andywaw

I'm one of those too, so I'm glad I've managed to extend my status this year, now until Feb 2024.
I still think it sucks that our group do not get any extra extension from M&M.

more4less

+1

at the beg. March I was already over 80k status miles but since then I have flown 2 segments on Lot and accrued 0 award/status miles(it was a very cheap fare though).
With the LH group cancelled tickets, and not yet refunded, I would be well over the 100k.
I still hope to achieve it but spanish citizens are not wanted anywhere

San Gottardo

Any news on how they'll handle HONs with a qualification period of 2020-2021? I know that those with a qualification period of 2019-2020 get an extension of one year, with the logic that their second year, 2020, is basically a blank year where customers would find it difficult to fly. What about those where the first year, 2020, is basically a blank year where customers would find it difficult to fly? And why that difference which does not seem logic at all?

supine

Not that I'm aware of.

And given LH's lack of urgency in announcing anything for folks whose status was expiring at the end of this year, I would be surprised if they announce anything until we are well into 2021 and there is a much clearer picture of the viability of staying with normal re-qualification thresholds.

Avoiding generosity unless it's absolutely necessary is very much LH's style. 😡

wien_expat

Not to exacerbate the situation but the total lack of communication by Miles and More now that the year is close to closing out is kinda embarrassing for them.

Loyalties is a two way street. Even some “provided this situation still isn’t over we are thinking about what the next step is”.

andywaw

My SEN requalification period is 2020/2021 and I have already managed to requalify in 2020. However, I emailed Miles & More and asked them why the one year status extension does not apply to all current Miles & More status holders, regardless the fact if they have managed to requalify or not. Apparently they misunderstood my question, here is what they answered:

"Pragnę poinformować, iż przekazaliśmy Pana uwagi do centralnego biura Miles & More, które decyduje o warunkach i zasadach programu.
Jedyne, co możemy w tej sytuacji Panu zaproponować to zgłoszenie się do naszego biura pod koniec 2021, w przypadku gdy nie uzbiera Pan wystarczającej liczby mil do przedłużenia statusu. Wówczas zweryfikujemy czy będziemy mogli przedłużyć Panu status karty."

It reads:
"We would like to inform that we have forwarded your concerns to the Miles & More central office, which decides about terms and conditions of the programme. The only suggestion we can make for you is contacting us at the end of 2021 in case you will not have collected enough miles to requalify. We will verify then whether we are able to extend your status".

I guess the last sentence gives some hope to those who can't requalify in 2020/2021 period, although it sounds very ambiguous. It could mean you will need to be close to (how close?) or perhaps just short of 100,000 status miles? or maybe a smaller (how small?) number of accrued status miles will do? or will they look at both years in your account and combine the collected status miles...?

I didn't ask further questions because I have already extended my status till Feb 2024. But I can see apparently Miles & More realise they must offer some solutions sooner or later as flying in 2021 might be not much easier than it is now.

Dave_C

I'm also surprised that there's been nothing from M&M. It's clear that travel next year won't be the same at all. I'm currently in my dead year, so 2021/2022 will be the start of a new two years for me, although it looks like it'll get cut short as the new system will come in 2022. However I'll hopefully manage to get my 100K in next year.

However that said, BA, AA and a number of other airlines are all offering reduced qualification thresholds, extra status bonus etc for 2021. The silence from M&M has been deafening. It's essentially a pyramid scheme and the miles only have value if you can use them to get places. Currently, they're hardly flying anywhere and they're not offering the services that I want (very limited first class), so why should I fly with them over the competition? I'm based in the UK so have a bunch of choices, but it's a slippery slope for Lufthansa.

sophialite

I don't know if I see it that way. M&M is a relatively difficult program to deal with, but the trade off is (IMO) fewer devaluations and a more stable loyalty program where you can continue to earn and save in the medium term for flights.

I've been doing a bit more flying on AF recently and thought that I should perhaps consider getting a P ticket using points. The levels are staggering. And other airlines are pulling even worse gimmicks, with dynamic award pricing that now sneaks points inflation in with little notice.

I'm sure M&M will follow suit at some point, but we already know the pending changes, and so we know this will be the regime for some time to come. And although M&M seems to be being difficult in providing grace to its frequent fliers, I view it more as discipline. Too much slack now means a potentially sooner devaluation. And that's the one thing I can take from having played in the points/FF game for the last 15 or so years.

lefrid

Waiting the eleventh hour to maybe make a gesture seems to be their strategy. They made their simulations and they are entitled to think their clientele is captive and does not need any incentive right now. Planningwise it is difficult for us (and I am one of those SEN 2022) as we do not have all infos on hand but diverting some business to other carriers is certainly becoming a possibility (something that was not envisaged before).
Or the lack of information is due to lack of people left to send emails...

flyertalker28120

I think M&M is far from stable. Sure, there was only one small devaluation through adjustment of the redemption table in recent years. But there were tons of negative changes through other channels.

E.g., fantasy YQ charges were raised to absurdly high levels for some points of departure (e.g., J and F flights ex USA). Let's not forget the huge enhancement of the mileage earning, either. The shift to revenue-based earning caught many of us who had booked flights in 2017 for the summer schedule of 2018 on the wrong foot, as the announcement was made only three months ahead of time.

I could go on and on with the enhancements: Baggage allowance in eco light (long-haul), almost complete elimination of elite benefits at EW......

Dave_C

I can't compare with AF/KL, but I'd argue the BA Exec Club has been remarkably stable the past few years as well. Whilst the on-board product with BA is rubbish, the loyalty programme is head and shoulders above M&M. Redeeming in BA First is a waste of time, but Club World if all you want is sleep is perfectly fine, especially with the new product. YQ/YR is roughly the same between the programmes, plus as a BA Gold on a cheap club ticket you earn substantially more Avios than you do as a SEN on a P ticket.

If you're captive in Austria, Germany or Switzerland, then I can see why they're not terribly generous, for us free agents they perhaps need to do more.

sophialite

It's funny, I was just thinking about BAEC also being pretty stable in that regard. My points of comparison are mostly the US airlines: UA, DL, AA, which have been unequivocally horrible.

Is BAEC overall better than M&M? You've covered the redemption and earnings side, but what about other factors? From what I've read, HON seems superior to GGL. And recall that we still have the 50% off companion award, which for an F redemption is still an excellent benefit. Not sure how the lower BA levels compare to SEN.

On the AF/KL side, I'll be making Platinum on my next flight and the benefits are pretty underwhelming. Seems like I have to make Ultimate to be anywhere close to getting something like HON levels of benefits. But still a stretch even then.

oliver2002

The devaluation of M&M is documented here: M&M Shame award [compiliation of enhancements since 2004]

sophialite

Just to be clear, I'm not saying M&M doesn't devalue. I'm just saying the frequency and severity of devaluations is ostensibly lower than other programs. It's simple give-and-take. When millions can open a Chase credit card and get 100k free United miles, there's bound to be devaluation coming somewhere up the chain.

chris63

I think for HON’s M&M is quite ok & they are helping in the current circumstances but not doing much at all for SEN or FTL