Let’s recall the facts: Earlier this year when Air France was once again in big trouble because of its striking pilots, Accor was said to be considering taking a minority share in Air France, with access to Flying Blue at the heart of the motivation. A few weeks later, they understood that an ownership stake would create more difficulties for them than anything else (not related to the access to the Flying Blue data, but rather to the labour situation, which would have come as part of the package!) and they walked away from that idea – not casting the best light on Air France once again. Not amused by that behaviour, Air France forged a far-reaching partnership with hotel booking platform Booking.com – the enemy par excellence of Accor (and of all other major hotel chains) – in September. Now it was Accor’s turn not to be amused, and they replied in turn by introducing a mutual conversion partnership with the loyalty program of Eurostar, Club Eurostar. While Eurostar is obviously not as much a threat to Air France as Booking.com is to Accor, Accor stresses nevertheless that this partnership now allows Le Club Accorhotels members to redeem their points for “tickets and upgrades with no black-out dates or extra fees” – an obvious swipe at Flying Blue. While such battles are obviously amusing for observers, they also lead ultimately to advantages for program members. So by all means, please continue, Air France and Accor!

Nothing is yet clear in terms of the implications of Brexit – except for the fact that British Airways’ Executive Club should not really be affected by it. Even in the case that British Airways loses some traffic rights in the absence of renegotiated bilateral air agreements, the program will remain fully relevant thanks to its global airline partners. As such, the current offer for double miles on all British Airways flights until December 31 can – and should – be used without any hesitation. Registration is required.

While Brussels Airlines is to be merged into Eurowings according to the plans of the Lufthansa Group, Brussels Airlines still operates its own program, Loop – and has even enhanced it. While a minimum activity in terms of flight segments or accumulated points was previously required before each redemption, this limitation has now been scrapped and points can be used without this restriction. That definitely adds a lot of flexibility and makes the program much more useful for infrequent guests. It is likely that the program will ultimately be merged into Eurowings’ Boomerang Club. While in general Boomerang Club is an attractive program, former Loop members will certainly miss the flexibility they have just gained – so benefit from it as long as the program lasts. Loop continues, however, to be restricted to Brussels Airlines’ flights within Europe, notably excluding its long-haul flights.

When Spanish SkyTeam member Air Europa separated from Flying Blue in late 2015 to launch its own program SUMA, it was somewhat disappointing. The low accrual rate of 2 miles per EUR spent on its own flights was especially unattractive, even more so when taking into account the low fare levels at Air Europa. But now the program might be worth a second look: The accrual rates have been revised recently and reach up to 9 miles per EUR spent for base members – which compares extremely well to the accrual rate of 4 miles per EUR at Flying Blue. A new partnership has also been forged with Etihad, expanding the partner network beyond the SkyTeam horizon. The program definitely still has  other weaknesses to address, but it can start to become an interesting option for certain customers. And who knows, this might be only the beginning of an ongoing positive development?

After an interruption of almost two years and almost one year later than initially announced, SunExpress has finally relaunched its program under the name SunExpress Bonus. However, the airline didn’t use the time to bring an enhanced program to the market, but instead created a significantly more complex one. Members collect two award currencies in parallel: On the one hand, one receives a free flight after ten paid flights. On the other hand, points are credited for the purchase of ancillary services, but also for referring new members or social media activities. Those points can afterwards be redeemed again for the payment of ancillary services. These bonus points, but not flight activity points, can also be pooled over a family account. There is no status currency, so no elite level for the program. Any points earned in the former program SunPoints have been converted into free flights, flight credits and bonus points in SunExpress Bonus. This transfer was certainly the most positive surprise for former members as one definitely needs a good memory to remember it at all.