What you need to know about how airline miles are changing

Frequent flying isn’t so much of a thing right now, but loyalty programs are in many cases getting better as airlines fight to keep customers and generate sorely needed revenue after the coronavirus ransacked travel.

“These programs appeal to a carrier’s very best revenue-producing customers, so there is abundant need to keep these consumers happy,” said Jay Sorensen, a former Midwest Airlines executive who is now president of consultancy IdeaWorksCompany. “In the near term, consumers will see a windfall of cheap travel for redeeming points or miles.”

American Airlines said Tuesday its AAdvantage loyalty program — “the biggest asset we have in the company” — has a value of as much US$30 billion, and that it is negotiating with the U.S. Treasury Department to use at least part of it as collateral for a multibillion dollar loan. Bloomberg News reported in April that the Treasury Department was in talks with some carriers about accepting loyalty programs as collateral as they rushed to raise funds.

Emirates’ members account for almost 45 per cent of the carrier’s commercial revenue, according to Nejib Ben Khedher, divisional senior vice president of Emirates Skywards. Abu Dhabi’s Etihad says loyalty programs help it “obtain valuable data on each guest which allows us to tailor their experience,” while Singapore Airlines Ltd. does “not take their loyalty for granted.” Singapore Airlines last week reported a record loss.

Airline WoesOne risk is there’s little value left in miles or co-branded credit cards if the issuing airline collapses, which is a very real threat as the likes of Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd., Avianca Holdings SA and others show.

Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

Posthaste: Oilsands emerge as new battleground for Trump and Biden as fractious U.S. election race heats upStuff you need to know This is going to be a landslide victory for realDonaldTrump - meanwhile all the cuck, scared, sheeple Canadians will vote in JustinTrudeau again. This is so unfortunate. planetofthehumans JoeBiden please take off the rose tinted glasses and sincerely LOOK into the bigger picture. Ideology is wonderful, but reality is sacred. Current Twitter Followers Account Trump 80.0 million Biden 5.4 million
Source: nationalpost - 🏆 10. / 80 Read more »

Changes to small business COVID-19 support program welcome, but rent relief still needs fixing‘We have a rent subsidy that’s desperately needed … but it is inaccessible to them because their landlord is choosing not to participate’
Source: nationalpost - 🏆 10. / 80 Read more »

U.S. FAA to mandate new safety management tools for airplane manufacturersBoeing grounded its entire 737 Max fleet after an Ethiopian Airlines flight crashed in March 2019 globebusiness After we found out FAA was in bed with Boeing after several crashes, I doubt anybody will pay any real attention to their 'mandates'.
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »

After campaigning on safety and stability, Joe Biden makes a left turnMr. Biden has determined that he has to be the ‘change’ candidate in a contest against perhaps the biggest change agent in the history of the presidency The only left turn Biden makes is to the woman's restroom If this 'turn' you speak of is Biden calling Trump bad names, I swear to god... He literally called a voter fat and stupid and challenged them to a push-up contest There is something terribly wrong with this man. That may mean number of things and sooner or later they will come out. For starters; he looks terrible, face lift and all. Yiu think you are looking at wax man doll. 为啥美国人非要在俩70+老头里选总统咧？
Source: globeandmail - 🏆 5. / 92 Read more »