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
#526
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
My suspicion is the latter. The MPC changes have not just been a hot topic of conversation among us members but within CX as well, including among front-line staff.
#527
Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 6,978
1) "Mr. X, I see you are flying PEY instead of Y now, what do you think of PEY?"
2) "Mr. X, I see you have fly CX less now, are there any issues?"
3) "Mr. X, may I ask about your general opinions of how we are in PEY and Y?"
So it seems like CX management will ask ISMs to ask particular questions to particular subjects based on patterns.
#528
Join Date: Jan 2006
Programs: AAdvantage Asia Miles Air China
Posts: 870
Perhaps I have been too consistent in my flying patterns.
The only problem with ISMs engaging passengers is that it is too late.
I would be fascinated by a statistical analysis of current members intentions, though I feel from talking to other MPC members with similar concerns, and from reading here, there are definitely three trends:
1. Unsurprisingly the Business/First chaps are not going anywhere, and CX has obviously aimed to protect/kiss up to this client base.
2. Those who have decided to wear it, especially regional/China travellers.
3. The longer haul travellers, who seem to be far more willing to switch, with UK/Europe travellers going to BA, Aussies to QF, and North American to AA.
Admittedly these are generalisations.
Nicc HK
The only problem with ISMs engaging passengers is that it is too late.
I would be fascinated by a statistical analysis of current members intentions, though I feel from talking to other MPC members with similar concerns, and from reading here, there are definitely three trends:
1. Unsurprisingly the Business/First chaps are not going anywhere, and CX has obviously aimed to protect/kiss up to this client base.
2. Those who have decided to wear it, especially regional/China travellers.
3. The longer haul travellers, who seem to be far more willing to switch, with UK/Europe travellers going to BA, Aussies to QF, and North American to AA.
Admittedly these are generalisations.
Nicc HK
#529
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
I would be fascinated by a statistical analysis of current members intentions, though I feel from talking to other MPC members with similar concerns, and from reading here, there are definitely three trends:
1. Unsurprisingly the Business/First chaps are not going anywhere, and CX has obviously aimed to protect/kiss up to this client base.
2. Those who have decided to wear it, especially regional/China travellers.
3. The longer haul travellers, who seem to be far more willing to switch, with UK/Europe travellers going to BA, Aussies to QF, and North American to AA.
1. Unsurprisingly the Business/First chaps are not going anywhere, and CX has obviously aimed to protect/kiss up to this client base.
2. Those who have decided to wear it, especially regional/China travellers.
3. The longer haul travellers, who seem to be far more willing to switch, with UK/Europe travellers going to BA, Aussies to QF, and North American to AA.
After CX released their criteria, which won't change my earning or may even accelerate it, I knew I would stick with MPC for OWE status. The incremental benefits, particularly the 4 J-F certs will be awesome.....although I'm kinda waiting to see how these play out in reality, as I could forsee a situation where they're just as hard or perhaps even harder to use than F upgrade awards...so while valuable, they'd be less so. If CX is stingy with them theyre definitely less valuable. Not to beat an old drum, but the real cincher for those awards is if they can "trump" partner F award availability. Aka come out of perhaps A fare bucket, or even F care bucket. Time will tell.
So the second question for me was twofold:
1) what do I do for OW travel over CX's 1200 points threshold? And
2) what type of loyalty do I display to OW (and inevitably CX) in situations where I'm pretty flexible?
For #1, that answer is still accrue to CX. After seeing both CX and AAs changes, I've decided on skipping AA entirely. Years ago, I made the stupid decision to just blindly follow MPC and AM. That's in the history books nothing I can do. AA was clearly the proper currency to bank the excess miles; I likely wouldve been double OWE for CX and AA, earned a load of AA miles, and then exclusively used my AA miles for 67.5k one way F tickets back and forth. But now that AA (or is it CX, behind the scenes?) has nearly doubled the cost of CX F tickets. Furthermore, I read (as someone with lack of experience here, going by what I'm seeing online) that scoring partner awards on CX isn't as good as it used to be, and I'm still a little nervous there could be further changes to AA award availability on CX. I just don't think it's worth the hassle to put my earning in excess of 1200 tier points to AA, primarily because AA redemption costs for the use I intended - CX F, probably exclusively - have gone up a lot. Whether this was all AAs doing, or perhaps CX contributed, who knows. So I'm staying with CX (over other OW partners) in this respect.
