I’ve been obsessed with miles & points for around 20 years. I can’t help but take a moment to reflect on just how much this hobby has changed over that time.
I’ve gotta be perfectly honest, this hobby isn’t as fun as it used to be, and in some ways, getting amazing value is harder than before. But it’s not all bad news, and that negative perspective largely overlooks the ways in which this hobby has become much more lucrative than in the past. So let’s talk about that in a bit more detail — what has actually changed, both for better and for worse?
In this post:
The miles & points hobby has gone mainstream
I got obsessed with miles & points in 2004-2005. Or put differently, I got obsessed with miles & points back when Delta SkyMiles could be redeemed for Air France first class and Singapore Airlines first class (yes, really… ugh, I miss the 747 #megatop!).
I don’t want to say that miles & points were some hobby that no one had ever heard of, but they were definitely a lot more niche than they are today. Yes, frequent flyer programs had existed for decades, and many people were members of them.
But miles & points and maximizing credit cards wasn’t a part of our society in the same way that it is today. I mean, just look at the revenue that US airlines are now generating through loyalty programs, and I think that will largely show you how mainstream things have gone.
What has contributed to these changes?
- The way we share information has changed — it used to be that miles & points and premium airline topics were discussed on internet bulletin boards, while now there’s endless short-form content on TikTok, Instagram, etc., making this available to a much larger audience
- What we value as a society has changed — younger generations place a heavy emphasis on travel and experiences, and are more willing to splurge on peak experiences
- The credit card landscape has become a lot more lucrative for consumers, making it easy for the average person to rack up valuable rewards, get airport lounge access, etc.
- Premium airline products have become a lot more flashy, which also increases their appeal; whether it’s an onboard shower or double bed, those features certainly make a lot more people interested
- Airlines have honestly just become much smarter businesses, and they’re better at monetizing their loyalty programs and other products, so opportunities that present outsized value often get shut down
Miles & points aren’t nearly as fun as they used to be…
Perhaps the clearest example of how much less fun miles & points have become is a look at my post with 11 amazing award redemptions from back in the day. If you haven’t been around the miles & points world for long, I don’t think you understand just got good the deals were 15 years ago.
For example, Aeroplan would allow US to Asia first class awards via Europe with two stopovers enroute for 120,000 miles roundtrip. Of course that’s an amazing price, but what was even better was the amount of award availability.
Lufthansa first class awards? They were super available, whether booking in advance or close to departure. And we’re not just talking one or two seats, but often six or seven seats. Even SWISS first class (which is now restricted to Senator level Miles & More members) could be booked with partner miles, and was super available.
There was just unlimited potential in terms of how far points could get you. Of course that’s quite a contrast to how things are nowadays, where even finding Lufthansa first class award availability within days of departure is incredibly challenging.
The hotel industry was equally attractive, particularly with Hyatt Gold Passport’s Faster Free Nights promotion.
Then there was the world of mileage running, back when the concept of revenue based status qualification or mileage earning was basically unheard of. American Executive Platinum status for $3,000, while earning hundreds of thousands of miles, plus eight systemwide upgrades? Super easy!
But of course loyalty programs have gotten smarter. There are fewer opportunities to get outsized value, and there’s a lot less gamification. Loyalty programs have also changed their approach to how they open up award availability, including to partner frequent flyer programs.
Sweet spot awards are much rarer and less available, given how many airlines restrict award availability to members of their own programs. On top of that, we’re increasingly seeing airlines require members to have elite status for certain redemptions.
When I talk to a newcomer about miles & points, it can honestly be kind of hard to get them interested. Recently, a non-miles & points friend mentioned how he wanted to take his wife to the Maldives, and asked if there’s any “deal” with points.
Take the Waldorf Astoria Maldives as an example, as it’s probably the best points hotel in the Maldives. Hilton Honors massively devalued redemptions here recently, and increased the standard room cost from 150,000 points per night to 250,000 points per night. Not only that, but you still typically won’t find any standard room availability.
I think this sums up the reality at so many aspirational hotels nowadays. It used to be that hotel “no blackout date” policies basically guaranteed availability. However, nowadays finding standard room availability at many premium hotels is almost like playing the airline award availability “lottery.”
…but it’s not all bad news for miles & points
The miles & points hobby definitely isn’t as fun as it used to be, for those of us who get a thrill out of the chase. That being said, in many ways I’d say it’s more lucrative than ever before.
You know what we didn’t have in 2010? Well, all these amazing credit cards with massive welcome bonuses, bonus categories that can earn you 3-5x points per dollar spent, etc. Us savvy folks were using the Starwood Preferred Guest Amex for most of our spending, which had a modest welcome bonus, and earned one Starpoint per dollar spent (which could then be turned into one mile, with a 25% bonus for every 20,000 points transferred). That was as good as it got. And transferable points currencies? Well, they weren’t nearly a robust or flexible as they are now.
