This is Just Fascinating

This Frequent Flyer miles thing is a whole new subculture to wonder at, now I come to learn about it. It started with "Buy X tickets, get a free flight," but quickly - literally within a few months - became, "Fly X miles, get a free flight." Ironically, Southwest, the only really profitable airline right now, got off that boat and now offers - you guessed it - "Buy X tickets, get a free flight." (Or an upgrade.)

More stuff...

Here's an article on why FFP can be viewed as a meme, or mind virus. Note at least one error - the article says that AA wishes FFM "would just go away," but that's not true. Airlines make huge profits from their FFM programs. They just don't like it when people actually, you know, use miles.

http://www.memecentral.com/mu/mu0028.htm

Here's the Wiki on FFP, including some history:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequent_flyer_miles

Here's a humongous forum devoted to FFP and related topics:

http://www.flyertalk.com


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