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I tried to guest someone in two months ago using a transferred lounge pass, but they wouldn't let them in, nor the other member of my group who I was guesting in with my Platinum status. Because of "congestion", they were only letting in business class and status passengers.

They won't, until they do. Their head of loyalty has recently spoken positively about a revenue based system: '"I’m not saying Alaska is going to go that direction, but what we’re hearing from guests is that they understand revenue, its easy, they get it, and by and large it's now a preference...

What seems like a mistake to individual flyers doesn't when an airline is looking at the program overall. I have seen a lot of paywalled analysis from the likes of EIU, CAPA and the big strategy consulting firms which show that this is an industry trend which is not going away. Even from this...

What form it will take is impossible to predict, but I think there is motivation: - It's a small market but the major domestic competition has just gone down this route - For all the hand wringing on the BA Flyertalk forum (BAEC may need to walk back some of the initial changes like DL did)...

I don't think the number of elites is the issue for QF as it was with BA (with their Tier Point promos) and DL (with their MQM rollovers). The value of the loyalty program to an airline is the ability to drive customer behaviour and short of a profitability based program, a revenue based program...

It won't change in 2025, but I would not be surprised if some version of it is launched in 2027 or 2028 after they have thoroughly analysed the response to the changes of others like BA and VA and worked out how to dress them up as positive media spin (like the 20 million extra reward seats that...

I like your optimism but I don't share it. The fact that they are surveying members about it means their financial and behavioural analysts are running their numbers over it. If there's even one favourable comment about it, they'll be able to truthfully state "we've made these changes based on...

As sure as the sun rises in the east, this is coming for QFF, it's only a question of timing. Airline valuations are driven by the FF programs and that's aided the more they can tie the program to inventory which is unlimited in capacity (overall economic spend) rather than fixed (available...

That doesn't specifically mention Australia and I suspect given the large HK/China expat community here, it would not be high on the chopping block. Still, in the last couple of years they have exited retail banking in much of Latin America, New Zealand, France, the US (now limited to Premier...

To be realistic (I've been Premier since the late 2000's), Premier really just gives you a decent fee free card and if you have HSBC accounts in another country, the ability to transfer funds easily online.

Air China only acquired their stake in CX in 2006, while Cathay was already a founding member of OW since 1998 - if CX had been unaligned in 2006, Air China would likely have pushed for them to be in *A. Qatar also owns 9.61% of CX! Ultimately it will be what makes sense to VA and I don't think...

If QR didn't have the right to block it (which I doubt), that would quite a VA board meeting to be a fly on the wall at: Bain: "Thanks for paying $xx_ for 25%, we're now going to sign VA up to an alliance which isn't aligned to your broader interests" Qatar: "😧"

That would be a surprise, they have no stakes in any *A airlines, their incentive would be to get people onto airlines they have a stake in.

The Qatar investment probably doesn't help with the joining of an alliance. As well as QR being in OW, within OW they own 25% of IAG (BA and IB), 10% of Cathay an 49% of Rwandair (rumoured as a potential OW member). They'd have to either Be happy for VA to join one of the other alliances...

Even less incentive to credit anything to Velocity now: If most flights are international, it makes sense to credit to a OW / ST / *A program where they count for more Zero interest in getting a direct earn credit card which locks you into any one airline given they all continually tweak their...

I'm not sure what the definition of 'ego' flights is, but as a regular on SYD-SCL it is always packed to the rafters. To a mere passenger who is not in QF's scheduling or fleet department, abandoning that to add one or two weekly frequencies to somewhere like JNB would make no sense.

Yeah I was thinking more of rail companies that connect to multiple alliance hubs like DB does for Star (FRA and MUC) and Eurostar will for SkyTeam (AMS, CDG, LHR). The only ones I could think of that would achieve that for OW would be Japan Rail Group for the JL hubs or Amtrak in the US. Does...

Star has had Deutsche Bahn as an intermodal partner for some years now, natural given where the LH group hubs are all located (https://www.staralliance.com/en/intermodal-travel) Eurostar makes sense for Skyteam given the LHR-CDG-AMS hub triangle which VS, AF and KL form. OW's European hubs are...

There are hundreds of people on every flight and your loyalty status is only one factor an airline can use to determine their priority of service (cabin class and fare class being the main ones) when flights run to schedule, let alone in IRROPS. Making assumptions about the value of your status...

Statute of limitations = until it's convenient / necessary to fly them again. For me, that's United. Every time I now fly them - because they are the cheapest / most direct / not operating a 737MAX - they reinforce their "Only When There's No Other Option" status.