Originally Posted by
irishguy28
You currently are Platinum, so your membership year won't change. Therefore, for as long as you remain Platinum, your membership year will stay aligned with the calendar year. Hence, you have from January 1 to 31 December to collect the necessary flying - albeit that from 1 April 2018, the "necessary flying" changes from 60 segments or 70k level miles, to a single blanket 300XP.
That your status was "extended" for an extra 3 months, to the end of the following March, has been a fixture of FB from the very beginning. This is to allow themselves enough time to wait for late or delayed flights to post, even after the end of the (currently, fixed for everybody) membership year; create the new cards reflecting everyone's new status, and send them out in time for the "expiry" of all status on 1 April.
You cannot be downgraded in Status on 31 March. EVERYONE is still only 3 months into their current membership year. As such, NO-ONE CAN BE DOWNGRADED, AS NO-ONE IS AT THE END OF THEIR MEMBERSHIP YEAR ON THIS DATE. [Anyone whose status card expires on 1 April is someone who "Lost" that status already at the end-of-year level check that happens in FB every 31 December. Anyone losing status effective 1 April 2019 will lose it on the basis of the decision taken on 31 December 2017 based on their flights taken in calendar year 2017] Status downgrades will only happen at the end of the membership year; anyone failing to maintain status in calendar year 2018 will not be downgraded until 31 December 2018 (actually effective from 1 April 2019) so the "new" programme cannot force you to downgrade at this time.
I believe he is Platinum for 2017, but not for 2018... so that means two things:
1. FB IT probably just looked at 2017 status and assumed it will stay the same in 2018 with requalification for 2019
2. There will be no downgrade, but softlanding to Gold applies; with that in mind, in Apr-Dec 2018 jan0809 will need to get either 180XP to maintain Gold or 300XP to requalify to Platinum, minus of course whatever XP is gain from conversion of Jan-Apr activity
Originally Posted by
irishguy28
There is a once-off shortcut for "maintaining" Platinum, though. Anyone who has 60k level miles [60k * 5XP = 300XP, the new Platinum threshold], or 43 segments [43 * 7XP = 301XP, exceeding the new Platinum threshold of 300XP] on 31 March 2018, *should* be upgraded to Platinum as a result of the one-off conversion of level miles/segments to XP using this (very beneficial) conversion formula.
Assuming that FB does indeed convert all the activity from Q1, no questions asked.
(which, in reference to our earlier debate, would allow the flights to be multiply counted ad absurdum - for silver, gold and plat AND then for at least one requal period if 60 sectors flown)