Asia Miles Changes effective 22 June 2018
 

Still digesting...but wow, Japan only 20k on Econ

what i see....
CX group has a lower burn chart than partners (i cant tell if there would be a mixed chart w multiple flights like BA or not)
for CX group only awards
one way redemption on par with BA Avios and JL JMB.
rtn is dbl of one way, but i dont know what happens if you have connections.
my guess is if you are within the CX group you still have the same stopover rules.

partner redemptions on a return basis is on par with the past
but it's gone up esp in premium cabins; but is doubled of oneway in general.

This new award chart is horrible news for any J/F redemption. Especially for upgrade remdemptions. Some upgrades that cost 45K AM now cost 70K AM.

Poor value all round. Only enhancement is for airline. Customers can be damned.

A quick digest (still panicking)

Earnings:
- SNQ and WR seem to gain quite a bit (didn't check F/A sorry!)
- At the ends of each band, YBHKMLV, E and DI take a hit.
- One fixed mileage amount for a whole zone is just baffling. There is no way LAX should get hosed over ORD/YYZ/BOS etc...

Burning:
- No more roundtrips, all one ways. Premium cabins and long haul are jacking up in price, uncompetitive again compared to popular legacy programs esp for East coast but not yet MH Enrich level.
- OWMC is here to stay with increased prices but doesn't look too bad.
- Upgrades (the sweetest spots, especially R to U) and Companion awards look badly hit.

easier for have economy , but harder for upgrade.

Duh, and JL one way still remains not available. So much for simplifying the structure!

It seems no change of rules to multi-carrier award.

Still no status bonus.

More info following additional perusal:
post 22 Jun - all reissues/WL clearings will use the new chart
No more upgrades for AA/BA etc (ie only CXKA)
Standard awards can only be redeemed at T-353 - is that a devaluation?

Gawd, I feel sorry for those LAX based/marginalized folk. Nicolas is NOT my friend!!!!!!!

Ultimately to reduce premium cabin redemption rate so that they could sell more of it. Econ won’t be always full anyway and encourage members to burn out more miles quickly

On the premium side, I wonder if they plan to restrict Alaska or some of the other more favorable programs?

Otherwise if inventory stays more or less the same for J or F seats as before, doesn't this make Alaska even more of an arbitrage in F or J class?

My first look is I think this provides me even less incentive to transfer miles to AM from credit cards. Fortunately it's not the end of the world for me, but it is still antagonistic towards premium customers. Unless of course they do a helluva job upgrading F and J class....things that seem remote to me. If I want a free F or J flight I just do it on Alaska no?

As someone who mainly redeems for oneway travel in premium cabins, the changes don't look too bad -- and even for the better in some cases. Will have to re-ticket a few awards post 22/6 as they'll be cheaper then.

I'm a bit concerned with the Standard vs Choice Awards. Will current availability levels be bucketed into "Choice" whereas Standard Award (presumably alongside availability for partners) availability will be very scarce?