Airline Credit Cards Loyalty Programs (why miles don't matter)

[toto]

16 minutes ago, Pinecone said:

I don't use my points for free tickets, I use them for upgrading.  Many times I will call and the agent will look into alternate times/dates and find a fare with upgrade (booked) that works for me.

Yep. Buying an upgrade-eligible economy ticket and upgrading with points is the best use of airline miles imo. 

[Jim Peace]

I could have outrageous loyalty to one airline but I choose to spread it around...just this month I will be giving UAL $16,000 USD for two trips back from Asia...I could spend it on anyone and lean towards delta at times...but not anymore since their policies changed....

These programs are to complicated, for instance UAL says I have lifetime flight miles and miles that dont expire...two vastly different numbers...I dont give a FCUK to look up the difference....they make it complicated on purpose.  Plus I fly first class all the time and when in the states I cant get the lounge unless I am on an international ticket...what good is it to be loyal to one and sometimes have to make connections vs non stops just to climb the ladder....

And the lines to get into the lounges are awful.....I use the mooney for almost anything on the east coast....

[Pinecone]

Lifetime flight miles are the number of miles towards Million Miler status.

Miles that don't expire are earned miles you can use for upgrades or free tickets or similar.

[M20F]

On 10/2/2023 at 7:49 AM, bluehighwayflyer said:

I’m amazed at how successful the airlines have been at making people actually value sitting in their lounges and in their first class seats.  I do not value these things at all personally, making cash back cards more valuable to me, because I do value cash.  But to each his or her own. There is a card for everyone. 
 

 

When you travel 40+ weeks a year you will notice the differences.  The biggest being when there is an event, I get on a new flight and you camp in the airport for two days. 

[M20F]

8 hours ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

how much they are costing the average airline loyalty program participant in terms of cash back reward opportunity costs.  

Cash has no purpose other than to be used to acquire goods and services.  If the goods/services value exceeds the % of cash back it is a better ROI.  Each person needs to do their own math to determine the best card for them. 
 
For AA a mile is worth about $.017 which is 1.7%.  There a lot more multipliers that exist though to earn miles that you are probably getting 4-5% with the right usage.  This doesn’t count the free upgrades which are $100-500 a piece or things like SWU’s which when used for the right holiday can be worth $4-5K a piece.
 
I will say any form of airline status even the lowest is important.  People fixate on the upgrades but the real value is in determining standby and rebooking when an event occurs.  The lowest status is going to push you above 50+% of the folks stuck. 

[jlunseth]

On 9/28/2023 at 8:12 AM, LANCECASPER said:

The Delta Reserve AMEX gives you the ability to get MQMs just from spending (miles toward Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond status)
I haven't looked over the recent changes, but most recently for every $30,000 annual spend on the AMEX you got 15,000 MQM (For 2023 it takes  25,000 MQM to reach Silver; 50,000 for Gold and 75,000 for Platinum)

Yeah, that's done. Going forward, qualification is going to be based on pure spend, called MQDs. There will be qualification levels for the various tiers, but all will be in MQDs only. Spending on your card will be translated into MQDs depending on what level of card you have. For the Reserve card, every $10 spent will be $1 MQD. Delta Platinum, for example, is 18,000 MQDs so you would have to spend 180,000 on the card to qualify based on card miles alone. You get $1 per dollar spent on Delta tickets. There will be some kind of transition where any excess MQMs get translated on some basis not yet announced, into MQDs. Its been a nice card. You get entry into the SkyClub when you fly on a Delta ticket. But the latest moves seem to be a major devaluation. I read something in the news that Delta might revise, their new program has not been well received by customers.

[M20F]

3 hours ago, bluehighwayflyer said:

.  But yes, we are in complete agreement.

Cheers!

[Pinecone]

On 10/2/2023 at 7:49 AM, bluehighwayflyer said:

I’m amazed at how successful the airlines have been at making people actually value sitting in their lounges and in their first class seats.  

Or when you have 8 - 12 hour layovers.  Or even longer

Or when your travel is such that you consider a short flight to be one under 8 hours.  My longest was 17.5 hours.  With a connecting flight at each end.

Or when you are traveling between 3rd world countries where taking a bath is not a daily (sometimes it seems not even weekly) event.

Or have someone next to you from a culture where there is MUCH smaller personal space so they feel that using some of your space is OK..

[flyboy0681]

11 hours ago, Pinecone said:

Or when you have 8 - 12 hour layovers.  Or even longer

Or when your travel is such that you consider a short flight to be one under 8 hours.  My longest was 17.5 hours.  With a connecting flight at each end.

Or when you are traveling between 3rd world countries where taking a bath is not a daily (sometimes it seems not even weekly) event.

Or have someone next to you from a culture where there is MUCH smaller personal space so they feel that using some of your space is OK..

Amen brother. 

[0TreeLemur]

I once flew military/commercial from McMurdo Station, Antarctica, to Denver.  Route of flight:  McMurdo-Christchurch-Honolulu-Dallas-Denver.   Two 8+ hour layovers and two red eyes.  Total absolute trip time 57 hours.  I was fresh when I arrived home.  And- after walking 8+ miles per day in Antarctica for a couple of weeks, got plantar faciitis after the trip.  Of course I didn't have any status on AA because my million miles is on Borg (Untied) Airlines.  What I wouldn't have given for some lounge access on that one.  Oh- and whomever bought my itinerary was a sadist.