Jul

10

Miles and Award Travel Keeps Depreciating

July 10, 2008 |

A promise is a promise until someone decides to break it. That is exactly what could happens and could keep happening with travel loyalty programs (miles and points).

For business travellers like me, hoarding miles may not be such a great choice. Last week Delta decided to charge ‘fuel surcharge’ on award travel. For a long time they have been charging some taxes on the award travel. Some airlines have also increased award travel costs on international travel. And it is almost sure that with the difficult airline situation, they have reduced the amount of available seats for award travel. Miles and points keep depreciating.

Since there is no investment bank for loyalty program points, the only advisable solution to this situation is to use the miles! Splurge on them. Splurge on the vacation you can afford now, not the one you have dreamed all your life – for if you wait, your miles will not be worth enough to get there.

Similar to what happened to us with the American miles. I had been hoarding them to go to Australia (via Qantas). Well, for three years we tried, but Qantas limits the number of available seats so badly that it was impossible to get tickets with miles. In the end we used plain cash. We used the miles to get to Hawaii instead.

I think loyalty programs have an use: they differentiate travellers between those who gets treated like cattle and those who get human treatment. Miles are just gravy: something nice, but not as worthy as you might tend to feel.

Use those miles!


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