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The interesting thing is that Delta (and others) have been devaluing their loyalty points for years, to the point that a few years ago frequent flyers started r
by animationwill 6y ago
The interesting thing is that Delta (and others) have been devaluing their loyalty points for years, to the point that a few years ago frequent flyers started referring to Delta points as "SkyPesos" instead of "SkyMiles"
- srtjstjsj 6y agoThat seems a bit xenophobic. Why not SkyPennies or SkyMeters?
- gruez 6y agoHow is it xenophobic? The point being conveyed is that the points are worthless. Pesos (from various countries) tend to be significantly less valuable than USD. You can probably do the same with Rubles, but I'm guessing that Americans are more familiar with pesos.
- deepsun 6y agoYes, the dollar sign literally means peso (aka "pieces of silver") -- "PS" where "P" lost its curved part, and only vertical bar left, written on top of "S".
- sk5t 6y agoPeso does seem to be a decent option. Folks might no longer be familiar with the Italian lira, and "Sky Zimbabwean Dollar" or "Sky Drachmae" don't quite roll off the tongue.
- bluntfang 6y agoMaybe Naira (nigerian currency) would be a better fit.
- axaxs 6y agoI don't think it's meant to be xenophobic. I think, in USA at least, a peso is a better comparison because a) it's not worth much, but more importantly, b) you can't use it to buy anything. SkyPennies would be more accurate since that's about what they are worth, but to me implies it has some monetary cash out value. Just my .02
- baldeagle 6y agoIn recent history, the devaluation of the peso was a big event. I remember it from my childhood, so I imagine it was pretty well known if even teenagers knew about it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_peso_crisis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_peso_crisis
- koboll 6y agoIt's a beautiful scam. They convince consumers to turn their cash into an in-house quasi-currency that they can devalue whenever they want. The only limits are consumer frustration.
- lotsofpulp 6y agoCustomers don’t have an option of a cheaper price to not earn points, so customers aren’t being convinced of anything.
- michaelt 6y agoThe article says a lot of the profitability comes from credit cards that give you frequent flyer miles. Customers are being convinced to get a frequent-flyer-miles card rather than, say, a cash-back card.
- morsch 6y agoDepending on circumstances, customers may be able to use a cheaper ticket on another flight with the same airline, to use a different airline, another mode of transportation, or to forgo the trip.
- chrisseaton 6y ago> Customers don’t have an option of a cheaper price to not earn points, so customers aren’t being convinced of anything. Nonsense - buy a cheaper, non-point earning ticket if you don't want the points.
- kevinmgranger 6y agoAnd lose out on things such as a refund if you need to cancel, etc.
- e5v7 6y agoYes, but this should be an option all the time. Not every country has 100 airports.
- karmakaze 6y agoCould have gone SkyKm or SkyInches
- philg_jr 6y agoThe only people that I know that actually receive real value for their "points" are: 1. Business travelers who fly internationally or coast-to-coast regularly 2. Business owners who regularly put very large business purchases on their cards, especially AMEX cards that don't have a real limit. When you put $50k/mo on your Delta AMEX, you'll probably never have to pay for a personal flight.
- tobtoh 6y agoI don't fit into any of those categories, but I feel I received real value. I had an AMEX card - there was an annual fee, but it also came with a 'free' return domestic flight. Since I went to visit my parents (interstate) at least once a year, that 'free' flight meant my card was effectively 'fee-free'. With a reasonably generous point scheme - and more importantly, one I could transfer to about 8 different airlines, I just accumulated points for a decade. In 2015, I cashed in 2/3 of my points balance for a round-the-world trip on Singapore Airlines in Suite Class (where you get your own cabin). I wasn't getting free flights each year like a business traveller, but for an effectively cost-neutral card that didn't require me to change my spending habits, I feel like a Suite Class RTW flight every 6-7 years is a decent reward.
- rightbyte 6y agoDon't you have to pay tax on the kickback?
- ValentineC 6y agoCredit card rewards on spend (points, miles, cashback) are usually viewed as rebates/discounts by tax authorities, so they usually aren't taxed.
- sk5t 6y agoAccumulating value in a vague currency/credit system that some freshly-minted airline MBA dingdong can reset at any point in order to make the quarter's financial report look a bit rosier, over and over again--what could go wrong?