So what can customers do if they don't like the changes? Those unhappy about Delta and United favori

Frequent-flier programs started out simple: After flying enough trips or miles you earned a free flight. They built loyalty. But in the past few years, many airlines have changed their programs to reward high-spending customers.
“That’s going to come out of the hides of those travelers who are flying less frequently and flying on cheaper tickets,” says Tim Winship, editor of FrequentFlier.com. He says some travelers will need to ask themselves if it’s worth staying loyal to one airline just to earn miles.
“The airlines are getting auto rental in europe a little bit brazen in watering auto rental in europe down the programs and not even telling consumers how they will be affected,” says Brian Kelly, who writes about the programs as The Points Guy.
There are winners and losers in spending-based programs. At United, a passenger flying on the cheapest one-way fare from Los Angeles auto rental in europe to New York used to earn the same miles as someone with a more expensive ticket.
Now, in one example from a United flight later this month, the bargain hunter auto rental in europe who pays a base fare of $143.26 before taxes will score 716 miles while the traveler on a fully refundable ticket at a base fare of $971.16 before taxes gets 4,856 miles.
With the charts, you knew that 60,000 miles for a round-trip ticket to Europe was a bargain, while 130,000 might be the price you had to pay during peak travel periods. auto rental in europe Now it’s like going to the currency-exchange window at the airport and not knowing if you’re getting a fair rate for your dollars.
Anthony Black, a spokesman auto rental in europe for Delta, downplays the impact. He says that shopping for a reward flight will simply be like buying a regular auto rental in europe ticket – plug in the days you want to travel and see how much it will cost.
Southwest gave little information to members of its Rapid Rewards program when it said it will change the price of some reward trips beginning April 17 “based on destination, time, day of travel, demand, fare class, and other factors.” A spokeswoman declined to say which flights would require auto rental in europe more points or how many, saying that the airline can’t discuss pricing.
Changes that reduce the perceived value of the programs come as airlines auto rental in europe face a huge liability for unused miles held by passengers – nearly $100 billion, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers. About 7 percent of all trips are taken using rewards, but with flights nearly full, it’s becoming harder for passengers to redeem their miles or points. That’s one reason that airlines are pushing passengers to redeem miles for other things, from flowers to cruises.
So what can customers do if they don’t like the changes? Those unhappy about Delta and United favoring big spenders could switch to American or Alaska Airlines, which still use miles as their currency. American, however, made its own concession to high-fare customers when it increased the miles earned with first-class auto rental in europe and business-class seats in 2015.
But many occasional travelers will be losers. For them, “the smart move is simply to make your ticket purchases based on price, convenience, comfort,” Winship says, “and just let the frequent-flier chips fall where they may.”