i see this as a step to join OW. Many of the oneworld carriers have this external points system like Qantas?

I am just pissed at that i book my flights and now they devalue the miles and points. I would have gone with Cathay Pacific had i known it

V and W worse off, while others either remain the same or better off though it gets harder to get upgrades now?

I think this is to align the loyalty programme with oneworld. Harder to get silver now, and silver gives pretty good access across OW network.

just have to fly more often with 12 segments to get silver instead of 8 segments.