Posted on 11/23/2009 5:21:26 AM PST by Gamecock
NEW YORK (WPIX) - Sen. Charles Schumer is sponsoring the first ever legislation to protect consumers' frequent flyer miles.
Schumer urged the Department of Transportation Sunday to do a better job of notifying travelers about pending termination of their frequent flyer accounts, or the miles they have accumulated. At present, your account can be terminated and miles can be deemed canceled or expired with seemingly little or no notice from an airline, he said.
"As the holiday travel season approaches, we cannot let airlines and credit card companies continue to fly off with hard-earned, frequent flyer miles," Schumer said. He continued: "when a consumer accumulates valuable frequent flyer miles, they should not have to constantly worry that they are going to expire with little nor no notification from the airline. Playing games with frequent flyer miles takes money out of people's pockets, plain and simple. It's annoying, it's unfair, and it has to stop."
New Yorkers traveling all across the country have lost tens-of-millions of miles, because they have been rescinded by airlines and credit card companies. Experts estimate there are about 10 trillion unused frequent-flyer miles in circulation now, worth about $165 billion. Some estimate nearly 20% of those miles will never be used, due largely to confusing airline policies.
When frequent flyer programs were first created in the mid-1990s, miles had no expiration dates. Now, most airlines have a three-year, shelf life on them.
Different airlines also have different rules on when they can close a customer's account. Some say the airline can cancel after 12 months, and charge $50 for reinstatement. Others can cancel after 18 months and charge $1.25 per miles for a $25 fee for reinstatement. But, the biggest problem is that consumers are receiving little to no notice when their accounts are about to be canceled.
Schumer is now looking into whether the DOT is engaging in deceptive businesses practices, in addition to whether consumers have actually paid for the frequent flyer programs through air travel fees.
Apparently Schumer doesn’t have anything better to do.
Chuckie....Remind me to get bread, too. Sometimes life is just too hectic and I forget.
Unbelievable.
If only he were one tiny bit as interested in protecting “frequent taxpayers”
Next up: grocery store coupons. How dare they expire?
Four lines into this I thought it was one of John Semmens’ “Semi-News Semi-Satire” pieces.
But Chuckie the Clown is SERIOUS!
Yeah, that’s important, Senator Scummer.
You let Goldman Sachs and JPM walk away with billions of our dollars. You let the UAW walk away with GM. You let the SEIU subvert the major states, intimidate voters, advise the WH on unconstitutional issues. You let ACORN apply gangland tactics to the country. You let your president risk a world war by paying back our debt to the ChiComs with dollars that are worthless thanks to his and your plan to “print” our way out of recession.
But damn it, when something serious like a scam with frequent-flyer miles comes up, you latch on to that with all the power of the federal government you come down hard on someone.
Scumbag.
At present, your account can be terminated and miles can be deemed canceled or expired with seemingly little or no notice from an airline, he said.
It is well documented on each airlines website. Something as simple as buying a song from iTunes will reset the clock.
Playing games with frequent flyer miles takes money out of people's pockets, plain and simple. It's annoying, it's unfair, and it has to stop."
Funny, I could say the same about the Government and the real money in my pockets.
When frequent flyer programs were first created in the mid-1990s, miles had no expiration dates. Now, most airlines have a three-year, shelf life on them.
No, not most. American has an 18 month shelf life. Fly once a year, bing the clock resets. Buy flowers for mom on her birthday through the AA website, Presto! More miles and the clock resets.
Schumer is now looking into whether the DOT is engaging in deceptive businesses practices, in addition to whether consumers have actually paid for the frequent flyer programs through air travel fees.
AHHH there's the real issue! He wants FF miles taxed!
Hey Washington, keep your hands off of my miles!
Someone's gotta find the money trail. This doesn't make sense unless someone's gonna make some serious coin based on Chuckie's actions somehow.
Legal tender for all debts public and private?
End result: airlines will stop all frequent flyer programs.
I better burn my 300,000 miles soon!
Next up: grocery store coupons. How dare they expire?
That is the funniest post I have seen in a long time. Big belly laugh...
Chuckie will find a way to tax them.
Only “evil, rich Republicans” have frequent flyer miles, not the “working people”. Since when has Schemer cared a whit about the former, unless it’s to extract more taxes and fees from them. Beware of the ulterior motive.
Here is one issue with FF miles.
Someone flies once, maybe twice a year. They see an ad in the on board mag about 25,000 miles getting them a free domestic trip. They sign up with, say American.
The next year they fly with Delta, because it is cheaper than American. They sign up with Delta for the 2,500 miles.
Two years go by and they fly with American and they decide to check how many miles they have, and since they haven’t flown with American in two years the miles are gone.
But guess what? If is a FREQUENT flyer program, not in an infrequent flyer program.
There is a story on CNN about a guy who used his miles to fly his wife to Spain in 1st Class for dinner.
That's right, dinner. Probably spent 2 days in Spain.
Guess who is howling on the CNN website? The environmental whackos because of his Carbon Footprint.
Algore will be all over this very soon.
Chuck I will manage my life, you try to reign in Charlie Rangel.
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