Why do airlines change their rewards programs?

38% One Mile at a Time

32% Wild About Travel

19% Traveling for Miles

11% Other

Airlines continuously adjust their rewards programs to boost profitability and member engagement. These changes are driven by financial incentives and strategic goals tied to loyalty and spending.

Financial Growth and Profit Centers

Airlines now treat their loyalty programs as major profit centers, not just cost centers.
Co-branded credit cards are a key revenue source, with programs like United MileagePlus and Qantas Frequent Flyer designed to increase sign-ups and spending.🔗

Wild About Travel +3

Shifting from Flying to Spending

Programs are increasingly based on spending rather than flight distance. British Airways switched to a revenue-based model, requiring higher spending to maintain elite status.
This shift rewards high spenders and discourages those who rely on flying alone to earn status.🔗

Wild About Travel +3

Prioritizing High-Value Customers

Award seats are increasingly reserved for elite members and co-branded cardholders.
Airlines are reducing availability for general members and partner program users, favoring their own loyal customers.🔗

Wild About Travel +2

Strategic Control and Retention

Changes like rolling over status credits and adding flexible earning options aim to lock in high-value customers.
Qantas and others are simplifying programs to reduce complexity and encourage customers to focus on one airline.🔗

Wild About Travel +1

Devaluation and Member Trust

Sudden devaluations, like Radisson Rewards’ overnight cut, have damaged trust.
Programs like Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy have made negative changes without notice, reducing member confidence.🔗

Traveling for Miles +1

One Mile at a Time

The Evolving Ways Airlines Open Award Seats, Which Changes The Points Game

I recently wrote about how the miles & points world has changed over the years. As is the case with just about any industry, things evolve over time, and some developments are positive, while others are negative. When it comes to actually redeeming points for airline award tickets in premium cabins, I’d argue there’s one trend that we’ve been seeing a lot of, and I suspect this practice will only continue to spread. While I’ve mentioned this in passing and have written about specific instances of this, I’d like to take a big picture look at this practice.

Wild About Travel

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

Traveling for Miles

Oh Hyatt, not you too … ?

For most people who play the miles and points game, periodic changes to the various rewards programs are expected. They come with the territory. Mostly, the changes that we see being made are ones which make the programs less valuable and, often, harder to exploit to the full. Some changes bring about improvements, but mostly, things get worse with time. For most people who play the miles and points game, periodic changes to the various rewards programs are expected. They come with the territory. Mostly, the changes that we see being made are ones which make the

“Run By Numpties”: Andrew Neil Says British Airways Has Betrayed Its Most Loyal Flyers

The conservative columnist and former editor of the Sunday Times, Andrew Neil, has ripped into British Airways and what he describes as the airline’s “useless” management team, whom hardworking staffers are ashamed to work for. Clearly still furious with the now year-old changes that British Airways made to its frequent flyer program, Neil ripped into the once ‘world’s favorite airline’ in a lengthy post on X, saying the airline’s business model had “suicide written all over it.” And a response from BA’s customer service team on X only seemed to make matters worse with Neil then threatening to

One Mile at a Time

Wow: Huge United MileagePlus Changes Make Program All About Credit Cards

Nowadays the major airlines in the United States earn much of their profits from their loyalty programs, and in particular, their co-branded credit card businesses. Even though the “big three” carriers are already raking in billions per year from these programs, they still see a lot of upside. As a result, a lot of the decisions that we see at airlines are based on trying to increase credit card revenue. Free inflight Wi-Fi? It’s all about getting loyalty program sign-ups, so that airlines can market to members. New destinations? They’re also about getting people interested in the loyalty program,

Leave a Reply Cancel reply