exp

https://viewfromthewing.com/its-time...ight-activity/

Even if the airlines roll this out, probably the points per dollar spent on non-flying activities would be a lower yield?

Especially from purchases of third-party products and services since the airlines would have to share the transaction proceeds in some way?

Or the prices of these products and services will be greater to account for whatever they pay the airlines for the qualifying points?


Key thing is, how soon after the pandemic will FF program membership regain their pre-pandemic numbers or go beyond them?

CPRich

Is this so you can not go to the lounge and not get upgraded when you don't fly?

Comatose.Captain

You are putting it bluntly.

If I wanted to exaggerate, I could also claim that the corporate travellers with a travel policy that allows them to always book domestic F and international J are most likely to make FF status but hardly get any benefits out of it (as they get most benefits through the premium cabin class anyway).

No, I think it's more complicated in practice. The guy who makes status or earns a lot of miles through non-flying activities still enjoys flying and has some usage of the status and the awards. If he didn't value any of the incentives the programme provides, why would we partake in it?

To go back to the analogy, it's the same with the guy flying premium cabin for business travel. His behavior can still be altered because, besides his business travel, he likely has use for award miles when traveling with his family, he may make use of his status on family trips in eco etc. etc.

sdsearch

This article only talks about what airlines in other countries (which may not have had status without flying before?) have done recently, but totally misses the fact that in the USA (where frequent flyer programs originated) many of the airlines originally had ways to earn lifetime elite status without flying, and one by one they got rid of that (AA was by far the last in Dec 2011). So IMHO the trend in the USA has been quite the opposite, and it's unclear if it will reverse here just because countries with less history of earning status without flying have added it recently.

Meanwhile, some of these examples given are in countries where you can't get lounge access through a credit card, like you can in the USA, both with airline lounges through certain airline credit cards, and independent lounges through certain non-airline travel credit cards (offering Priority Pass, Lounge Buddy, etc). Same with baggage allowances. So the USA pattern in to give certain status-like benefits through certain cards, not through how many miles your earn. It's still without flying, but in a different way.

garykung

The article is so biased enough that can be simply ignored.

Because of COVID-19, it is obvious that everything has slowed down. Based on everything available, the only available non-flight activity that can earn elite status is credit card spending. These bloggers receive compensations from credit card issuers. In short - they are promoting for their own.

If this idea was so good, AA would have not dropped the idea (previously, AA MM can be earned by credit card spending).

gkbiiii

Under Spirt Airlines new program, you can earn their top Gold Level, with $50,000 spend, on their Free Spirit credit card.

https://www.spirit.com/s/free-spirit

https://www.spirit.com/s/free-spirit-status

radonc1

Up until yesterday, you could earn MM mileage on AA if you used their AA branded credit cards.

Although it makes little overall difference, I earned about 25K lifetime miles using my AA credit card.

Comatose.Captain

I seriously doubt you read that blog article (or maybe you just didn't understand it).

Yes, the only major non-air partner for the legacy carriers in the US are financial institutions. But the point of the blogger is that this turns out to be an issue given the profit potential of FF programmes even during business-cycle downswings. Carriers outside the US generate substantial revenue from non-air, non-lodging, non-rental, and non-financial businesses such as retail.

The current situation provides a rationale for the managers of the US FF programmes to start tapping into those sources of revenue. It seems like a promising way both to earn more money as well as making the business more resilient to business-cycle fluctuations.

diclemeg

I don't believe that included the enrollment bonuses, correct? I must have had over ten AA cards over the years with bonuses of at least 500K total, yet when I look at my Million Miler count its only 135,000.

mia

Until November 2011 all miles that passed through your AAdvantage account were counted for lifetime status.

The opportunity which ended on 12.31.2020 was a temporary offer due to the pandemic.

AAdvantage Card Spend Qualifying for Million Miler 1 May - 31 Dec 2020