Freightman

I think I fall in the middle. I will, without a doubt, fly as much as possible to new places as soon as possible. I am not risk averse.

I will continue with BA if possible. I live maybe 30 minutes from Heathrow and therefore BA offer the best option. IMHO status with any alliance is worthwhile as I am sure that I have had better treatment as an emerald with partners. I know that some will say that booking J/F on any carrier gets you the product but in my experience when things go wrong, status helps.

I would consider another alliance, but Star and/or sky team means always transiting Europe whereas BA offer the direct option or exEU if I want it.

Chris_G

Sadly this is true...I got out of a jam in BKK when I suffered food poisoning...dear God I nearly boarded but thankfully the check in staff just changed the flight for no fee, and then changed it again the next day. Being Gold helped as did looking dreadful.
Also when my flight to RUH was delayed 24 hours, I got plonked in the hotel you can just walk to from T5 (can't remember the name) as opposed to waiting for a bus to some place offsite for everyone else. Got upgrade in F from J on another RUH flight as well.

But is it worth spending money pursing status when you're retired and on a pension...??

Chris

wilsnunn

I am in a position where I very much see flying and "status chasing" as a hobby, indeed I have recently been through recruitment processes and in each interview when asked about my hobbies I spoke about flying and writing code to find me the best flight pricing etc. This was actually always met with interest.

My wife has family in USA and Singapore/Malaysia so we are going to be travelling to see them once we are allowed to travel again. Furthermore, there is no way that at the moment, I will be able to afford the £3,500+ per person fares to Fly to Singapore/Malaysia in business class. As such I either take advantage of very cheap WT fares (I have done last minute Singapore return for under £350 in WT before) with the occasional POUG or if I want to spend a bit more, ex-EU in WT+. I think that if the cheap QR ex-EU fares continue, these will increasingly become more of what i do now that I am leaving the world of being a PhD student and entering the real world! With both ex-LON in Y or ex-EU in WT+, I very much benefit from my (now Gold) BAEC status; seat selection, blocked seats, priority boarding, lounge access, which I wouldn't otherwise get without status. It is for these reasons that I am happy to fly with BA and pay the extra on my multiple short haul trips to make my longer haul trips that bit more comfortable - especially as a 6'1" broad shouldered ex rower who likes to eat...

If on the other hand I was happy to pay the cash fares for J ex-LON for the majority of my trips to South East Asia, then I would probably not go for status, I would get to sample more different J seats and go for the best price available at the time that I want to go. So in conclusion, for the meanwhile I will still be a loyal BAEC status chaser, but that could all well change in a post COVID-19 world.

IAMORGAN

I feel the same. I love travel: the sights, smells & sounds of new places. I also enjoy the journey - that sense of freedom that I feel when flying. It’s a passion.

I learned a few years ago that life is uncertain - you never know what is around the corner. My late father always said “something’s got to kill you in the end”. Is locking myself in my house when there are still no guarantees with life really any life? For me. No. That’s not to say I’m going to go around licking door handles.

I very much look forward to being free to travel again and certainly am not going to avoid public transport. I will take precautions & what will be will be.

Centurion

No it is not worth it. People i know are dropping everything! From private planes to elite status programs and cards.

ermis177

For me it’s about how to maximise the value of your status while keep the renewal cost to minimum. This is the first time I have gold status with both alliances but it cost me much less to renew my gold status with star alliance compare to BA. If BA decides to offer no extension or a radical TP renewal reduction in the next few months I will stick with Star alliance.

Centurion

Oh and just wait for new round of devalues. Anyone confused needs to look up "s&h green stamps" on google.

