FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - FF programs going revenue based
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Old Mar 10, 2018, 1:12 pm
  #4  
intuition
Moderator, Finnair
 
Join Date: May 2011
Location: MMX (CPH)
Programs: Eurobonus Diamond, QR Gold, AY+ Platinum, A3*G, Nordic Choice Lifetime Platinum, SJ Prio Black
Posts: 14,191
I think this is an non-issue. I have never heard or seen anything indicating AY is contemplating it. Of course that is no guarantee, but it seems like a subject that preoccupies people on FT a lot more than most execs at europeean airlines.

Anyway, why on earth would revenue based be a good thing for loyalty program?
A loyalty program awards your purchasing actions with the purpose of affecting your purchasing pattern:
They give you some non-monetary advantages and in return you do less scrutinizing. That is the upside to tha loyalty program. Already before you even decided to buy a flight, you are predisposed towards AY. You are less likely to look at the competitors, ie it skews the free market. You check AY prices and if they are OK, you buy.

A revenue based system is not rewarding loyalty to brand, it rewards spend. Spend ≠ brand loyalty. Spending 4000€ on a flex ticket with AY does not make me one bit predisposed to buy AY next time.
Award programs that use spend is just a (very complicated) discount system.

Norwegian has such a system - and I use it - but no way in the fiery underworld does it make me loyal to DY or predisposed buying DY. The only effect it has, is that IF I decided to buy DY tickets, then I will use the DY credit card to minimize the ticket price.


A quick real world example:
Flying AY ex-HEL is expensive due to many factors (direct flights, few competitors, nationalism, et.c.). In a revenue based system HEL based flyers would be awarded more points than others.
Let me see a show of hands: anyone who thinks that double points ex-HEL will make you happily choose AY for all your business, paying 3400€ for each ticket if QR offers an equivalent flight at 1700€?
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