Speaking of premium cabin travel, one of the reasons that miles & points were so important back in the day is because airlines just had absolutely outrageous pricing for their premium cabins. Nowadays airlines will sell you upgrades to first class for tens of dollars. So yes, status may be harder and less fun to earn, but don’t even bother, because there’s not that much value to actually having it.
Oh, and the caliber of airline products and airline lounges we see nowadays? It’s on a completely different level than we saw when I started. Back in the day, it was exciting when an airline had angled seats in business class. Nowadays, many of us will barely settle for a product unless it has a door and dine on demand. 😉
The way I view it, the strategy for maximizing travel, and in particular miles & points, has changed:
- Airline elite status isn’t as important as it used to be, given how status has become much harder to earn (or at least comes with more opportunity cost), while offering significantly less value
- Credit cards with big bonuses and multipliers largely let people redeem points as cash toward the cost of travel, potentially offering good value
- Loyalty programs often sell points directly at a reasonable cost, which can be a way to score a deal on a premium cabin ticket or luxury hotel stay, with some effort
- There are still lots of amazing premium experiences to be had, though the key is to be ready to plan travel at any moment
I think that last point is worth emphasizing. For example, take a redemption at the Waldorf Astoria Maldives. It’s absolutely possible to book with points and get a good deal, even if there might not be availability for the entire calendar right now. Often availability opens up in spurts, and that’s the time to lock in a stay.
Similarly, people with Alaska Atmos Rewards points might be frustrated by the lack of Fiji Airways and Starlux business class award availability, yet every so often we see the floodgates of availability opened, and you can lock in some great itineraries. You just have to be ready to plan at a moment’s notice.
Bottom line
The miles & points world is constantly evolving. This hobby was very different in 2005 than it is in 2025, as you’d expect (I mean, what hasn’t changed in the past 20 years?).
There are definitely a lot of things that I miss, including the opportunities for gamification, plus how available premium cabin award space was at the time. However, a lot has also improved over the years — points are much easier to earn, in many cases premium cabins are just priced reasonably, and the caliber of airline and hotel products is on a different level than it was back then.
What’s your take on the evolution of the miles & points world?
I had Sonesta, Mesa, & (almost) Citi Strata Elite accounts closed this year…not voluntarily. Unprecedented for me & makes me comsider seriously about a more cash-back strategy for 2026.
Old Timer here. Pan Am had a deal - guaranteed upgrade to business at the time of booking, subject to availability - at the time of booking, if you were elite (which was only 25 K miles). Used that a lot. Maybe this is why they folded.
Upstairs on their 747 was superb. 12-14 seats, 2 flight attendants and a full bar!
Reminds me of how much this blog has changed over the years! I remember when you were just leaving Seattle to start living in hotels full time
I still respect Ben, Matt, Gary, Nick, William and Chuck, and a few others, who still seem to care about the truth, and are not merely shilling for big banks and the airlines and hotel chains. One telltale sign of the ‘real deal’ is whether these sites allow us to comment, ask questions, share ideas, banter, and exchange with others. It’s a community of hobbyists and industry insiders. That’s real value here, in addition to...
I still respect Ben, Matt, Gary, Nick, William and Chuck, and a few others, who still seem to care about the truth, and are not merely shilling for big banks and the airlines and hotel chains. One telltale sign of the ‘real deal’ is whether these sites allow us to comment, ask questions, share ideas, banter, and exchange with others. It’s a community of hobbyists and industry insiders. That’s real value here, in addition to the actual points, miles, and maximizing those redemptions. So, inevitably, I must throw shade at TPG, because all they do is shill, not even provide public-best offers on cards, and hype unattainable redemptions, like EK F for just 70K points… and they removed comments, so, apparently, they couldn’t handle the heat. Anyway, it’s still fun and worthwhile out there, if you set expectations right. Still, I wish workers and consumers had better protections. Thanks for what you do, Ben. Safe travels.
What an extremely accurate and overlooked reason. Nice catch.
Hello from 2037. Lie flat seats are being phased out and premium economy has been rebranded as Premium Class which is becoming the highest class of service on next generation planes.
It's dried up post covid, my benchmark for usefulness was booking multiple qatar qsuites to/from india and usa on awards, totally gone in recent years, used to be easy
So true. Also cash tix on Qsuites are so much higher than pre-Covid. I used to fly Qatar twice a year to India, Have been using other airlines the last few years!
Love this article and "old days" examples. Things certainly changed but agree, there still can be good value found. Helps planning ahead.
