Oct 2, 2015, 3:08 am
Last edit by: sxc
Related threads:
What are the best value segments under the new system?
Switching out of Marco Polo: What do you choose and why?
FAQs as answered by AgencyGuy:
When will the mid-tier benefits be awarded?
They will be awarded as the member hits the mid-tier milestone. Not at the end of the membership year. These will be valid for a year commencing the day they are granted. No points are deduced when members are awarded these benefits.
Does that mean a member reaching 1800 tier points will get all three mid-tier benefits?
Yes, each benefit will be made available as the member hits the 1400, 1600 and 1800 point milestones
What mid-tier benefits will be awarded as of the conversion date of 15 April 2016?
The mid-tier benefits will kick in automatically after 15th April, if your converted club points balance exceeds the mid-tier thresholds. So for a Diamond tier member, if your converted balance is 1800 points you will immediately have access to two first class lounge guest passes, four bookable upgrades and one companion Gold card.
A Gold member on his/her way to Diamond pick up four short/medium upgrades along the way, but a renewing Diamond gets nothing?
You are correct, Silver, Gold or Diamond members on their way to renewal, don’t get additional benefits until they reach the mid-tier thresholds. But they will get there, I guess the benefits are designed to recognize members who go the extra mile after they have passed their renewal thresholds.
Is there any requirement on the underlying booking sub-classes when using a mid-tier upgrade "coupon"?
Yes, the original flight needs to be booked in an “upgradable” sub-class, the same sub-classes that qualify for Asia Miles upgrades
Is economy upgraded to Premium Economy or business for flights with Premium Economy?
It is always a one class upgrade so Economy to Premium Economy, if a flight does not have Premium Economy then the upgrade is to Business.
Are the sub-classes for the upgraded bookings A, I, and E (if applicable)?
I don’t know what these subclasses are yet other than that they will be revenue instead of redemption sub-classes. I guess they will be announced later.
What miles will be awarded for a flight upgraded using a upgrade coupon? The original ticket class, or the upgraded class?
I understand that both points and miles will be credited based on the upgraded class.
Green Re-Qualification
For Green members, if their membership year ends before 15 April 2016, like now, their membership will automatically be renewed. If their membership ends after 15 April and they have ANY club points at that time, they will be automatically renewed for another year (even if they are below 100 pts). If their membership ends after 15 April and they have no club points at that time, they will lose their Green membership or have the option of paying the US$100 fee to renew.
What are the best value segments under the new system?
Switching out of Marco Polo: What do you choose and why?
FAQs as answered by AgencyGuy:
When will the mid-tier benefits be awarded?
They will be awarded as the member hits the mid-tier milestone. Not at the end of the membership year. These will be valid for a year commencing the day they are granted. No points are deduced when members are awarded these benefits.
Does that mean a member reaching 1800 tier points will get all three mid-tier benefits?
Yes, each benefit will be made available as the member hits the 1400, 1600 and 1800 point milestones
What mid-tier benefits will be awarded as of the conversion date of 15 April 2016?
The mid-tier benefits will kick in automatically after 15th April, if your converted club points balance exceeds the mid-tier thresholds. So for a Diamond tier member, if your converted balance is 1800 points you will immediately have access to two first class lounge guest passes, four bookable upgrades and one companion Gold card.
A Gold member on his/her way to Diamond pick up four short/medium upgrades along the way, but a renewing Diamond gets nothing?
You are correct, Silver, Gold or Diamond members on their way to renewal, don’t get additional benefits until they reach the mid-tier thresholds. But they will get there, I guess the benefits are designed to recognize members who go the extra mile after they have passed their renewal thresholds.
Is there any requirement on the underlying booking sub-classes when using a mid-tier upgrade "coupon"?
Yes, the original flight needs to be booked in an “upgradable” sub-class, the same sub-classes that qualify for Asia Miles upgrades
Is economy upgraded to Premium Economy or business for flights with Premium Economy?
It is always a one class upgrade so Economy to Premium Economy, if a flight does not have Premium Economy then the upgrade is to Business.
Are the sub-classes for the upgraded bookings A, I, and E (if applicable)?
