Originally Posted by
NWIFlyer
I'd tend to agree this makes a cut more likely given there will now be a large disparity between Eurobonus and M+B earning in Y.
SK still remains a viable route for M+B re-qual by buying Y+ or higher, and indeed that's how I retained Gold last year. I don't currently see that changing, and indeed it might well persuade me to buy up on intra-Europe routes if the Y earnings do plummet.
I hadn't realised that Plus rates are unchanged. Lets just hope that's reflected in any cut that IS made to M&B earnings. After all, there are many nonsensical 'mappings' out there where a particular fare class earns highly with one airline's program and earns nothing with another, or vice-versa.
And it's correct what people are saying about Plus sometimes offering good value, even in Europe. On my most common SAS route (ATH-ARN) I would typically pay around 90 Euro for the basic fare and sometimes only 40 Euro more for Plus. That's not so bad for double mileage. I think these lower Plus rates are mostly found on less premium-heavy routes anyway. With the recent dropping of the free checked bag for *G members on basic fares, Plus is even better value for those, like me, who often have a checked bag.
Anyway, for next year, I feel a long haul on Ethiopian may be on the cards...