Malaysia Airlines is introducing significant changes to its Enrich frequent flyer programme.
With effect from February 16, the airline is bringing in new earn-and-burn rates that favour high-spending members over those on a budget.
The move is in keeping with the ongoing industry trend of revenue-based models and represents an overall devaluation of miles, not dissimilar to recent changes announced by fellow Oneworld member British Airways (see news, January 28).
Above: A chart of the existing Enrich accrual rates
The new Enrich accrual rates
A close look at both charts shows the effect of the revenue-based system.
While business class passengers who pay a premium for a J fare will see their mileage earned boosted from 150 to 175 per cent, those that buy the more affordable Z fare will see theirs drop from 150 to 125 per cent.
Likewise, economy passengers that purchase highly discounted N, Q, and O fares will see their already low 50 per cent earn rate fall to just 25 per cent, an accrual rate that MAS does not even have at the moment.
The existing redemption chart for zones 1 and 2
The new applicable rates
What about the cost of redeeming miles for flights?
Initially, it appears that the new system favours passengers who redeem flights for travel within zones 1 and 2, where a return business class fare would cost 45,000 and 90,000 miles respectively, down from the existing 78,750 and 101,250 miles required.
Of course, these figures are based on the most expensive Flex rates, which typically deliver the best chance for successful redemptions.
Do keep in mind that the availability for Basic redemptions is limited.
Meanwhile, Enrich members are going to be forking out a lot more miles when they redeem for long-haul flights.
Existing redemption chart for Zone 6 – for flights between 7,201 and 20,000 miles
MAS is introducing a brand new Zone 7, which is applicable for flights more than 10,000 miles. The existing system only has a total of six zones, in which zone 6 applies for flights between 7,201 and 20,000 miles.
So what does this mean for travellers? Well, the existing model sees business class passengers shelling out between 120,000 miles (Basic) and 600,000 miles (Flex) for return flights that exceed 7,201 miles. The new system will require them to spend a total of 540,000 miles (zone 6) for the flight.
Furthermore, the introduction of the new zone 7 (10,001 miles or more) means that the revised zone 6 only applies for flights between 7,201 to 10,000 miles. For return flights that exceed that distance (eg Kuala Lumpur to London/Paris), a business class redemption could cost as much as 630,000 miles.
The new Zone 7
Taking into account that a return Basic redemption now costs only 120,000 miles, while a Smart redemption will set members back 300,000 miles, the new redemption rate will be significantly higher than these two fare classes, and only lags behind the expensive Flex fare.
Clement Huang
