Is airline loyalty still worthwhile?

It really just depends.
We use an American credit card because we frequently visit family on an American route. So, all groceries go on that card, and it is paid off monthly so interest rate is not a consideration. We get one companion fare per year, plus the points probably buy at least one free trip, and the occasional upgrades don't hurt. That more than covers the annual fee. If there is an airline/route you use with regularity, I still think it is worth to have such an arrangement.
RE Air Canada, half price is still better than full price, no? If I were in your shoes, I would look for sale fares for long haul travel since you have flexibility being retired.

The airlines are changing their programs. You really have to sit down and figure out what future travels you may have, what kind of points and status you'll accrue, and then compare that to a cashback card.

Everyone's situation is different so it's hard to give an answer.

I have been in the UA mileage plus program for decades. These days, I rarely get free flights. What I do get is:
Free upgrade to economy plus, earlier boarding, free checked baggage.

Have had to adjust my expectations…

All other things being equal, we should all be exactly as "loyal" to an airline as they are towards us. Which is to say, not at all. These days "loyalty" only goes one way, and not in your favor. I see zero benefit from being "loyal" to any airline, other than whatever it gets me. Now, I'm not saying that all airlines treat me equally - they don't. But airlines get my business based on what I get in return, not out of any sentimentality.

I racked up a mountain of FF points in my business flying days, too (and I continue to play the points game heavily). I've been flying all my long-haul flights in business class for many years and will continue to do so, paying with points (I'd never pay actual money for what those flights would cost).

As for Air Canada, I find their program useful. As a Seattle resident, I'm often able to book long-haul business class flights at (what I consider) a reasonable cost (in points), taking advantage of their "punishment algorithm" (all airlines have one) - by adding one leg of my itinerary in coach, the price for a long itinerary partially in business class drops to something reasonable. In my case, the leg in coach class is the 30-minute hop from Vancouver to Seattle, which is no hardship, and it knocks the price down a lot.

You know, when booking Air Canada awards, the "price" they show in points + "fees" can be paid completely in points, if you want. Just saying, that's an option they offer. My spouse and I have the Air Canada credit cards and we put a lot of spend on them, since we have been booking flights to/from Europe and Asia via Air Canada quite a bit in the past few years. They're certainly not perfect, but we find them worthwhile (everybody else have devalued even more than they have).

It all depends on your needs/preference though. But "loyalty"? A quaint notion that was abandoned years ago by the brilliant MBSs running all large corporations . Ain't no loyalty for customers left out there from corporations, we are just cargo.

I am a 2 million miler with DL and IMHO NO! It does not make sense to chase status or points. IT make sense to book the combination of best flight time and prices regardless of the airline. I posted in the business class thread that I found a GREAT deal on BA to London ($1,300 roundtrip in business) I have no status with BA or any affiliated carrier but this makes a lot more sense than "let's fly DL in coach for the same price to get status"

Great replies from everyone. Thank you!

I am inter to see what the New Year will bring as both Air Canada and Westjet have announced major “changes” to their loyalty programs and credit cards.

I guess I should have worded my question better. Because I am finding it is necessary to book with many different airlines during our travels, I don’t know that it is worth keeping my airline specific credit cards. The Air Canada one seems to provide more benefits, but I may ditch the Westjet.

Perhaps as many of you have said here, I need to get better at searching out the best deals and get creative when it comes to finding combinations of flights to maximize our bang for the buck.
For example, we don’t mind flying coach/economy from Edmonton to Toronto, but prefer to spend the extra for the longer haul flight.

Good food for thought.

You might want to look at one of the upper level bank-issued rewards cards - such as Chase Sapphire - which allow you to transfer points to multiple airlines, as well as booking through their branded travel portal.

Edit: of course, options in Canada may differ.

Being creative with routes and exploring ALL your options is key. You have a heckuvalot more options than you might think.

