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For some time the airlines have been doing their best to make frequent flyer miles less valuable. Expiration dates. Increased mileage requirements. Limits on the number of seats available for “free” seats. And on and on. Sure, travelers complain, but why haven’t banks?

Banks?

Yes, banks. Why? Because banks want to continue issuing the airlines’ frequent flyer affinity credit cards, since they make a pretty penny from them. And people will only put up with the annual fees and interest charges if they feel it’s worth it. Kill the demand for miles, you kill the demand for those cards.

And increasingly, frequent flyer programs are losing their value for customers. Take the latest changes to Continental’s OnePass: Tim Winship notes downgrades to the OnePass program effective February 1, 2008. Effectively, they’re price increases:

The price increase that will affect the most members will be for first-class awards on flights within or between the contiguous U.S., Alaska, and Canada. Capacity-controlled SaverPass awards will increase in price from 45,000 to 50,000 miles. And the price of unrestricted EasyPass awards will rise from 90,000 to 100,000 miles.

The other price increase applies to overseas BusinessFirst awards. Award flights between North America and Asia, India, Africa, or the Middle East will increase from 250,000 to 300,000 miles. And award flights between North America and Southern South America will rise in price from 180,000 to 250,000 miles.

Adding insult to injury, Continental is eliminating their 500-mile online booking bonus for tickets purchased at continental.com, effective December 1, 2007. While others, like Delta and United, have cut the bonus from 1000 to 500 miles, Continental takes the next step and just eliminates it. Edit: Delta eliminated their online booking bonus entirely in June 2007. Thanks to Chris and Walt for pointing out the error!

Take for granted that travelers should be annoyed. But if I were in charge of Chase’s Visa card program with Continental, I’d be annoyed too. If travelers decide that Continental’s miles are no longer worth pursuing, then they’ll bail out on the Continental/Chase card as well.

So why aren’t the banks raising a bigger stink at these mile devaluations?