Originally Posted by
Rus925
I doubt the main incentive to seek/maintain status among (profitable) passengers is the higher earn rate; it's for the additional comfort and convenience perks of status, even if just for the one non-international-first trip the customer takes that year.
This.
The bonus miles or RDMs or whatever you call them are just an afterthought for me, because I can't use them for leisure trips or I would not have time to earn the PQMs/EQMs I need for status.
And why do I need status? Because flying can be a grind without it, and I don't do the kind of work-related trips where I can count on F from OPM.
So the existing systems have worked well for me -- or I have acclimated myself to them -- since free upgrades domestically, often extended to family members traveling with me, and some better treatment from the airline have made the international long-hauls I do in Y worth it to me.
The new system won't, so I guess I'll turn down more work-related trips, fly less, and churn credit cards more for family trips. When the environment changes, you have to change, or become a fossil sooner rather than later. I can see it from the airlines' standpoint -- in an oligopoly, best to cut seats and raise fares. Alas, I'm not a CEO of an airline.