rossmacd

The benefits bestowed to a GGL or GGL/CCR (compared to a standard Gold) are huge, hence I can fully understand the anguish displayed here (I am not in the group since I am one of the 'lucky' June members who now has GGL/CCR until 2022). Certainly, the gap between GGL/CCR and Gold, compared to (for example) Gold and Silver, is so pronounced that it defeats your argument I'm afraid

FlightDetective

I changed Orbitmic to orbitmic actually. Nothing strange or unusual.

orbitmic

Well, I haven't had a pram for a few decades Prospero was saying that the policy should be assessed on its intended goal of ensuring that no BAEC member would be penalised for qualification by the covid-related travel shutdown, and I merely explained that I agreed that this was the goal and gave specific information how the policy does not achieve this for me.

Now of course, you are fully entitled to feel that Gold is good enough and wonder why anyone would want to qualify for more, but still in the spirit of assessing things on BA's own term, they clearly believe that there is a life beyond gold, hence their coming up with GGL and the CCR card. As it happens, I agree with them and feel that this status is valuable to me, or else, I'd have decided to take it easy with my BA Gold for life and AF Plat for life and would have chased status on *A instead. I have been qualifying for GGL and the CCR card for several years because it is a status I see value in, and as it happens, I do seriously worry about losing it this year due to BA's policy.

As you also know, flosing GGL is not only about time to go back, but about losing a qualification criterion entirely as you requalify at 3000 TPs for as long as you have that status, but once you lose it, can only regain it by achieving 5000TPs instead, not an insignificant difference for many people.

I completely accept that some people couldn't care less about losing frequent flyer status and that is entirely understandable, in the same way that there are many things that people care about on this forum which I am personally completely un-bothered by though as far as I am concerned, if they worry them, that's a good enough reason to have those discussions on the BA forum. However, since this particular thread is about one particular policy, and since Prospero has very neatly described what it aims to achieve, I would have thought it makes sense to discuss whether the policy does or does not manage to achieve those goals.

I would even go so far to say that if I am a complete exception and only I and a handful of others were to "[l[color=#333333]ose] out as a result of the COVID 19 travel shutdown" under the BAEC policy, it would be perfectly fine for the forum to ignore my and said handful's plight and say that we are merely the exception that confirms the rule. For the reasons I explained above, however, I do not think that this will be the case, and my sense is that the vast majority of people with July membership year (and most likely August and September at least) will see the policy not achieve what it was supposed to. Whilst you could say that those who would not have managed to renew their status in 2020 at least benefited from the 1 year extension that BA literally promised them, so that their loss will at least have been mitigated; by contrast, those who had enough TPs to requalify - and there were quite a few - will not even have that partial mitigation so that not only the BA policy will not achieve what it aimed to, but will also not even achieve what it said it would.

PS: I care about "substance" more than "form", but I do agree that had BA not contacted us to tell us that they would give us a status extension, I would have had more respect for their position. The policy would still not have achieved its goals as summarised by Prospero, but at least it would not have made any promise to me that it was unwilling to fulfil.

Mike P

I can completely see why members with a July 8th year end who had re-qualified as normal might feel somewhat hard done by here. A GGL / CCR card member with a July 8th year end wishing to remain at the same status now needs to earn 3750 Tier Points before July 8th 2021 in order to do so. Someone with a June 8th year end may actually have re-qualified under the 30% reduction scheme at 3500 Tier Points and is now entirely safe until June 9th 2021 and thereafter only needs 3750 Tier Points in the following year. Not terribly equitable.

Prospero

I am splitting hairs here I know but if the email addressed to you arrived during the second week of June, saying “we’ve added 12 months extra onto your membership”, then it’s a reasonable assertion that BAEC delivered on its promise. I accept that the extension did not alter the eventual outcome for you since you had already accrued enough tier points to renew on 9 July

orbitmic

I disagree. I think the terminology is actually straightforwardly deceptive (though I have no doubt this was not intentional). It is a bit like a supermarket telling you "we have offered you a steak" after you have paid for it at the till and saying that the claim was true because the message was delivered before the supermarket processed the credit card charge.

The communication also specified that all members will "benefit" from the extension, which at the risk of stating the obvious, is not honest qualification when directed at members who will precisely not benefit.

In other words, BAEC cannot claim honesty in communication on the basis of its own internal processing rigidities when members have already done their part of the job and achieved their qualification.

crazyarmadillo

That is what happened to us. Only got 4030 TP as a June.

All our flights were cancelled from March April and May, so could never make 5000 plus for CCR.

So we benefited from the reduced threshold 30% one , so kept CCR.

Then got a year extension of the CCR and then will also benefit from reduced 3750 the year after that.

Agree not terribly equitable. If I were a July id be annoyed.

On a positive note , at least everyone gets the 25% reduction.

ThatT1Feeling

Hmm... further splitting hairs, the header of the email says “12 months extra, on us”. My interpretation of those words would be that the 12 months extra should be free, not earned.

if that’s the wrong interpretation, then my understanding of English isn’t quite what I thought it was 😊

fsx

So to clarify.. Me and a colleague has had the same itineraries in the 2019-2020 collection year, both of us having a July 8th collection year ending. During this period we both earned 490 TP.

I’ve been a silver for years, and have now an expiration date of 08/21. He’s been bronze for the last year, but is now due to expire 08/22.

Does that mean BA values newly upgraded customers over those who requalify? Any chance of getting the same extension from BA? I have a feeling I won’t be going on any long hauls over the next 12 months anyway.

KARFA

yes those who upgraded in their current collection year already had a card expiry date which was later than those who had not upgraded or merely renewed. BA then added a year on to whatever the card expiry date.

you can ask but it seems very unlikely BA would do anything.

fsx

Thanks!

Even though we both were below the normal renewal/requalifying threshold? We were both saved by the 25% requirement reduction. If so, I’ll may have to reconsider my FF choice in the future.

SonicStar817

I think there is a simple explanation for this scenario, because what happened to your colleague happened to me as well. So from my own understanding, what actually happened is what would usually happen under normal circumstances. When an upgrade happens the you would get the remainder of your current year and the rest of the next. However, when BA applied the extension, the current year became August 2021. When BA then upgraded those who met the reduced thresholds it applied the normal rule and as a result the new expiry date of August 2022.

fatmac70

Is the answer to all of this get GGL for life and then none of this really matters!!😀😀😀.
Looking at the travel patterns here on FT some of of you must be GGL for life or very close!😀😀
Sorry to be flippant but to me all of this seems to be very first world problems during my first ever global pandemic!

brunos

When BA started to design this extension, it must have been early May.
At the time, expectations were that travel would seriously resume in July.
Unfortunately the global health situation did not improve as hoped and one can envision that longhaul travel will not restart in a significant way within the next six months or more. BA might/will have to come up with a new enhancement. Who cares of Gold status if you cannot travel or if the lounge is closed (as happened to me).

BAeuro

Given that priority boarding is no longer a thing, should BA give another benefit to replace it? For Bronze, there’s now very few benefits at all.