Article: How Airlines Erode Status Tier Benefits Over Time

[AFF Editor]

How Airlines Erode Status Tier Benefits Over Time is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

How Airlines Erode Status Tier Benefits Over Time

When you earn lifetime airline status, you get to keep your status level forever... but airlines often reduce the benefits of each tier over time as they introduce new levels above the existing ones.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[jb747]

Ah, shrinkflation is everywhere.

 

[serfty]

Ah, shrinkflation is everywhere.

And has been for decades ...

 

[CaptJCool]

Ah

WP used to get anytime access with friends and this.was removed a
long time ago. At least they still get access on arrival for themselves.

 

[SYD]

“Orange is the new black”! You’re already in shackles by the time you realise the goalposts have changed.

VA WPs are about to learn the full extent of what they’re about to lose.

At least QF WP is still OWE and the alliance wide perks that comes with.

PS
@Mattg how did you manage to not use the “E” word?

 

[dajop]

Same applies to hotels, if not even moreso for properties outside of the Asia Pacific region.

 

[henrus]

As above not just airlines but hotels as well. I recently found out Accor quietly removed the turndown service and a few other benefits for status holders. The March 2025 page has it but by April just gone (confirmed via the way back machine).

 

[moa999]

Love the brochure that @serfty provided.

Back when SC calculation was a 5-line table.
Definitely not "simpler" these days

 

[AIRwin]

PS
@Mattg how did you manage to not use the “E” word?

Erode?

 

[SYD]

Erode?

“Enhancement”…..

 

[n7of9]

Enshitification

 

[justinbrett]

There are some examples of new/improved benefits.

For me having proper international F lounges would be at the top of the list. It wasn’t that long ago we were begging for extra drink vouchers at the AA LAX Flagship lounge.

A lot changes over time, and for sure most of it is for the worse, but there are some examples of improvement which we often forget.

Domestic J lounges are another but vary wildly, you could argue that SYD J is what the old Qantas Club was, but I think most would agree MEL’s Spice Bar is better than anything that came before it.

 

[SeatBackForward]

I guess reducing benefits is an easier change than to lift prices. That is until there are no "low hanging" benefits to remove. Prices get lifted, benefits are added back, and the cycle repeats itself.

 

[Dr Ev]

I don't even bother with frequent flyer points any more.
Continuous downgrading of value, way too many points circulating in the community and too difficult to redeem premium cabin seats now.

In 2009, I was using the Krisflyer Amex card to earn 3 KF miles per dollar for ATO payments with no limit!
And premium seats on Singapore Airlines and partners were readily available.

For me, I'm better off using my time to earn money to buy the seats I want, rather than waste time trying to play a game of diminishing returns.

 

[dajop]

There are some examples of new/improved benefits.

For me having proper international F lounges would be at the top of the list. It wasn’t that long ago we were begging for extra drink vouchers at the AA LAX Flagship lounge.

TBH stateside you don't have to even be OWE to experience superior options. At the main hubs, the AA lounge offering for OWS (in terms of food and beverages) is so much better than it used to be. But on the flipside the QF international J lounges leave a lot to be desired, particularly at MEL and I understand SYD. Even the SIN J lounge went through noticeable tweaks (cost cutting) after the F lounge opened at SIN.

 

[justinbrett]

TBH stateside you don't have to even be OWE to experience superior options. At the main hubs, the AA lounge offering for OWS (in terms of food and beverages) is so much better than it used to be. But on the flipside the QF international J lounges leave a lot to be desired, particularly at MEL and I understand SYD. Even the SIN J lounge went through noticeable tweaks (cost cutting) after the F lounge opened at SIN.

Plenty of examples of lounges getting worse across all airlines. Even comparing pre covid to now there’s been a general decline.

QF F and AA Flagship are notable exceptions.

 

[dajop]

Plenty of examples of lounges getting worse across all airlines. Even comparing pre covid to now there’s been a general decline.
.

Not sure I'd agree with that across the board, but TBH most of my post-covid flights have been with star alliance or non-affiliated carriers (and for these using PP lounges). Probably the biggest issue I've noticed is overcrowding not so much a general decline in what is on offer (such as F&B).

 

[justinbrett]

Not sure I'd agree with that across the board, but TBH most of my post-covid flights have been with star alliance or non-affiliated carriers (and for these using PP lounges). Probably the biggest issue I've noticed is overcrowding not so much a general decline in what is on offer (such as F&B).

Almost any lounge I’ve been to that accepts PP has been pretty terrible.

I’d say the BA T5 F lounge is much worse, I’d almost say I prefer their old J lounge in T1 but perhaps that’s rose coloured glasses. I do remember liking the on demand garlic bread.

Even reports that QR Al Safwa has gone downhill in another thread.

 

[dajop]

Almost any lounge I’ve been to that accepts PP has been pretty terrible.

Mine have all been consistent with expectations. In any event, not really relevant to discussion of decline in airline benefits unless said lounge is used by airlines.

But there are plenty of exceptions beyond AA Flagship and QF First to the idea that lounges are getting worse. The SQ lounges at SIN T3 have definitely improved (apart from overcrowding at peak times) and are about to be improved in T2 as well. I've used several UA hub lounges (such as at DEN) and they are definitely leaps and bounds ahead of what they used to be. EY's new lounge at AUH another improvement. And many lounges I wouldn't say have improved but have maintained standards (be they good, average or bad), such as TG (BKK), NH (NRT), LH (FRA), LX (ZRH) and so on.

 

[justinbrett]

Mine have all been consistent with expectations. In any event, not really relevant to discussion of decline in airline benefits unless said lounge is used by airlines.

But there are plenty of exceptions beyond AA Flagship and QF First to the idea that lounges are getting worse. The SQ lounges at SIN T3 have definitely improved (apart from overcrowding at peak times) and are about to be improved in T2 as well. I've used several UA hub lounges (such as at DEN) and they are definitely leaps and bounds ahead of what they used to be. EY's new lounge at AUH another improvement. And many lounges I wouldn't say have improved but have maintained standards (be they good, average or bad), such as TG (BKK), NH (NRT), LH (FRA), LX (ZRH) and so on.

I didn’t mean to imply that only QF and AA have improved. But from my experience more have gone backwards than forwards, especially if looking at the pre and post covid periods.

I think if you were only looking at long haul hub lounges (which is most of your list) yes they probably buck the trend, but if you include the domestic lounges and short haul international (eg BA galleries outstations) I’d argue cost cutting is the general theme.