Programs: LY TPL, UA 1K, BA Gold, PC Platinum Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Avis President
Posts: 12
El Al raise Last- Minute Upgrade Requirements
This was the email I sent out to El Al:
To Whom It May Concern,
I just received your newsletter regarding the latest deals from El Al. I think, as a Platinum Frequent Flyer on El Al, that your new club regulation for increasing the number of points required for a last minute upgrade is a scandal!
It is bad enough that the upgradeable class tickets (m,y,s) are the equivalent price to business class at some of the competing airlines but now you want to raise the number of points required by an additional 50% - 100%!
If you are going to raise the cost of last-minute upgrades then raise the points rewarded accordingly. The prices are constantly going up so El Al can't complain in that respect!
Needless to say that I am extremely upset about this new one-sided policy. In light of these events I am beginning to realize that maybe my fellow colleagues are right when they tell me that El Al is now only focused on making money as opposed to retaining customer loyalty and reducing churn to competing airlines.
On another note, what is the point of being Platinum in El Al if my benefits are almost identical to Gold?
Programs: BA Gold ,LH Sen, LY SIL, FB Pla, HH Gold, IC Amb, SPG Gold, Avis President club etc...
Posts: 9,958
Quote:
Originally Posted by avipolak
I just received your newsletter regarding the latest deals from El Al. I think, as a Platinum Frequent Flyer on El Al, that your new club regulation for increasing the number of points required for a last minute upgrade is a scandal!
I havent a clue what you're talking about, but then the last newsletter I received from LY was regarding premium economy...
So what's the story exactly?
Quote:
Originally Posted by avipolak
If you are going to raise the cost of last-minute upgrades then raise the points rewarded accordingly.
But there wouldn't be much point to that from a pure business point of view.
Quote:
Originally Posted by avipolak
I am beginning to realize that maybe my fellow colleagues are right when they tell me that El Al is now only focused on making money
No way! an airline wanting to make money? that is absolutely outrageous!
Seriously though, I would suggest you listen to your colleagues, there are far better options out there, and while Matmid used to be a very good program indeed, and they knew how to treat their elits very well (especially in the days when Gold was the top tier) those days have long gone.
Quote:
Originally Posted by avipolak
On another note, what is the point of being Platinum in El Al if my benefits are almost identical to Gold?
NOt much really considering the serious amount of travel (or rather, spend) needed to maintain it.
Programs: LY TPL, UA 1K, BA Gold, PC Platinum Ambassador, Hilton Diamond, Avis President
Posts: 12
@clubman My point is that El Al is always raising their prices. M,Y,S class is expensive to begin with. Now to play around with my "hard-earned" points is scandalous... Part of the perks is (or should I say was) grabbing the last minute upgrades. The way I see it, I am paying full fare + points for a business class seat that is actually not confirmed
@clubman My point is that El Al is always raising their prices. M,Y,S class is expensive to begin with. Now to play around with my "hard-earned" points is scandalous... Part of the perks is (or should I say was) grabbing the last minute upgrades. The way I see it, I am paying full fare + points for a business class seat that is actually not confirmed
please... you are making a big deal out of a small thing.
you want double points for the raise... LOL
they raised the price from 100 points for long haul to 150 .
i am sure that as a Platinum that earned 5000 points per year, this will show stopper.
and last minute upgrades are , as the name states... at the last minute. so why do you cry about paying MSY and that it's not confirmed ?
and please... i bet you never paid Y. so SM is not full fare.
and if you fly for a short period (without weekend) you in some occasions must purchase M/S anyways.
let me just demonstrate - a flight without a weekend in biz to HKG is more than 5K$. M/S class is something like 2300$-2600$ and you have the option to get a 5K$ seat/service for the new price of 150 points per sector.
i am sure that you didnt get to Platinum by flight H/V classes To Europe.
so, yes, it's annoying. but not a show stopper in my book.
and btw, as platinum you get over gold:
1. if there are First seats with Biz service, you can pre-assign them
2. you get priority in Last minute upgrades
and more perks.
Programs: LY TPL, DL Diamond, FB Platinum, BA Blue, HH Diamond, PC Royal Ambassador, BW Platinum
Posts: 962
Avi,
You will buy Y class only if there is no seat available on the flight... So you dont buy Y...
