Originally Posted by
SightseeMC
I saw these requirements today, and had to come here to make sure I wasn't insane.
Let me ask the collected gurus here.
- Do the bonus miles earned while flying count for status? I assume not.
- Is this the "sweet spot" in airline status right now? Yes, OZ Diamond status is hard to earn on partner discounted economy. But once you get it that's 1 trans-Pacific/trans-Atlantic flight (earning 5-7K) and some extra flights each year. The CC essentially seems like a hybrid MQD/status requirement at that rate. Or, with no OZ metal requirements, any mid-level business traveler in the US who couldn't hit Gold at 50K +$$$ every year would now have UA lounge access nationwide.
We just started splitting time between Seoul/USA last year and chose OZ as our program. Diamond+ doesn't seem worth it for us, but if I grab the BAC card next time I'm home we'll be Diamond indefinitely with these requirements.
I expected that OZ Diamond would become *S shortly after this was announced but thus far it hasn't happened even though the comparable status on KE is only ST Elite, not Elite Plus (although ST elite gets SkyPriority and some extra baggage allowance while *S gets basically nothing.....so technically the only thing OZ Diamond offers that KE's comparable status level doesn't offer is lounge).