Frequent flyer program changes

AAdvantage members will earn one Loyalty Point for each mile attained. The airline is opening up new ways to earn elite status by making it possible to earn Loyalty Points with purchases on AAdvantage credit cards and travel on qualifying airlines including members of the oneworld alliance and on JetBlue Airways..

Elite bonuses earned from flying on American will yield additional Loyalty Points. Achieving elite status will be more straight forward.

The newest tier in the AAdvantage program, Platinum Pro, will require , points, while reaching Executive Platinum will require , The new concept will launch in March Trenae Nuri: Scott, you mentioned that business travelers are likely to benefit from this new approach, but who gets left out? Scott McCartney: Well, I think those that get left out are the people who don't use the American Airlines credit card. It's going to become harder to qualify simply by being on airplanes.

So people who qualified certain ways in the past, that may not work for them in the future because of this. I also think there's an issue of, American's going to have more people in the loyalty tiers, they're purposely expanding the ranks and that means more people competing for upgrades and things like that. Now, if you're in the lower tiers of the program, you're probably not getting many upgrades to begin with. You're probably not getting any upgrades.

And so that's probably not a big issue. American says a lot of new members, they're not hardcore business travelers and so they're going to be traveling at different times. And so there won't be as much direct competition for upgrades, but that's a big issue. So, anytime in the airline business when there are winners, there're also losers too. Trenae Nuri: And then finally, along with flights comes hotels. So how are hotels shifting their loyalty programs?

Scott McCartney: Well, It's similar to airlines, Marriot, Hilton, InterContinental hotels, they've all extended current status for members in their loyalty program for another year. And most of them have paused points expiration in the case of those three until the end of next year.

Hyatt's the exception to this. Hyatt lowered qualification requirements for elite status by half. So it's easier to attain status, but that means you still got to stay for the different tiers a certain number of nights in Hyatt hotels. And that may be a challenge for many people who aren't traveling at all.

Hyatt's also taken a harder line with points expiration. They're telling their members that they're enforcing a two year deadline. If you haven't earned some points or used some points in the last two years, the points in your account may be deleted. People I've talked to, if you've got a lot of points, you can call and get a waiver in most cases, but still that's a tough thing when it's 24 month expiration.

We're about 20 months into the pandemic. If you just haven't been traveling, you're probably on the edge or close to it, if not already faced that to your deadline with Hyatt points. So I think that's something people need to pay attention to. And if you are up against the deadline, find a way to earn a few points or spend a few points on a newspaper subscription or whatever, or call Hyatt and see if you can get a waiver.

Trenae Nuri: All right. Scott, thanks for being here. Before joining the WSJ, J. He is a graduate of Syracuse University, and owns about pairs of cufflinks.

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Hosted by J. Southwest is offering , bonus points if you refer up to five friends to become one of their co-branded cardholders. While the deadline of Jan. Frequent travelers know that having a Chase-backed travel credit card is a good move as its Ultimate Rewards points are transferable to 10 airlines like United, Virgin Atlantic, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines.

And their offer has just gotten better with recent updates to the Chase Sapphire Preferred and Chase Sapphire Reserve card. So which is the better card? Airlines are not tone deaf. SkyMiles members will continue to earn rewards at an accelerated rate on most tickets through Dec. As of Feb. Low-cost carrier Allegiant has kept its no-frills appeal with its newly launched frequent-flyer program that comes without restrictions, blackout dates, or mileage tracking — basically what many travelers would like to see in their frequent flyer programs.

Always Rewards members are free to spend their points at any time, in any amount for anything sold at Allegiant. Insider Tip: Members also are entitled to a 5 percent discount on airfare purchased at Allegiant. Travelers now earn AAdvantage miles and elite status credits when flying JetBlue, for those flying on American Airlines, earning TrueBlue points and Mosaic elite status is now possible.

When airlines decide to partner up, the benefits for travelers can be huge. American and JetBlue have also announced launching reciprocal elite perks, One Mile At a Time tells us to expect the following:.