When it comes to loyalty programs, putting all your points in one basket can seem like a simple strategy—but it might leave you vulnerable to sudden devaluations and missed opportunities. Diversifying your rewards through flexible points programs like Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards not only safeguards your hard-earned miles but can also open doors to greater travel value. With recent shifts such as Virgin Atlantic’s new dynamic award pricing and the Alaska-Hawaiian Airlines merger creating fresh transfer opportunities, how can savvy travelers maximize these evolving programs to get the most out of every mile?
Protect Yourself from Devaluations
Earning and redeeming all your points and miles through one program keeps things easy, but diversifying can unlock a lot more value and protect you from devaluations. Rather than earning airline miles or hotel points through card spending, consider earning transferrable points like Amex Membership Rewards or Chase Ultimate Rewards. By doing so, you won’t have all your points in one place if a program makes negative changes. For instance, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club adopted a new dynamic award-pricing scheme in October. It’s yet to be seen if this change leads to a devaluation of Virgin points, but anyone holding only Virgin is simply along for the ride. If you earned transferrable points instead, you could wait to see whether Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is the best option when you’re ready to book your next trip. If not, you have many other transfer options that might provide a better redemption rate.
Sometimes, the best option may still be Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, particularly on short Delta flights. Travelers can use just 7,500 Virgin points for Delta flights within 500 miles, which is often much lower than Delta’s award rate. For example, flights between Detroit and New York can cost 23,000 SkyMiles or just 7,500 Virgin points. In this case, U.S.-based Amex Membership Rewards cardmembers can save two-thirds of their points by transferring to Flying Club rather than SkyMiles.
New Hidden U.S. Amex Membership
Rewards transfer partner Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines finalized their merger in September. To gain regulatory approval, both airlines agreed to several stipulations regarding their loyalty programs. These include preserving the value of miles, matching elite status, and enabling a 1:1 transfer of miles between the two programs. This change opens up a new opportunity for accruing Alaska Mileage Plan miles, which are known to be difficult to earn.
HawaiianMiles is also a 1:1 transfer partner of Amex Membership Rewards. Add the new ability to transfer miles between Hawaiian and Alaska at a 1:1 transfer ratio, and Amex cardmembers now effectively have a new and very valuable transfer partner.
And Amex cardholders can book American Airlines awards through Mileage Plan for just 4,500 miles in Economy or 9,000 miles in First class. While this award rate only covers flights up to 700 miles in distance, points and miles publication AwardWallet found more than 760 American Airlines routes eligible for this rate.
Looking to fly across the Atlantic? Mileage Plan members can fly business class from the U.S. Northeast to the U.K. for just 45,000 miles each way on American Airlines, British Airways or Aer Lingus. Intra-Europe flights with British Airways, Iberia or Aer Lingus are also available for 7,500 miles, such as London to Dubrovnik. Plus, travelers can include a stopover at no extra mileage cost, allowing visits to two destinations for one award.