For example, I have flown "home" from Scotland to Seattle by first hopping to Bergen, Norway. Because I found a great deal on business class (booked via Air Canada) from Bergen to Frankfurt to Vancouver to Seattle. Also flew home from Corsica after first hopping to Strassbourg, spent a few days in Alsace, then hopped the train to Zurich, and flew home to Seattle via Istanbul - because I found a great deal on Turkish Airlines business class from there. Next year, I'll probably come home from Greece after a positioning stop in Paris for a few days, because - again - the business class deal (on Air Canada) is from there (and we want to see the "new" Notre Dame). We do crazy routings like this all the time - my wife loves it, she says we get a "bonus city" for better-than-free (last "bonus cities" we enjoyed: Budapest, Istanbul, Bergen, Copenhagen, Prague, Warsaw, and more). But I do spend a LOT of time researching these obscure opportunities - you gotta do the work.

Most folks here scoff and sneer at the idea of flying home from an island in the Mediterranean or southern Italy by adding stops in Alsace, Budapest or Turkey, but we love doing that. To each their own.

You are aware, I hope, that Air Canada has a crazy number of airline partners (like 30-40 last time I checked). This can open up all kinds of surprising opportunities. EG we are flying home from Thailand next spring on EVA, booked through Air Canada for a steal. I hope Air Canada doesn't change their program too much next year, we have been enjoying it a lot.

I do have an airline credit card, but for 95% of my spending and auto-pay, I use a credit card that gives me cash back. I use my miles occasionally to upgrade a portion of a flight.

Wow David I’m Seattle, I think you missed your calling as a travel agent! It’s certainly one way to accomplish it, but I don’t know if my wife and I would be up
For all the connections.

I’m curious about those of you who have said that you book different levels of cabin for different portions of your trip. To my knowledge, you aren’t able to do that through the airlines site as a continuous trip, but would have to book separate trips. Am I correct in assuming that? Or is there something I’ve missed? I know you can book multi city trips. Perhaps that’s the way to go about it?

m curious about those of you who have said that you book different levels of cabin for different portions of your trip. To my knowledge, you aren’t able to do that through the airlines site as a continuous trip, but would have to book separate trips. Am I correct in assuming that? Or is there something I’ve missed? I know you can book multi city trips. Perhaps that’s the way to go about it?

Yes, multi-city is exactly the way to do it.

United's mileage rates for frequent-flier tickets are the same whether you book a round trip or two one-ways. (I think American doesn't work that way, and I don't know about Delta.) Once I realized that, I started booking my outbound and return flights separately so I could rebook one if I needed to, without affecting the other. Two separate mileage tickets would work for traveling in different classes in the two directions.

It hadn't occurred to me that for tickets purchased with money using the multi-city option would allow me to travel in different classes outbound and inbound. That's something I'll start looking at, though I'm aware (from looking at mileage prices) that the eastbound ticket is likely to be way more than half the cost of a roundtrip ticket.

Two one-ways (rather than round-trip or multi-city). As stated above, you often get extreme flexibility, no-cost cancellations, and virtually no downsides (or negligible/acceptable restrictions/cost). But there are many variables so as with most things, you need to pay attention to details.

Round trip tickets are an anachronism, like Travelers Checks or “bucket shops.” I think I’ve only booked a “round trip” ticket once in the past 20 years (and that was a unique case: mainland Chile to Easter Island and back, flying on LATAM Airlines, paid for with Alaska miles, incredibly cheap business class). Booking one-way flights makes everything easy (and often is 100% necessary to make creative routings possible).

I agree with the naysayers - airline loyalty, for the miles and status, is not worth it.

This is especially true for me, I am retired, and I do not fly enough to generate status or fly enough miles to matter. I look for price / itinerary first, and because I fly business/first on my own dime, it confers "instant status" for that itinerary, I get access to the airline lounges, and I get priority boarding and extra free checked bags. I have little use for the high priced credit cards like AMEX Platinum or Sapphire Reserve for the benefit of lounge access I already get for business/first, and trying to figure out how to obtain more perks with those cards is too much trouble to me. I pile up lots of points on cash back cards, and I use the points to pay down balances a couple of times a year.