I don’t know what these subclasses are yet other than that they will be revenue instead of redemption sub-classes. I guess they will be announced later.
What miles will be awarded for a flight upgraded using a upgrade coupon? The original ticket class, or the upgraded class?
I understand that both points and miles will be credited based on the upgraded class.
Green Re-Qualification
For Green members, if their membership year ends before 15 April 2016, like now, their membership will automatically be renewed. If their membership ends after 15 April and they have ANY club points at that time, they will be automatically renewed for another year (even if they are below 100 pts). If their membership ends after 15 April and they have no club points at that time, they will lose their Green membership or have the option of paying the US$100 fee to renew.
Changes to MPC announced for 15 Apr 2016
Oct 28, 2015, 2:18 am
#496
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Shanghai
Programs: BA SL, TG SL, Sixt DIA
Posts: 78
Upping E fare points will nudge K fare fliers to pay double for E fare, making E fare the same as K fare only make frequent flyers mad and want to switch airlines.
This is the main reason that really makes me think to crawl back to AAdvantage, where I know I will make EXP easily.
Long haul E fares out of PVG to Africa, Europe and the US were about 60% of my CX flying this year to reach DM.
Of course having the feeder flights booked into I was a nice bonus, but the main reason I chose CX for these flights was PE, which has gone down a bit, but still beats flying real Y on other carriers.
I would hope that they change their mind on some of the details, even though it probably is unlikely.
The other change I will certainly miss is the seat guarantee in low booking classes. Except for CNY I have rarely ever seen a flight were you couldn't book Y.
Oct 28, 2015, 2:50 am
#497
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: AAdvantage Asia Miles Air China
Posts: 870
There seems to be a clear CX Strategy/Why pay the same for less?
I have gone through my travel patterns, and given the $$$ I spend it is proving an interesting exercise, and my thoughts are:
1. CX has aimed to make DM exclusive Business and First territory, irrespective of past loyalty. (Why do I keep thinking I have wasted so much money in the past?)
2. Gold is for PEY and heavy Y/V flyers.
3. Devalue oneworld partner earnings for MPC members to ensure 1 & 2.
4. Lock down earnings on CX flights for oneworld partner programme elites to ensure HK/China/Taiwan based MPC members stay loyal.
This hurts the PEY/Y elites, DMs dropping to Gold and so on down the chain.
Impact, I am now, like other small businesses, actively avoiding CX. I plan to make Diamond as usual owing to my membership year renewal, see what AA does, and then jump ship to AA, another oneworld programme, or a Star Alliance programme.
I will miss the CX crews as in flight they treat me well, but I notice DMs are treated differently to Gold, so why pay the same for less?
It has always been harder to earn top tier on CX than other airlines, now it is even harder.
1. CX has aimed to make DM exclusive Business and First territory, irrespective of past loyalty. (Why do I keep thinking I have wasted so much money in the past?)
2. Gold is for PEY and heavy Y/V flyers.
3. Devalue oneworld partner earnings for MPC members to ensure 1 & 2.
4. Lock down earnings on CX flights for oneworld partner programme elites to ensure HK/China/Taiwan based MPC members stay loyal.
This hurts the PEY/Y elites, DMs dropping to Gold and so on down the chain.
Impact, I am now, like other small businesses, actively avoiding CX. I plan to make Diamond as usual owing to my membership year renewal, see what AA does, and then jump ship to AA, another oneworld programme, or a Star Alliance programme.
I will miss the CX crews as in flight they treat me well, but I notice DMs are treated differently to Gold, so why pay the same for less?
It has always been harder to earn top tier on CX than other airlines, now it is even harder.
Oct 28, 2015, 3:15 am
#498
Join Date: Apr 2014
Programs: QF CX
Posts: 67
I have gone through my travel patterns, and given the $$$ I spend it is proving an interesting exercise, and my thoughts are:
1. CX has aimed to make DM exclusive Business and First territory, irrespective of past loyalty. (Why do I keep thinking I have wasted so much money in the past?)
