Silver Benefit?
 

Sometimes I just don't understand CX. The lounges in Hong Kong are already crowded as it is. Why do CX still provide lounge access benefits to Silver members when the general industry norm these days should be only for 50,000 miles per year flyers? I know, I know....I'm a silver as well but still I think maybe CX could instead provide 1/2 lounge access coupons like they do with Asiana? Or is that something totally unfeasible?

Rather than cutting benefits to solve capacity issues I for one am happy that CX prefers to increase lounge capacity to cater for this demand.

I agree. Please don't encourage CX to cut benefits, because the axe usally doesn't fall on just one segment of members. Once CX falls in love with cutting they will cut off something from everybody, DM, GO, SL, GR, etc.

As for lounge, I am still in the camp that CX should try to enforce "capacity control" on OW members to solve capacity issues. CX has does its best to try to increase lounges but that only go so far.

I would be interested to see the data (which probably are proprietary, alas) on how many pax using CX lounges at HKG are actually on CX/KA flights vs how many are "interlopers" from other oneworld services. And how many are oneworld elites vs CX elites.

By design, the oneworld rule limiting access to sapphire/emerald is supposed to serve as a form of capacity control. But I think we suffer for the fact that there is a huge difference in quality between the CX lounges at HKG and any other oneworld option. I gather the BA/QF lounge is nothing to write home about, although I'll give it a try later this week just to see for myself.

I guess its due to the $50 dollars that MPC charges its initial members, as well as the higher fare that it charges its pax to reach 30,000 miles before using the lounge. I know...now days many people can get that silver status without paying the 50

I thought MPC Silver may use the CX lounge only when flying CX or KA but not other OW flights?

yes, thats right.

i guess CX needs to offer some benefits to each category - if SL doesn't offer lounge access (when flying on CX/KA economy), then it's really not that much different from GR apart from 10 kg baggage and priority baggage.

keeping lounge access for SL is quite fair. i was lured from GR to SL because of lounge access. then got lured to GO (don't really know how that happened) ... and now to DM!

As a SL I too am glad that CX maintains the lounge access benefit. I agree that it is generous for an entry-level elite level, but I also agree that it does provide some form of differentiation from GR. Furthermore, us SLs only fly at most 60K miles/40 sectors per year (on average I'd say 40K/30 sectors), so I don't think we'e adding much to the crowding. :cool:

Sorry....I'm not quite understanding what you're trying to say? :confused:

+1 Can JALlover kindly explain what does that $50 have to do with lounge access? :confused:

I rather like the BA/QF F lounge. The food offerings aren't as substantial as The Wing, but there are a few nibblies of decent quality. The wine is a step above the CX F lounges. After the redesign I've rarely seen it crowded. I'll often go even before a CX flight.

If you apply directly with MPC Green you have to pay application fee of $50 USD. If you apply for Asiamile it's free.

This is exactly my experience. I was quite happily flying AA most of my life until a decade ago AA couldn't find a space for me, so I was put on CX instead, happened twice in the same year, and then CX sent me this SL card that I realized has lounge access. As you said, the rest is history and now I'm DM with CX.

Another good point. The lounge access for lowest-tier elite is unusually generous. But at 30k, the threshold is slightly higher than for many programs' equivalent. And, crucially, there are no tier bonuses for mileage earning. The lowest tiers on AA/UA/BA etc don't come with lounge access, but they offer 25% RDM bonuses.

I agree with Cathay Boy and others who don't want to see a devaluation in elite status. But would a trade be acceptable? I'd probably forgo lounge access at SL if instead we got RDM tier bonuses. A guy can dream, anyway.

We know that. The issue is how can that $50 related to lounge access.

+1 CX MPC SL actually has one of the most generous elite benefit if you compare with all low-tiered elite.

To an low-tiered elite, he/she may prefer lounge access than 25% RDM bonuses (7.5K miles).

