Originally Posted by
schley
Pros
Lounge access as a silver member
Lounge access + 1 guest as a gold member
Very low miles figure for short-haul business class upgrade (only 3000 per segment)
Cons
Their status is based on loyalty points awarding a higher amount of points for each segment based on fare class/cabin/ and zone from and to. Hard to accrue Gold if flying coach all the time.
No alliance thus you are limited to basically GF flights when redeeming (never booked a AA/BA codeshare, thus not sure they allow it).
Lousy earn rate of miles (no minimum earned for short hops), status only gives 25% silver bump and 50% bump for gold.
No upgrade instruments to earn or use and using miles for upgrades cannot be done online. Inventory for upgrades comes out of award space IME as well. I forget the minimum fare class they allow for upgrades.
The fuel surcharges/taxes on awards are high IME.
Overall I would give the program a D.
Also to give golds some type of upgrade instruments to use. I need a way to upgrade well in advance as that would push some more of my travel to them. If they could price awards based on origin/destination and not per segment that would also help.
couldn't agree more. I mean, Gold and Silver are not really distinct from each other and almost share the same benefits. GF's Gold is the lowest Gold tier in the Gulf region at the benefits, ...well you can count Kuwait airways and Saudi Arabian as lagging behind as well. I give GF the appreciation for the latest renovation of their lounge as well as the minor overhaul of their FFP BUT it needs further work as follows:
-Amenities when traveling on Falcon Gold
-Alliance with other airlines for miles redemption
-Ability to upgrade online and anywhere. Usually I can only upgrade at BAH and at their lounge, but for example I can't upgrade on the return leg from KWI.
-Priority luggage handling. No, really. We're only a few on business class and we are usually the last to get our luggage!!!
-Priority boarding. This is what truly pisses me off. One time I had to point it out to the boarding agent and he reached out for me and let me cut in line. This needs attention ASAP.
-Improvements to the meals in all GF classes. I've been seeing the same sandwiches (cheese/veggie/chicken) in short-haul economy for the last 5 years.
-Redemption of miles for award tickets is very awful. The selection of flights are too restrictive and are at the worst time schedules.