Grog

With the travel industry especially hammered by the coronavirus, why didn't all the airlines offer a pro-rated status challenge leading to equally--or even more greatly--prorated status, also making it contingent on having flights currently booked? Sure, it's complicated to track, but it's also 2021.

If the goal is to get people flying again, I'd think that would've been one way to do it. And for those who can't yet fly again, where's the problem with someone else gaining status if they've done it by actually putting money into the airline? And even if it ultimately turned out to be fleeting loyalty, they'd then have lost the status before you'd be flying again. What am I missing that the airlines think they're seeing? Or are a lot of them just missing out on a silver (or maybe even golden) short-term, risk-free opportunity?

(Mod, if I've chosen the wrong forum for this, my apologies. I wasn't able to find any other forum that I thought was a better match than this one.)

pinniped

Pretty much all of the programs I participate in have created easier paths to status in 2021. Not sure what more you're asking for...

Some of them have created *really* easy paths. Both airlines and hotels...

Grog

There's part of the problem as I see it. Unless someone already participates in a program, they're not necessarily aware of the paths of which you speak. And they won't be informed of promotions that you already know of as a current member with status. With a publicized fast track, they've proven their past value as a consumer and they hit the ground running on the path toward proving their future value to the new company.

writerguyfl

Elite-level frequent fliers are business travelers. With the exception of very well-off retirees, leisure travelers simply don't fly enough annually (in any year, COVID or not) to earn or use the perks gained at the elite levels.

Spending money to advertise status challenges to the general public would be wasted money.

Complete Speculation: I imagine every major airline has notified their largest corporate clients as well as the major business-oriented travel agencies about their status challenges.

garykung

You know that a status challenge is already a prorated method to reach status, right?

pinniped

I'm not sure what I'm missing.

You can go to almost any airline website, not logged in, and look at their 2021 qualification requirements. They're pretty much all reduced - not targeted to existing elites. Some airlines may have further boosters or rollovers for existing elites, but even starting from 0 miles and a new account, you can get elite status more quickly in 2021 than you could in 2019.

I mean, they're not advertising this with TV ads in the middle of the NBA finals or anything. You have to know enough to go to the airline's website or find a blog or bulletin board that talks about travel. But it's not exactly hidden.

jerseytom

I don't know that I'd go that far. Hitting at least the bottom tier of status is doable, and I've made use of upgrades. I know I'm not the only one.

In any event as someone else mentioned the status challenges are pro rated as is, and more broadly the elite level earning requirements have indeed been reduced. I'm guessing that'll be gone next year as travel is already picking up.

trm2

I don’t think I’d go that far either. I’ve been UA (started with CO) Plat for over a decade now and I neither travel for work nor am I retired. I just really like traveling.

With all of the promos going on this year, I will hit 1K on UA on my return flight Tuesday.

yes, I know I’m “not normal” but I’m not crazy, my mother had me tested .

writerguyfl

I might remove "very well-off" from my post, but I stand by the rest. If you earn enough miles to consistency reach the lowest elite-level without any business travel, you're an outlier.

But in the end, my point is that advertising shortcuts to elite-level status to the general public would be a colossal waste of money.

FlyerTalker324193

This claim has been made on the forum a gazillion times and it's been debunked a gazillion times. FT has a ton of people who fly predominantly or exclusively for leisure. They are present at each and every status level including the top tier.

Besides, loyalty programmes have diversified. Their ideal customer used to be the business flyer on a corporate contract who flys a lot and books short term. Today, that's just one group of customer.

In many programmes, your engagement is less-and-less approximated by how much you fly and more-and-more approximated by how much you spend. This means a well-off leisure flyer who only has 3-4 trips a year could become an elite (if those trips are in long-haul first). You can even become an elite without flying at all through qualifying CCs or everyday spend such as at Starbucks (e.g., AC Aeroplan).


I think the problem with status challenges is targeting the right people. If you target the wrong people, it might end up costing you (the airline) money. It may also make your existing elites less profitable as they see their status eroded.
Part of the psychological "manipulatation" of loyalty programmes is making people feel they belong to an exclusive circle whose membership can only be attained through extensive individual commitment. If they see somebody is made the same level without having to put in the work, they feel less valued.

LondonElite

99% of people fly because they need or want to get from one place to another. Not to collect plastic cards that promise early boarding.

FlyerTalker324193

Right, that is why the most active threads on FT evolve around mileage running

That's also why loyalty programmes are, in some cases, more valuable than the airline's passenger flight division

And even if it's true that most people fly because they need to get from A to B, the carriers they are taking, whether they are willing to go through C, etc., is very much influenced by the promise of those plastic cards.

EDIT: And, of course, 99% of statistics posted on FT are made up

LondonElite

FT is far from a representative sample of the travelling population, but you knew that already.

Sure, most people collect miles but aren’t beholden/addicted to the mileage program the way some are here. Mileage is collected in the course of normal flying, and yes it influences decision making, but in a constrained way for the vast majority of people.

FlyerTalker324193

What do you mean by "in a constrained way"?

The empirical analyses I've seen suggest members of the FFP pay a premium of around 6% for flying with their preferred carrier/network. The higher the elite level of a FFP program member, the higher the premium they are willing to pay.

This 6% figure is from independent research. The US carrier themselves had to publish a lot of numbers on their loyalty programmes last year (when they put the programmes up as collateral on capital markets). Their stats tell the same story.

6% is a HUGE number. Not this is the marginal contribution of the FFP, holding everything else equal.

LondonElite

I mean that, ceteris paribus, the average person may pay a limited premium and/or accept certain inconveniences to earn frequent flyer mileage. Once you start throwing in a higher price, multiple stops, inconvenient timings, etc, that willingness drops away. If the 'favored airline' offers a good price, a convenient schedule, and non-stop flights, it's a winner, of course, but I doubt earning FFP is the major consideration for the vast majority of people.