Dan72

Much of my flying is for work, but enjoy travel and typically connive to get more out of my work travel and then supplement it with a fair bit of my own. But going forward I can see that I will be keen, at least in the short term, to keep flying simple and to the minimum. My business travel started just before 9/11 and remember the justified, but nevertheless irksome, restrictions that horror brought to travel. While I appreciate this a different situation, I see some parallels. Any enjoyment that can be had from travel, will be greatly reduced, at least for the next year. I may be wrong, but I see a world of travel restrictions, health declarations, temperature checks, quarantine, queues for processing etc...

ayearinmx

well i received my first ever gold membership on March 8th this year, and ever since that moment...... haven't flown once

cancelled trips to EZE, RIX, HEL, HKT so far (for business), with plenty more likely and i'm not sure if those trips will be put on later in the year, so i'm really hoping that they do some kind of extension for people because it is definitely going to suck if i don't get to experience gold at least once... oh well

Chris_G

I'm afraid so...this would seem inevitable...

Probably best to spend them now really...although that'll leave you £500 to £600 (for the cash element) further in the hole should BA blow up...which, given the drastic action being threatened, would seem unlikely

Chris

Symmetre

I'm the opposite of the OP ... I fly almost exclusively for work. When it comes to my own vacation, the last thing I want to do is head back to the airport, climb on yet another plane then check into yet another hotel.

I stopped chasing status a few years ago when I did the math and realised exactly how much it really costs. The perks are nice, but for the most part easily replaced by the travel card I have anyway.

Is it all worth it? That depends, and of course YMMV. For me, no, it simply wasn't worth it at all. And expect if others also did the math, they might be surprised at their own answer.

ISTFlyer

For me, I don't have a credit card that gives Priority Pass access or any lounge membership ( except discounted entry at some domestic lounges in Turkey ), I often travel with more than one checked baggage or with a single checked baggage over 23kgs ( I prefer to take more clothes rather than dealing with dry cleaning on long trips ) and when I calculated the total costs which included;

- A decent amount for airport food or Buy on Board food fees ( for BA ET, AA domestic, etc... ) if I didn't have lounge access
- Extra checked bag fees

By the way, I have obtained my *G status for €400 in total ( mileage run with a super deal ) and I have recovered that money on a single trip where the excess baggage fees were $200 per direction + airport food for 4 flights. Plus I had the 2 year *G membership in my pocket, which I already visited more than 25 lounges within the first 6 months of my membership.

Also with my BA Silver status, I had already saved $200+ of baggage fees on AA flights in 2 months.

When maintaining status, I would prefer to obtain the most Tier Points or status miles for the price I paid. If a 1 stop journey and a 3 stop journey have the same price and the latter giving extra status points, I would prefer the latter if I have time.

For information purposes, I generally travel solo and I might not be able to select the airline and the routing when traveling with others.

To conclude, on some occasions it may be more convenient to the shortest/direct option, it may be more convenient to take a LCC and purchase the extras or it may be convenient to pursue status. This would depend on the actual person and as I mentioned above in another post, there is no right or wrong answer for which approach to choose.

chipster

I will be flying more than ever if possible. I love new places and some favourite old ones and I’m really missing it. And due to lack of choice as much as anything, I will be on BA/ow and thus maintain status. Sometimes taking an indirect route is more fun and leads to new experiences as well

allturnleft

Its a bit of a love hate relationship with BA

It makes sense being Silver being a big traveller and aviation enthusiast from the UK

They do keep disappointing us but then you get the occasional
gem of a flight or interesting event and the BEAC perks make flying more special


Most of the competition isn’t musch better outside ME3
especially in Europe

This crisis has been a bit of a wake up call in terms of how lucky and indulgent the flying habit has become

The handling of BA of its customers during the crisis has seen BA at its worse

No proaction when crisis was evolving on a world health level

Deliberate refund avoidance

Scrapping of catering

Dumping of staff

I used to spend hours doing those crazy e rewards surveys; now I have time but I just can’t face it or see the relevance in striving to keep status ; flying is in hold

As in all covid discussions its just crystal balls at the moment

Will lounges and club cabins return?

If BA and flying become attractive again ....

carrotjuice

I’m flying with a longer term horizon in mind... to hit LTG as a benefit that I’d use after my retirement.

Provided BA still exists that is. (Interestingly some years back I got status matched to OWS with Malev, to do that I had to fly from HKG (where I was based then) to Europe, only to fly one qualifying segment with Malev, and back to HKG. But just a month later the airline sank under...)