{"id":128962,"date":"2024-10-03T18:00:03","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T18:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/03\/dynamic-pricing-vs-fuel-surcharges-which-is-the-lesser-of-two-evils-the-points-guy\/"},"modified":"2024-10-03T18:00:03","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T18:00:03","slug":"dynamic-pricing-vs-fuel-surcharges-which-is-the-lesser-of-two-evils-the-points-guy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2024\/10\/03\/dynamic-pricing-vs-fuel-surcharges-which-is-the-lesser-of-two-evils-the-points-guy\/","title":{"rendered":"Dynamic pricing vs. fuel surcharges \u2014 which is the lesser of two evils? – The Points Guy"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Redeeming airline points and miles used to be so simple.<\/p>\n

Once you had a destination in mind, you checked the award chart of your favorite program to see how many points or miles the program charged. Provided there was availability, you could book the flight for that fixed price plus a small amount of cash to cover mandatory government taxes and airport fees.<\/p>\n

However, this value proposition became more complex over time. When global fuel prices rose, some programs added fuel surcharges to redemptions<\/a>, arguing that providing these award seats was expensive (fuel usually being an airline’s biggest expense).<\/p>\n

In theory, this was unwelcome but not unreasonable. The problem was that when fuel prices dropped, the surcharges did not. Many programs have now renamed these fuel surcharges “carrier-imposed surcharges,” as they bear no correlation with fuel prices.<\/p>\n

Still, many airlines did not impose fuel surcharges. You could book a long-haul flight for as little as $5 in fees and taxes plus the points and miles, which was a great deal.<\/p>\n

Then, the major U.S. airline programs started slowly but surely removing their award charts and switching to dynamic pricing<\/a>. They reasoned that cash prices fluctuate depending on demand, so redemption levels should, too. During off-peak periods, members could still redeem their points and miles at the lowest levels, but when demand for seats increased, so did the amount of points and miles required.<\/p>\n

If you have valuable transferable credit card points<\/a>, you often have to choose between programs with fixed award charts but high surcharges and programs with low or no surcharges and dynamic pricing.<\/p>\n

So, which is ultimately the better way to go?<\/p>\n

Related: How much will your vacation really cost? The scourge of dynamic pricing is spreading like wildfire<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Business class to Europe<\/h2>\n
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