I’ve said before that I have some sympathy for Andrew Neil, and I don’t see his tweets as a DYKWIA moment. He’s said he usually does six or seven NCE–LHR–JFK round trips a year. Under the old system, six in F/CE would have easily requalified him for GGL — simple, predictable, and fair.
That clarity was the point. Members could plan their travel knowing exactly where they stood. Now, with dynamic Tier Point earnings and shifting partner rules, it’s become guesswork. You can fly the same pattern one year and fall short the next — not because you’re flying less, but because the goalposts keep moving.
The real sting is what happens if you miss: losing GGL means facing a 65,000 nTP mountain to get it back, even if you keep earning over 40,000 nTP in later years. For many, that makes reclaiming status practically impossible.
From plenty of chats in the CCR, it’s clear Andrew isn’t alone. Long-standing GGLs feel the trust has been broken — the programme’s lost the transparency and consistency that built loyalty in the first place. Many, like Andrew, have decided it’s just not worth the effort anymore.