2. Gold is for PEY and heavy Y/V flyers.
3. Devalue oneworld partner earnings for MPC members to ensure 1 & 2.
4. Lock down earnings on CX flights for oneworld partner programme elites to ensure HK/China/Taiwan based MPC members stay loyal.
This hurts the PEY/Y elites, DMs dropping to Gold and so on down the chain.
Impact, I am now, like other small businesses, actively avoiding CX. I plan to make Diamond as usual owing to my membership year renewal, see what AA does, and then jump ship to AA, another oneworld programme, or a Star Alliance programme.
I will miss the CX crews as in flight they treat me well, but I notice DMs are treated differently to Gold, so why pay the same for less?
It has always been harder to earn top tier on CX than other airlines, now it is even harder.
1. CX has aimed to make DM exclusive Business and First territory, irrespective of past loyalty. (Why do I keep thinking I have wasted so much money in the past?)
2. Gold is for PEY and heavy Y/V flyers.
3. Devalue oneworld partner earnings for MPC members to ensure 1 & 2.
4. Lock down earnings on CX flights for oneworld partner programme elites to ensure HK/China/Taiwan based MPC members stay loyal.
This hurts the PEY/Y elites, DMs dropping to Gold and so on down the chain.
Impact, I am now, like other small businesses, actively avoiding CX. I plan to make Diamond as usual owing to my membership year renewal, see what AA does, and then jump ship to AA, another oneworld programme, or a Star Alliance programme.
I will miss the CX crews as in flight they treat me well, but I notice DMs are treated differently to Gold, so why pay the same for less?
It has always been harder to earn top tier on CX than other airlines, now it is even harder.
I'm in the same boat and still reeling from this announcement.
Flying 120K miles a year, we spend a lot of time on-board and the DM treatment really helped get the bitter edge off all the cattle-class hours and sleepless nights.
I only get over the line because of personal travel, so never used points, never shopped elsewhere, and always took V class to get 100% miles, even when cheaper was available.
On the up side I will start to shop around and there is no incentive to get V class when cheaper is available, so I will save $.(Unless I still need to get points)
Given that 50% of my miles was into, around and out of AUS, I may look into going back to QF once my DM is confiscated in May 2017. I'll have in excess of 500k MPC miles (like I said - I never redeemed points) so I'll just book M class and upgrade to PE, when flying CX and use my QF status to get into the 1st lounge.
Oct 28, 2015, 3:26 am
#499
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Taipei
Programs: Asiamiles, OZ Gold, Hilton Gold, SPG/Marriott Gold
Posts: 116
Like Cathay Boy, I am also part of the hardest hit PEY E class group. For routes without PEY, the hits are something like 25-30% with the new TP system. 10000 miles now worth 70 TP. What used to be six round trips to the Middle East to make MPC Gold now takes 9. The only positive part is that with the new system even the cheapest Qatar Airway fare classes give some small amount of TP, instead of zero like before, so maybe I can make up some grounds from intra-Gulf flights between DOH/DXB/RUH.
Based in TPE seriously limit my choices when flying to the Middle East, with only direct flights from Emirates and Turkish, both of whom's time slot is hell of a lot worse than CX.
Based in TPE seriously limit my choices when flying to the Middle East, with only direct flights from Emirates and Turkish, both of whom's time slot is hell of a lot worse than CX.
Oct 28, 2015, 3:56 am
#500
Suspended
Join Date: May 2006
Location: HKG
Programs: A3, TK *G; JL JGC; SPG,Hilton Gold
Posts: 9,952
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 7_0_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/537.51.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.0 Mobile/11A501 Safari/9537.53)
Fly jal. U should be midtier sapphire pretty quick
Originally Posted by Maxxis
Like Cathay Boy, I am also part of the hardest hit PEY E class group. For routes without PEY, the hits are something like 25-30% with the new TP system. 10000 miles now worth 70 TP. What used to be six round trips to the Middle East to make MPC Gold now takes 9. The only positive part is that with the new system even the cheapest Qatar Airway fare classes give some small amount of TP, instead of zero like before, so maybe I can make up some grounds from intra-Gulf flights between DOH/DXB/RUH.
