at's blog will be updated occasionally with news about PatsPapers.com, observations about the news business and comments about life and the stories in the news.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Citibank Premier Pass
A few years ago, I applied to Citibank (yes, the "our stock dropped 39 percent on Friday" Citibank) to take advantage of the generous rewards program on the "Premier Pass" credit card. One aspect of that was a special type of reward that wasn't typically available within the "Thank You" network. The "fixed flight" option put the card on good competitive footing with all of the airline loyalty cards.
I won't get into the whole story -- but basically the card allowed you to redeem 25,000 points for up to $600 in domestic airfare. Pretty good deal. That got you just about anywhere in the country on an advance purchase fare.
Then they trimmed it back. You could get $400 in airfare for 20,000 points. Still an OK deal, because they had a multiplier that allowed you to earn points at a faster rate than the typical rate of one point per dollar spent.
Today was the final day they honored that arrangement. They announced a while back that they're cutting back yet again. Basically they've cut the potential value of the points in half, switching to a variable reward that gives you roughly a penny of airfare for each point you spend. In other words -- those 20,000 points that bought me $400 in airfare today will buy roughly $200 tomorrow.
The dishonorable act of devaluing points someone has already earned has been discussed many times on the airline frequent flier blogs. I was determined to get a ticket in my hands before the changes took effect. It took me 2 hours and 15 minutes of "on hold" time with the Citi Premier Pass / Thank You Network call center. But they got it done once I finally got through.
If by chance you're reading this and didn't realize this change was about to strip away some of the value of your Thank You points, one of the call center agents mentioned that they're extending the deadline (slightly) to make amends for the fact that they weren't able to accomodate everyone today. I was told you have to call WHEN THEY OPEN on Monday, but they will open a short extension window to try to let people claim the rewards they thought they had earned.
First it was peanuts. Then came luggage. And now, toilets? USA Today says Ryanair is looking to install coin slots on their aircrafts' bathroom doors as a way to keep costs low. The Irish airline is known for cheap tickets and no-frills flying but even their pilots aren't on board. The Times of London quotes one employee wondering how many 'tokens' the crew will receive a day. It seems like there might be legal issues here too, though the Times' article says airlines are not required by law to provide a bathroom for customers. And the plan might backfire. An industry expert told Sky News that if passengers have to pay a pound to use the bathroom, they will be less likely to indulge in the "over-priced drinks on board." It all sounds like taking the whole no-liquids-on-the-plane thing a bit too far.
Maybe I should have gone through a training course the first time I encountered a USB plug.
I'd like to confess to a recent discovery. For years, I have struggled every time I try to plug in a USB accessory to the panel on the front of my computer. It's been a fairly simple struggle. Half the time I would guess right and have the plug lined up the right way and it would connect the first time. The other half of the time I would be holding it upside down and it wouldn't fit.
I'm a little embarrased to admit that I only recently realized that they always print the little tree-shaped USB symbol on the top of the plug.
I'm so much better at plugging things in now. (You'd think I'd be up to a 100 percent success rate, but it's more like 95 percent. Still a bit improvement.)
Another protest is planned today at the offices of the New York Post. The source of the controversy is the cartoon artist Sean Delonas prepared for the paper yesterday. Civil rights activist Al Sharpton says it invokes racial stereotypes by linking African-Americans to monkeys.
The Post says that wasn't the intent and defends the cartoon as a hybrid of two stories in the news: criticism of the federal stimulus bill and the rampage by an ape in Connecticut. Post editor Col Allan calls Sharpton "nothing more than a publicity opportunist."
I'm even more impressed with the pilots of US Airways flight 1549 after seeing them on Letterman last night. After a series of serious interviews, they shifted gears for Dave's light-hearted questions about their experience.
Amusing as the Late Show chat was, I do think that we're now in to the 14th minute of fame for Sully and the rest of the crew. I don't want to diminish their heroism or the country's desire to hear about a hero -- but there's a point at which a story gets too much exposure and this one is getting close. They've struck a good balance until now and Sullenberger, in particular, has found the right tone in his interviews. But it's time to disappear for a while. Maybe they can step out of the spotlight and quietly work on a book deal.
The New York Times gets Darwinian on the front page of Monday's business section. A lengthy article addresses the paper's financial woes and describes its 'last man standing' strategy. CEO Janet Robinson said, "there will be opportunities for The Times," as other papers cut back coverage and close offices.
Ad revenue at the company has fallen 19.5 percent over the past two years, yet the company has resisted the industry trend for large-scale editorial staff cuts. The Times strong committment to its internet product has attracted loyal readers --- but digital media provided just 12 percent of revenue last year.
Analysts believe the paper has the financial means to survive a recession, and when the dust settles, the article implies, the New York Times will still be the New York Times.
Katie Couric's 60 Minutes interview with "Sully" was great TV. The captain of the US Airways flight gave his first detailed interview about ditching his plane in the Hudson River.
Chesley Sullenberger was extremely well spoken, finding a balance between emotion and the kind of unflappable confidence you expect from a veteran pilot. He's on something of a media tour today -- with several interviews scheduled before he gets the "key to the city" from New York mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Some recommended reading from former Time magazine and CNN boss Walter Isaacson.
He makes a compelling case for a micropayment system for online newspaper and magazine content. You'd have a single account that would allow you to pay a few cents each time you clicked on a news story.
He makes a great comparison: the cell phone industry has figured out how to charge people a small fee for sending short text messages to each other, yet the newspaper industry has no equivalent charge for sending its online work to you.
New item: Digital TV transition period extended. (USA Today)
One observation in reading the papers this morning: the digital TV story is played up in some papers and barely visible in others.
Without doing any scientific review of this, it seems that editors are responding to the likelihood that their readers are affected. The papers in big urban markets generally seem to be burying the story. Cable TV subscription rates are typically high in big cities. Papers in poorer areas or rural markets seem to have recognized that more of their readers are truly at risk of losing their TV signals in the looming transition from analog to digital transmission.
Here's the problem with bailouts: for some reason, taxpayers expect that if they're going to give a business a few billion dollars, they should have a say in how the money is spent.
The CEO's of Detroit's "Big Three" learned that lesson when they were caught flying to Washington on their private jets to ask for bailout money.
The banks are repeatedly getting caught in the trap. Every marketing deal or lavish client promotion is subject to media and taxpayer scrutiny because there's public money in the mix now. Most notable this week -- Citigroup and its 400 million dollar deal to put the "Citi Field" name on the new ballpark for the New York Mets.
The argument put forth yesterday by the bank is a little ridiculous. It says no bailout money is being used for the stadium deal. They may keep the money in separate accounts -- but isn't one dollar as good as the next?
