Ed Perkins on Travel: Flyer Programs Really Are Getting Worse

Detailed research proves that frequent flyer programs have, on average, lost value over the last five years.

Airplane passengers. Dreamstime/TNS

Yes, what you figured out from your own experience is verified: New, detailed research proves that frequent flyer programs have, on average, lost value over the last five years. We can thank the good folks at The IdeaWorks Company for those results—published in a press release that is the tip of an iceberg of granular data sold to airlines and other big travel companies.

The study updates metrics previously compiled for 2019, with three main components:

• Average miles/points “prices” for “free” domestic economy seats are up, but just a little, not a lot.
• Payback on paid fares—how much value you get per dollar spent on airfares—is down a lot.
• The reward value of each mile/point is generally down, but not a lot .

The report focuses on the six biggest domestic lines—Alaska American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and United. Values and earnings are based on buying tickets on each line’s most popular routes at the lowest available main cabin (coach or economy) fares and the credit required for the lowest-level award main cabin seats. Although those ground rules limit the overall picture, they track with data I’ve found since three decades ago: That’s what most US frequent flyers do.