Originally Posted by
Transpacificflyer
The disconnect between some super elite status plan participants and everyone else, reminds me of a Ponzi scheme. An effective ponzi scheme pays out a high return for a select few. These few beneficiaries talk up the ponzi scheme or the lottery, offering a validation of sorts for the scheme. They do well and want it to continue because of their vested interest. They have no empathy or care for those who gain no benefit and feel ripped off.
We all agree AE is borderline robbery. We agree that without SE status, it's more or less useless.
But I don't see a comparison with a Ponzi scheme at all. A deliberate fraud, grabbing cash from new subscribers to pay unrealistic returns to older contributors, just to gain time under the whole thing falls aprt. (Hoping unrealistically that actual returns will return to the unrealistically high promise perhaps.)
Just dealing with the regular AE smoke and mirror. With a bit of icing added to the cake *by AC* not AE for SEs. Because they need to provide some FF benefits to their best customers.
So let's not overdo the rhetorics. Good riddance AE. Good riddance too many points going to credit cards for cheap, and let's hope real FF benefits stay.
No poiint in blaming us SEs for the AE excesses and the unbalanced contract between AC and AE from the Milton era.