Air Miles Protection - Second Order
Well, here's one I'd never have thought of. I just got a note from American Express offering me airmiles protection. It turns out that some bright spark over there must have figured out that with bankruptcy looming, frequent travelers might be concerned about losing accumulated frequent flyer miles. So, for $5.40 per month, you can sign up to protect up to 60,000 miles. There are a few basic problems with this offer, however...
Firstly, they don't actually guarantee miles. Instead, you get a 'credit' of $50 for every 3,500 miles you choose to redeem. So for a round-trip to Europe, say, which would take about 40,000 miles, you'll get back a grant total of $571, hardly what you'd get if you took the miles and used them for travel. Secondly, they only offer to 'protect' 60,000 miles. For most airline programs that I work with, it takes 40,000 miles or more to do much of anything - so the guarantee is not going to protect the truly massive mile accumulations that make exciting trips to Hawaii or Timbuktu possible. Still, I bet someone will go for it. Probably the same people who buy those extended service plans for household appliances that will be replaced within 3 years anyway...
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- Posted: Sunday, September 18, 2005
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