Award Travel 101

The Gas Man Cometh: When Loyalty Programs Behave Badly

May 23, 2019 Richard Kerr, Ed Pizza Season 1 Episode 13

"People are so bad at complaining...I'm complaining about how bad people are at complaining...that's where we are right now."

It might come as no surprise that in this world of made up currencies where points don't matter, loyalty programs may not always follow their own rules - or will change them whenever they feel like it. Sure, there are those moments when a considerate customer service representative might take you by surprise and waive a fee, or open up availability. More often than not however, it's easy to feel like the deck is stacked against you.

Complaining can only get you so far. Or, more likely the case you may only have so much time to spend complaining (or fighting for what's right). How do you know when programs are actually acting badly? And, when you do find that moment, what are the best ways to plead your case while having an actual chance at finding resolution or receiving compensation?

Timestamps

2:00 - The feng shui of rooms at Nobu at Caesar's Palace
4:38 - What's bothering Richard this week?
7:47 - When "the system is down" for more than a month...
15:47 - Examples of when loyalty programs behave badly
20:48 - When a travel company actually does the right thing
24:40 - How to positively use emotion to complain
32:30 - What to remember when you need to interact with customer service reps

Today's Guest

Ed Pizza founded the Pizza In Motion blog on the Boarding Area network. He's considered one of the preeminent voices in the loyalty program space and is a successful entrepreneur. He's also the host of the Miles to Go and NowBoarding podcasts.

Where to Find Us
For questions, you can join us in the free 110,000+ member Award Travel 101 Community.

  1. To book time with our team, check out Award Travel 1-on-1.
  2. You can also email us at 101@award.travel
  3. Our next meetup will be announced soon. Visit the Award Travel Meetups page for details once announced.

Support the AT101 Podcast/Community

Technical Note: If you encounter an error trying to listen on Apple Podcasts, please turn OFF your VPN if you are using one.