A huge shake-up could be in store for the world of points and miles.
Sen. Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois and the prominent author of the Credit Card Competition Act (a bill intended to curb swipe fees among credit card companies), introduced additional legislation on Thursday to foster more transparency in frequent flyer and cobranded credit card programs.
He now wants Congress to pass his new Protect Your Points Act.
If passed as proposed, it would revolutionize frequent flyer programs, where millions of Americans have collected rewards via flying, credit card spending and other activities. Durbin wants to see changes such as ending the expiration dates on points and miles and requiring airlines to allow travelers to pay for airfare and other programs with a combination of rewards and cash.
Per a press release from the senator, the bill would regulate how airlines operate frequent flyer programs by:
- Requiring airlines to issue any changes to the service terms of frequent flyer programs and cobranded credit cards at least one year in advance
- Requiring airlines to display the financial value of points and miles within 90 days of enactment, including real-time updates
- Requiring airlines to display airfare and add-on pricing in both dollar and points and miles value
- Requiring airlines to extend the shelf life of points and miles so they do not expire
- Allowing travelers to pay for airfare and add-on services with points and cash
- Allowing travelers to transfer points (for free) to family members or others who are part of the same frequent flyer program
- Allowing travelers to transfer an unlimited amount of points and miles to another traveler’s account while remaining of equal value
The bill would assign these responsibilities to the U.S. Department of Transportation and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. According to the bill text, add-on services covered include fees for seats, baggage, early boarding, lounge access and inflight Wi-Fi, among others.
The legislation isn’t too far from what Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has been concerned about — the Department of Transportation launched a probe into the four biggest domestic airlines earlier in September.
“These programs can shape how customers interact with airlines and many Americans reportedly have point balances substantial enough that they amount to part of their savings,” Buttigieg wrote in a letter to American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines.
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Airlines for America, a trade group representing major U.S. airlines, including all four named in Buttigieg’s letter, had the following to say in response to the bill.
“U.S. airlines have been working to Protect Our Points for years against those working to eliminate these loyalty programs,” Airlines for America told TPG in a statement. “U.S. airlines are transparent about these programs, and policymakers should recognize their popularity and work to ensure that unnecessary regulation doesn’t eliminate them.”
When asked how this legislation aligns with the goals of the Credit Card Competition Act, a spokesperson for Durbin shared, “These two bills look at separate issues – one improving disclosures and consumer protections in airline rewards programs and one improving competition in the credit card market to save consumers billions on swipe fees annually.”
Critics of the CCCA warn that limiting interchange fees would impact credit card companies that rely on such fees as a revenue driver and thus may ultimately threaten the existence of airline and hotel programs.
As of Sept. 26, Durbin has introduced the Protect Your Points Act, but it has not yet been listed as an introduced bill on record via Congress.gov.
Spokespeople for the DOT and the CFPB did not respond to a request for comments.
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