Do you miss the “good, old days”, when we all followed KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid? When we got one point for a win and none for a loss in our betting pools? And no trend points, long bonuses, adjusted odds or readjusted multipliers? A program or rule book that could be explained in one graphic or in one written paragraph?
I read through CrankyFlier’s analysis of the relaunch of the JetBlue TrueMember program, the one that JetBlue’s CEO Dave Barger calls “a best-in-class frequent flyer program” and “very customer relevant”. It’s a spend-based program where you earn points for every dollar spent and double points when you book through JetBlue’s site. Then there are extra points, if you pay with JetBlue’s Amex Card. And Go Long Bonuses for long-distance flights. And sliding scale Go Big Bonuses on base points, but not extra points.
If you want to redeem your points for flights, it starts at 5,000 points for a one-way leg, but could go up based upon the route, the date, the time, the fares, etc. Basically, it’s a non-linear redemption. Want to plan ahead? Want to take that flight across the continent? You better get your point-calculator plus calendar ready.
If even a site like CrankyFlier.com needs two articles (Part1, Part2) to explain it, something seems wrong. It is just too complicated.
At FlyMiwok, we believe in simplicity. We don’t have sliding point scales, non-linear redemption or bonus multipliers. What we do have is a straight “pre-pay or fly for future discounts” program called 6 Degrees. Prepay to Silver level for a 5% discount on all flights during the next 12 months. Gold gets you a 10% discount, Platinum a 15% discount and Platinum Executive a 20% discount. It is that simple! Oh, and you can also earn these levels by flying a set amount of legs with us. That’s it. A frequent flyer program that can be explained in one paragraph. Or in one graphic, as demonstrated below.
Veit Irtenkauf – Chief Product Officer – FlyMiwok, Inc.
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