BA Executive Club change to spend-based status earning

[BrianQQ]

Holy cough these changes are horrendous. Good luck to BA where you'll have people now pivot to Virgin Atlantic.

 

[jase05]

Holy cough these changes are horrendous. Good luck to BA where you'll have people now pivot to Virgin Atlantic.

Not sure many will go over to VS. No domestic routes and minimal International routes plus many aren’t interested in SkyTeam.
If people want to stay with OW and want the BA perks then they will just have to grin and bear it or look at other OW alternatives. Many will finally realise that being handcuffed to an airline isn’t worth it either

 

[Flashback]

No soft landings either.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I don’t see how this can be spun as anything other than a massive blow to those crediting to BA, particularly those seeking lifetime status.

I will likely continue to credit certain sectors to them where the Avios earning is good but I won’t be anywhere near $40K spend to retain my Gold on BAEC.

 

[SYD]

Not sure many will go over to VS. No domestic routes and minimal International routes plus many aren’t interested in SkyTeam.

Trains…

If people want to stay with OW and want the BA perks then they will just have to grin and bear it or look at other OW alternatives. Many will finally realise that being handcuffed to an airline isn’t worth it either

QF is still looking good - for now.

 

[jase05]

QF is still looking good - for now.

I don’t think it the right fit for me personally but I’ll crunch a few numbers and see. Perhaps it does work out that QF is the best OW option for me

 

[clifford]

QF is still looking good - for now.

Yes, it's certainly the best for me at the moment. I used to be BAEC Gold, but decided following the pandemic that it was no longer worth chasing compared with Qantas.

And FWIW, I think this article pretty much sums it up, and would apply equally to VA's forthcoming "enhanced" FF program.

Airline Loyalty Programs: Who Should Be Rewarded Most?

Here's why it's bad business for airline loyalty programs to simply reward those booking the most expensive tickets. It's just not logical.

onemileatatime.com

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes, it's certainly the best for me at the moment. I used to be BAEC Gold, but decided following the pandemic that it was no longer worth chasing compared with Qantas.

And FWIW, I think this article pretty much sums it up, and would apply equally to VA's forthcoming "enhanced" FF program.

Airline Loyalty Programs: Who Should Be Rewarded Most?

Here's why it's bad business for airline loyalty programs to simply reward those booking the most expensive tickets. It's just not logical.

onemileatatime.com

Ben’s arguments are ok, but a little biased. He has a point of view which he then finds relevant data points to try and support. And doesn’t address arguments which might be contrary.

He’s saying the business class passenger paying £5k for a fare may not be swayed by the loyalty program… but that’s not exactly true. Status with BA can get you into first/emerald lounges rather than galleries. It can get you better seats, it helps during IRROPS, or when contacting the call centre.

It helps when you might find yourself in economy.

He says the incremental cost of lounge access is very small. I’m not sure that holds for first/emerald lounges where a bottle of champagne alone might eat into the profit the airline is making off your economy ticket. It might hold for AAdmirals clubs with a few crackers, an olive and cheese cube.

 

[Cheatah]

Can't work out why BA would do this - they've admitted business travel for them still hasn't recovered to 2019 levels and are targeting premium leisure travellers.

The Club World experience isn't great, many will try it once and unlike business travellers don't have to use BA or even fly up front in future. It was almost worth it though having one, maybe two, long haul trips in Club and shorter trips in Europe back of the plane as you get benefits from your status. Not anymore.

Though it's interesting seeing the meltdown on the BA FT board, there are a lot of posters there who travel a lot and then spend an inordinate amount of time on the board discussing BA. Some will need to find a new hobby.

 

[jase05]

Can't work out why BA would do this

I suspect lounge capacity issues are somewhat of a driver.
Every man and his dog has status these days

 

[Viridis]

In principle, I have no real issue with the intent of the changes - it will iron out some of the anomalies of the previous programme …. but it does appear to have introduced new ones.

Previously, I could retain Silver with one J class trip to the UK provided I did a flight number change in Singapore in both directions. It was not possible with a through flight number.

Under the new system the achievement of Status will be (if I understand the new rule’s correctly) a function of the exchange rate to GBP and the cost of living in one’s home base. This means a bucket of flying may achieve status one year, but not the next. It also means somebody in Singapore is more likely to earn Status with a given amount of flying than someone in Australia (or perhaps more obviously someone in the Philippines or Indonesia). Perhaps this is the intent

I was BA Gold for 5-6yrs but remain at Silver now. These changes may mean that I don’t retain that in future. I’m okay with that. We usually fly in J or F so the status is of little to no value and if we end up in some variant of Y my Amex gets us into some sort of lounge which is equivalent to what most J lounges can no be compared with these days.

I am also a member of the QF FF programme but can’t envisage a scenario where that would be the preferred one - I was always aggrieved at the heavy discounts applied to points & status credits when travelling with other carriers but credited to QF. That was never the case with BA, although I accept that has now changed

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Can't work out why BA would do this - they've admitted business travel for them still hasn't recovered to 2019 levels and are targeting premium leisure travellers.

The Club World experience isn't great, many will try it once and unlike business travellers don't have to use BA or even fly up front in future. It was almost worth it though having one, maybe two, long haul trips in Club and shorter trips in Europe back of the plane as you get benefits from your status. Not anymore.

Though it's interesting seeing the meltdown on the BA FT board, there are a lot of posters there who travel a lot and then spend an inordinate amount of time on the board discussing BA. Some will need to find a new hobby.

Maybe that’s the intention?

