Originally Posted by
Solevita
Elite status was easier in the old system - just 15 qualifying segments, regardless of fare class (wtih the exception of award tickets & very basic fares on certain partner airlines) or distance flown.
For Elite you now need 20 qualifying short trips (5XP), or less if you take longer segments or travel in higher than Economy, but then these cost more money. So for a traveller that just flies in Eco in Europe, more flights are needed to get to Elite. A further disadvantage is the downgrading of internal flights to 2 XP.
Well it is harder for short flights, but for long haul, if you buy the cheapest coach ticket between Europe and the East coast, you used to get 25% of the miles per flight, so maybe 900 miles, it would have taken
15 flights to hold silver, now it will be 10 times 10 XP, big change. And still in premium eco with the cheapest fare, you go from needing 7 flights to needing 5. Cheapest business: from 5 flights to 4 flights. Cheapest first: from 3 flights to 2.