Loyalty programs make my behavior so irrational that I’m basically a perfect lab rat. I’m Platinum because I want to be Platinum, not because it’s objectively that much better than Gold. That’s irrational, and honestly exactly how a loyalty program is supposed to work. I buy SAF when my buffer drops. I always make sure I start the year with at least 300 XP in the bank. I spend real money on numbers on a screen.

And because I’m Platinum, my decisions get even more irrational. When I travel long-haul with my partner, we always fly KL or AF in business. Even when other airlines are way cheaper. That’s irrational loyalty generating revenue AFKL wouldn’t get otherwise.

But there’s one angle in this whole discussion that almost no one is touching, and it’s the one with the biggest financial impact. Irrational loyalty doesn’t just affect which airline I choose. It affects how I fly. Concrete example: I purposely route AMS-CDG-XYZ because that extra segment gives me extra XP. I do this every single trip. From AFKL’s perspective that’s an extra flight that costs money to operate, but from my perspective it’s the optimal XP route. If I’d earn the same XP by flying A to C directly, I’d do that instantly.

That’s the real tension here. It’s not about the bag, the seat, the catering or whether Basic Y includes X or Y. The core issue is that the program incentivizes behavior that brings in revenue but also pushes customers into patterns that reduce margin. And the program itself unintentionally creates that pattern.

If I were an armchair CEO, I’d reframe the entire discussion:

How do you keep irrational loyalty intact while nudging flying patterns toward something that increases margin instead of lowering it?

The solution isn’t removing XP, punishing cheaper fares or killing benefits. The solution is designing incentives that keep the irrational loyalty alive, but channel it in a direction that supports AFKL’s network and margin instead of fighting it.

That’s where the real upside is.