AGR/Continental Update

[AlanB]

The following was posted over on Flyertalk tonight by AGRInsider:

Update on the AGR partnership with Continental
A new partnership with United Airlines is in the works! In the meantime' date=' here’s an update on the Continental partnership:

Points to miles and miles to points transfers between AGR and Continental will end on December 31, 2011. If you plan to transfer Continental Onepass miles to AGR points or are eligible to redeem AGR points for miles, please do so prior to the deadline.

Select Plus members will have access to United Clubs (with their valid Select Plus member card) through February 2012. (We will continue to keep members informed as we finalize details for Club access beyond February.)

Through March 2012, members will be eligible to earn Amtrak Guest Rewards points on Continental operated flights. And beginning in March, members will be able to earn points on United operated flights.

This information will be added to the Amtrak Guest Rewards website on Thursday. Check the website for future updates on the partnership.

Becky Parks

Senior Marketing Officer, Amtrak Guest Rewards[/quote']

 

[Ryan]

Nice!

 

[rrdude]

Umm, 'good so far?"

 

[Steve4031]

This is COOL!!!! GF and I are traveling to DCA on United in January. I can rock that select plus card and get us into the lounge at ORD. Of course we will use the CA in Washington, DC and NYP.

 

[the_traveler]

I'm glad I've transfered as much as I can, and will now only "lose" 52 OnePass Miles (which were combined with my Millage Plus Miles)!

I'd rather "lose" 52 than 24K+ of each!

 

[Trogdor]

Through March 2012' date=' members will be eligible to earn Amtrak Guest Rewards points on Continental operated flights. And beginning in March, members will be able to earn points on United operated flights.[/quote']

I'm a little confused by this.

I thought that SOC (airline jargon for a "Single Operating Certificate," which is when, for all intents and purposes, the two airlines legally become one operating entity) was planned for the end of this month.

If that's still the case (and I believe it was as of yesterday at least), then there will be no "Continental operated flights" between December 2011 and March 2012.

 

[Rail Freak]

I've been buying & transfering Miles to AGR all year long. I guess this is the end of the line!!! Sure was good while it lasted!!!

 

[rrdude]

That was my understanding too, I'm just assuming some legacy routes, or "operated by" routes, will continue to be labvled as CO, in the system, and they are saying that ".........even if you travel on CO ........after this date.......you'll still earn miles........)

Could be wrong tho

 

[Trogdor]

Could be legacy routes, but "operated by" goes away once SOC occurs, because in the FAA's eyes, everything will be "operated by" United (excluding, of course, the bazillion express/connection carriers and Star Alliance codeshare partners).

 

[colobok]

Nice!

What is nice? That Continental to AGR transfer will end???

 

[sechs]

Nice!

What is nice? That Continental to AGR transfer will end???

Since Continental is ending, technically, it was going to end, anyway.
The excitement is that the relationship will have new life at United.

 

[Anderson]

Since United was often a "conduit" for miles transfers through other programs, is there a decent replacement conduit out there?

 

[Ryan]

Nice!

What is nice? That Continental to AGR transfer will end???

Since Continental is ending, technically, it was going to end, anyway.
The excitement is that the relationship will have new life at United.

Exactly. It sure beats the alternative of the whole program ending.

 

[Tumbleweed]

So, it appears a person would be able to transfer miles on the same basis as before, except they would be United miles??

 

[jis]

Through March 2012' date=' members will be eligible to earn Amtrak Guest Rewards points on Continental operated flights. And beginning in March, members will be able to earn points on United operated flights.[/quote']

I'm a little confused by this.

I thought that SOC (airline jargon for a "Single Operating Certificate," which is when, for all intents and purposes, the two airlines legally become one operating entity) was planned for the end of this month.

If that's still the case (and I believe it was as of yesterday at least), then there will be no "Continental operated flights" between December 2011 and March 2012.

Operationally the two airlines do not become a single one until labor union issues are sorted out allowing merger of the seniority rosters etc. Until the Continental crews will operate Continental fleet and United crews will operate United fleet as separate entities. Within that constraint they will shuffle and mix flights and from a passenger perspective there will be almost no difference since you can cross earn points on either and are at the same elite level on both. BTW this shuffling and mixing has been already going on for a while. For example the IAD - CDG flight is now a CO flight while several TATL flights from EWR are UA flights. They have also aligned flight number so the co-listed CO and UA flights have the same numeric number.

I hear that the resolution of labor issues may spill over into 2013, with the pilots union roster merging being the toughest one to resolve.

Considering that even with these inefficiencies and unrealized synergies United Continental Holding posted a net income of something $650 million, they might take things in stride and not hurry matter to topple the apple cart. Also next year they get rid of some 15 or so old gas guzzlers and replace them with 5 787s and a bucnh of spanking new 73s mostly 900s, so that already improves things a bit even if labor costs do not realize the full rationalization.

