Sometimes technology developments and airline integrations really hit home -- or in the supermarket.
I just got an email from my local supermarket, ShopRite, that it is discontinuing its rewards program where shoppers could earn one Continental Airlines OnePass mile for every two dollars of chicken, cereal, whole wheat bread, Poland Spring water or other item purchased.
Up until Dec. 31, when Continental phases out OnePass and migrates members to merger partner United Airlines’ MileagePlus program, if you reach a threshold of $1,000 worth of grocery purchases for the quarter, you’ll get 2,000 OnePass Miles deposited into your OnePass account.
But, after that, Continental and Shoprite are disintermediating me from my preferred supermarket as OnePass members get migrated to MileagePlus without ShopRite in the fold.
When airline reservations systems migrate one to another, it can be a gargantuan and sometimes-traumatic effort, but the OnePass migration to MileagePlus is not a faraway, theoretical development -- it hits me right in the grocery store.
It all sort of reminds me of how Sabre-connected travel agents in Uruguay must have felt last month when the carrier, Pluna, ceased to be available in the Sabre GDS.
As Sabre did to travel agents in Uruguay, ShopRite tried to reassure me:
"Although ShopRite is not participating in MileagePlus, we will continue our commitment to creating programs that help you save from our everyday low prices and weekly specials to our annual Can Can sale, free holiday turkeys, ShopRite Family Rewards, free antibiotics and more."
Sorry, but “Can Can sales” will hardly replace OnePass and the incentive to fill my shopping cart higher to garner more OnePass miles.
The inevitable march of travel technology progresses like a belted, supermarket-checkout carousel stuck in the “on” position.