2025 Update: Five Airline Loyalty Program Updates You Should Know

While the airlines' loyalty programs are meant to benefit consumers, presently, many airlines are constantly making updates that downgrade their benefits rather than being a benefit. These bombardments of updates are making it difficult for consumers, mainly because they came to light without any warning or notice. So, if you are traveling anytime soon, here are five airlines that have made a few modifications to their loyalty programs. You decide whether these loyalty programs are of any benefit or not.

United Airlines – MileagePlus

United Airlines' loyalty program, MileagePlus, has made recent changes affecting the requirements to earn and maintain different levels of status. The changes revolve around these factors.

• All Silver Premier status holder now requires 5,000 Premier Qualifying Points (PQPs) and 15 qualifying flights. This means travelers need to meet both criteria within a calendar year to achieve this elite status.
• The threshold to achieve Premier 1K elite status has increased by about 20-25%. Any passenger who wants to achieve the Premium 1K elite status should now have 22,000 PQPs and 60 PGFs or 28,000 PQPs alone.
• Members of Premier Platinum and Premier 1K status can make use of PlusPoints perks like gifting premier status to other members, redeeming for TravelBank cash or bonus miles, and earning premier qualifying points or flights.
• To jump-start this update, the members of the elite program have already received a PQP deposit at the beginning of the year 2025, which will help them to reach the required status goal by 2026.

Air France – KLM Flying Blue

The Flying Blue loyalty program has brought several updates that have enhanced the travel experience for frequent travelers. These updates are beneficial, as well as have negative aspects. Let's have a look.

• On January 13, 2025, new updates came into action, where the requirement for miles to achieve an award was increased according to the class of passengers traveling. So, economy class passengers achieving the award will now require 5,000 miles. The premium economy award can only be achieved when the passengers have 5,000 – 10,000 additional miles, and business class awards will require 10,000 to 15,000 miles.
• The next update talks about promo rewards, which provide discounts of up to 25% on selected routes. Now these routes have been updated, adding flights between Europe and North America, the Caribbean, and South America.
• Depending on the membership level, Flying Blue members can now earn miles by spending with Air France and KLM. So, explorers earn 4 miles per euro spent, platinum members earn 8 miles for every euro spent.

British Airways – Executive Club

Introducing significant changes, British Airways has transitioned its loyalty program name to The British Airways Club, which took effect on 1 April 2025. The other updates by the airline have both negative and positive aspects for passengers traveling with the airline. Let's check them out.

• The British Airways Club members can now accumulate tier points in many new ways. Passengers can now earn points by spending on flights, which includes base fare and carrier-imposed charges. Now, buying extras such as seat selection and additional baggage or booking holiday packages via British Airways Holidays will also allow passengers to earn more points. To earn 1,000 Tier points annually, passengers can contribute to Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). If they spend with co-branded American Express credit cards, passengers can get up to 2,500 Tier Points every year.
• Passengers traveling with British Airways can now earn 75 to 550 points per flight, which might differ based on cabin class. Moreover, milestone rewards now include bonus Avios at various levels within the Bronze and Silver tiers.
• Passengers who are trying to achieve elite status will have to earn more Tier points; Bronze requires 300 to 3,500 points, Silver starts from 600 to 7,500 Tier points, and Gold requires 1,500 to 2,000 Tier points.

Lufthansa - Miles & More

The key changes brought to Miles & More are announced to take place by June 3, 2025, aiming to enhance customer experience, brand engagement, and to improve data collection for more tailored service.

• The mileage amount for flight booking will now be determined on the basis of the ticket price set by the airline, not the fixed chart. It can also fluctuate based on factors such as cash ticket price and demand.
• The second update is about the requirement of fewer miles in Economy Class within Europe, which is up to 10,000 or fewer miles on many long-haul routes.
• Premium class travelers from Central America, the Caribbean, South America, North, and Central Africa, the Middle East, and the Caucasus will have the same mileage amount. Travelers from other regions will require 5,000 miles more for an award flight.
• Business class travelers from any region other than Europe will need a larger mileage amount, which totally depends on the destination and distance.

Air Canada Aeroplan

As of March 25, 2025, the Air Canada Aeroplan loyalty program has gone through a few updates, for which many are concerned and have perceived these changes as negative. Let’s find out the recent update on the Aeroplan loyalty program that is making waves.  

• Air Canada has opted for dynamic pricing for select partner airlines, which has expanded award availability but potentially added to the cost of some flights. These variable award pricing will affect many airlines, including United Airlines, Emirates, Flydubai, Etihad Airways, Calm Air, Canadian North, and PAL (Provincial Airlines).
• Air Canada Loyalty program Aeroplan has updated its reward redemption details. Now, the airline has decided to only provide a starting amount and a new median amount based on past Aeroplan member redemptions.
• The update also includes that the median amount won't be shown for many regions that are not in North America or for the First Class due to the low volume of redemptions.
• Every three months, the Median amount will be updated, which will be based on last year’s redemptions for precision.
• Credit card holders and Aeroplan Elite members can now enjoy discounted rates on these rewards.

All the loyalty program updates by these airlines have a mixed impact on consumers, which depends on their travel habits and priorities. The changes that have led to earning opportunities, expanded partnerships, sustainability, and premium experience have benefited numerous frequent flyers and elite members. However, budget-friendly travelers are the most affected by these modifications as it has increased the threshold for attaining elite status, higher redemption costs, and devaluation of points or miles. With these updates on loyalty programs of different airlines, frequent travelers are on the more advantageous side compared to occasional travelers.