Liat - whilst we all recognise you are not responsible for the changes, could I suggest that when dealing with an intelligent community of frequent flyers you must adopt an approach of openness about changes that impact us. If I were you I would have said that the changes will not be liked by all, will not work for all, but were necessary from a business perspective and do provide some benefits that will work for some people. From there on it's vitally important to also be 100% factual and the claim that no cards offered matmid points for governmental payments is simply incorrect.
Another point I would make is that whilst many airlines have devalued their programs over time they usually have not done so to such a brutal extent, particularly the cut in accrual and increase in redemption rates. The antiquated approach of points expiring after 3 years was bad enough when it concerned base and extra points, but now you have extended that to partner points too. Most airlines I know simply require regular activity for points to remain valid forever and I think that is much more reasonable and honest. You say that people will accrue quicker so will be able to buy bonus tickets faster. This is both factually incorrect because accrual rates have been hit and fails to account for personal circumstances. Some people may travel regularly for business but for personal reasons may not be able to go on holiday for example. It could be health reasons or other personal circumstances but the bottom line is that Elal no longer allows anyone to accrue points for the long term, maybe for retirement or for a special trip once every few years.
Simply put, LY is so bad at understanding its customers (at least from my experience) that it appears to have no idea how to build a successful loyalty program. It's a real shame that LY cannot find well informed and experienced marketing people to get the job done properly.