How Much Are Points Worth? (Quarter 4 2022)

Now that Quarter 4 of 2022 has arrived, it’s once again time to revisit our Points Valuations, which we update on a quarterly basis.

During the previous quarter, the biggest news came with the ongoing demise of Air Miles. While the program is still slowly falling out of relevance on the Canadian loyalty scene, Scene+ is gladly taking its place.

Meanwhile, changes are also afoot for two major loyalty programs in the coming months. Marriott Bonvoy is transitioning to dynamic pricing, and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan cryptically announced upcoming changes to its award chart.

Otherwise, the loyalty scene remains fairly stable this quarter.

Before we delve into the valuations, I should remind you that the focus of these valuations lies in the target redemption value of each points currency, rather than the acquisition cost that you might incur (which can vary significantly depending on how you prefer to earn points).

Air France/KLM Flying Blue

Air France/KLM Flying Blue miles continue to become more interesting and readily available. Each month, the program unveils its Promo Rewards, which reduce the cost of redemptions on specific routes.

In October, the cost for an economy flight between many cities in the United States and Europe dropped down to only 11,250 miles from the East Coast and 15,000 miles from the West Coast. 

Even though flying in economy isn’t the most glamorous way to travel, it doesn’t get much cheaper than that for a long-haul flight across the Atlantic. 

Our valuation of Flying Blue miles remains constant this quarter, but hopefully we’ll see even more improvements to the program that result in an upward shift in the near future.

• Continued valuation: 1.3 cents/mile (USD), 1.6 cents/mile (CAD)

Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan

After officially joining the Oneworld Alliance, Alaska Airlines has been busy adding a number of partner airlines for earning and redeeming on its Mileage Plan loyalty program. While the redemption rates with some leaves a lot to be desired, the cost for others, such as Air Tahiti Nui, is quite favourable… at least for now.

Recently, Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan fired a warning shot, signalling that changes to its loyalty program are coming by the end of 2022. While the exact details of the changes have yet to be revealed, the news came as an ominous sign for the program’s many sweet spots. 

The current award pricing remains until…