Originally Posted by
eightblack
You make a very good point. I suppose the challenge is how or where do they draw the line in terms of the upgrade path for elites? For example, if you are a Gold and continue to buy Flex Y fares, should you receive upgrade email offers all the time?
This is only my 4th year flying EK and I have received multiple email offers - but more when I was Blue and Silver than Gold. There didn't appear to be any method to when they were sent out. The last one I received I declined because I was confident that I would be op-upped if it was oversold in Y (which it was).
If you crawl over the EK forum a little more, you'll see a bunch of us who even question the "value" of being Gold (especially if you are flying paid J). There's certainly no visible incentive to continue to fly EK once you have reached 50,000 tier miles.
I state the following not to boast nor to prove anything, but I earned 300,000 tier miles last year and will probably do closer to 500,000 tier miles this year - for that, I'd like to see some additional benefits (such as lounge access in outstations, preference when it came to email upgrade offers etc). Obviously I'm continuing to fly EK despite their loyalty program, because the cost and schedule suit me at present.
I am in agreement with you on everything. I wrote Skywards an email to the effect of the tier program being ineffective. One F ticket from SFO -> CAN roundtrip gets 52k tier miles. How can a FF program reward somebody flying 300k - 500k miles per year the same as a guy that flies a single F return? It doesn't make any sense and doesn't foster a loyal repeat clientele.
Hopefully when you meet with Skywards next month they will tell you some good news about plans on a new tier level, ideally around 150k - 200k miles to make it only obtainable by the much more frequent travelers, with perks such as space-available upgrades at time of boarding. (One can dream....)
OT, but on my mind, in regards to I/O, when in Dubai one of the people there told me this was really a status level for people who are the decision makers of high-volume corporate travel on EK. I.E. The guy responsible for booking their Fortune 500 company's travel and have pushed enough business to EK. These are the same guys that get the Range Rover chauffeur drive. So, I am not entirely sure if I/O is the "secret" step up from Gold, it may be unobtainable by just a frequent traveller. If I/O was for frequent travelers I would certainly hope 300k - 500k tier miles per year would qualify.