I buy everything with my Travel Rewards Visa. Last week thought occurred to me, “What’s going to happen to all my airline miles when I want to start traveling again?” I’m racking up the miles online shopping and not going anywhere, so I will have a ton of those suckers in the bank when I decide to set foot (and nasal passages) on an airplane again.
There have been more than a few articles written about what will happen to people’s airline miles during the pandemic – spoiler alert, you pretty much get to keep them a year longer than you might otherwise, or forever (depends on the airline). That’s not the topic I’m interested in. My concern is much less immediate but far more far reaching.
My question is this. Will I actually be able to use any of those still valid miles once we all decide that it’s okay to take that long delayed vacation, visit relatives, or travel for business? The cynic in me prophesies a mid-air collision between travelers’ pent up demand and airlines’ desperate need for cash, and wonders just how the airlines will try to screw us out of being able to use our miles. Will there be massive amounts of blackout days? An extremely limited number of seats available to purchase with miles on any given flight (like 4)? Some other tricky maneuver I can’t imagine at the moment but am sure will make me scream in frustration when announced? This question has sparked many a spirited conversation between me and the people I pose it to.
How do you think this will all play out? Interesting thought experiment, right?
One thing is for sure, when I do get on that plane and am still made to wear my mask for the entire flight, I’ll be using my Suck It Socket to get my drink on conveniently and in style.
See what just did there? 😉
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