Only challenge is that in Australia we don't have that many great opportunities through cards :-(
I think an overlooked factor that affected the points and miles game (for the worse) was airline consolidation, particularly in the United States. We got rid of three big players Northwest, Continental and US Airways which decreased competition and inventory considerably. Load factors then suddenly jumped to 80-90% consistently. In Europe too, Air France and KLM merged. Swissair became Swiss then folded into Luthansa. Sabena went kaputz, etc. All the while demand for air travel...
I think an overlooked factor that affected the points and miles game (for the worse) was airline consolidation, particularly in the United States. We got rid of three big players Northwest, Continental and US Airways which decreased competition and inventory considerably. Load factors then suddenly jumped to 80-90% consistently. In Europe too, Air France and KLM merged. Swissair became Swiss then folded into Luthansa. Sabena went kaputz, etc. All the while demand for air travel skyrocketed. Something was going to give and I think that was airlines giving away premium free seats for very little points.
Back in the day you could churn AA credit cards every few months for a bunch of miles (with AF waived the first year), getting credit for lifetime status and easily using the miles for J to Europe, sometimes adding a bunch of stopovers. Then came the great purge.
And that's how you kill great opportunities, things like churning every few months. Making things unsustainable means they will not continue.
As has been said here many times: YMMV
I was fortunate to score incredible deals with Atmos for my parents to fly direct to/from Rome on AA metal in J during peak summer season.
Meanwhile, I can't find anything below 100k, let alone in a lie-flat, for my sister to fly PHL-HNL in the off-season summer months for her honeymoon.
It's become akin to playing golf: lots of pain and frustration, but it's the big shot/win that keeps you coming back
2012: unlimited opportunities, but poor.
2025: have miles, no availability.
Is @Ben not going to share his "The Best Of Times, The Worst Of Times" with United Airlines?
No P&M hobbyist is happy about the increasing pace of devaluations and decreasing award availability. But when you do score a 60-80k J seat to Asia or Europe, look at the seat you get for it, compared to 20 or more years ago. The built in seat amenities, the robust IFE offerings. This is way not your parent's J seat.
Looking back 8 years ago I remember I could reddem 75k UA miles SFO-SIN in Polaris. Now its a mimium 250k UA miles. Also, received great deals booking SQ LAX-SIN with Chase transferable points. Redeeming miles on longhaul flights to SEAsia was for me the best use of miles due to the 16+ hour flights. Flying in biz made the trip enjoyable. Now the points values have dramatically decreased across the board and overall availability...
Looking back 8 years ago I remember I could reddem 75k UA miles SFO-SIN in Polaris. Now its a mimium 250k UA miles. Also, received great deals booking SQ LAX-SIN with Chase transferable points. Redeeming miles on longhaul flights to SEAsia was for me the best use of miles due to the 16+ hour flights. Flying in biz made the trip enjoyable. Now the points values have dramatically decreased across the board and overall availability is far more limited. Hotel points redemptions are even worse. For me the points & miles game is over. Finding a great biz class mileage deal to a city I actually want to travel to in the appropriate time frame is like spotting a unicorn. The points values are just not there especially once factoring in the now much higher credit card annual fees. Therefore, I have switched my stratgey entirely to cash back credit cards. I no longer care about points & miles just cash back. Certainly not as fun as trying to find great mileage deals but at least with cash back I know exactly what I'm getting. Cash money!
Hilariously bad example considering it’s very easy to get 100k on that route with just silver status or an entry card. 33% inflation over 8 years is pretty damn mild but glad you’re out of the game now one less competition!
Status is not worth it unless you happen to make it with OPM.
This being hotel and airline both. The math doesn't add up when you have to spend your own money to make status
Take free status when it comes from matches and credit cards sure, but to chase it is a fool's errand
I used to chase AC status, its a hard habit to break but both with the airline being terrible now, and the status not rewarding, it was time to stop thinking like its 2007.
I think that one of the most underrated aspect of miles, is flexibility. The ability to cancel. Obviously, not all mileage programmes are flexible, but many are (almost all hotels, and most airlines). There are so many times when the cash and miles cost of a flight is the same (in my travel pattern), but only the mileage flight offers the ability to cancel. That saves me a ton of money each year, because it...
I think that one of the most underrated aspect of miles, is flexibility. The ability to cancel. Obviously, not all mileage programmes are flexible, but many are (almost all hotels, and most airlines). There are so many times when the cash and miles cost of a flight is the same (in my travel pattern), but only the mileage flight offers the ability to cancel. That saves me a ton of money each year, because it lets me lock in a flight which I know will be expensive close to the time, but my plans are too uncertain to risk a non-refundable cash ticket.
