Yoshi DUS

For all details see here

http://www.thaiairways.com/frequent-...20Dec12_EN.pdf

Obviously there will be some changes starting March 2013. I still have to figure our if for the better or worse

dsquared37

Did TG always require a new 12 month requal period begin on the heals of hitting status?

dsquared37

Also, they've delineated Platinum qualifications.

hgp

What's interesting is that once you've qualified for a level (*S, *G or *P), you have two evaluation periods to focus on. The first is for renewal at the current level - and that's hitting the threshold within 12 months from qualification. The second is for the next level - and that's hitting the next threshold based on the "original" 12 month qualification period.

Example:

To QUALIFY in YEAR 1:To QUALIFY or REQUALIFY in YEAR 2Note: In my example I've ignored the "extended period" qualification of 15k for *S and 80k for *G

Presumably the qualification month for *P will determine the rolling 12 month period for *P requal, also.

Possible downside: There is no mention of the old benefit where you received the automatic two year requalification for *G if you hit 50k in the year following qualification. I wonder if this great benefit has been removed?

Upside: Under the old system, you could hit *S/*G by flying 15k/80k in the period b/w joining and the end of the next calendar year (so if you joined in Mar '12, you could fly 15k/80k b/w then and Dec '13 to get *S/*G). Under the new system, you have more time... this is a benefit for some. You'll have a full two years, from Mar'12 to Feb '14 to fly the 15k/80k. This will probably result in an increase in the number of *S's and *G's as a result of the extended time for the 15k/80k qualification pathway. Not sure if this is a good thing or not - more people qualifying will probably lead to a decrease in benefits

Will be interesting to see how this is implemented. Not sure what benefits are derived from a relatively complex approach to qualification/requalification - I'm pretty sure all the qualification periods will confuse even some TG people. Certainly, it will be a bit tricky to explain to newbies how all this operates... in time I can see a sticky coming on around TG qualification.

The ROP staff I deal with are always on the ball and super-helpful... so I'll have a chat to them and see what I can learn when I call in the new year to get my 2013 travel organised.

dsquared37

A friend of mine has a Nov-Nov qualifying year. If he should have a busy schedule early in his requal year it will skew the next 12 month cycle. This is a potential detriment for those who have spurts of travel followed by down times.

cmdsea

Hmmm. Still no change to offer one way travel for 50% miles that I was hoping for...

anaidross

Perhaps someone could help to clarify the following:

My assumption is that the Gold / Silver status will be valid for 2 years once it has been attained, it is not being mentioned anywhere (same assumption hgp made).

If so, will the miles earned during the "dead year" be considered for status retention with the new 12-month rolling period.

I am also a little concerned about this issue.

My ROP is valid until 2014 and I would like to clock 50K miles this year to retain my Gold status till 2016. But I hope that when it is not mentioned, then there is no change in this issue.

I think I will not clock my miles with ROP for the time being until the issue is clarified.

Sam Drucker

This area of the ROP program has been the most difficult to get a handle on and understand, of any airline program I'm aware of out there. These changes sure didn't do anything to simplify that!

My biggest issue is that if I ask anyone at THAI (like on the phone) to clarify one of these points for my own situation, I'm rarely confident that they fully understand it and are giving me an accurate answer . . . especially with the Thai cultural trait of saying something wrong rather than just admitting "I don't know."

hgp

It was a bit confusing, but once you got your head around it then it was logical enough. I agree there is potential for increased confusion with these new changes. Perhaps things will become clearer as more information is made available?

This is a valid concern. Communication within the airline is often not ideal around changes. On a short domestic flight two years ago, I was flying Y and went to board during the initial call (with *G, *P, Royal Silk etc). The TG gate agent turned me away and so I pointed out the *P on my BP. She said "that's only *P, you need to be *G or Royal Silk, please wait for your call". Then her colleague overhead and waved me through. All very pleasant and mistakes do happen, but consistency is a mark of quality.

It is indeed frustrating to ask a question and receive information which you do not believe is reliable. Or worse, ask a question, receive information, act on it, and then find out the information is wrong. Many years ago this happened to me with TG and their attitude was "we are right and you are wrong" with no acknowledgement of the misleading information they provided

Fortunately, the person I deal with mostly at TG now is pretty good - informed, responsive and friendly.

Let's hope with these "improvements" they'll be upgrading the website so it provides an accurate picture of status including "Q miles/sectors by XXX required to achieve TOP*S/G/P", amongst other things.

dsquared37

I find it odd the examples are based upon March 2012 as the join date.

If this new scheme is being rolled out in March ("late March") why use 2012?

Yoshi DUS

Agree on this

AndyInSaigon

I used to be ROP Gold, years back. I got tired of flying LAX-BKK-SGN in their old 7441 seats & switched to CO/NW, then CO/UA, now UA.

My UA status is permanent for life and can easily switch programs. I certainly fly enough to make Platinum with ease. So I have 2 questions:
1. Even if you qualify by accrued mileage within each of the required 2 years, is Platinum still only by invitation by someone's whim?
2. What does "Unlimited complimentary upgrades ... on achieving specified mileage thresholds" mean? (Granted if flying BKK-LAX in C it's not possible to get an upgrade anyway!)

Thank you

hgp

Officially it's invitation only and in the past TG were a little coy about who would be invited. However, with the recent announcement, it seems the criteria (for invitation) is now 80k miles per year across two successive years with a good portion (my words) in Royal Silk or Royal First.

For every 50,000 Q-miles, you'll receive a "PUP" (Platinum Upgrade). A PUP is good for a one class upgrade on an entire itinerary - a great benefit which somewhat makes up for the really poor earn rates on TG.

Whereas ROP*G's receive one GUP (Gold Upgrade) in any year (so fly 160k, get 1 GUP), ROP*P's receive one PUP for every 50k miles (so fly 160k, get 3 PUPs).

At least, that's my understanding.

kiam

Why does TG have to make things more confusing?

Also, is it just me that can't find the info but isn't the newsletter supposed to mention something about the mileage expiration (one of the two aspects)? I was just surprised that they don't mention any details about the latter point, yet both points were highlighted at the heading.

Also, my 6-consecutive-year Gold status has just ended in Dec 2012, and I am now a general member. Does this mean, based on the new qualification requirement, my qualification cycle will start from Jan-Dec 2013 & Jan 2013-Dec 2014 OR it will be based on the MONTH I enrolled onto ROP program 10 years back?

Why do I have a bad feeling some GOOD benefits are going away?

Edit: I think I understand why they change it to the rolling qualification period so that it matches how Platinum status is determined. What do you think?

yosithezet

The call center ran a report for me to tell me how close/far I was from ROP*P and the report only included C/F travel. So "good portion" may be wishful thinking.