Airlines have been shifting away from awarding status based on distance or number of flights to pure monetary expenditure and co-branded credit cards, making mileage runs less effective for years.
For instance, American Airlines and JetBlue now base elite status on customer spending. United and Southwest still consider flight numbers, but elite loyalty status is now based on customer spending.
Delta Air Lines was the last of the five largest U.S. airlines to offer mileage-based rewards until it recently changed its SkyMiles loyalty program to prioritize spending metrics.
Today's emphasis on airline-affiliated credit cards shows how air carriers are growing and profiting from their banking and financial institution partnerships.
Delta lets loyalty members with enough qualifying miles roll over their status to subsequent years or convert them into qualifying dollars for 2024. Travel hackers are taking more year-end trips to maintain their elite status.
A DOT spokesperson told WSJ in an email, “We plan to carefully review complaints regarding loyalty programs, and exercise our authority to investigate airlines for unfair and deceptive practices that hurt travelers as warranted.”
Jay Zagorsky, an associate professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business said, “People actually in some ways, deep down, don’t mind when the rules change a little bit, because it keeps things interesting.
Alaska Airlines, which still rewards mileage, is testing a new way for Mileage Plan members to earn elite-qualifying miles by buying sustainable aviation fuel credits. Members can earn 500 elite-qualifying miles per $100 spent on these credits, capped at 5,000.
“Folks ultimately flying on planes simply to earn miles is something we’re very mindful of,” said the airline’s loyalty, alliances, and sales vice president Brett Catlin. He said thousands of Alaskans have taken advantage of the offer, which ends in 2023.