Goodbye Gold...
 

After ups & downs for 3 years, I have to finally say goodbye to my Gold status.

With major cost cutting in my company, all flights since 2015 chosen based on cheapest possible (Special). :(:(:(

Sucks to be on a route with Specials. My regular routes sometimes have Savers but it's typically <20$ difference to select a Flex fare which earns twice as many miles as a saver.

Is it worth upgrading your tickets yourself to flex to get the extra miles? If you travel a lot in y from Dxb gold is well worth it.

That's a shame, I always try to avoid booking savers, within our company it is mandatory to book tickets which can be cancelled.

I hit Gold in August 2015 and experienced one flight as Gold with no perks because I was already booked in J - haven't had a single flight since... looking likely I'll lose Gold in September without ever experiencing the benefits :(

You didn't get the onboard gold greeting?

Even if company policy is cheapest I'd argue that they should allow Flex. On my regular out a flex is often just 15usd extra each way for double the miles and easier to change.

I recall from when we met in the DXB lounge a couple of years ago that you travelled for work regularly, and to a variety of destinations. Will you be close to achieving Gold under the new rules? I'm thinking upgrading at your own expense as m3red suggests, or even a mileage run or holiday flight?

:D :eek: on EK?

There's always some hidden gems. ;)

I'll probably do one to renew platinum.

Because Plat adds a lot of benefit when travelling in First, right :D

Just considering the classic MR if you look in that corner of FT (an odd world indeed) is like 4cpm (cents per mile) while on EK the best I've ever seen is around 8-9 (on flights to/from DME if you're interested, however in Y Flex and Flex+, J and F not as good.)

If only it were like that on every route. On my regular route, SYD-GVA, flex is A$230 (or 22%) more than saver each way. (That is, it's cheaper to buy saver and eat the change fee if needed.) Flex Plus is 170% of the saver fare. US$15 for more flexibility I could justify to management. 22% more so I can get points, no.

I'll probably fly a bit more j next year and not travel quite as much (said that this year too) :D

Plat is good for getting d class upgrades so quite worth it if I'm close to the 150 mark

Having just attained Gold I'm looking forward to seeing if there are any differences. One thing I will note is that when I was waiting for my tickets to be re-issued (Y-J), I checked on ExpertFlyer to see what J seats were available on my DXB-PEK A380 flight and there wasn't one window seat showing as available. When the ticket was issued, I went in to MMB and had a few window seats to choose from (unfortunately 23A & K already gone), so, would appear that as Gold more seats are opened up for choice.

Safe & Happy Travels

S

I've never noticed that before. I travel with EK for leisure, and as some of my trips are over peak times (Xmas especially) I book early. I've often had the entire cabin to choose from at seat selection.

I'm Gold now, but this has been the case even when I've been lower down the Skywards pecking order.