A diamond member who mostly (if not always) books economy class tickets. Maintaining DM with this approach was more viable before the changes to MPC that occured in 2016 from what I understand.

Think he's referring to the DMs who attain(ed) their status purely by flying in Economy

Rather difficult nowadays given the dismal SP earn rate on Y fares
But these are the guys who probably spend the most time in CX aircraft, and pay for it too

Yes. There is a small group of frequent flyers who achieved Diamond status strictly flying economy tickets. My back hurts just thinking about the number of hours they spent in EY.

This is worth highlighting as a key difference between the approach of CX and SQ. That EY road warrior used to be me and I valued so highly that I was appreciated by CX and the benefits of a higher membership tier went some way to offsetting the pain. Now later in my career I can afford to sit at the front end of the plane and hence hopefully from CX’s perspective I am repaying the favour somewhat. My travel patterns mean I have always had wide choice of carriers but this kind of appreciation is why I have stuck with CX through thick and thin. I hope they don’t change this as part of any review. By contrast my perception is that SQ’s approach is much more “transactional” and less amenable to building long term loyalty/ relationship.

My understanding of SQ PPS is that only J and F fares count towards the spending requirement.

Whilst the EY warriors might not be the highest revenue segment, there has to be some long term value for CX to retain them. I did a rouge estimate and think you need to break 100K miles in EY Light to get DM.

From CX's perspective, there's also the possibility that from their analyses, the EY or mass segment has become more transactional, given the availability of other reward accrual/redemption options/LCC, etc. Instead of chasing an increasingly fickle and less loyal segment, they would rather enhance the experience of its premium segment to retain their loyalty. For many who grew over the course of their career/life with CX, though they might have the financial flexibility and options to choose among multiple other carriers, there's always a certain degree of emotional attachment/loyalty to CX. In this sense, CX may rather choose to focus resources on retaining the top segment than the bottom. So limiting access to lounges, etc is not an illogical step for them.

I am sort of in the same boat as Arbeysix

entflight OTOH one could argue that the Y class elite would value the perks of status a lot more than someone travelling in paid premium classes (since most/part of the elite perks come with the premium cabin anyway) and is likely to be stickier/more illogical in airline choice decisions.

But jagmeets , if you're a Y elite, those benefits will cost CX.

If J/F, it's just being prioritised for intangible benefits.

100k miles on the cheapest CX fare? What does EY stand for? I never see that acronym used in the other forums.

It would help if CX brings back a lifetime tier. I think they killed that option in the 2000s.

To me, EY stands for economy. 100K is not an exaggeration. Use a Hong Kong - Europe round trip in Economy Light, you'd need at least 12 (peak season) returns to make DM. Alternatively, you can fly 75 returns to HND/NRT.

CX killed the lifetime option mainly because of $$$.

Typically, I see Y, PY/PE, J, and F being used on FT.

RECONFIRM

but otherwise, no.

Lifetime membership finished in November 1998

Oops! 😬 Really?! Could have sworn that I read that it was in the 2000s.

EY is how CX calls it (and some other airlines, too). Probably just Economy Y.