THIS is the summer that miles will officially stop having anything to do with miles. American Airlines was the last holdout among the big carriers in the United States in maintaining a frequent-flyer programme that rewarded customers for the distance they travelled. The formula was simple: fly a mile, get a mile. But all of American’s main rivals—from legacy carriers Delta and United to Southwest, JetBlue and Virgin America—have already made the switch to a system based on the amount people spend on flights, not the distance they travelled. On Monday, American announced that it would do the same.
When other carriers introduced such measures there was much gnashing of teeth among frequent flyers, who suspected a rouse to diddle them out of what they were due. Others suggested that it created a perverse incentive for business travellers to book the most expensive flights, rather than help their employers by looking for a bargain. But such concerns held little sway with American. In an e-mail to members of the AAdvantage programme, the country’s largest carrier explained that the change would give “our best customers access to our most exclusive benefits”. It follows a recent pattern of catering increasingly to well-heeled flyers, one that’s seen a growing divergence in amenities (and price) between coach and business class. American’s distance-based system may have been simple to understand and beneficial to travellers who secured low fares for long flights. But for customers who spend a lot on their journeys—particularly for business—and want to be rewarded, there was an incentive to fly with other airlines.
