I've noticed two sides in this thread - those who will be affected by the lower SC earn who emphasise the 'frequent' part of the program, and those affected by the devaluation of their 'loyalty' to the the program. I think both sides are valid in their disappointment and my key outtake from reading these pages is that they've sha-t on their frequent and loyal members. Whether you've attained status by flying on lots of cheap seats frequently, or by spending more on VA and their partners for you and your family pool, we were all working with the same criteria so one type of elite is not more valuable than another.
For myself, I've been either SG or WP for most of the last 12 years (based on having joined AFF in 2012 and quickly 'learning'). Originally it was because you needed min. SG for a points upgrade from Y+ to J on VA1 SYD-LAX. By the time that disappeared I was 'used to' the status and kept it up, and as a solo self-funded leisure traveller it was always 'fun' to figure out where I would go next based on maximum SC earn.
The last couple of years I've been meaning to sit down and properly work out whether VFF status is valuable to me at all as (A) I use very few status perks, and (B) they don't fly anywhere I want to go. As it seems VFF has now answered that for me, I feel so free! I can now use my points* for flights that give zero status credits; I can fly routes and airlines without being tethered to Velocity (airlines that actually have their own international lounges); and I don't have to pretend that being WP on an airline that doesn't even have flat seats is anything to aim for.
I'll miss the priority check-in and boarding, but that's still a couple of years away with plenty of time to put on my big girl pants on and get over it, and savings on sale fares from other airlines will be used on the AMEX PC - I could never 'justify' the cost of the card as well as keeping up VFF status, but my new freedom now makes it a very pleasant and viable option.
LTG would have been something to aim for, but I feel their lol some of your previous SC's now aren't worth sht bait 'n switch is highly distasteful, and not something I want to reward with my loyalty. They should have at the very least had the LTG data available to all members at the same time as the announcement.....simple....fair.
*just crossed the 1M threshold, today in fact!