Originally Posted by
bocastephen
Did you consider that some people were out of work and not traveling for a certain period of time, but who might now be employed and ready to travel again? Shouldn't SPG incentivize these people to remain loyal rather than cut their status and risk losing them to a competitor?
Yeah, this is the argument that makes the most sense to me. Lots of people are traveling less this year; it's quite possible that many plats who'd qualify any other year won't quite make it for 2009. And unlike other programs, SPG Gold is a long way to fall -- especially as Preferred Plus is free and carries most of the same benefits.
Were I at risk of not requalifying for 2009, I would consider simply having another chain match my status for next year. If I liked it there, I might well stay. Were I SPG, I wouldn't want to risk that kind of loss of customers.
Of course, I'm well on track to requalifying this year -- so if the rumors of stricter qualification and better benefits are true, I'm all for it
(As for my HHonors Diamond status -- well, the strategy above is looking a lot more attractive than Diamond.)