You Better Watch Out: New Rules Shorten The Life Span of Some Frequent-Flier Miles
By Michael Shapiro
Special to The Washington Post
Sunday, December 24, 2006
There may be a lot of packages under the tree this Christmas Eve, but a couple of major U.S. airlines are about to take away some travelers' favorite gifts: their frequent-flier miles.
Delta Air Lines and US Airways are sharply cutting their expiration periods for mileage points, with deadlines that are rapidly approaching. Effective Dec. 31, Delta's SkyMiles points will expire after two years rather than the current three years. US Airways' Dividend Miles program is cutting its expiration period in half, starting Jan. 31, from three years to 18 months. Plus, the changes are retroactive.
So what does this mean for you? If you haven't had any activity in the Delta program during the two years before Dec. 31, or any activity in the US Airways program for 18 months before Jan. 31, you'll lose all the miles you've accumulated. The good news: Any activity in either program before the deadlines -- such as redeeming an award, earning points by flying or using an airline-affiliated credit card -- will keep the miles active.
Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin said the new expiration dates were announced on Delta.com in July, and the airline sent letters in October and November informing SkyMiles members about the change. "Since July, thousands of customers have taken steps to keep their accounts active, and customers have told us that they appreciate our communication," Laughlin said. The program has 38 million members, but most will not be affected by the change in the expiration period, she said.
According to Delta's Web site, the airline is "making this change to reduce [Delta's] mileage liability for members who are no longer active and reduce overall program administrative costs." Laughlin added: "It will also help the airline streamline mileage redemption and internal processes."
"Delta is taking the easy way out," said Tim Winship, a frequent-flier expert whose site, FrequentFlier.com, provides consumer advice on mileage programs and trends. "They're giving people some notice, though not enough notice if you ask me." Winship said Delta should have contacted members six months, and preferably a year, before instituting the change in the expiration period.
The airline also is combining its old frequent-flier club, which was changed in 1995, with its current SkyMiles program. These legacy miles won't be lost -- they'll be transferred into a member's updated SkyMiles account -- but they will be subject to the new program's expiration limit.
Randy Petersen, publisher of InsideFlyer magazine and Webflyer.com, said Delta long ago advertised that these miles would never expire, so the company could face challenges on the new rules. And, he added, "there were several awards that required fewer miles than today, most notably those in first class."
The other major U.S. airlines -- American, United, Continental and Northwest -- have not changed their expiration policies. Miles in United's Mileage Plus and American's AAdvantage programs last three years and can be extended by any program activity. Miles in Continental's OnePass and Northwest's WorldPerks programs do not expire.
As for US Airways, which merged last year with America West, it is now a hybrid combining elements of budget airlines and legacy carriers, said airline spokeswoman Valerie Wunder. The new rules are in line with that hybrid approach, she said.
"We did this to encourage frequency and reward our most active customers," Wunder said. US Airways is notifying its Dividend Miles members by e-mail, Wunder said, and plans "a direct-mail campaign to reach out to the 1.4 million members who could be affected by the change." If members inadvertently let their miles expire next month, Wunder said they can buy them back for a penny per mile -- plus a $50 fee.
Given the declining value of mileage points, Winship said, buying back miles in most cases would not offer good value. But he noted that frequent-flier members can easily extend the life of their miles in most programs.
"Whether the expiration period is 12, 24 or 36 months, there's no excuse for losing miles," Winship said. "Only the grossest inattention on the part of the program member should lead to miles expiring."
The opportunity to extend the life of mileage points with activity (earning points or redeeming an award), US Airways' Wunder said, is more consumer-friendly than the programs at budget airlines such as Southwest and JetBlue. Points in budget carriers' programs often expire after a year or two and typically cannot be extended by program activity.
Southwest's Rapid Rewards program grants one point per flight (defined as any one-way trip from an origin to a destination, so no extra points for multiple stops). If you earn 16 points in a two-year period, you get a free round-trip ticket (good on Southwest or its award-program partner, ATA Airlines) that must be used within a year. If you don't reach this level, your points expire two years after they were earned.
Deborah Benton, Southwest's director of loyalty marketing, said points and awards expire because the airline rewards its most frequent fliers. And because members who don't fly much can lose their points, more award seats are available for frequent travelers. (But not as many as there once were: Until last February, award certificates were good for any seat on any flight.)
In addition, spending $1,200 on the Rapid Rewards Visa card yields one Rapid Rewards point, though these expenditures do not extend the life of Southwest's points or awards. You can, however, pay the airline $50 to extend the award for another year.
AirTran Airways' program is similar to Southwest's. Each one-way AirTran trip is worth one point in its A+ program; 16 points are required for a free round-trip flight. Points expire after a year, and awards, issued automatically when sufficient points accrue, are voided a year after they're issued. An award can be extended by a year, AirTran spokesman Tad Hutcheson said, if the A+ member requests a voucher before the award expires.
JetBlue's TrueBlue program automatically credits awards when enough points are earned. If these awards aren't used within a year, they're lost. In addition, TrueBlue points expire after a year unless extended by using the JetBlue American Express card. The twist: Each time you book a JetBlue flight or spend $200 with the card, you earn a TrueBlue point -- and whenever you earn a point in this way you extend the life of all your points by a year, said JetBlue spokeswoman Alison Eshelman.
Given the continued decline in value of frequent-flier points, the best strategy is to use miles for award tickets or upgrades as soon as feasible. Because not only do mileage points not earn interest, if you bank them for too long, they can disappear.
Michael Shapiro is the author of "A Sense of Place: Great Travel Writers Talk About Their Craft, Lives, and Inspiration" (Travelers' Tales).
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