A few months ago, we asserted that the value of a mile (when redeemed for a flight) is 1.5-2 cents per mile. While we had just written that article at the start of this year, it might as well have been in a completely era – one where you readily redeem your miles at any time for a nice weekly/week-long getaway…
In the post Covid-19 world, there is definitely much more uncertainty around the fair value of a mile. This is because all airlines are hemorrhaging cash now and air travel is not expected to return to normal for some time. Is a mile truly still worth 2 cents? Is it worth lesser? What is the fair value of a mile now that travel has been rekt-ed?
No way to know for sure, but our view is that the fair value of a mile has definitely fallen somewhat, we would peg it as probably somewhere around 1-1.1 cents currently. Here’s why:...