High spend leisure traveller… will get all the perks of status anyway.

Ultra-high spend will get BA gold/OWE and have access to nicer lounges.

Economy class, or pax getting status ‘on the cheap’ will be left out.

The last group may not be happy, but may not represent value and profit for the airline.

If those pax decide not to fly BA, BA could possibly offer cheaper fares for those left without status, as they don’t have to factor in lounge access and consumption in the lounges?

(Which is something Ben doesn’t address in his article. Major carriers are competing against LCCs, but removing lounge access and benefits might make them even more competitive? And still fill the planes.)

 

[Princess Fiona]

I think there is going to be plenty of empty seats in the CCR once this fleshes out.

Prior to these changes GGL had only 4 BA sectors needed plus 5000TP first year and 3000 to retain. Could easily make GGL on a ton of QR etc.

From April :
Gold Guest List – new member: 65,000 points (with at least 52,000 earned through British Airways-marketed flights and British Airways Holidays)
Gold Guest List – renewal: 40,000 points (with at least 32,000 earned through British Airways-marketed flights British Airways Holidays)

That’s going to hurt a ton of people.
And also those who are part way through earning LT OWE on BA.

 

[Cheatah]

The thing is I don't think there are that many high spending leisure travellers for BA, and the BA F/J proposition isn't exactly luxurious - try it once but then either try another carrier or just fly premium economy.

BA have a lot of competition going east, much less competition going to the US but I can't see too many high spending leisure folks paying a large premium ex LHR, seeing what they get for their money, and then continuing to do it. The Heathrow experience for premium travellers is also poor, regardless of the lounges (and the CCR is no QF F lounge!)

 

[MEL_Traveller]

The thing is I don't think there are that many high spending leisure travellers for BA, and the BA F/J proposition isn't exactly luxurious - try it once but then either try another carrier or just fly premium economy.

BA have a lot of competition going east, much less competition going to the US but I can't see too many high spending leisure folks paying a large premium ex LHR, seeing what they get for their money, and then continuing to do it. The Heathrow experience for premium travellers is also poor, regardless of the lounges (and the CCR is no QF F lounge!)

My experience is quite different to yours! BA F might be the world’s best business class, but it is still a good product. I also like Club World. Even the ying-yang seats I find really comfortable. I’ve never been a big one needing storage around my seat so it’s not an issue for me. And my qantas silver allows free seat selection 7 days prior, so I’ve always snagged a bulkhead with direct aisle access.

The Concorde Room… again I think we differ in that!

I don’t know how many people are going to be bothered flying a narrow body to connect in Germany, Switzerland or Paris when they can fly direct out of London. Regionally I suppose it doesn’t make much difference.

And all the warriors and status-runners who now say they’re going to abandon BA… good luck. The enthusiasm might run out after the first couple of times their connecting flight is delayed due to weather or ATC strikes or whatever.

 

[kpc]

Feel sorry for the people here on AFF who have wasted time and money chasing LT Gold with BA.

Only matter of time before Qf follows...the Syd Qf F lounge at times resembles a zoo. Reports here that the Sin Qf F lounge is packed in the evenings as well.

 

[jase05]

The thing is I don't think there are that many high spending leisure travellers for BA

But I’d suspect there are plenty of OW status chasers that hardly fly BA but are BAEC elite tier. I moved over to BAEC a couple of years ago as the program was the best fit for me and despite holding Gold every year I am only a short journey into LTG unlike others on here who are quite a bit down the pathway and now have hit a substantial road block. I s haven’t flown BA long haul for years and only do a few Euro business trips each year to maintain status. At the end of the day I spend a decent amount on OW airlines but wouldn’t even be a speck on BA’s radar and they are probably happy to see the back of those like me

 

[Cheatah]

My experience is quite different to yours! BA F might be the world’s best business class, but it is still a good product. I also like Club World. Even the ying-yang seats I find really comfortable. I’ve never been a big one needing storage around my seat so it’s not an issue for me. And my qantas silver allows free seat selection 7 days prior, so I’ve always snagged a bulkhead with direct aisle access.

The Concorde Room… again I think we differ in that!

I don’t know how many people are going to be bothered flying a narrow body to connect in Germany, Switzerland or Paris when they can fly direct out of London. Regionally I suppose it doesn’t make much difference.

And all the warriors and status-runners who now say they’re going to abandon BA… good luck. The enthusiasm might run out after the first couple of times their connecting flight is delayed due to weather or ATC strikes or whatever.

It's more the cost of these BA fares ex London! They are not cheap, and premium leisure customers much more price sensitive than corporate ones.

Just can't see how the overall BA proposition - including this change - makes them more appealing to premium leisure customers.

Connecting from ex-EU is only worth it if you get a very cheap fare given the Heathrow transfer experience(and potentially APD) - and cheap fares is not what BA wants.

 

[moa999]

Only matter of time before Qf follows...the Syd Qf F lounge at times resembles a zoo.

That may be the case but there other ways to solve capacity.

Reality is these days there aren't many easy ways to earn QF status these days without big $s spent on QF or select partners.
Most flights on other OW airlines earn less, some substantially so and some of the good options like AA KUPs, JL upgrades and JASAs are long gone.

About the only value trick is booking during DSC periods, and that's obviously used by QF as a marketing tool.
.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Could someone explain to me how this change is necessarily a bad thing? It remains distance based as before, provided you fly quality airlines like Qantas or AA instead of British Air. And there’s now new opportunities to earn status aside from flying.

What am I missing here?

-RooFlyer88