Today, American Airlines announced that it would begin charging for some mileage upgrades. Now, I get it. Times are tough. Fuel prices are high. The airlines are getting squeezed from every angle. I’m actually sympathetic. Carriers like American are saddled with a legacy of labor and operating constraints that don’t change as quickly as our economy. But that doesn’t resolve the foolish marketing approach they have employed.

When you attempt to redeem miles on American for an upgrade, the miles required will be higher and you’ll have to fork over some cash. But American doesn’t call that fee a fee. Instead, they’re branding it as a “co-payment.”

This is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s just insulting. Mileage upgrades are customer rewards, a loyalty incentive. ‘Co-payment’ implies that both parties have some obligation to pay for the service. That’s why insurance companies began using the phrase when they started requiring the insured to share in the cost of routine office visits. Granted, it’s a bit of a stretch there, but the context made sense because the transaction generally involved three parties: the employer, the insurer, and the insured. When co-payments were introduced, it was novel for the insured to have to share in the cost.

I suppose it is novel for the loyalty participant to share in the cost, but it defeats the whole purpose of a loyalty program. I fly a lot. I earn rewards. Sometimes, I wish to redeem those rewards to enjoy the benefits of my loyalty. Apparently, redeeming my gift requires me to share in the cost. I tell you what. For your birthday, I’m going to buy you a cake. I’ll even bring it to you. We’ll sing Happy Birthday and just before you cut the cake, I’m going to ask you for a co-payment to cover a portion of the costs it took for me to purchase and transport the cake. It’s the least you can do in these economic times.