Here's my concern. European and many Asian programs have had these sorts of charges for awhile. They haven't been a part of US programs. But Delta has started tacking on fuel surcharges to Air France itineraries. Once it takes hold there, it's a matter of time before it spreads to other Skymiles redemptions, and before other US programs copy them.
In other words, we're at a crossroads where -- if there isn't pushback -- we'll see the cost of award redemption from US programs begin to go up dramatically.
In a few days I'll be flying BA to BCN in Clubworld on an award, and the fees were > US$360 for the roundtrip. I'm using CX AsiaMiles, and made a clear choice to do that (since the AsiaMiles were expiring soon) but it's a lot more than I'd be paying using my UA miles and connecting through, say, FRA or MUC on LH.
US programs represent a wonderful value relative to their European and Asian counterparts. But we're on the verge of losing that.
And - entirely separately - I suspect that most frequent flyers don't realize when they're earning the miles that there is a big difference in the value of those miles. Not just variances in the award chart but in the cash cost to redeem.
One point of competitive difference between the programs is the cost to the consumer to utilize the benefits. And it's really worth publicizing the programs that do a good job for their members in keeping those costs down, that should win business for those programs! And I think this is undermarketed, and underpublicized.
So perhaps the role of Inside Flyer is in helping frequent flyers understand the benefits of different programs, giving consumers the best information possible so that they can make the best decisions for themselves when choosing where to accumulate their miles.
I usually think about
* How easy is it to earn miles? (Partnerships, bonuses, and of course the % of flown miles earned based on cost of ticket)
* How easy is it to redeem miles? (Availability of seats on the carrier and their partners, and the cost those seats on the reward chart -- huge variances across programs, "not all miles are created equal" or put a different way one mile doesn't always equal one mile)
* What is the cash cost to redeem those miles? Here taxes and fees vary greatly...