Originally Posted by mrswirl

The more I think about it maybe it is time to finally scrap the whole miles/segments requirements for status and go with a strictly revenue-based model. After all, frequency and distances do not really "mean" anything anymore and 25/50/100K miles vs. 30/60/100 segments (or 120 now) are really only arbitary yardsticks picked at some point in the past in order to measure an abstract (and anachronistic) concept called "loyalty"....

It doesn't matter how many flights you take or how far you fly. This could mean a single full C fare to SYD could garner 1K right off the bat; or it could represent a whole bunch of el cheapo K fares instead. How you decide to reach status is up to you and your wallet....

A model such as this takes the arbitrariness out of the system and makes us all compete on the same playing field for elite status.

This would be a hard pill for many here to swallow but at least it's fair. Ultimately this is the direction that programs like MP has to, and eventually will, go. We might as well accept it now and deal with it instead of suffering the continual "death of a thousand cuts" degradation of benefits disguised as "enhancements".