -- a Customs and Border Protection initiative that allows travelers who pass background checks to skip long lines at the airport's international customs checkpoint. Anyone who reaches the top three tiers of the MileagePlus program can apply for the benefit without paying the $100 application fee.
A OnePass perk included in the new program gives elite status benefits to spouses or partners of passengers who accumulate a million frequent-flier miles.
The new frequent flier program will have four tiers -- Premier Silver, Premier Gold, Premier Platinum and Premier 1K, with passengers getting better benefits after every 25,000 miles they accrue.
To reach Premier Silver, passengers will have to make at least four flights on Continental, United or Panamanian carrier Copa Airlines, and accumulate 25,000 miles.
Upon reaching that status, members get one free checked bag weighing up to 50 pounds and the opportunity to upgrade to an Economy Plus seat with extra legroom if the seat is available when they check in for a flight.
Passengers in the top three tiers will be allowed to check three bags weighing up to 70 pounds with no fee and can upgrade to Economy Plus seating if it is available when they buy their tickets.
Customers who buy pricier tickets will also earn more perks.
Passengers will earn award miles up to 250 percent of the actual miles flown for buying full-fare first class tickets; up to 175 percent for full-fare business class; and up to 125 percent for full-fare economy class.
Premier frequent fliers buying certain full-fare economy-class tickets will be eligible for instant upgrades when seats are available.Those at the silver status can also get upgraded to first class if the seats are available.
United officials hammered out the details of the new loyalty program after evaluating the existing Continental and United programs, doing other research and conducting focus groups in several cities including Houston. They also read blogs that specialize in frequent-flier comments, complaints and discussions.
Frequent-flier programs began in 1981 with American Airlines and other airlines soon introduced their own loyalty programs.
"They haven't really evolved all that much and a lot has changed in the marketplace since they were all rolled out in the eighties," Foland said.
The United and Continental merger gave officials at the combined carrier the chance to mull over what will be the world's largest airline loyalty program.
"We have a very unique opportunity as part of the merger to step back and try to get this right," Foland said.