You will buy S class in order get upgraded, And if you are a corporate, or personal that fly enough to get Platinum you get discounts (up to 20%) which bring your S class to Q class price, So complaining on prices is not the right thing to do...
EL-AL is more expensive indeed, Less in Economy (if you compare apples to apples), More in Business.
Indeed Platinum looks more and more like Gold, But you forget:
1. Gold get 25% Bonus, Platinum 50%
2. Platinum get better priority for upgrades than Gold
3. Better priority on Bonus tickets
4. You "pay" less in points for last minute upgrades...
on some others...
Going from 100 to 175 point to upgrade is not the end of the world,
Even in 175 points for LMU its still a good deal comparing to others.
Programs: BA Gold ,LH Sen, LY SIL, FB Pla, HH Gold, IC Amb, SPG Gold, Avis President club etc...
Posts: 9,958
Quote:
Originally Posted by may_east
and btw, as platinum you get over gold:
1. if there are First seats with Biz service, you can pre-assign them
2. you get priority in Last minute upgrades
and more perks.
Big deal, as Gold you'll still get those seats but at check in.
It's all a question of how much more you get as a PL over GL, the "more perks" (what ever they may be) are not that significant considering one needs to earn more than double the points to reach it.
Whoever it is that's running Matmid is doing a terrible job, that's the bottom line and from being a great FF program it's become a rubbish one.
Programs: LY TPL, DL Diamond, FB Platinum, BA Blue, HH Diamond, PC Royal Ambassador, BW Platinum
Posts: 962
Quote:
Originally Posted by clubman
A 75% increase is pretty steep in my books.
Sorry its 100 to 150... so its only 50%... Still nothing compare to what you get....
Also PL get 50% bonus while GL get 25% which is the biggest different...
Think about it GL need 2.5 flights to get a bonus ticket to the US, while PL need only 2...
Programs: BA Gold ,LH Sen, LY SIL, FB Pla, HH Gold, IC Amb, SPG Gold, Avis President club etc...
Posts: 9,958
Quote:
Originally Posted by ebzed
Also PL get 50% bonus while GL get 25% which is the biggest different...
Think about it GL need 2.5 flights to get a bonus ticket to the US, while PL need only 2...
Fair enough, but still not a huge deal when you think how much extra spend one has to throw their way to go from GL to PL to TPL. (and I say spend rather than flying because of LY's stingy point earning system when it comes to cheaper ticket, unlike BA where now even the cheapest fares earn 100%)
I just received your newsletter regarding the latest deals from El Al. I think, as a Platinum Frequent Flyer on El Al, that your new club regulation for increasing the number of points required for a last minute upgrade is a scandal!
It is bad enough that the upgradeable class tickets (m,y,s) are the equivalent price to business class at some of the competing airlines but now you want to raise the number of points required by an additional 50% - 100%!
If you are going to raise the cost of last-minute upgrades then raise the points rewarded accordingly. The prices are constantly going up so El Al can't complain in that respect!
Needless to say that I am extremely upset about this new one-sided policy. In light of these events I am beginning to realize that maybe my fellow colleagues are right when they tell me that El Al is now only focused on making money as opposed to retaining customer loyalty and reducing churn to competing airlines.
On another note, what is the point of being Platinum in El Al if my benefits are almost identical to Gold?
Programs: LY TPL, DL Diamond, FB Platinum, BA Blue, HH Diamond, PC Royal Ambassador, BW Platinum
Posts: 962
Quote:
Originally Posted by clubman
Fair enough, but still not a huge deal when you think how much extra spend one has to throw their way to go from GL to PL to TPL. (and I say spend rather than flying because of LY's stingy point earning system when it comes to cheaper ticket, unlike BA where now even the cheapest fares earn 100%)
Well, I found out that somewhere March 2012 Delta started to think about moving to a similar system of EL-AL, Means points rather miles, and you earn the points according to the price of the ticket... never heard back on that, But you know everything is possible...
And as for BA, Availbility for Bonuses / Upgrade System / Amount of money you need to pay for bonus tickets... compare this to EL-AL... EL-AL Wins
Matmid Club need a reset..., They need to bring someone that is familiar with clubs around the world, someone that knows to use google and go over forums, someone creative (sometimes you dont need to invest money to make things better).. They need a heavy FT to take the job...
(Yes, I Admit i am heavy, And a FT, But i didnt ment to suggest myself)
