First time posting here.
I've been saving Alaska miles for a few years in anticipation of a first class Asia or Europe trip for my wife and I. I'm up to 260,000 so I have enough for most airlines, but we are likely to have a child in the coming year and since 2-week babysitters are rare, we aren't going to take the trip without our child within the next several years.
My question is, am I at much risk in seeing my miles devalued by 2024 (whether that be to changes in redemption rates, mergers etc)? Would you rather do everything you can to use the miles now? I've been accruing close to 50k a year through my sig Visa and regular flying, so I'll have close to 500k by the time my wife and I could likely leave our kid for an extended time. Is a dramatic change in mileage plans (to the extent that I'd miss out on first class flights with the miles I have now) very common?
I realize it's all speculation but any insight would be appreciated.