Airmiles - devaluing "points" at the end of the year?

[albertanewbie]

Has anyone heard if this is true or not. We have been hearing rumors that the Airmiles program will be revamping their points atthe end of this year, and the current point values on items to be all re-done??

Can anyone shed any light?

[Rocketo]

Has anyone heard if this is true or not. We have been hearing rumors that the Airmiles program will be revamping their points atthe end of this year, and the current point values on items to be all re-done??

Can anyone shed any light?

if this is true that's really sad it's hard enough for me to even collect 5000 worth of airmiles...and to think that's 4 trips to vegas for myself...

[Derek]

Curious enough to ask, where did you hear these rumours?

[DaVibe]

Considering I get crap all from AirMiles in how many years, that would be nice ... but if they're "Revamping it" and making it HARDER to earn, well then ... that's a whole other ball game.

"Rumours" haha this guy probably works for the AirMiles company
HE'S WARNING US!!!

[HighFlyer]

well, I wouldn't be surprised given that aeroplan just gutted the @#!$ out of their program.

[albertanewbie]

Curious enough to ask, where did you hear these rumours?

A coworker was telling us.....they said they heard it on the news. I never heard that, but I do not listen to the news all the time either!

[chococrazy]

A coworker was telling us.....they said they heard it on the news. I never heard that, but I do not listen to the news all the time either!

Nothing on the Loyalty Group site, or any of the news websites that I've searched. I emailed them to ask, let's see what they say.

[Nyte]

Check out his post count.

[ji2o0k]

a little off-topic...........but what in your opinion is worth redeeming points for?

Giftcards? Gas cards?

I want to find out what is the best bang for my buck. I have Aeroplan miles, Air miles and Sony points and I haven't redeemed any of them.

Just curious, or if there is already a thread on this....could you point me in the right direction?

[zoro69]

Its been 2+ years since they devalued points balance by upping the number required for many of the rewards, eg A&P certs went from 125 to 140 with many others rising a simlar amount. I wouldn't be surprised if they do it again...while I'm holding 7,300 points. What to do, hold on in case I take a flight someday that will be worth more or redeem for gift cards now, the better deals being places I rarely shop at. I'd probably get the newish HBC ones they have now at $25 for 200.

[zoro69]

Its easy enough to calculate the cents per mile in vlaue you get for the gift cards. In most cases this is towards triple what the merchandise is worth...however many of the stores are high priced ones, eg $20 at A&P isn't much of a deal if you can buy the same stuff for $15 at basics.

The best deal is if you want to take a flight that is particularly expensive within their zones. One's to northern Canada stand out there.

[konfusion666]

well, I wouldn't be surprised given that aeroplan just gutted the @#!$ out of their program.

how'd they gut their program? i thought we still had 7 years grace period

[gman]

That is why I dislike all points reward although I also have over 3000 air miles. I prefer reward that attaches to a dollar value instead. It does not have to be cash reward. e.g. Citibank Driver's edge, GM Visa, etc.

[Beradon]

Compared to other points programs I've always felt Airmiles was the worst when it comes to the redemption value you get for your points.

[HighFlyer]

how'd they gut their program? i thought we still had 7 years grace period

Over the past couple of years, we've seen:
-increase in cancellation/change fees
-fuel surcharges ranging into the $200's on 'free' tickets
-call center fees increase to $30+tax per ticket
-since AC and AP are now separate companies, the US transportation tax of $28.20US and the $4.50US PFC now applies to transborder tickets
-removal of same day standby on reward flights
-half a million points required on some rewards under their new classic-minus category. it costs much less for 'rule-buster' rewards on other frequent flyer programs like UA's mileage plus.

and of course, the 'enhancements' announced recently.