>Is this a good deal for the American consumer? That’s a trickier question. Paying for a flight or a hotel room with points may feel like a free bonus, but because credit-card-swipe fees increase prices across the economy—Visa or Mastercard takes a cut of every sale—redeeming points is more like getting a little kickback. Certainly the system is bad for Americans who don’t have points-earning cards. They pay higher prices on ordinary goods and services but don’t get the points, effectively subsidizing the perks of card users, who tend to be wealthier already.

It sounds like their actual issue is CC fees, so why not write about that? Why not demand congress institute fee maximums or something? Meanwhile, I still don't understand what the actual harm is in airlines being "quasi-banks", other than these fees which are not set or managed by airlines.