Randy Petersen, the editor of InsideFlyer, as issued a pretty stern rebuke to US Airways for further devaluing their rewards.    In a world where airline programs are constantly being devalued, his remarks stand out in that he points out that their award redemption levels are now below their fellow Star Alliance members Continental and United.    When you are doing something even worse than United, you know you are doing pretty bad.

Over at the View From The Wing blog,

Gary Leff is looking at the big picture and noticing that US Airways has been behaving very erratically of late, “The problem of course is that with moves like US Airways is making, coupled with their past inanities (like temporarily abolishing elite bonus miles), one simply does not trust them as a place to accumulate miles.”    Gary rightfully concludes that he “sure don’t want to accumulate too many miles over there.”

With United, Continental, and US Airways frequent flier programs in such bad shape, it may be time to start looking into a more flexible reward card if you are committed to one of those airlines.   A card like the Amex Starwood Preferred Gust or any of their Membership Rewards cards offer you the opportunity to redeem miles on your choice of airlines.    The alternative is to commit to a single reward program, only to find that the goalposts have been moved when your time comes to score an award.

PBS Takes A Look At The Credit Card Industry

PBS’s critically acclaimed FrontLine program is airing a documentary program tomorrow, November 24th,  about the credit card industry.    The program is produced is produced in cooperation with the New Yorke Times by former 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman, whom Al Pacino played (opposite Russell Crowe)  in movie The Insider.      Apparently, this is not the first time that Bergman has examine the credit card industry.    A look at his PBS bio reveals that he produced The Secret History Of The Credit Card way back in 2004.

I checked out a preview of the program to get a feel for what we should expect.   It appears that they are going after the industry treatment of the revolvers, people who carry a balance on their credit card.    A careful examination of the typical tricks and traps seems included as well.    The CARD act will feature prominently, but it is suggested that industry lobbying has prevented such regulations from being enacted much earlier.

Overall, I have a high regard for Frontline.    It is well known that one of the most objective sources of investigative reporting happens to PBS, as they have little reliance on the advertisers that the networks live and die off of.     Simply put, don’t expect ABC, NBC, and CBS to go after the credit card companies from who they receive billions in advertising dollars from.

I am hoping that they cover some new ground, rather than say how unfair industry practices are, and how lobbying prevents serious reform.    While true, the same can be said of almost any major industry.

Tune in tomorrow for the show, and I will try to have my take on it posted by the end of the week.