Are loyalty perks getting harder to earn?
33% View from the Wing
33% Wild About Travel
17% Miles to Memories
17% Other
Loyalty perks are indeed becoming more difficult to earn across many travel programs.
Airline frequent‑flyer programs
- Virgin Australia overhauled its scheme in 2025, cutting point earnings by 20 % (unless you hold a co‑branded card) and raising the spend needed to keep or reach Platinum, Gold and Platinum Plus status, meaning most travelers will have to spend significantly more to maintain perks Wild About Travel .
- Qantas is raising the annual Status Credit thresholds for all tiers starting in 2027 (e.g., Silver from 250 to 300 credits, Gold from 600 to 700, Platinum from 1,200 to 1,400) and retiring the “Loyalty Bonus,” which previously gave extra credits for every 500 credits earned. The changes force members to spend roughly $2,000 more each year just to replace the lost bonus credits Wild About Travel .
- United MileagePlus is making co‑branded credit‑card ownership a near‑requirement for earning miles efficiently, widening the gap between cardholders and non‑cardholders and effectively raising the effort needed for non‑card members to earn awards The Bulkhead Seat .
- A broader industry trend is noted in the Qantas “New Era” commentary, which observes that airlines such as British Airways, Delta and American have also tightened their programs, pushing high‑spend flyers to concentrate on a single carrier to keep status Wild About Travel .
Hotel loyalty programs
- Hyatt has introduced a 78‑level award chart that pushes redemption prices higher, making free nights at top properties up to 67 % more expensive in points. The higher redemption costs are expected to limit the ability of members to earn and use free nights as they previously could View from the Wing .
Counter‑examples
- American Airlines recently launched a promotion offering up to 5,000 bonus Loyalty Points for travel in March and April, and its AAdvantage Loyalty Point Rewards thresholds remain unchanged for the upcoming qualification year, indicating that not all programs are tightening at the same pace View from the Wing Miles to Memories .
Overall, the prevailing pattern across airlines and hotels is a shift toward higher spend or credit‑card requirements and reduced point‑earning rates, which collectively make loyalty perks harder to obtain for the average traveler.
Chasing Frequent Flyer Status in a Stacked System
For context: I’m a frequent flyer who maintains status across multiple programs: primarily Virgin Australia Platinum, Qantas Platinum, and Star Alliance Gold. This isn’t unique. Many frequent flyers play multiple programs to maximise coverage and benefits. Are you one of them? Virgin Australia has been one of my “main homes” for 13 years because it operates an extensive domestic network and international routes across the Asia/Pacific region. Virgin has reinvented itself three times: as a low-cost carrier, a full-service carrier, and now a hybrid. Throughout, they’ve been my preferred option for Australian domestic travel, alongside Qantas. They
Hyatt Revamping Award Charts—With 78 Price Levels, Free Nights At Top Hotels Get Up To 67% More Expensive
Hyatt is revamping its award charts starting in May, and they’re teasing benefits changes to allow members to share points electronically (no more faxing in paper forms) and for elites and credit card customers to be able to book free night awards a month earlier than they can today. The World of Hyatt program will expand its award charts from three to five price levels per category, creating 78 possible redemption prices across their standard and all-inclusive charts. The most expensive points redemptions can cost up to 67% more points than before. While the lowest tier prices actually fall
Qantas’ “New Era” For Status
Qantas has just made it more expensive to stay loyal. Funny how that works. The airline is calling it a ‘new era’ for its Frequent Flyer program. I’d call it a quiet price hike dressed up in marketing language. This is a change I’ve been waiting on for months. After Virgin Australia overhauled its own program, this felt inevitable. Here’s what’s actually changing, and what it means for your membership. Qantas made a few smaller changes starting in 2025. These included: This new announcement takes things even further. Qantas says the Frequent Flyer program is “entering an exciting
American Airlines Is Handing Out Bonus Loyalty Points Through April 30 — 500 Per Segment Up to 5,000 Toward Status
American Airlines AAdvantage has a new promotion for bonus Loyalty Points on March and April travel that count toward status. Only American flights (not codeshares) count, previously-ticketed flights don’t count, and these bonus Loyalty Points can take up to 14 days to post. Only mileage-earning tickets are eligible. This signals that travel seems weak, and especially short haul international? Perhaps Mexico isn’t doing well for Spring Break. I’ll take any extra credit towards status, and there’s certainly no reason not to register (even if you’ve already got your expected March and April travel booked – although with no change fees you might try repricing those tickets – they may even have gotten less expensive!).
United MileagePlus Overhaul Makes Credit Cards Key to Earning More Miles and Cheaper Awards
Major US airlines increasingly rely on loyalty programs and co-branded credit cards as major profit engines. United Airlines is now making that reality impossible to ignore. While the biggest carriers already generate billions annually through these partnerships, they continue to push for even more growth by tying travel perks directly to credit card ownership. United has just announced sweeping changes to its MileagePlus program and the message is clear: travelers with a United co-branded credit card will come out ahead, while those without one will see fewer benefits. The new updates reshape how passengers earn miles, redeem awards, and
AAnomalies – Mixing it Up with AAdvantage Loyalty Point Rewards Oddities
American Airlines loyalists received great news in early 2026 – AAdvantage Loyalty Point Rewards are largely untouched for the next qualification year. First, reward thresholds are staying the same. Second, most all rewards of significance remain, with several new ones being added later in the year. Third, only a couple rewards are discontinued, and they’re relatively minor, anyway. On top of this no-big-devaluation news, AA has renewed the Citi AAdvantage Business promo on authorized user spend for yet another year. But back to AAdvantage Loyalty Point Rewards. I still maintain the same boring, rewarding redemption strategy I always have