Continental Reverses Course on 500-mile Elite Status Minimum Credit

Continental Airlines has overturned a boneheaded decision earlier this month that greatly PO'd many of its elite-status members and seemed, to me at least, not to offer any concurrent real cost benefit to Continental itself.

The 500-mile minimum credit provision for trips of less than 500 miles has been reinstated, Continental said in an e-mail message today to many of its elite-status members. Several other airlines had earlier whacked the 500-mile minimum, but Continental frequent fliers expected better -- and got it.

Nice to see an airline admit a mistake and, mirable dictu, actually fix it.

Here is the Continental e-mail:

"Earlier this month, we announced that OnePass members will earn the actual miles flown rather than a minimum of 500 miles per flight for tickets purchased on or after Nov. 15, 2008.

We've listened, and our Elite members think this change unfairly dilutes the benefits of the OnePass program. Therefore we are exempting you from this change, and Elite members will continue to earn the 500 mile minimum on all segments flown under the current policy."

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