For #2, I still have become more of a "free agent", and I fly enough that I will easily earn DM on CX, plus can put a good chunk of miles or EK, BR and SQ. The last year has been enlightening, to say the least. Competitors have excellent products. CX has massively stepped up their game with the lounge improvements IMO, but on board competitors are a threat. The issues with CX's onboard soft product are well noted, as well as regional soft and hard products. To give two examples here, I was just pricing "Scoot biz" to Singapore for a one way ticket. It's basically premium economy.....for 1100 HKD!!! Usually, I'll buy CX rconomy tickets short haul blindly, no questions asked, pay what the website or secretary says the price is. Yet this Scoot thing leaves at 7am (perfect timing for an early afternoon meeting i have), and is basically premium economy for cheaper than CX regular economy! The seat looks better than CX economy. To me that's a no brainer now, whereas a year ago I wouldn't even price another carrier. For longhaul, I've been trying others too. I've now used BR longhaul (it's basically the same hard product as CX, with better wine), and this year bought two F tix to SFO on SQ. This year is the least SFO revenue I've given CX in perhaps 6-7 years (part of that is due to an excess of LAX flights, but the other part are the SQ flights to SFO). Again, in the past that SFO flights were CX's business, just was my upcoming economy flight down to Singapore. These are the types of things I never would've done in the past. So I guess this is somewhat a verdict on the relative difference between CX and competitors, which for me appears to be less significant (or even favoring competitors) than I knew before.
Last edited by QRC3288; Nov 26, 2015 at 6:57 pm
#530
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,806
To give two examples here, I was just pricing "Scoot biz" to Singapore for a one way ticket. It's basically premium economy.....for 1100 HKD!!! Usually, I'll buy CX rconomy tickets short haul blindly, no questions asked, pay what the website or secretary says the price is. Yet this Scoot thing leaves at 7am (perfect timing for an early afternoon meeting i have), and is basically premium economy for cheaper than CX regular economy! The seat looks better than CX economy. To me that's a no brainer now, whereas a year ago I wouldn't even price another carrier.
I mean I agree with you. I love the 7am/1am return timing, and hard product wise even the back isn't that bad.
But you haven't factored in reliability (you're going there for a meeting right?)
They aggressively do tactical cancellations http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...ve-refund.html
And they're pathetic during IRROPs even at their home base http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...l#post25649164
I might still fly them again. But I'll give more time to buffer and only if the price is right to cover a tactical cancellation by them.
P.S. Me to sec (sec punched in my half day unplanned leave due to Scoot MX, was thinking about Scoot to OOL): "Will you still risk Scoot?"
Sec: "no no no no no"
Last edited by percysmith; Nov 26, 2015 at 9:03 pm
#531
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Hong Kong
Programs: CX, UA, Shangri-La, Hyatt, Starwood
Posts: 7,708
ScootBiz? Muhahahaha.
I mean I agree with you. I love the 7am/1am return timing, and hard product wise even the back isn't that bad.
But you haven't factored in reliability (you're going there for a meeting right?)
They aggressively do tactical cancellations http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...ve-refund.html
And they're pathetic during IRROPs even at their home base http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...l#post25649164
I might still fly them again. But I'll give more time to buffer and only if the price is right to cover a tactical cancellation by them.
I mean I agree with you. I love the 7am/1am return timing, and hard product wise even the back isn't that bad.
But you haven't factored in reliability (you're going there for a meeting right?)
They aggressively do tactical cancellations http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...ve-refund.html
And they're pathetic during IRROPs even at their home base http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...l#post25649164
I might still fly them again. But I'll give more time to buffer and only if the price is right to cover a tactical cancellation by them.
I guess if it gets really ugly I could just buy a CX or SQ ticket to SIN that morning, or burn miles, etc. Do you have any idea if Scoot would re-book me on SQ if it was open? I have zero intention of flying them in regular Y - it looks like that 9 across seating in the 787 - but the premium economy product ("Scoot Biz") looks decent!
#532
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,806
I also spent last last weekend at DAD with UO (no issues) and I wondered after the TZ tactical cancellation+MX whether UO CoCs let them keep my money during a tactical cancellation like TZ. No they cannot - I'm starting to think now HK consumer protections are better than SGs (banks are also lot better with chargebacks here than over there).
