How Delta Just Told Us Their Miles Are an Almost Worthless Currency

Jul 22 2015

I want to take issue with the claim by Delta’s Anthony Black that mileage prices are like airfares and so there shouldn’t be a posted award chart or advance notice of changes.

First of all, frequent flyer miles aren’t supposed to be mere rebates in the form of an airline’s currency, they’re supposed to be a reward for loyalty. That’s why mileage tickets used to be so much more flexible than paid tickets, they were a thank you for past business.

Perhaps more importantly though award prices aren’t like paid ticket prices, and certainly miles aren’t really like money.

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