There's an email that gets sent shortly after the points bookings, that tells you how many points are redeemed, and, that you also get a 5% bonus put back in your points balance, which has been the standard procedure for a long time (I think...).
In terms of future significance, who the heck knows... I can't see them encouraging people to use points if they are planning to devalue the program. They'd make more money NOT doing this. I'm thinking it encourages people with points to book travel so they can get some accurate idea of what they can charge over the next year. Also Sept Oct are lighter months for leisure travelers so bookings might be down on some routes. Airlines also look at future bookings - which I felt was somewhat misguided and not keeping up with trends of last minute purchases. However it might make more sense for train customers, many of whom do seem to be able to plan trips far in advance. So I'm wondering if this has more to do with what they can charge, as opposed to, what they might be planning for the rewards program.
In terms of future significance, who the heck knows... I can't see them encouraging people to use points if they are planning to devalue the program. They'd make more money NOT doing this. I'm thinking it encourages people with points to book travel so they can get some accurate idea of what they can charge over the next year. Also Sept Oct are lighter months for leisure travelers so bookings might be down on some routes. Airlines also look at future bookings - which I felt was somewhat misguided and not keeping up with trends of last minute purchases. However it might make more sense for train customers, many of whom do seem to be able to plan trips far in advance. So I'm wondering if this has more to do with what they can charge, as opposed to, what they might be planning for the rewards program.
