To determine equitable conversion rates, one needs to distinguish between Service Points / Level Miles and Award Points / Award Miles. What is fair for the one, is not necessarily reasonable for the other.

Even if redemption rates are juggled in such a way that a conversion rate of say 1.8 will still buy you the same awards, the fact remains that you may well lose out as far as elite qualification is concerned.

Elite qualification is of course the fundamental cornerstone of any FF program. To get the most out a program one must attain top elite status first.

In the current FD program, Service Level points are earned on the assumption that they have a specific value, i.e. 24,000 of them will earn you RW status. Once again assuming the Platinum qualification level will be 75,000, any conversion rate less than 3:1 will mean that your current Service Level points will be devalued. If the rate is 1.8:1, your points will lose no less than 40% of their value overnight. That constitutes robbery, if you ask me.

Awards may be cheaper under the new program; you may earn elite bonuses, etc. but that's all completely irrelevant when it comes to earning or retaining status.

johan