Reader question: which frequent flyer programs release award space exclusively to their own members?

Cathay Pacific AsiaMiles releases slightly more award space to their own members than Star Alliance partners

So that means you can now redeem UA miles on OZ, NH, TG, LH, AND CX F. WOW

Whoops, fixed, thanks!

"they’ll also feel like their own members are at a disadvantage"

I think this is the reason why LH, LX and the like have tightened up award availability to *A partners. They want don't want to hear from their best customers that they can't get first class award seats. They might lose loyal customers over this issue, whereas they lose nothing by shutting down F space to non-customers.

The credit card bonuses here really have been very generous. But I thought you've been saying they've been getting a bit less generous. Do you see that trend continuing?

@ snic -- For a few months (between March and June) I think we saw a decrease in the number of great credit card sign-up bonuses. And there's certainly a trend whereby we're not consistently seeing mega 75,000-100,000 mile/point sign-up bonuses as we've seen in the past. But at the end of the day credit card sign-up bonuses are huge, and more and more consumers are taking advantage of them and putting spending on credit cards.

Even if the amount of sign-up bonuses decreases, I think we'll still see a trend whereby miles earned through non-flying means become a larger percentage of overall outstanding miles in the US.

Lucky,as you mentioned air france release only first for its platinium member at 5x required economy miles or 2.5 business class miles,which is outrageous thinking 4years ago it was double economy miles.
Despite Mea and saudi joining skyteam air france will show all flight via paris or rome,try to fly beirut to jeddah or dubbai and you will have to fly via paris!!"!crazy,try to fly london,paris,frankfurt to seoul and you will never see the trace of korean air,all flights are via parus or amsterdam,what the use of alliances???

Do *A partners all charge different amounts to other airlines when a seat is redeemed by a member of another airline's frequent flyer program, or is there a standard charge for O, I or X alliance-wide?

If non-US airlines feel like their premium cabins are too accessible, then they could simply charge other airlines more for them, thereby earning more revenue, assuming it's not against the rules of *A.

@ mdr -- Sadly that's something I don't know, since they don't release that info. I suspect they have standardized prices, though I could be wrong. The issue with them raising the prices on US airlines is that in turn US prices can then raise prices on foreign carriers (since foreign carriers need United/US Airways for domestic travel and some routes not served by them). So I think something like that would be a race to the bottom for both sides.

So it it worth transferring SPG points to M&M for the better availability, or do the fuel charges not make it worth doing so?

@ Michael T -- Between fuel surcharges and their higher redemption rates I don't think it's worth it. At least for me, I prefer waiting till closer to departure and booking then, or booking a different product instead.

I've haven't been in the community as long as you, but do you recall any situation where this has occurred before? Like maybe when DL started started blocking first class redemptions? (A long time ago)

@ Jeff -- Are you referring to airlines restricting award space only to their own members? I think Lufthansa and Swiss are the most recent example.

what are redemption rates and surcharges on M&M let's say JFK-ZRH route in LX biz?
thank you.

@ Lantean -- You're looking at 105K in biz or 170K in first plus nearly $1,000 in taxes/fuel surcharges.

ay yay... that's not good!
🙁

Thanks Lucky, this is super helpful. I guess I should have been more careful with my AX MRs last year...too many pts to CO and BA (about 450K total in 2011). I should have transferred them to SQ. Oh well...

I can see the restricting of awards for foreign airlines happening in the future which I'm guessing would change elite frequent flyers' points collecting strategies. But I'd say wouldn't it depend on the airline? Since the well-known, established foreign airlines who have a reputation for high-quality service that travelers flock to (Singapore, Cathay, Emirates), or those who have such a huge network or are based in frequently traveled routes (British Airways, Air France), it'd be advantageous for them to restrict their inventory somewhat since they can charge and not have a reputation for having their first/business class be mostly non-revs. Travelers will still flock to them due to a good established reputation.

But for airlines that are a bit out of the way or not as well-known or looked into (ie China Eastern/Southern, TAP Portugal, Aeroflot), it'd seem to be a foolish way to diminish yourself from the eyes of customers even more if your message is "you can access our award space only if you join our FF program." The customer has probably already gone out of their way to fly your airline. Seems that those airlines would have missed an opportunity to promote their product or gain a future loyal customer, and to get more passengers on their planes in the long-term, wouldn't it be a good move for these airlines to make award space at least a bit more accessible?

Just my two cents...

I know this is me being lazy, but would you be able to do a Reader's Digest post on these various foreign programs. I am thinking about transfering AMEX MR points to SQ but really know nothing about the program. I know I could pull my finger out and research myself but thinking others may have the same questions and figure you are the expert.

@ Toula -- I'd be happy to, though is there any specific program you're interested in? Here's a post I wrote that should explain everything you need to know about Singapore transfers and booking through them:
https://onemileatatime.com/secret-flying-singapore-suites/

"They do however release shorthaul business class award space and coach award space to Star Alliance partners on many routes."

Lucky- what routes would these be? I've been looking to see if I can book any on the United website but to no avail - it looks like all that's showing is economy, even on short haul routes...

to clarify, I was talking about Singapore Airlines