 

[Trogdor]

Through March 2012' date=' members will be eligible to earn Amtrak Guest Rewards points on Continental operated flights. And beginning in March, members will be able to earn points on United operated flights.[/quote']

I'm a little confused by this.

I thought that SOC (airline jargon for a "Single Operating Certificate," which is when, for all intents and purposes, the two airlines legally become one operating entity) was planned for the end of this month.

If that's still the case (and I believe it was as of yesterday at least), then there will be no "Continental operated flights" between December 2011 and March 2012.

Operationally the two airlines do not become a single one until labor union issues are sorted out allowing merger of the seniority rosters etc. Until the Continental crews will operate Continental fleet and United crews will operate United fleet as separate entities. Within that constraint they will shuffle and mix flights and from a passenger perspective there will be almost no difference since you can cross earn points on either and are at the same elite level on both. BTW this shuffling and mixing has been already going on for a while. For example the IAD - CDG flight is now a CO flight while several TATL flights from EWR are UA flights. They have also aligned flight number so the co-listed CO and UA flights have the same numeric number.

I hear that the resolution of labor issues may spill over into 2013, with the pilots union roster merging being the toughest one to resolve.

Considering that even with these inefficiencies and unrealized synergies United Continental Holding posted a net income of something $650 million, they might take things in stride and not hurry matter to topple the apple cart. Also next year they get rid of some 15 or so old gas guzzlers and replace them with 5 787s and a bucnh of spanking new 73s mostly 900s, so that already improves things a bit even if labor costs do not realize the full rationalization.

All that is true, but when it comes to what airline is operating the flights (meaning, when you book, whether or not you see "Operated by XXXXXXXXX" as a footnote to the reservation), it's the SOC that matters, not which legacy crews are running the flights.

US Airways still has complete crew segregation between the former America West and former US Airways crews. Delta, AFAIK, still has segregated flight attendants based on which side they came from (and, on the pilots side, NW pilots can't bid the 777, nor can former DL pilots bid the 744), yet that doesn't mean any of those flights are "operated by" any airline other than US Airways or Delta, respectively.

For the purpose of determining AGR credit, they'll have to use some other measure than flights operated by Continental, because Continental as an airline ceases to exist once the entire carrier is on SOC. That means every flight will carry one code (UA), and there will be no CO-coded flights in the system.

 

[jis]

For the purpose of determining AGR credit, they'll have to use some other measure than flights operated by Continental, because Continental as an airline ceases to exist once the entire carrier is on SOC. That means every flight will carry one code (UA), and there will be no CO-coded flights in the system.

I have been given to understand that Continental as an airline does not cease to exist until 31 Dec 2011. One Pass Program gets credited miles flown on Continental until then and MP gets credited UA flown miles, unless explicit request is made to credit the other account. But then I have not researched this. I just read blurbs coming from them. So they can certainly credit AGR based on CO flights until the time that they continue crediting CO miles to OP and UA miles to MP. I have also heard a rumor that this state of affairs may get extended to the end of Feb '12. I don;t believe that has anything to do with SOC. SOC has to do with which regulatory certificate they operate under. It does not say anything about how United Continental Holding chooses to organize its business units operating under whatever SOC they operate under.

 

[Tracktwentynine]

The following was posted over on Flyertalk tonight by AGRInsider:

Update on the AGR partnership with Continental
A new partnership with United Airlines is in the works! In the meantime' date=' here's an update on the Continental partnership:

Points to miles and miles to points transfers between AGR and Continental will end on December 31, 2011. If you plan to transfer Continental Onepass miles to AGR points or are eligible to redeem AGR points for miles, please do so prior to the deadline.

Select Plus members will have access to United Clubs (with their valid Select Plus member card) through February 2012. (We will continue to keep members informed as we finalize details for Club access beyond February.)

Through March 2012, members will be eligible to earn Amtrak Guest Rewards points on Continental operated flights. And beginning in March, members will be able to earn points on United operated flights.

This information will be added to the Amtrak Guest Rewards website on Thursday. Check the website for future updates on the partnership.

Becky Parks

Senior Marketing Officer, Amtrak Guest Rewards[/quote']

I'm afraid I don't understand what this means. My instinct is that it's a *bad* thing, not a good thing. Though I could be misunderstanding.

I have 3,600 Continental miles in my account. Since I can only transfer them in 5,000 lot increments, I'd need to fly an additional 1,400 miles on Continental/United by December 31 and then transfer those miles to AGR, no?

Because after December 31, there is no more transferring. And that's bad. (right?)

On the other hand, this note might be saying (not sure) that if I fly Continental/United in the future, I'll just earn AGR points directly (and not have to transfer them). Is that right?

If so, perhaps this is not all bad. Though I still lose 3,600 miles. Any way to somehow salvage those (I don't see any opportunities to fly Continental/United 1,400 miles before Dec. 31)?