Don't assume. Because AsiaMiles expire after a few years, the fewer miles you're earning in a year the more valuable a tier bonus potentially comes. Consider someone who's flying HKG-JFK rt 2x per year in Y, earning SL and 32,000 RDM per year (16,000 per roundtrip).

Currently, it takes that flyer ~6 roundtrips (three years' worth of flying in this example) to earn 90,000 for a rt Y award on that route, and ~9 roundtrips to earn the 145,000 for a rt J award. Although with mileage expiration after three years, the Y award will always be a sweat when the poster needs to redeem in a hurry before the first year's 30k expire (and then we'll get threads here on FT about it). The J award is totally unobtainable.

With a 25% bonus accumulating 20,000 miles per round trip, it takes 4.5 roundtrips to accumulate for the Y award, and 7.25 roundtrips for the J. With expiration, the J award is still out of reach but only slightly -- perhaps an inducement for this flyer to sign up for a credit card, or book up to Y+ on one or two trips.

Yeah, this flyer loses out on lounge access, but is only accessing lounges four times a year anyway. And the mileage bonus brings awards into reach much sooner, which a reasonable person could conclude is more valuable.

This assumes that tier bonuses would not be accompanied by a devaluation in the award chart. But again, it's all hypothetical anyway.

From the perspective of paying business class pax, won't they feel a little disappointed that they have to share the same crowded lounge with people who only fly a few times in discounted economy a year? I mean I once saw people standing in the hallways of the Cabin during the afternoon rush hour period, is that the norm?

True enough but there are tons of these SL flyers out there.

I wouldn't be adverse to restricting the new Wing to true F / J flyers only. OW and MPC members flying in Y can use the other perfectly servicable lounges. Any such members flying from gates near the Wing can use the Cabin; hardly a hardship in terms of distance.

I think you slightly misunderstood my point. What I meant in my post was "Although this flyer loses lounge access, he's only using it a few times a year anyway so he might think bonus RDMs is a better deal." Clearly, as you say, a lot of low-tier flyers can still lead to a lot of lounge usage even if any individual low-tier flyer isn't in the lounge often.

It would be long-term bad for all of us for CX or other oneworld carriers to go down the road of slicing and dicing lounge eligibility. It's a recipe for confusion (both pax and dragons) and diluted benefits.

What's more likely to happen is that as they upgrade the Pier (one day, we hope) and the new lounge by Gate 36 opens, pax will go back to spreading themselves out among all of the available lounges based more on convenience. The real problem right now is that the quality gap between the Wing and the others is so wide that people seem to flock toward the Wing.

I don't see why there should be any disappointment. Should we give paying F / J passengers a separate airport too so they don't have to deal with the eyesore of Y passengers?

I think that people tend to overstate the crowds at CX lounges. I use CX lounges in HK whenever I travel and I rarely have any trouble finding a place to sit. Sometimes, yes, it is an issue, but it's very rare to be honest. With capacity being increased, it will only get better.

This is a very slippery slope. SQ already does this, and frankly, the fake J lounge for KF Gold members and other Star Alliance members travelling in Y is a joke. When I moved back to HKG I was thrilled that I could finally dump SQ and it's severely stingy FFP (before switching to OW I was *A Gold on SQ).

During our travels throughout the year it's often cheaper or more direct to fly other carriers, and I spend extra money to fly CX because I feel my loyalty is rewarded. If CX wants to reward my loyalty by creating an "enhanced service offering exclusively for Gold and Silver members" and kicking us out of the real lounges, then maybe I don't need to feel so loyal after all, and maybe I'd be okay with directing my $$$ elsewhere.

At the end of the day, someone has to fill up the Y/Y+ seats too and give proper incentives to get repeat customers. No airline is going to make money on premium pax alone.

In fact, in many ways I think SQ offers a superior inflight experience than CX. But CX treats a loyal passenger like myself so much better on the ground and that for me enhances the overall experience way beyond anything I can expect from SQ.

