Three big changes to the Jet Privilege program

When JP made some serious changes to their program in July 2014, I anticipated more action in this space. These were being driven by 2 major factors - Etihad's acquisition of the JP program, and JP's stated intent of making the program more user-friendly and consistent. And as expected, some of these are coming true, evidenced clearly by the recent changes that have been made. And also, to be fair, I believe these changes are connected. Let me explain.

MyFamily+ accounts and miles pooling for award tickets

JP now allows pooling of miles within a family, with their new MyFamily+ account. This requires family members (only one degree of separation permitted ie spouse, children and parents) to complete a verification and confirmation process, post which the head of family can activate the MyFamily+ option. This enables the head of family to use the miles in the accounts of all the registered family members, towards awards redemption. Up to 7 members can be added to the MyFamily+ feature.

To be sure, the way I read it is that the MyFamily+ account is a feature,separate from the account of any individual user, who will continue to earn miles in their own accounts. MyFamily+ is a place where the head of family can aggregate and pool in all the members' balances, and from which award tickets can be redeemed. I'll update on this, should my information change.

There are charges to use the MyFamily+ option, as follows:

• 1000 JP miles, one time, to create a MyFamily+ account
• 250 JP miles, per member, to add a family member to the account
• 250 JP miles, per member, to delete a family member from the account

Kids (2-11 years) earn JP miles

Technically, only those kids aged 12 or older are eligible to join the JP program. The JP terms and conditions include the following clause 3.1:

However, the terms of the MyFamily+ account suggest that children aged 2-11 years can also join the program through parent / guardian authorisation, etc.

I see a bit of disconnect between the two, but I'm guessing that the first-mentioned clause 3.1 is no longer relevant or valid. They must have forgotten to make the changes to the program T&Cs. I see this as a great earning opportunity. I've always wondered why children cannot earn miles on the JP program, whereas several other airlines do allow this. The additional miles that this can contribute to the MyFamily+ account can be quite significant.

You can enrol kids into the JP program, once you log into your JP account and head to the main page for JP members.

Here's a bit more dope on this:

No more 50% miles requirement on award tickets for children

The final big change going the other way, is the removal of 50% miles requirement for child award tickets. This used to be the case up until recently, but has changed effective 21 October 2014. They did announce this change to JP members, but it was part of the fine print in the same communication that spoke about MyFamily+.

The JP program T&Cs have also been updated for this:

This is not necessarily a welcome change. To be fair, this results in a devaluation of JP miles already earned, particularly for those who regularly use JP miles for child award tickets. However, it should be remembered that kids under 12 weren't entitled to earn miles previously, which was compensated by their award tickets being charged only 50% of the normal requirement. 

So on a go-forward basis, this seems to me to be reasonable and fair, given that children aged 2-11 years can now earn miles that can be pooled into the MyFamily+ account.

Conclusion

The MyFamily+ account is a positive change, as is allowing mileage earning for kids aged 2-11. Sure, the 100% miles requirement for kids' award tickets is a bit disappointing, but it does place both earnings and redemptions for kids on an even keel with what it is for adults.