According to a recent survey of more than 1,200 ExpertFlyer Seat Alerts subscribers, 65% of air travelers were able to redeem awards points towards upgrades and free travel in the past 12 months. That's a good thing, but the survey also suggests that while the majority of travelers say they have been able to redeem points, 50% also said their ability to cash in declined over the past year. We asked travel reward and credit card expert, Jason Steele, to weigh in on this and more in a One-on-One interview.
"Less than 30 percent of respondents were able to redeem awards at the 'saver level,' underscoring the difficulty in redeeming award points at this level. The fact that 65% were able to redeem their miles, but 50 percent said their success rate declined tells me that they are simply using more miles to obtain awards and upgrades while others are holding out for saver-level deals, but can't find them."
- Jason Steele, Senior Points and Miles Contributor for The Points Guy, an expert in award travel and credit cards
Chris is the President and Co-Founder of ExpertFlyer.com, a service that helps travelers get out of the "Middle Seat" by providing in-depth flight info and alerts when Awards and Upgrades are available.