I used to be a road warrior, travelin 50k - 75k miles a year. I was on the road at least 40 weeks a year.

And for the last few years i was at it, the ff programs and reward levels kept creeping away.

At the end, holding premier/exec/grand poobah platinum/diamond/whatever meant you were in the 4th or 5th group to board, and upgrades were impossible.

And trying to use miles usually required 11 months advance reservations for a family trip (one seat isnt as hard a 5).

And for a long time, they were use them or lose them.

Now its almost impossible to have any flexibility without status. Its annoying. The value when acquired is not the value when used.

(I think we should keep him, SOMEWHERE 'good!')

To find United gave me a small 1882 points for the trip. Why? Because it’s based On what you pay for a ticket. Less than 20% of the actual miles flown. To get a round trip ticket, I would need $200 AND 82,000 points.

What a joke.

when they started to get abusive. They used to be worthwhile for things like pre-boarding, upgrades and trips for points but those perks became less and less worthwhile. There are many credit cards available that give you a percentage of cash back or points that can be used to purchase a wide variety of things and don't expire or lose value. Most businesses value their customers. The airlines treat theirs like dirt.

Their response...

https://i.postimg.cc/q7TT3dJ9/temp-Image-Zank-S1.avif

pay an airline tax) aboard at least 7 times. In fact, I'm flying to India with United later this month using my member points. I have had no problems with any.of those.

Pure and simple

These programs as class division devices. I applied for ff programs only to be ignored by the airlines. So I decided I wouldn't give them any of my money unless there was no other means of getting where I was going. Fuck them, they smack of privilege and smugness.

I'd rather drive to wherever.