United, for its part, doesn’t see currency devaluation as a very useful tool to lower that accounting liability, said Michael Covey, managing director of the loyalty program at the airline.
“I don’t want to go there because I think there’s a better way to do this,” Covey said in an April 16 interview. “I want to see miles get redeemed. Loyalty is a two-way street,” he said, adding that customers “have been incredibly loyal to United.”

Instead, United is devising incentives to persuade people to use more miles, including a March 14 promotion to celebrate “Pi Day” for math enthusiasts, when it priced some domestic award tickets at 3,140 miles or $31.40. “The creativity juices are flowing,” Covey said.