Malaysia Airlines has announced they will be making changes to their reservation system on June 10th, as part of this change they are also making changes to their loyalty program ‘Enrich’. Here’s what you need to know:
- Malayasian Airline flights will no longer have a fixed award chart. Miles required will be tied to fares and vary according to seat availability, passenger demand and seasonality (similar to Delta)
- You can book awards under the current rate until June 10th, then the new rates will come into effect. If you want to make changes, keep in mind the following:
- If you would like to change the date of travel, there will be no changes to your miles but change fees will apply subject to the terms and conditions at time of the original redemption ticket issued.
- If you would like to change to a new destination, change fees and new miles with new fare rules and applicable taxes will apply.
- For redemption bookings and ticket issuance after the new Reservations System cutover targeted on 10 June 2017, the new fare rules and applicable taxes will apply.
- You will not be entitled to a refund but you are entitled to make changes to your travel dates within ticket validity. The award redemption terms and conditions will apply.
- You will no longer pay fuel surcharges on Malaysian operated flights, this is included in the ticket cost. The exception is for the UK market where this fee will be separated. For redemption on oneworld and partner airlines, taxes and surcharge will be subject to the
operating airlines policy - Companion tickets will no longer be offered
- Cash + miles will become an option
- Infant awards will become available
Upgrade Chart Changes
Here is what the new upgrade award chart will look like:
Here is what the current upgrade chart looks like
OneWorld Award Chart
Here is what the new OneWorld Award Chart will look like:
Here is what the old OneWorld Award chart looks like:
Our Verdict
The price for partner awards is dramatically increasing. The zones will also be changing (making a direct comparison more difficult). I’m not a fan of dynamic award charts at all, as it lets the airlines devalues their currencies without notice and little fanfare (although the blog sphere in general has been doing a good job of calling airlines like Delta out when these changes are made. But that’s likely due to the fact that Delta is using an unpublished award chart rather than truly dynamic fares).
If airlines do want to use a dynamic chart, I am a fan of models such as Southwest were there is a cash value tied to the value of points. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with Malaysian metal flights as the partner awards really have been hugely devalued with this update.
Hat tip to /r/churning
