Tougher terms ahead for frequent fliers

[NEW YORK] It's a sad day for anyone who has ever known the joy of carefully hoarding frequent-flier miles.

United Airlines announced that, beginning March 1, 2015, members of the company's MileagePlus programme will earn award miles based on the price of their ticket, rather than how far they are travelling.

This means that the system will reward those who have more money to spend: travellers with corporate expense accounts, people who pay for first-class tickets and anyone else who doesn't mind paying full price for airfare, especially for last-minute flights.