It seems to be that FFP's & Loyality Programs are a license to cheat customers !
Them all "start" to be good programs, have good earning and rewarding shemes.
Then them sell miles or points in many promotions( customers calculate if them buy xxx.xxx miles, them get a free first class ticket for let's say 1500 USD).
And in the next step them devaluate the miles/points them sold or earnd by customers in1,5 years by half !
For me this kind of making business is criminal !
People @ least customers which bought miles should have the right ( by law ) to return the miles / points and get back their money.

example end 2014 one buys 100k USDM which are good for a first class roundtrip between Europe and Hongkong. 2015 them change this to 140k, and soon march 2016 them change it to 180 k
the same in business class was 80k >>> 105k >>> 150k

And the argument, that the curent product is more valuable is stupid. Customers which fly, for to earn miles/points, them already pay�the higher price for the revenue tix, which earns the milage.
No, the reason is that airlines have a big problem with all this FF miles beeing in customers counts. Them have to make huge accruals in them balancesheets, and if them devaluate the value per mile, this is much better for them.

But AA's FFP is not an exeption, them all the same.

People made a purchase and still have what they purchased

Why , by law, should they be allowed to return the purchase

If you buy a gift card from a shop and then shop puts its prices up, would you also expect to be able to return the gift card?

There is nothing criminal in what has happened , especially when buying miles at a time when it was known that the merger was going to have USDM migrated to AAdvantage at time of purchase

As this seems not to be airline specific, we will relocate it.

/Moderator

The only solution to this is to vote with your wallet and choose based on what suits your needs best at a given moment. If their program doesn't inspire loyalty, then why give it?

Your example is out of reality. Until now, I not saw a shop which sells gift-cards or reward points, and then goes upprice with the awards more than 50 or even 90 % ! Here in Germany we have PayPal, which is a good way to compare. I awarded points, has a value of 1 cent. And the Produkts you can buy maximum increase may be 5-10 % in one year. And this also only, if production cost go up.
But the costs per seat in the airline Industrie in the last 2 years not went up, them went down, due to lower oil/fuel.
I also own a business, I rent out rooms. And if I rent out a room for 1000 $ and after 6 month I go up 50% and after another year again 50 %, I get a problem with court. I can not go up in this short time by such a huge % !

Why would you go to court for raising prices? If you raised prices as you say, you'd just lose customers. As previously mentioned, you're free to stop using that airline.

When's the last time you bought something in 2014 and can return it for a full refund in 2016? In what country and/or product is there a law that mandates this?

If they bought the points, then they didn't pay for the ticket. Try making a more coherent/cogent argument and perhaps there can be a better reply.

Which will probably be "you agree to the terms and conditions of the program when you signed up for them. You're asking for a law preventing the terms of the documented terms of a voluntary program in which you voluntarily enrolled?"

Where's that thread?

Perhaps you answered my question - In Germany, it's illegal to raise prices? No such thing as supply and demand and market-based pricing? What are the laws and how do they control your prices? What applies to LH? Or have they never, even changed their FF program?

I thought state-controlled pricing was mostly a China/Russia/Cuba thing.

Rule #1: don't buy points if you don't need them on short notice

It's fascinating to watch cultures collide with different market principles.

No judging!!!

+1 points are a currency. Over time, prices go up and currencies devalue

Exactly. If you'd been hoarding dollars under a mattress for the last two years, you'd have lost purchasing power there too.

There was a phrase that got tossed around the UA/CO forums a lot during the merger WRT airline loyalty: "the brick does not love you back."

Perfectly sums up the relationship you should have with an airline.

Actually, I can see where TS is coming from; not in a 'it's a criminal act that needs regulation' perspective, but from a 'balance of power' perspective.

There is a distinct difference between an actual currency strengthening and weakening based on economic forces, and an airline unilaterally deciding that their (points) currency should be worth 50% (or whatever) less, based purely on how unprofitable the program is becoming.

In the latter case, the value of the points are not determined by supply and demand or the market; but are purely the prerogative of the airline.

To most of you guys who've been in 'the hobby' for a while you've already intimately understood and accepted that it's the airline's currency; if you want to play their game you need to play by their rules. To newcomers it's not as immediately obvious.

Maybe you can't in Germany but you can in the US (unless you live in a rent controlled city).

But let's say your friend wants a pair of shoes that sell on Amazon for $100. So you buy a $100 Amazon gift card for him. In the meantime the price of the shoes went up to $150.

Nothing illegal, immoral or unethical about that.

You mention Thailand in your profile. Thai currency has dropped 20% against the US Dollar in the past few months. So buying something in the US is now 20% more expensive in Thai Baht terms. Does that mean you get to take Thailand to court because their currency devalued?

As this discussion is one about miles and points (loyalty programs) and not a travel topic, I'll move this to the MilesBuzz forum for more discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, TravelBuzz.