Are flight loyalty programs worth it?

Is There Such Thing as Too Many Points?

Airline associated traveller frequency and flight programs involve schemes that tend to giving out bonuses and incentives to regular flying passengers. These programs are reward programs created to motivate customers to continue to do business with the airline by offering them privileges such as free flights or flight upgrades, airport lounge privileges, and others. However, is it worthwhile to join these programs and work hard to achieve the elite status of the frequent flyer programs? Below are some of the most important considerations that one has to make to determine whether it is right for them to join a particular flight loyalty program.

Earning Points and Miles

The most obvious and exciting feature of the loyalty programs is that you can get points, miles and segments which in return, can be used to gain free flight and other benefits. All of them reward travelers with points or miles, depending on the number of miles flown and the fare class chosen. That is, the more often you fly, and the higher the ticket price, the faster you gain the desired number of points. A lot of Delta Airlines also provide opportunities to get additional points for signing up for an airline’s affiliated credit cards, shopping through airline-affiliated shopping portals, staying in hotels that are affiliated with the airline, renting a car and more.

Initially, people may be attracted to the concept of earning free flights but, frequently a lot of points/ miles are required to get a single ticket. Whereas with airline devaluations and changing reward charts, the amount of points needed to redeem for a certain flight also rises over time. It simply makes use of some basic calculations and forces the consumer to question if they use the card enough in a year to actually earn sufficient points for a valuable flight.

Elite Status Perks

However, other than free flights, airline status has other travel benefits that make the flying experience better for the holders especially if they are regular travellers. Some of the elite status perks include free pre-assigned seats, boarding ahead of other passengers, free baggage allowance, extra miles, access to airport lounges, preferential phone support, upgrades over other passengers and many more. Most of these amenities offer dollar savings plus increased comfort and convenience when you’re ‘on the road. ’

But as known, elite status can be achieved only based on the number of flown miles or flights per year that range from 25K to over 100K. As with any goal, you’ll need to evaluate if it is rational and affordable for you personally and in accordance with your flying habits. One should also consider the additional miles that one is likely to travel each year in order to requalify for the status.

Reward Availability Issues

One of the biggest complaints from members of other airline programs is that the number of reward seat is very few, at the lowest redemption rate, on the most popular flight corridors. In this case, the number of miles rang up is virtually meaningless because the free flights they sought no longer are available for redemption. Airlines mask the seat on specific flights or routes to control the number of passengers traveling on such routes. As a result, one should think about whether the airlines that one frequently flies have good reward redemptions before signing up for their loyalty program.

Also, consider if the airline operates flights to places you frequent or connectivity is worthy. Points earned on the credit card can be transferred to a number of other programs and avail flights for free, if a single airline program does not offer any rewards or flights on the desired path.

Program Changes and Limitations

It is crucial to consider that the rules of a loyalty program and the bonuses it offers can vary. Whereas award charts and miles earned could be ‘diluted’ in the sense that the required number of miles to redeem an award or the number of points given for a flight could decrease with time, status thresholds are more likely to be raised over time. Mergers also may also cause a problem of integrated or modified loyalty programs in an unfavorable way to the members. Given the time one is willing to commit and the amount of money one is willing to spend in order to build up one’s airline miles or high status, there are legitimate long term concerns over possible program deterioration.

Look out for capacity control too as part of the risk factors that major in the global economy. Some of the features that make redemption difficult include, airlines have a discretion to set the maximum number of award seats that can be made available on a specific flight, which significantly reduces the chances of redemption even where a customer has a large number of miles and status. Being a member of a specific loyalty program is not static, and therefore one has to be careful with the fine print because the benefits, the availability of the benefits, and the rules around them are not fixed.

Think of Credit Card Rewards Rather

Applying for a standard frequent flyer co-branded credit card may offer more total points per dollar spent on other airline partners and more point redemptions’ options. Credit cards that provide bonus points when signing up, bonus prevailing for spending in certain categories, and the feature to transfer points to several airline and hotel partners are quite helpful. Points on credit cards are flexible and may be redeemed in numerous ways while membership in an airline frequent flyer program means getting awards only from this airline.

Credit card rewards also eliminate some pain points common with frequent flyer programs such as blackout dates, reliable upgrade space for those in this rank, and partners’ seats. In conclusion credit card programs allow consumers much more control over managing their point balances and the efficiency of their point earning and redemption.

The benefits of weighing the pros and cons are that it helps you to make a rational decision with your eyes open to the implications of that decision.

It is always important to look at exactly what airline loyalty programs are offering in return for their disadvantages and the time and resources that are being dedicated to participation. There are of course numerous tangible benefits for often flying but remember to balance the efforts put into earning the rewards and maintaining elite status for the year. Never blindly chase airline mileage earnings for the same reason, and only assess whether the effort warrants it for your itinerary, cost, and capacity to use those miles in the program.

For the individuals who travel rarely, a more versatile travel rewards credit card should be the easier and less specific form of accumulating the required points so as to get free flights in the future. So, it is crucial for the very frequent flyers on a single airline to understand that, while the loyalty programs may offer certain improvements to the overall flying experience, the actual increase may depend on the reasonability and feasibility of acquiring the available reward seats.

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