The Points Inflation Index
The computed rate at which points and miles are losing value — calculated from every documented devaluation in our tracker. Updated automatically.
Points inflation, trailing 12 months
25.2%
For context: documented devaluations outnumber documented improvements 27:1 over the same window.
19.9% across all tracked programs
Computed from 80 documented changes across 34 programs.
For comparison, US consumer inflation runs ~2–3% per year.
By program, worst first.
Trailing-12-month rate, last 24 months
Methodology
The Points Inflation Index measures how quickly points and miles lose purchasing power, computed mechanically from the documented events in our Devaluation Tracker — each dated and sourced. Where an event's exact old and new values are documented, we compute the precise percentage increase in award cost (a transfer ratio cut from 1:1 to 4:3, for example, raises the effective points cost of an award by 33%). Where exact values aren't published — common with dynamic-pricing programs — we assign conservative standard estimates by severity: minor +3%, moderate +8%, major +15%. A program's annual rate compounds all its documented changes over the trailing 12 months; the headline rate averages across programs. This index counts only documented devaluations — quiet dynamic-pricing drift that no one records isn't included — so the true rate is, if anything, higher than what we can prove. Every input is one click away on the tracker. Documented improvements are counted and displayed separately for context but are never netted into this rate — the index measures devaluation only.
The Index is an editorial measurement for educational purposes, not financial advice or a prediction of any program’s future actions.
Frequently asked questions.
- How fast do points lose value?
- Per our computed index, points and miles across major US programs are losing value at 25.2% per year based on documented changes over the trailing 12 months — several times faster than consumer inflation. Rates vary sharply by program; see the table above.
- Where does the “points lose 10–15% a year” figure come from?
- It has circulated for years without a published methodology — often traced to mile-resale brokers with an interest in the claim. This index replaces the folklore with a computed rate: every input is a dated, sourced event on our public tracker.
- Why does the index only count documented changes?
- Because we only publish what we can prove. Dynamic-pricing programs also drift upward quietly between documented events, which means the true inflation rate is likely higher than the index shows — this is a floor, not a ceiling.
Cite this data
Bonus Eagle. “Points Inflation Index.” bonuseagle.com. https://www.bonuseagle.com/devaluations/points-inflation-index
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