I beg your pardon at the top of this post, as this is a topic where people tend to think I envy their 150 flights to OUL and I begrudge them their tarmac limousine. I don't, I really don't.
I've looked into all OW programs and their publicly known super-tiers, in order to compare with AY platinum Lumo. By super-tier I mean what is offered to a flyer that already has earned the program's Emerald tier.
I can find only 2 OW airlines that has an official super-tier: AY and QF. Further, I find 3 airlines with thresholds inside their Emerald tier, releasing perks with increased flying. For the 3 with threshold-perks I chose the level with perks similar to Lumo.
There may of course be secret invite only programs of which I know nothing. But these tiers are not really comparable, as they are not meant to strive for.
I don't know exactly how to classify JL JGC diamond and all the cards from Lantam so they are excluded, and I am by no means an expert in these programs, so I may very well have missed or misunderstood some things.
Nevertheless, with these limitations this comparison still gives:
* No program, besides AY, offers a segment qualification for their super-tier.
* One program reserves super-tier for high spend in premium cabins only (disqualifying econ flyers altogether from the super tier)
* Tier-point qualification falls into 2 categories. BA, AY, QF with roughly requires 3x the tierpoints of normal emerald. CX asks only 1,5x tierpoints, but there may be an upper non-public threshold for more perks.
* Perks of super-tier varies of course, but giveaway card is omni-present. Lounge-passes of different qualities and upgrades are also very common.
It most certainly looks like the programs have very different targets. AA is on one extreme end, making an exclusive club for premium flyers with high spend. AY looks to be on the other extreme, catering to the shorthaul commuter.
CX has put in many steps in their ladder, with smaller requirements and smaller perks. So their take looks to be to give many small incentives for increase flying, which is rather different from the others which have more of a big bang approach.
