ByrdluvsAWACO

Not sure if any of you have heard, but BA just devalued EC accounts by up to 50%.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum15/HTML/003338.html

GUWonder

50%... if you are lucky. In some cases, BA has put in place a 65+% devaluation for some awards.

When customers stop believing in frequent flier programs (or until several governments put a stop to changing program rules retroactively (effectively since the miles were earned for previous travel with a certain understanding of the value of a given mile), customers will go simply for the cheapest seat and/or best value, regardless of brand. A highly commoditized industry further commoditizing itself -- by eliminating or "standardizing" and "simplifying" the frequent traveler point schemes/gimmicks -- rarely gives any firm in that industry an advantage and takes away most all distinguishing features over time.

RSSrsvp

Let's make the assumption that the average PM & GM upgraded about 90-95% of the time under the old program if they picked their flights properly (unless they flew DL Connection or the shuttle). Then consider that we are only to receive four 500-mile segments in the new program (GM's almost always had segments left over at year-end and PM's were unlimited), which means we have lost 68.75% of our segment upgrade earning potential in the new program. If you then factor in the loss of the NAMU's for both elite groups and also the extra segment points you received upon achieving GM, the loss to Skymiles members at these 2 elite levels is staggering. Also you never really use 100% of the value of these segment points, because the points deducted rarely equals the distance traveled and there is a huge waste factor. Therefore I submit to all that under the new program, you will have the opportunity to upgrade as a PM or GM on 20-25% of your flights if you are lucky.

We were hit harder than BA, and IMHO the new Skymiles should be called Slymiles if DL thinks that we are dumb enough to accept their PR spin that it is an enhancement to better service us.

jeffreyt

Rssrsvp is correct, which is why in 2004, I think most DL frequent fliers will be drastically surprised at how much they can't upgrade.

RSSrsvp

Jeffrey, with the technology that DL has in place, it would be a simple task to charge us for the actual miles flown for each segment instead of the current system which really takes advantage of us. I feel like you are in LAS and the odds are always in favor of the house. It is time for a more even playing field.

gilpin

Agreed. At least BA has the honesty to call their changes "refinements".

mikey1003

You gotta love the Brits!

sansbury

I think the SM changes suck, but so far they have not raised redemption requirements. In terms of how many are affected, increasing rdemption req's affects all SM members, which is a group many time larger than medallions, and of far more interest to the traveling public at large.

-cwk.

RobertS975

But like income tax breakdowns, it would be interesting to learn what % of miles are owned by and earned by medallion members as opposed to general SkyMiles members. I suspect that even though medallions as a group may represent around 7-10% of all SM members, their collective mileage earning power is probably closer to 50% of total SM earned.

hfly

As the only person around here that is top tier on both airlines I've gotta say that what BA has done is much worse than what DL has done, part of it has to do with the nuances of the programme, but it was already in many ways infrior to DL, now they are creating a perfect storm. The equivalent would be if DL were to.....

Not only introduce MQM's but to DOUBLE the amount of premium treavel you would have to fly to requalify (so imagine needing 200,000 MQM's to get there, that's MQM's not miles).

Get rid of PMU's without making a formal announcement ( they never hasd an exact equivalent, but have elinimated three differnet Gold bonuses recently)

Reduce the amount of miles that you earn per flight by appx 20-35%.

and

Increase mile redemption levels by as much as 300% for some routes (and none increased less than 20% many much more).

ByrdluvsAWACO

I admit to not knowing much about DL's programme, but I do feel that BA's changes were worse.

How would you like it if DL just took half of your miles from your acct? That's effectively what BA did. On top of reducing the bonus mileage for their top tier members by 50%.