Originally Posted by
gemini573
There's already been a devaluation in my opinion. There have been numerous occasions where I've tried to redeem an NRT-LAX C class ticket and I hardly see mileage saver awards. You can get it if you go up to anytime awards.
The days where people mileage run to get the EQM and bonus miles....those days are winding down. Look at the trend: BA, QF, QR, and soon CX...it's all about rewarding passengers in the front.
I don't think AA will go tier points. As others have mentioned on here...perhaps raising the bar for EXP to 120K. 100% EQM on Y, B, and a few other sub classes. Everything else would be 50%, 25%, etc.
I'm really interested in what their plans are for earning miles on partner airlines. Those 5 airlines that I've mentioned make it less of an incentive to fly other oneworld airlines. Will AA follow?
Makes sense. AA already does that (reward passengers up front) to an extent and blatantly promotes it, especially with EQP bonuses we've seen. If you're flying up front a lot on paid tickets, you're going to reach EXP in 50k BIS easily (just top of the head math, could be less). With regards to EQM, I can definitely see them raising the bar and making it tougher to collect.
With regards to awards availability, yeah you won't have your pick of any day you want whenever you want, but typically if you're 6+ months (often less if you're lucky) out or within a week or two of travel dates and somewhat flexible, you'll find what you want, this has been my experience at least. I haven't had issues finding things on IB, EY, CX (just J lately) and QR. Haven't booked on JAL but I've seen a lot when searching CX. Once you find the longhaul, they'll open the necessary domestic legs up for you when calling in. You probably already know all that but I think we have it good with the OW network vs the redemption rates DL or UA FF's are dealing with.