 

[Anderson]

1) Not that it will ever matter very much for me (hint: I take the train from Virginia to Arizona), but how would the direct earning work for Amtrak?

2) Again, to bump this...is there an alternative conduit for getting Holiday Inn points and the like into AGR, or should I slam an account together later this month to do a large block transfer?

 

[jis]

If so, perhaps this is not all bad. Though I still lose 3,600 miles. Any way to somehow salvage those (I don't see any opportunities to fly Continental/United 1,400 miles before Dec. 31)?

Get a Continental One Plus Credit Card and spend $1,400 on it buying your favorite junk and the transfer the 5000 points and discontinue the card.

 

[sechs]

Although this has been mentioned before, I think it's worth pointing out that one can currently link Miles Plus and Onepass accounts and combine the miles into one or the other account.

I did this and transferred out to AGR. Currently my Miles Plus account has seven miles, and my Onepass is at -183.

 

[alanh]

Here's the email that went out today:

While the Continental® OnePass® program will formally end in December, we're happy to inform you that a new Amtrak Guest Rewards® partnership with the United MileagePlus® program is in the works.
In the meantime, here's what the changes mean for you as an Amtrak Guest Rewards member:

• December 31, 2011 is the last day that Amtrak Guest Rewards members will be able to

convert Continental OnePass miles to Amtrak Guest Rewards points

• Members may convert OnePass miles to Amtrak Guest Rewards points in increments

of 5,000 miles for 5,000 points

• To convert your miles, contact the OnePass service center. Learn More

Eligible members* may convert Amtrak Guest Rewards points to OnePass miles at AmtrakGuestRewards.com through December 31, 2011. Transfer of points and miles will not be a benefit of the new partnership with United MileagePlus.

As always, thank you for your continued loyalty.

Sincerely,

Michael Blakey, Senior Director, Loyalty Marketing & CRM

I think it's clear you won't be able to transfer AGR points to United miles, but it's not entirely clear about the other directions (United to Amtrak). If you want to do any transfers, you should do it before 12/31. Note that you can transfer United miles to Continental for free right now, if you want to consolidate.

 

[PRR 60]

Here's the email that went out today:

While the Continental® OnePass® program will formally end in December, we're happy to inform you that a new Amtrak Guest Rewards® partnership with the United MileagePlus® program is in the works.
In the meantime, here's what the changes mean for you as an Amtrak Guest Rewards member:

• December 31, 2011 is the last day that Amtrak Guest Rewards members will be able to

convert Continental OnePass miles to Amtrak Guest Rewards points

• Members may convert OnePass miles to Amtrak Guest Rewards points in increments

of 5,000 miles for 5,000 points

• To convert your miles, contact the OnePass service center. Learn More

Eligible members* may convert Amtrak Guest Rewards points to OnePass miles at AmtrakGuestRewards.com through December 31, 2011. Transfer of points and miles will not be a benefit of the new partnership with United MileagePlus.

As always, thank you for your continued loyalty.

Sincerely,

Michael Blakey, Senior Director, Loyalty Marketing & CRM

I think it's clear you won't be able to transfer AGR points to United miles, but it's not entirely clear about the other directions (United to Amtrak). If you want to do any transfers, you should do it before 12/31. Note that you can transfer United miles to Continental for free right now, if you want to consolidate.

Alan's posting of the Flyertalk post by AGR is pretty clear that points - miles transfers are ending in both directions. It has been announced that AGR members will be able to earn AGR points for travel on United. That will likely require you to enter AGR and your AGR number as your Frequent Flyer info for UA reservations. I'm wondering if the opposite will be available - will you be able to earn UA miles traveling Amtrak? That may not be very attractive to many here, but would be to many typical Acela travelers.

I'm also wondering if there will be some award opportunities: UA members being able to use miles for train travel, and AGR members being able to book flights with points. The AGR side would allow a member to use points for a combined air-rail trip - say fly transcon one way for 12,500 points and then ride back in a roomette for 35,000 points.

We'll have to wait and see what happens, but the good news is that there will be an AGR-UA partnership after 12/31/2011.

 

[jis]

Actually if the United Club access by Select Pluses continues, that is one case where UA would be treating AGR members better than MileagePlus members. MileagePlus members do not get domestic lounge access for being Silver, Gold or Platinum or 1K AFAICT. One has to be a member of the Club. Gold and above do get lounge access on international itineraries for being *Gold. And in all cases UA reserves the right to deny access to anyone that is not have a flight ticket for the same day (with appropriate allowance for late night flight departures).

 

[jb64]

I know this is an AGR forum, but many of us got the Continental credit card from Chase because they gave a huge bonus. At times, it was more efficient to use this card and then transfer points to AGR. Any ideas as to what happens to that credit card's points? Do they become United? I haven't received anything about that. My year will end in early spring and I want to make sure I can transfer points to AGR or I will just cancel it. It had some nice benefits so I was considering keeping it even though you have to pay an annual fee.