Based in TPE seriously limit my choices when flying to the Middle East, with only direct flights from Emirates and Turkish, both of whom's time slot is hell of a lot worse than CX.
Based in TPE seriously limit my choices when flying to the Middle East, with only direct flights from Emirates and Turkish, both of whom's time slot is hell of a lot worse than CX.
Nov 3, 2015, 2:40 pm
#501
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: EWR
Programs: CX Green | UA Silver | Marriott Lifetime Platinum | Hyatt Globalist | Hilton Gold | AA EXP
Posts: 813
1. CX has aimed to make DM exclusive Business and First territory, irrespective of past loyalty. (Why do I keep thinking I have wasted so much money in the past?)
2. Gold is for PEY and heavy Y/V flyers.
3. Devalue oneworld partner earnings for MPC members to ensure 1 & 2.
4. Lock down earnings on CX flights for oneworld partner programme elites to ensure HK/China/Taiwan based MPC members stay loyal.
2. Gold is for PEY and heavy Y/V flyers.
3. Devalue oneworld partner earnings for MPC members to ensure 1 & 2.
4. Lock down earnings on CX flights for oneworld partner programme elites to ensure HK/China/Taiwan based MPC members stay loyal.
JFK - SIN (discounted J fare, one-stop at their respective hubs): flying CX gives you 250 TP while flying QR gives you 270 TP. The same for ORD and BOS (which will be served by QR). So not only QR is cheaper but with its A359 coming to JFK and BOS, it could mean A359 all the way to SIN with QR (vs. B77W to HKG and god-knows-what-plane to SIN with CX) while earning more MPC tier points.
If you're willing to tolerate long layover, flying with AY also gives you 270 TP.
Nov 3, 2015, 8:24 pm
#502
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
On certain sixth freedom routes it seems that, either by accident or design (maybe due to yield?), MPC wants you to NOT fly with CX.
JFK - SIN (discounted J fare, one-stop at their respective hubs): flying CX gives you 250 TP while flying QR gives you 270 TP. The same for ORD and BOS (which will be served by QR). So not only QR is cheaper but with its A359 coming to JFK and BOS, it could mean A359 all the way to SIN with QR (vs. B77W to HKG and god-knows-what-plane to SIN with CX) while earning more MPC tier points.
JFK - SIN (discounted J fare, one-stop at their respective hubs): flying CX gives you 250 TP while flying QR gives you 270 TP. The same for ORD and BOS (which will be served by QR). So not only QR is cheaper but with its A359 coming to JFK and BOS, it could mean A359 all the way to SIN with QR (vs. B77W to HKG and god-knows-what-plane to SIN with CX) while earning more MPC tier points.
Is QR's A350 J product the same as their A380/787 J class? I haven't flown QR's A350, but the QR J hard product on their A380 and 787 is fantastic, I even slightly prefer it to CX's (which is awesome IMO). If the A350 is the same as their 787 I guess I can see why CX is updating their J class.
Nov 5, 2015, 9:14 am
#503
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Anywhere I need to be.
Programs: OW Emerald, *A Gold, NEXUS, GE, ABTC/APEC, South Korea SES, eIACS, PP, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 16,046
Nice find mate. I presume QR is cheaper too. Any word on the stopover rules in HK for those tickets?
Is QR's A350 J product the same as their A380/787 J class? I haven't flown QR's A350, but the QR J hard product on their A380 and 787 is fantastic, I even slightly prefer it to CX's (which is awesome IMO). If the A350 is the same as their 787 I guess I can see why CX is updating their J class.
Is QR's A350 J product the same as their A380/787 J class? I haven't flown QR's A350, but the QR J hard product on their A380 and 787 is fantastic, I even slightly prefer it to CX's (which is awesome IMO). If the A350 is the same as their 787 I guess I can see why CX is updating their J class.
Nov 6, 2015, 6:23 pm
#505
Suspended
Join Date: May 2006
Location: HKG
Programs: A3, TK *G; JL JGC; SPG,Hilton Gold
Posts: 9,952
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 7_0_2 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/537.51.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/7.0 Mobile/11A501 Safari/9537.53)
Terrible cost cutting. Ha!
