Devalued flying miles?
Jun 28, 2016, 5:56 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 3
Devalued flying miles?
Hello
My first post here. This may have been covered by other threads but I can't see any....
I've been carefully accumulating flying miles over the last few years and was patting myself on the back that when I reached 40,000: I could upgrade two of us to PE to (eg) New York.The table showed 10,000 per person per leg.
I am now on the brink of 50,000 and was looking forward to doing the same upgrade to Miami, until very recently shown as 12,500 per person per leg.
I looked last week and found that the 10,000 had been increased to 15,000 and the 12,500 to 17,500!
I feel like I've been cheated. How can an increase of 50% possibly be justified? I now need a further 20,000 miles to do the NY upgrade, and this will take me over two years --- how do I know the goalposts won't have been shifted again by then? ...Or am I missing something?
Neville
My first post here. This may have been covered by other threads but I can't see any....
I've been carefully accumulating flying miles over the last few years and was patting myself on the back that when I reached 40,000: I could upgrade two of us to PE to (eg) New York.The table showed 10,000 per person per leg.
I am now on the brink of 50,000 and was looking forward to doing the same upgrade to Miami, until very recently shown as 12,500 per person per leg.
I looked last week and found that the 10,000 had been increased to 15,000 and the 12,500 to 17,500!
I feel like I've been cheated. How can an increase of 50% possibly be justified? I now need a further 20,000 miles to do the NY upgrade, and this will take me over two years --- how do I know the goalposts won't have been shifted again by then? ...Or am I missing something?
Neville
Last edited by Neville Burrell; Jun 28, 2016 at 5:57 am Reason: typo
Jun 28, 2016, 6:09 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Brighton. UK
Programs: BA Gold / VS /IHG Diamond & Ambassador
Posts: 14,198
It is true that the miles needed to upgrade have increased but the miles needed for a full reward stayed the same.
That might be the best option for people to look to.
That might be the best option for people to look to.
Jun 28, 2016, 6:14 am
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jun 2012
Programs: BA Gold, QF WP
Posts: 12,551
The award redemption rates are not guaranteed to stay the same and may change at any time. They are not a long term investment.
You may be able to quickly generate the shortfall by signing up for a few credit cards that have a signup bonus.
You may be able to quickly generate the shortfall by signing up for a few credit cards that have a signup bonus.
Jun 28, 2016, 8:28 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,048
Airlines don't have to justify anything unfortunately. Their game, their rules. All you can really do is take your business elsewhere or don't bother in the first place.
Upgrades are difficult for airlines to get right. On the one hand, letting you use miles on an upgrade can be very tempting to get people to buy tickets instead of using miles or just picking the cheapest fare from a competitor. On the other hand, some people who might otherwise pay for the better cabin class are receiving a nice discount and costing the airlines revenue.
The first rule of this game is "earn and burn", since miles inevitably lose value over time.
The second thing I would recommend is to follow a blogger or two and/or participate in Flyertalk. At least you would get more advance notice of the inevitable programme changes and can try to make your plans before new prices/rules come into effect.
Upgrades are difficult for airlines to get right. On the one hand, letting you use miles on an upgrade can be very tempting to get people to buy tickets instead of using miles or just picking the cheapest fare from a competitor. On the other hand, some people who might otherwise pay for the better cabin class are receiving a nice discount and costing the airlines revenue.
The first rule of this game is "earn and burn", since miles inevitably lose value over time.
The second thing I would recommend is to follow a blogger or two and/or participate in Flyertalk. At least you would get more advance notice of the inevitable programme changes and can try to make your plans before new prices/rules come into effect.