Will08

For the last few months I have been around 20k short of achieving Plat. I have an upcoming flight in J (saver) which will take me down to 12,500. This will mean I have until the end of August to earn the additional tier miles, however, I do not have any travel plans so it would purely be a 'tier run'.

I have been flying pretty much every 3 to 4 weeks since November, all at my own expense. To say I am getting a bit tired with Emirates would probably be an understatement but I will avoid going in to a rant.

My question therefore - is there a significant real life difference between Gold and Plat? I am particularly interested in Op-up experience NOT on Flex/Flex+ tickets from Y to J?

I am looking to cut back on costs this year, which means a lot less travel in J and also reduce the amount of economy Flex+ tickets purchased, however, I wont be cutting back on travel in general. So I am at a bit of a cross roads - achieve plat and stick with EK for at least another year or forget about loyalty and find the cheapest flights/most suitable flight time/duration, moving forwards.

m3red

BadoRas

Totally agree.

I attain platinum by virtue of my chosen frequency and class of travel. I would never go out of my way to do that extra 'tier miles run' purely to make the 150K tier miles. If Emirates were really smart about it, they would make the platinum benefits something REALLY worth having. That would be a much better driver for people to spend that extra amount to make it to platinum.

For me, the only real benefit is access to the DXB F lounge, but many plats like myself tend to fly F most of the time anyway. I feel it's time Emirates really made platinum a tier level WORTH ATTAINING. The latest incentives are mediocre and unattainable for many. Yes, I will probably be able to roll over my excess tier miles into the next 12 month period, but my flight frequency and class of travel ensures I will make platinum anyway, without rolling over an excess. So all I'm doing is accumulating excess tier miles with no incentive. Benefits such as a number of guaranteed upgrades each year, and reduced miles for further upgrades without the condition of very high spend limits, would definitely interest people.

It just doesn't seem very sparkly making it to platinum, and I wish it did. I would be interested to hear opinions from other platinums (platina?) and from those tantalisingly close to 150K tier miles.

m3red

Will08

Thanks for the replies.

I am aware of the advertised benefits, I am looking for more information on experience travelling in economy as a Plat and Op-up experience on cheaper tickets.

I dont expect a song and a dance but I don't feel like there is any difference any more between blue and gold once you are on board. I have probably been greeted twice out of about 20 flights, whilst this is not essential, I do miss the days of little perks such as slippers from F or even frequently asked if I want a drink, just a little reminder that you are valued as a loyal customer. These days the crew don't even answer the call button, they are too busy nursing hangovers at the back.

BadoRas

Yes, what I was suggesting was getting those benefits on reaching platinum without the condition of the very high spend limits required by their latest 'incentives'.

gillyd22

ft101

From a lowly Gold, Platinum does seem to offer quite a lot, hence the big difference in miles to achieve it. No mileage expiry plus the higher Tier Bonus on miles and being higher in the op-up queue regardless of ticket type purchased would be valuable to me.

If you have a partner or whatever who would use it, the Gold Card nomination is another good one.

skywardhunter

In Y there is significant value to Plat

Dave Noble

Platinum is a mass noun so there is no plural form

Will08

This is what I am trying to weigh up... I totally understand the lack of perceived value in plat if you fly F all the time but I will be in Y more often than not over the next 12 months.

eternaltransit

If you're in Y, then the main thing will be whether you will:

• drink enough in the F lounge (or eat from the kitchen)
• use the free spa / shoe shine
• use the extra 4kg of baggage
• be on overbooked flights enough to get to the top of the upgrade queue

BadoRas

There's no additional bonus in tier miles based on membership level. Anyone who buys a J or F ticket gets the same number of tier miles. However, Skywards miles bonuses DO apply depending upon membership level.

I'm not sure that in reality platinum do get first bite for an upgrade. Emirates has intimated they do, but I suspect that in reality they have instructed the op-up gods to give upgrades to random blue, silver and gold members to give them a pleasant surprise and hopefully a future addiction to higher class seats. This makes good sense in any long term strategy to sell more premium seats.

I do feel that Emirates considers platinums as captured, and the aforementioned alternative strategy makes much more sense from a revenue perspective. They have rightly determined that rewarding the loyalty of people who will preferentially buy premium tickets anyway, does not increase the number of premium tickets sold. So they are covertly using the op-up contrary to how it is officially supposed to be allocated.... IMHO.

ft101

Yes, it's called a Tier Bonus as it's dependant on the passsenger's Skywards Tier.


I haven't heard of EK ever stating anything in public, but many of us have discussed this with EK staff and the changes over the past few years are common knowledge. That includes the downgrading, then subsequent restoration, of Platinum members' place in the op-up heirarchy.

Lkaroo

This used to be a quota of two seats per flight for Platinum members and as it was an unpublished benefit, it was usually very easy to find availability. You could also call in advance to check if there was space available and hold the space while booking the ticket.

I am not sure when it changed but the benefit is no longer quite as useful. As far as I understand it, some revenue management software now decides and you can only check if there is availability after you have booked the ticket. There appears to be no way of predicting the outcome; I got refused on a flight which was J7 C7 I7 O7 (and eventually upgraded at the airport) but recently had success for an upgrade on a flight which was J4 C0 I0 O0 during a major sports event (and the flight was eventually overbooked in J).

In theory I suppose it should be possible to buy a Flex Plus ticket to check and then cancel it but I am unsure if the software considers initial booking fare bucket when opening upgrade space.