Originally Posted by percysmith
Al Mourjan J: They were serving Veuve when I visited mid October. No more Krug - I looked and asked.
Nov 7, 2015, 8:34 am
#506
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: EWR
Programs: CX Green | UA Silver | Marriott Lifetime Platinum | Hyatt Globalist | Hilton Gold | AA EXP
Posts: 813
It must be your unlucky day then - someone in the QR forum reported that they drank Krug at Al-Mourjan yesterday.
Nov 7, 2015, 8:53 am
#507
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: EWR
Programs: CX Green | UA Silver | Marriott Lifetime Platinum | Hyatt Globalist | Hilton Gold | AA EXP
Posts: 813
I haven't tried QR A388 (will do so later this month) but yes, A359 J product is essentially the same as B788. I also prefer QR super diamond over CX cirrus though my preference may change once I get to see (and hopefully try) CX A359 new J which supposedly coming early next year.
Nov 7, 2015, 9:59 am
#508
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,804
I actually can't drink too much Krug. One flute thereabouts.
Nov 8, 2015, 9:49 am
#510
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: EWR
Programs: CX Green | UA Silver | Marriott Lifetime Platinum | Hyatt Globalist | Hilton Gold | AA EXP
Posts: 813
How does membership holiday work?
No - Al Safwa just opened (and to satisfy my curiosity I decided to go with QR via DOH and fly regional F to DXB instead of CX via HKG for my trip to UAE later this month).
Yes sir.
OK so I'm wondering if anyone here has more information about the membership holiday feature. Can you activate this feature in the middle of your MPC year or are you only allowed to do it at the start of the year? Originally I thought you could only do it at the start of the year but now I wonder whether my interpretation of this feature was incorrect.
My original game plan was to credit enough flights to MPC to get to 600 TP before start crediting to AA. Once my MPC year ends in July 2016, CX will downgrade me to Gold and I will call to 'freeze' my membership. This way, if/when I were to switch back to MPC, I will start the year as Gold and have 12 months to work my way back to DM.
However the math differs if CX allows me to freeze it right in the middle of the year. If I were to continue crediting to MPC, I could get to approx. 950 TP by 15 April 2016 (when this feature goes live). If I were to call CX on that day, does it mean that if/when I re-activate my status, I have approx. 3.5 months (15 Apr to end of July which is my original MPC year-end) to earn 250 TP (1200 TP minus 950 TP) to retain DM for another year? 250 TP is doable - it's one return J trip JFK to SE Asia - so this is how membership holiday mechanically works, I could technically leave and comeback without missing anything.
Also if this works, presumably it means my 'new' membership year will change? In the scenario above I have 3.5 months left in my original membership year so if I were to re-activate my status say in Feb 2017, it means my 'new' MPC membership year will end in May 2017? Is this how this feature going to work?
OK so I'm wondering if anyone here has more information about the membership holiday feature. Can you activate this feature in the middle of your MPC year or are you only allowed to do it at the start of the year? Originally I thought you could only do it at the start of the year but now I wonder whether my interpretation of this feature was incorrect.
My original game plan was to credit enough flights to MPC to get to 600 TP before start crediting to AA. Once my MPC year ends in July 2016, CX will downgrade me to Gold and I will call to 'freeze' my membership. This way, if/when I were to switch back to MPC, I will start the year as Gold and have 12 months to work my way back to DM.
However the math differs if CX allows me to freeze it right in the middle of the year. If I were to continue crediting to MPC, I could get to approx. 950 TP by 15 April 2016 (when this feature goes live). If I were to call CX on that day, does it mean that if/when I re-activate my status, I have approx. 3.5 months (15 Apr to end of July which is my original MPC year-end) to earn 250 TP (1200 TP minus 950 TP) to retain DM for another year? 250 TP is doable - it's one return J trip JFK to SE Asia - so this is how membership holiday mechanically works, I could technically leave and comeback without missing anything.
Also if this works, presumably it means my 'new' membership year will change? In the scenario above I have 3.5 months left in my original membership year so if I were to re-activate my status say in Feb 2017, it means my 'new' MPC membership year will end in May 2017? Is this how this feature going to work?