I just don't waste my time worrying about this. I play what games I can to maximize miles. Then, I use them when I can. I know that any "deal" I can get today will be gone in the next revaluation. I get free trips. They try to limit what I can get. Yes, both are real.
Oh—io, they ain’t ‘free’… (Admit it, you’re hooked. You lil’ points junkie, you…)
Funny because the government from time to time has no issues with the banks providing you with a 1099-MISC for points that you received in a non-rebate manner (referral bonuses and such). And they usually value those points at 1 cent per point for those purposes. So they must be worth something... or more likely the government is just happy to take your money.
At least Chase gave us 2 years to spend our 1.5cpp CSR points? Of course naturally they didn't give you the choice which points to transfer out - shockingly the 1.5cpp points must be used first. Now that's what I call a points boost!
Honestly, I sort of understand FB making the move they did. You basically pay 15k for luggage, the ability to change, and lounge access. I also like that they made a tier where you can pay more points to reduce cash surcharges. That will appeal to the people that print points with small businesses and such.
I'm not loyal to an airline, so I don't think they owe me anything. I am willing to direct my spend places when I have incentives to do it. I think Flying Blue has this part right with their card relaunch. Remember: They also did a deal with Bilt for 3x points on rent (for a 3% fee), just like Alaska. You can build up to FB gold status and maintain it with 25k spend and a little flying -- that card isn't bad for everyday spend either. There's a pretty easy formula to give Americans good award access and that card is a direct competitor to Delta cards at lower price point.
Ultimately, airlines want to make this somewhat attractive without giving away the store. I'm lazy, so if it gets too hard, I'm out. But so far, the adjustments are mostly fair.
At what point are airlines killing the proverbial goose that lays the golden egg? Programs like M&M have become so bad that participating in it is largely pointless (pun intended).
Most other loyalty programs are headed in the same direction.
“Or should it try to prioritize rewarding a loyal customer over someone who just moved some points from a credit card program?”
If they start to prioritize their most loyal members, at some point selling points to credit card companies should become less lucrative as card holders figure out amassing points is pointless
It's becoming pointless for sure. Unrelated to major programs, but the other day I was searching for a lifemiles award in early December (still low-ish season) and they wanted well over 100K for a J ticket on AV's own metal (which consists of a glorified Y seat that can't even pass as a good Y+) from Canada to northern south America. And I'm supposed to have access to better pricing on account of my elite status (which is achieved by outright buying tickets). So, in my case, as much as I had luck in the past with LM and Aeroplan, I'm starting to reach the point of pointlessness. (I don't even make an effort with Aeroplan... Like, 200+K for a Y domestic ticket to Vancouver? No, thanks).
I was going to London recently and the business cabin (like the rest of the plane) was half empty. Wasn't the whole point of these programs to get revenue out seats that would otherwise go out empty? And now that's an ever better deal because if a guy gets two of those seats for 80k round trip he puts all his spending on the cobranded card and everyone wins. He tries to use his miles and it's 800k and he says / to hell with it I'll just use the cash back card.
The problem now is no longer just the miles, it’s also the “airport taxes and fees.”
I'm Miles and More HON CIRCLE Status since 20 years.
I just bought 2 tickets for November with Lufthansa:
VCE–FRA–IAH
return DEN–FRA–VCE
166,000 Miles & More miles
€1,400 in taxes and fees
For EACH ticket.
ONE THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED EURO per ticket!!!
The problem is that airlines have basically reached a point where there is very little real competition between the alliances, they created a cartel.
You can “threaten” to move from one alliance to another, but they simply don’t care.
For every passenger moving from Star Alliance to SkyTeam, there is probably another one moving in the opposite direction.
Star Alliance, SkyTeam, oneworld… there is basically NO ESCAPE.
Agreed, but I'm always travel in C class. Having Upgrade in F is not alwasy available.
Agreed,
but I'm always travel in C class. Having Upgrade in F is not alwasy available.
Oh, so those were 2 F tickets (I thought they were business)! Still painful though...
Miles & more is really the bottom of the pack. But most loyalty programs are catching up. It’s a race to the bottom.
Yes, everyone is adapting because the end of all this has already been decided.
There’s no longer any reason to “reward” loyalty if there are no real competitors. Once all the leading airlines are aligned, you have no way out.
Eventually, the idea of getting free tickets with miles will become outdated.
And frankly, I would probably do the same if I were running my own company.
Am retired, therefore I know my flight requirements the day the seats are released, I book BA,VS and KLM reward seats on day 1 of availability. So sorry that I might take a seat, but………
Lufthansa's Miles&More was probably one of the last major airline groups / FF Program to start selling miles. Then ofcourse the major devaluations allover the place.
I don't think it'll get better not unless maybe another pandemic or financial crisis comes along.
With the dynamic pricing i think that at the end of it all, using miles will save one at most 25% of the cash price of a ticket. Sadness.
I think the answer is a bit like a well run casino - the casino is built on the losers, not the winners, but if *nobody* wins then folks stop playing.
I don't know...I seem to have little trouble finding Business class tickets for transoceanic travel (US to Europe or Asia). I have no special powers, no special access that others don't have, and I don't use special apps or algorithms...unless it's to calculate 330 days out upon occasion (if I know that far in advance where I'm going). Here are three recent examples from this year:
-- SFO-MEX r/t for 2: 56k SkyMiles + $71.40 vs. $1,176.82 = 2.1¢ value per point
-- JFK-FCO o/w for 2: 110k AS miles + $938.40 vs. $8,319.98 = 6.7¢ vpp
-- FCO-SFO o/w for 2: 220k Avios + $1,000 vs. $19,729.44 = 8.5¢ vpp
(Obviously the full price of the fare fluctuates, but these were the cash prices when I secured the tickets.)
I'm curious what the JFJ-FCO/FCO-SFO would have cost if booked as a single unit. $28k for a round-trip for two seems a hair steep.
Or maybe multi-city. If you want to go JFK-FCO:FCO-SFO the extra cost might be worth it. It's still likely to be cheaper than 2 one-ways.
Using an inflated price is only to make yourself feel better. You should use the price you would pay cash. Or at a minimum, the lowest cost to and from the general area over a week's time.
I know airlines aren't charities and I'm not entitled enough to say that I should be able to find 80K first class seats across the Pacific whenever I want, but I think airlines have lot sight of in recent years and will probably realize in coming ones that as value evaporates consumers are going to start realizing it's not really worth the effort. For a decade I pretty much only booked Star Alliance airlines and, being primarily in the US, United, even if they were slightly more expensive specifically because some of the great award itineraries I've managed to put together in the past with my points felt like a great return on investment for sticking it out with UA and *A, even if I was paying more or took less convenient options. Nowadays I just book whatever is cheapest and most convenient and I've found myself flying the likes of Frontier and Southwest a lot more recently. I think it's probably been over a year since I last paid cash for a United flight.