Originally Posted by DLNYC

I am sure this has been answered somewhere, but I cannot find it.

Why are US/MEX-based elites given the short end of the ST stick?

US-based Gold FB members are merely ST Elite. FB Gold members based anywhere else in the world are ST Elite Plus. For the AF program, tier requirements are less for non-French residents, including Americans...but then the attained status is worth less only for Americans? Who thought of this program? Why would you deliberately make your FFP as uncompetitive as possible?

On KE, flying .5 MM miles gets you STE+. On DL, it gets you nothing.

On SU, flying 50k in a year gets your STE+. On DL, it gets you STE.

What gives? What is the reasoning behind this? I understand that each airline sets their own requirements for achieving status, but ST should really work on achieving some basic continuity when it comes to the STE and STE+ tiers.

For basic reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_Tea...future_members
as well as AF's FB page.