Originally Posted by
ellinj
And my loyalty to airline is gone. If it weren't for status I would be flying the cheapest most convenient route.
And that is the long-term key.
Without status our flight decisions would be based on things like price and convenience, not perks. At some point in the future most of us will be flying a lot less and will lose status. No perks means no loyalty (as we use the term here). So then what can US do to keep some of that loyalty even after it is no longer being earned on an annual basis? Create an opportunity for long-term status, ie, long-term perks.
At the top level a plan like this is brilliant, though not original. They get even increased loyalty now as we all have a new additional goal, but when we eventually fly less we will still be loyal to US for the remaining perks.
The question that US needs to work through is how large they want that pool to be, which will define which miles count, keeping in mind that these new "permanent silvers" are now competing with their "active silvers", and all of the known implicit ramifications of that. There is an advantage to US in having that pool as large as possible, meaning more loyal fliers. "Active silvers" will always have more PQM's as the upgrade tiebreaker so some differentiation is built in. The next logical outgrowth is then the 2m=gold, etc.
A GP (at 50k miles) will get lifetime silver in 20 years. An SP at 25k miles annually will never get there (40 years?). This then says to me that maybe if you want the silver/gold border fliers to have a shot they include all PQM's. That means they can earn it in 20 to 25 years of loyalty. If I am a 25k flier every year and only BIS miles count, then lifetime status is not a realistic goal. If then doing this to make the goal attainable, it is necessary that further lifetime gold and platinum options be available at higher mile counts. Down in a dark basement at US there are black-robed mystics who have access to the actual data on elites, levels, durations and the like.
I have a now retired uncle who is well over 4m with Delta, in other words, lifetime platinum. To this day he will fly no one but Delta. Reason - perks.