I burned Avios even though it didn't save my morning. I didn't want the delay to drag on for the whole day...
Very sure no http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...l#post25649278
The missus who suffered the MX with me said Scoot again only if return fare <HK$800 incl tax - low enough to risk them cancelling flights and keeping our money again.
Very sure no http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/other...l#post25649278
The missus who suffered the MX with me said Scoot again only if return fare <HK$800 incl tax - low enough to risk them cancelling flights and keeping our money again.
#533
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
Perhaps I have been too consistent in my flying patterns.
The only problem with ISMs engaging passengers is that it is too late.
I would be fascinated by a statistical analysis of current members intentions, though I feel from talking to other MPC members with similar concerns, and from reading here, there are definitely three trends:
1. Unsurprisingly the Business/First chaps are not going anywhere, and CX has obviously aimed to protect/kiss up to this client base.
2. Those who have decided to wear it, especially regional/China travellers.
3. The longer haul travellers, who seem to be far more willing to switch, with UK/Europe travellers going to BA, Aussies to QF, and North American to AA.
Admittedly these are generalisations.
Nicc HK
The only problem with ISMs engaging passengers is that it is too late.
I would be fascinated by a statistical analysis of current members intentions, though I feel from talking to other MPC members with similar concerns, and from reading here, there are definitely three trends:
1. Unsurprisingly the Business/First chaps are not going anywhere, and CX has obviously aimed to protect/kiss up to this client base.
2. Those who have decided to wear it, especially regional/China travellers.
3. The longer haul travellers, who seem to be far more willing to switch, with UK/Europe travellers going to BA, Aussies to QF, and North American to AA.
Admittedly these are generalisations.
Nicc HK
#534
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Asia/Europe
Programs: CX, OZ, MU (+AY, DL), Shangri-La, Hilton
Posts: 7,236
#535
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: STL || AMS || HKG
Programs: DL - DM || CX - Diamond || Hilton - Silver || SPG - P100
Posts: 105
i think i am who they are targeting, with about 20 long haul round trips per year (Europe & USA from HK) in paid J for business. usually with 72 hour notice and an additional 20 or so regional (from HK) in economy.
I have stuck with CX i think mostly because i am lazy. I know their system and the product (both soft and hard) are good enough. so what alternatives would you suggest since i will cross the 1800 point threshold in 4 months giving me plenty of time to play with others. I usually spend my points on upgrades for family since I dont care too much about the jump from J to F (since i usually sleep most or all of the flight).
I usually fly on CX metal, and plan to stick with that unless something significant changes. I routinely use the 10+ hour flight as the only time i get a good sleep, so that can't change (last week i had three 10+ flights in a row).
As an aside, i wont use AA unless i have no choice (i actually book a separate ticket from CX US hubs to switch to Delta to avoid AA)
this "high spender" is repeatedly saying the same thing (not good enough, I am economically able to go elsewhere easily, I can fly whoever I want for better...) ever since I saw his posts. This is exactly what some of us have been saying before. It doesn't matter what CX does about MPO but "high spenders" will always be economically mobile enough to do what is best for them, and not stick with CX. Like this guy said, how has these changes, aim to appease to the premium flyers, make them more loyal to CX? The answer - it doesn't.
Interesting post. Here's my data point:
For #2, I still have become more of a "free agent", and I fly enough that I will easily earn DM on CX, plus can put a good chunk of miles or EK, BR and SQ. The last year has been enlightening, to say the least. Competitors have excellent products. CX has massively stepped up their game with the lounge improvements IMO, but on board competitors are a threat. The issues with CX's onboard soft product are well noted, as well as regional soft and hard products. To give two examples here, I was just pricing "Scoot biz" to Singapore for a one way ticket. It's basically premium economy.....for 1100 HKD!!! Usually, I'll buy CX rconomy tickets short haul blindly, no questions asked, pay what the website or secretary says the price is. Yet this Scoot thing leaves at 7am (perfect timing for an early afternoon meeting i have), and is basically premium economy for cheaper than CX regular economy! The seat looks better than CX economy. To me that's a no brainer now, whereas a year ago I wouldn't even price another carrier. For longhaul, I've been trying others too. I've now used BR longhaul (it's basically the same hard product as CX, with better wine), and this year bought two F tix to SFO on SQ. This year is the least SFO revenue I've given CX in perhaps 6-7 years (part of that is due to an excess of LAX flights, but the other part are the SQ flights to SFO). Again, in the past that SFO flights were CX's business, just was my upcoming economy flight down to Singapore. These are the types of things I never would've done in the past. So I guess this is somewhat a verdict on the relative difference between CX and competitors, which for me appears to be less significant (or even favoring competitors) than I knew before.
