Originally Posted by
GUWonder
Blaming bloggers and credit card issuers for airline management's decisions to massively devalue an airline loyalty program is anything but an example of a well-reasoned hypothesis or conclusion.
The bloggers and credit card issuers in this space jumped into the cart for the trip led by a horse and horse-rider/jockey/driver that were leading the program devaluation show. The owners/managers of the airlines/airline programs are the party with ultimate responsibility for the massive program devaluations which have repeatedly hit consumers in the airline loyalty program space.
The US3 airlines' programs have been massively devalued in ways that bloggers and credit card issuers couldn't and didn't stop. And yet some want to scapegoat those coat-tail-/cart-riders for the actions of the bad horse/jockey. Go figure, but there doesn't seem to be anything well-reasoned about wanting to point the finger of blame for such massive devaluations at figures other than those most directly responsible for the massive program devaluations in the US.
Unsound and invalid hypotheses and conclusions don't impress me.
It's an interesting debate and I think there are fair points on both sides despite the snark.
It's true that over-consolidation of the US-based carriers coincided with massive devaluations. But it's also true that over-saturation of credit card and points and miles bloggers huckstering taking advantage of airlines by 'travel hacking' coincided with massive devaluations.
Perhaps one day someone will interview the airline execs who made these decisions from the safety of their retirements and they will come clean about what drove it: consolidation, having people bragging about abusing their marketing programs and encouraging other to do so, or both, or something else entirely. Would make an interesting read.
Until then all we can do is speculate.