And as Ben often says, you can get incredible value close to the time when flights are super expensive but, for some reason, mileage availability is there at the last minute.
Well-said
I agree that there are fewer good deals, especially with hotel points, which I barely care about anymore. Still, a couple years ago I got QSuite IAD-DOH-LUS for 75,000 AA miles. It took a lot of monitoring and several calls.
Status, especially when flying up front, doesn't add much other than Oneworld Emerald providing access to better lounges outside the U.S.. If only it mattered for domestic travel.
"So yes, status may be harder and less fun to earn, but don’t even bother, because there’s not that much value to actually having it."
Nailed it.
Whilst I have status on the three carriers I use the most (AF, SQ, EK), even that doesn't really get me anything, especially when I'm flying on cash tickets. I guess I can book AF LP awards, but those aren't particularly available these days, and at ~350k/segment,...
"So yes, status may be harder and less fun to earn, but don’t even bother, because there’s not that much value to actually having it."
Nailed it.
Whilst I have status on the three carriers I use the most (AF, SQ, EK), even that doesn't really get me anything, especially when I'm flying on cash tickets. I guess I can book AF LP awards, but those aren't particularly available these days, and at ~350k/segment, the value just isn't there.
And status degradation is even more pronounced on US carriers; it is worthless if paying for the front of the plane on domestic routes (which I do - upgrades no longer matter to me vs. my younger/more junior days), and frankly status is also practically worthless if paying for the back of the plane on domestic routes, other than the ability to board early and check an extra bag or whatever.
Sometimes new opportunities arise tho. I’m very surprised by the new Miles & More dynamic pricing; Singapore to Amsterdam in Y for 7K miles or intra Europe tickets for as low as 1k miles. Combine this with Senator/Hon second pax 50% off and you can fly Asia to Europe for less than 12K miles for 2 passengers. Pricing is lower than it has ever been on many routes + lots of availability throughout the year.
Those are amazing prices. The only thing is that I looked at SIN-AMS on random dates through the end of schedule and saw zero dates below 44K in coach. Can you specify any specific date?
They literally removed all award availability for the next year on this route except on partners like TK. In the past day/weeks there was constant availability. The little calendar still shows 7K on many dates but pressing on it returns no availability.
Did M&M just removed this sweet spot today?!
I've heard of some good value on TATL J too but I believe they all have $500-1000 YQ to/from USA.
I’ve been involved with points and miles for fifteen years now. Yes, there’s better earnings per dollar and pretty great signup bonuses. The trade off is that getting a pair of saver award seats in first class to Asia or Europe without ridiculous YQ is pretty much nonexistent nowadays. Even finding saver business class awards can be excruciating.
Then there’s the fact that elite status has extremely low value now. Not only are free upgrades...
I’ve been involved with points and miles for fifteen years now. Yes, there’s better earnings per dollar and pretty great signup bonuses. The trade off is that getting a pair of saver award seats in first class to Asia or Europe without ridiculous YQ is pretty much nonexistent nowadays. Even finding saver business class awards can be excruciating.
Then there’s the fact that elite status has extremely low value now. Not only are free upgrades for extreme loyalty an endangered species but using confirmed upgrade certificate space can be maddening. Since the rest of the elite benefits can largely be duplicated through having a certain credit card, all you get for your loyalty is a big middle finger. Some hotel programs like Bonvoyed also excel at perpetually devaluing your annual or lifetime status.
While it’s certainly not all doom and gloom, things are mostly much worse than they were a decade or two back.
Oops? "...just GOT good the deals..."
Think you mean "...just HOW good the deals..."
Back when you hit top status with just 100K miles those were the days. Upgrades for top elites were in the 90% plus range.
Technology has really enabled airlines to figure out who the real profitable customers are. And to monetize the plane more fully. Times have changed and it is what it is.
the ability to plan on a whim is the key. these days I think the only program(s) that release consistently at calendar open for Europe J space at saver level is maybe the various flavors of Avios, TAP via Aeroplan, and SQ 5th freedom via SQ. That's basically it. Otherwise you need to be flexible and hope that LH/Swiss/UA/AF/SAS/TK open up
At the end of the day, like any currency, airline miles are subject to inflation. Savvy players can still win at the game, but it's more cumbersome than ever.
Thankfully for you, paying cash when necessary no longer seems to be an issue.
I’ve definitely found some exciting and well-priced redemptions for 2026 (TK and JX J), and maybe some more expensive but still exiting (to me) redemptions (EK and CX F, QR J). I don’t think it’s always about finding the best value anymore. Get in on the great deals when you can, and don’t be afraid to spend a little extra if it gets you what (and where) you want.