ThatT1Feeling

It is a very good graph, but it is a little more complicated as Prospero mentions. There are many who have extensions through to 2023 which aren’t shown on this graph - hence quite a few of the confused and frustrated posts.

FlightDetective

Oh, I am completely aware of that.

From what I can see, many of the confused and frustrated posts seem to be by people who are, in actual fact, quietly aggrieved they aren't in the big winners circle in this particular round of gift giving from BA.

I can understand it as I've been there myself, having not had any benefit from the previous rounds of free Executive Club customer appeasement for one reason or another. There does come a time when one needs to move on past it and accept things are as they are.

It's an imperfect world, after all!

RB211

This is also a great lesson in how BA should have presented the information!

rb211.

Arsey00

Honestly I don't think it's us that have overcomplicated things. BA could really have decided to just give everyone the 12 month extension from their expiry date. Surely that would have been easier from an IT perspective, and much easier for all to understand. And of course would have avoided some ill will.

orbitmic

Actually, the confused posts are pretty much from any type of member. For instance, you'll see some a few posts ago for instance from one of the people who got an extension till July 2022 because they were upgraded before their renewal date on 8/7/2020.

The frustrated posts are mostly for people who are not benefiting at all from BA's policy, ie those who are not getting any extension since they requalified based on their actual TP accrual anyway, and who have lost more TPs from flight cancellations by BA than the 25% target reduction offered by BA the year after.

In other words, they are not unhappy "not to be in the big winners circle" but rather to be net losers at this stage (which -- and maybe we should have stressed that more -- is also why their frustration at their own situation is in no way incompatible with being happy for those who, by contrast, are benefitting from the BAEC offer, and particularly those who are benefitting a lot from it). There is more than a subtle difference between the two interpretations. The feeling is probably compounded by the fact that they are being told by BAEC that they are winners which they are not.

Prospero

orbitmic, I do appreciate your points. I think the Executive Club’s objective is to ensure no member loses out as a result of the COVID 19 travel shutdown. If you consider that on those terms, they have delivered. Those that did not need the extra helping hand, ie, who had already secured their tier renewal, still benefit going forward with the reduced renewal rates

orbitmic

I agree with you regarding the goal of the policy. Precisely, however, that's the thing: I don't in the least consider that they have delivered on those terms.

I did not get any extension and I have already lost over 1800TPs-worth of flights cancelled by BA alone (I am deliberately not counting partners but I had QR flights booked and cancelled too) between 9 July and 31 August for the year when they are giving me a discount of 1250TPs to renew GGL/CCR and we are merely 3 days into that new membership year! (in other words, if we assumed an absolute miracle and my not suffering any further Covid 19 disruption whatsoever for the rest of the year, I am already losing out by 550+TPs nett for BA alone in 2020-21 or over 1000TPs including partner flights after "crediting" the 25% qualification discount).

As time progresses, given the evolution of the Covid situation, more and more people will be in the same situation as me - certainly among those with a July membership year - ie bleeding opportunities to accrue well beyond the derisory qualification discount that we have been granted. This means that BA offered us to not need to requalify for a membership year when the effects of Covid were much less than for the following year when they are only giving us a qualification discount which is wholly inadequate in view of their own inability (through no fault of their own, but not fault of their members either) to offer us the schedule that we need to be able to accrue TPs.

So my problem is that not only do I consider that I am losing due to Covid due to BAEC's ill-conceived policy but that a vast majority of July membership year members (and in all likelihood, at least August and September ones too) will be too.

By contrast, in my view, allowing members to validate their qualification if applicable and giving them the extension on top of that would not only have been fairer but would have precisely achieved the goal that you rightly characterise as ensuring that no members would lose out due to the Covid 19 shutdown in the sense that those suffering in their 2019-20 membership year would have been able to use the extension then, whilst those who had been able to qualify for their 2019-20 membership year would have instead been insured for the 2020-21 year when they are more likely to suffer such loss.

Tocsin

I agree with orbitmic ! Unless BAEC have something up their sleeve for those given the sh*tty end of the stick because of a July renewal date AND a lack of opportunity to go flying for several months to come, then they should expect to lose a considerable amount of custom. "Extra 12 months", my ar$e...

And yes, this post has been brought to you courtesy of a glass of Shiraz, before anyone comments

FlightDetective

No disrespect meant to you personally orbitmic, but I have no sympathy whatsoever for people who have Lifetime Gold complaining vociferously about not getting an extension.

Even if you don't fly at all, you still have Gold status, so it is hardly a hardship to have to live with that for whatever period it takes for you to get back to the even higher levels.

golfmad

You're making a personal value judgment because you consider Gold to be satisfactory. It's not a reasonable argument in the context of this thread for others who may end up disadvantaged by the policy.

FlightDetective

Of course, were I in others shoes, I would probably also be extremely upset with British Airways to the point of throwing my toys out of the pram too

I can't even imagine how the poor Premier card holders must feel. Since none have written here, they have all probably keeled over in shock at this whole horrible godforsaken mess.

Poor BA. Damned if they do, damned if they don't. Same story every time.

golfmad

Premier cards are of course ‘bestowed’ rather than earned through flying. I doubt any have been affected by this so far. BA will simply want them to continue to direct their travel budgets in the same direction as before once restrictions are eased.

Tocsin

No need to display the green tinge from your blog on this thread. I wonder how bad it was before you edited that post?

I'm not GfL or anywhere near it, but I fully support orbitmic 's comments and rationale advanced. BAEC said "extra 12 months" - I see none of that for July-end qualifiers, and as a retired leisure traveller only see no flights since Feb '20 (four more cancelled) and one booked (and possibly will be cancelled/ postponed) in Dec '20. I repeat: unless BAEC have more up their sleeves, they can expect aggrieved customers.

crazyarmadillo

As pointed out by others above, I do think the complications are more due to BA.

BAs email was poorly worded and should have been targeted to different groups of year end members. Many BA agents also told members different things. I was told there different scenarios by BA.

We as June's got the extension, but no email at all and still waiting. If it wasn't for FT I would have no idea why my account has been extended.

It seems just not right how BA have handled this.

ThatT1Feeling

What I like about this forum is that differing opinions are offered and generally received in the spirit in which they are provided. As one of the posters who fits your description above, I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.

BA sent me an email telling me that they were giving me an extra year of GGL. They haven’t provided it. To me that’s the fundamental issue.

Whether or not I have GFL to fall back on is not relevant to BA’s inability to deliver against the email they themselves chose to send to me. They’d have been better off just not sending me the email.