Airfare costs 23% more than last year. Financial journalists act like this matters. It doesn't. You're still broke and your credit card points are still worthless.
The article wants you to believe certain award flights don't increase with cash prices. Sometimes true. Mostly horseshit. Airlines change award pricing whenever they feel like it because they can and you can't do anything about it. You have 47,000 points. The flight costs 48,000. You'll pay cash anyway.
Here's what actually happens. You spend a year collecting points by charging groceries to a card with a 19% APR that you don't pay off. You finally save enough for a "free" flight. The blackout dates cover every day you want to travel. You book for a Tuesday in February. The seat doesn't recline. You saved $340 and spent $890 in interest charges getting there.
But sure. Now is a great time to use points. Just like last year was a great time. And next year will be a great time. The time is always great when you're comparing imaginary savings to real price increases you can't afford either way.
The guy who wrote this probably has a million points from a corporate card he uses for work trips. He redeems them for business class to Tokyo and writes about "maximizing value" while you're googling whether Spirit Airlines counts as flying.
Prices go up. Your wage doesn't. Your points expire before you use them. This isn't financial news. It's just Thursday.
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