Allison Schrager, Columnist

Flying Is Less Rewarding, But I Still Want My Points

Changes are coming to airline and credit card rewards programs, but the quest for higher status is still worth it.

September 28, 2023 at 4:00 PM UTC

Allison Schrager is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering economics. A senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, she is author of “An Economist Walks Into a Brothel: And Other Unexpected Places to Understand Risk.”

Not fun.
Photographer: Tim Boyle/Getty Images North America

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My name is Allison, and I am a points addict. I plan trips based the flight schedule of my preferred airline. I regularly check my balance. I read all the blogs. I have a complex credit card strategy.

I love it, and not just because of the upgrades and free travel. I enjoy the challenge — and I think I come out ahead. In my defense, there is research showing that “sophisticated” (not necessarily rich) credit card consumers can benefit from the points system, their lifestyles subsidized by the naïve fee-paying masses. And who could possibly be more sophisticated than I am? Or so we top-tier elite status travelers like to tell ourselves.