For #2, I still have become more of a "free agent", and I fly enough that I will easily earn DM on CX, plus can put a good chunk of miles or EK, BR and SQ. The last year has been enlightening, to say the least. Competitors have excellent products. CX has massively stepped up their game with the lounge improvements IMO, but on board competitors are a threat. The issues with CX's onboard soft product are well noted, as well as regional soft and hard products. To give two examples here, I was just pricing "Scoot biz" to Singapore for a one way ticket. It's basically premium economy.....for 1100 HKD!!! Usually, I'll buy CX rconomy tickets short haul blindly, no questions asked, pay what the website or secretary says the price is. Yet this Scoot thing leaves at 7am (perfect timing for an early afternoon meeting i have), and is basically premium economy for cheaper than CX regular economy! The seat looks better than CX economy. To me that's a no brainer now, whereas a year ago I wouldn't even price another carrier. For longhaul, I've been trying others too. I've now used BR longhaul (it's basically the same hard product as CX, with better wine), and this year bought two F tix to SFO on SQ. This year is the least SFO revenue I've given CX in perhaps 6-7 years (part of that is due to an excess of LAX flights, but the other part are the SQ flights to SFO). Again, in the past that SFO flights were CX's business, just was my upcoming economy flight down to Singapore. These are the types of things I never would've done in the past. So I guess this is somewhat a verdict on the relative difference between CX and competitors, which for me appears to be less significant (or even favoring competitors) than I knew before.
I usually fly on CX metal, and plan to stick with that unless something significant changes. I routinely use the 10+ hour flight as the only time i get a good sleep, so that can't change (last week i had three 10+ flights in a row).
As an aside, i wont use AA unless i have no choice (i actually book a separate ticket from CX US hubs to switch to Delta to avoid AA)
#536
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
#537
Join Date: Oct 2014
Posts: 174
i think i am who they are targeting, with about 20 long haul round trips per year (Europe & USA from HK) in paid J for business. usually with 72 hour notice and an additional 20 or so regional (from HK) in economy.
I have stuck with CX i think mostly because i am lazy. I know their system and the product (both soft and hard) are good enough. so what alternatives would you suggest since i will cross the 1800 point threshold in 4 months giving me plenty of time to play with others. I usually spend my points on upgrades for family since I dont care too much about the jump from J to F (since i usually sleep most or all of the flight).
I usually fly on CX metal, and plan to stick with that unless something significant changes. I routinely use the 10+ hour flight as the only time i get a good sleep, so that can't change (last week i had three 10+ flights in a row).
As an aside, i wont use AA unless i have no choice (i actually book a separate ticket from CX US hubs to switch to Delta to avoid AA)
I have stuck with CX i think mostly because i am lazy. I know their system and the product (both soft and hard) are good enough. so what alternatives would you suggest since i will cross the 1800 point threshold in 4 months giving me plenty of time to play with others. I usually spend my points on upgrades for family since I dont care too much about the jump from J to F (since i usually sleep most or all of the flight).
I usually fly on CX metal, and plan to stick with that unless something significant changes. I routinely use the 10+ hour flight as the only time i get a good sleep, so that can't change (last week i had three 10+ flights in a row).
As an aside, i wont use AA unless i have no choice (i actually book a separate ticket from CX US hubs to switch to Delta to avoid AA)
You are saying you travel HKG-JFK weekly in J to get 1800 in 4 months ?????? And how you managed to squeeze in Regional flights ???
Last edited by soonyeap; Dec 14, 2015 at 1:24 am
#538
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: STL || AMS || HKG
Programs: DL - DM || CX - Diamond || Hilton - Silver || SPG - P100
Posts: 105
at any rate, still interested in checking out a place to park the extra miles, or if nothing good i will just leave them all at MPC like i do now.
#539
Ambassador, Hong Kong and Macau
Join Date: May 2009
Location: HKG
Programs: Non-top tier Asia Miles member
Posts: 19,806
#540