I think that's the key issue for me - I'm not sure why CX deviates from many of its OW partners and offers lounge access for Rubies, but its not an issue yet so no point encouraging them to start sharpening their knives.

I've never seen the HKG lounges packed anywhere close to BA's T5 lounges on a Friday afternoon for example.

You CX folk don't know you're born sometimes ;)

Thanks...I see your points. You have been educating me a lot lately :D

But again (and you will agree as well) - it all comes down to the member's travel pattern.

+1 No doubt why SQ has been known for one of the worst *A program.

FWIW - a lot of people can still survive with SATS Lounge. It is not the best. But IMHO - it is still better than SQ's own SKL @ HKG.

Well I agree with many poster that the lounge access for SL that keep me flying CX. I sometimes decide to take CX via HKG rather than direct on SQ because of the lounge benefit.

I also agree that the lounge tend to be over crowded especially in the early morning. Sometimes you will see the whole family with 2-3 kids. I really wonder if they are flying biz or all SL and above or what.

With the kids, they are most likely GO/DM's +1 guest since you're only allowed to enroll into MPC if you're 18 and above. Unless the whole family is flying in J/F...

I know CX makes $50 a head from OW travelers using their lounge (and vice-versa). Perhaps that's what the poster was referencing too, and a major reason why CX doesn't do capacity control.

Glad you bought that up...wanted to ask, but wasn't sure which thread was appropriate for it.

If CX charge $50 (or whatever amount) a head....what if that OW passenger decides to roam and check out more than one lounge at HKIA? Surfing from Wing... to Cabin....to the Pier.

Would CX then charge OW $50 once? or multiply times?

For roamers there's re-entry stamp, also, even without stamp, the CX lounge will scan your BP (since your first lounge invitation is taken) and count you as one. I'm pretty sure OW has this abuse figured out.

Abuse? Would you eat and drink more just because you are hopping around?

Without taking sides either way, can we keep this from becoming one of that kind of thread? ;):)

The abuse that CX gets to make $50 per entry, I'm sure AA won't be too happy if their elite member hops around 4 lounges and they end up paying CX $200.

This has nothing to do with the pax, it's about airline to airline agreement. What the pax does has no bearing.

Newly qualified MPC SL/Ruby exclusively on CX metal. Does CX has a minimum segment/miles requirement on CX or KA metal like in other programmes to requalify?

20 sectors or 30,000 miles

Clipper801 was probably asking if there's any minimum requirement that it has to be spend on CX/KA metal. Which is... only 1 sector required, regardless of elite level.

https://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en.../mpo/clubmiles

Members of The Marco Polo Club are required to travel at least one eligible sector on Cathay Pacific or Dragonair per membership year in order to attain or retain Silver, Gold or Diamond status.

Thanks CanucksHKG for the clarification!

As you clearly stated yourself - it is an agreement between the airlines and if they have signed it, why call it abuse?

Also the $50 thing is just based on here say and quite possibly this is not the way it works and there maybe other arrangements

AA does not pay CX because AA does not fly to HKG. It is the elite members' departing carrier that pay CX. See http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/onewo...ge-access.html and http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/archive/t-1093532.html.

Just slightly OT---

Just got a status upgrade to MPC Silver this week due to company corporate contract.

Two questions:

1) Does MPC Silver access to "Business Class Lounges" include access to contract lounges at JFK/airports that do not have a CX operated lounge?

2) If answer to #1 is yes: I will not receive my MPC card prior to my flight next week. Should I ask for a lounge invite during checkin?

Mahalo!

Not OT at all. Glad you did some searching and found this thread instead of starting a new one.

You're only allowed access to T7's BA lounge when departure on CX flights. If you're taking a JFK-YVR or JFK-HKG flight, they will automatically print you an invite without asking. Your CX SL does not equal OWS. You cannot access other terminal's OW lounge.