ROP Program changes
 

Just got this on email. Anybody knows what are they planning? New mileage tier?
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...158c7cdd47.png

Yes, I was just about to post the same.
When I read "PROGRAM CHANGES ARE ON THE WAY" my first thought is that there is going to be some bad news coming soon.
Despite the exciting changes listed, I suspect there is also going to be a downside that will only be disclosed later.
Just speaking from past experience!

Also just saw the email. I guess it can only go down-hill. So far I haven't seen any frequent flyer program change in the past that made things better. It always made redemption or earnings worse.
I think with the recently announced huge loss they are going to try to save a few bucks here...

How can be much worse? ROP is the most expensive program in the whole Star Alliance.

No way. Take a look on Miles & More after the recent change. This is what I would call expensive.

Your question may be answered when the details are published.

What do you mean by being expensive? I think ROP is good for whoever based in Bangkok, since flying THAI out of Bangkok is very expensive, especially in J and F, compare to other airlines, and so one would get the best buck out of each mile redeemed for an award ticket :)

I meant different tariffs that THAI let you earn on other Star Alliance airlines. In Europe you can forget it having ROP. They cut to maximum mileage crediting. You fly business or you forget to earn miles on economy flights. I remember time when THAI let you earn much more. Now they want you fly only THAI. Spending miles on THAI is also difficult right now. I have arround 230k and I asked THAI for an upgrade last week. "Sorry Sir no tarifs and seats avaiable" So I asked any award tickets? O or I? Yes but from Paris. But I am flying from Frankfurt?
"Finit" in July Sir
"Finit" in August Sir
September can be possible but we can put you on waiting (They say like that but they don't) (How many times I have heard "waiting list" hahahha)
So how can I spend my miles now? Doing RTW with Star Alliance or what?
How can be worse if is already worse in ROP?
My feeling as a farang is:
you are Thai with ROP Gold - 100 % Success
you are Thai with ROP Plat - 200% Sucsess
you are farang with ROP Gold - 50% Success (farang can pay more, farang can wait, doesn't matter)
you are farang with ROP Plat - 50% Success (farang can use Royal First Lounge or SPA it's enough, doesn't matter, Thai with Plat and vip are first of the line )
(my observation came from Frankfurt, Munich, Bangkok airport staff. So I am now 10 years ROP Gold and I see drastic changes since maybe 5 years?) Thai airways ROP in my opinion is not equal to every member they have especially if you are farang.

I see. I guess if I was not based in Bangkok I would not have been with ROP too. However, even though THAI is not the best when comes to award redemption, but not the worst either. Finnair, for example, is so much worse. Their search does not allow you to play with dates, and every unsuccessful result the search has to be restarted all over again. It is very frustrating and time consuming to the point it is impossible to find anything. I made a call, and their customer service said their search was the same as on the site anyway so they could not do any better (seriously??). I tried to be flexible and asked for any BKK to any where at all on any date at all, and their reply was that there was not any BKK-HEL award seat available to begin with, so no point searching for 'any where'. I ended up buying Finnair tickets myself. At least on THAI, their award search is not that bad, we could play around with dates until we find a seat. From my experience, THAI seem to release only a few business class award tickets for each day (plenty of eco and rarely first), so one has to act extremely early. I usually redeem my THAI tickets almost a year early, for example, last month I redeemed 2 business class tickets BKK-MXP on THAI site for December trip, everything went smooth, click click click and done. For earlier trips this year I redeemed miles for tickets since last year. Being early makes thing goes smoothly, though not the most convenient way I know...

As for being on a waiting list, I was many times give it a try and be on a waiting list on THAI, but never once got a ticket, so I do not bother any more. Also, I do not bother an upgrade, redeeming miles for a ticket seem to be the only way to surely secure a business class seat. Planning ahead is my key to redeem miles on THAI haha. But I guess that applies to any airlines award redemption though?

Regarding being badly treated as a farang, I do not think that is true though. Stereotypically, Thai find farang superior and richer, and so usually treat them better than treat a Thai, since they believe farang can pay better (you were right on this haha), among other things. I would think the success rate is the same as a Thai, unless that Thai got a well known last name, then he/she could get bumped or get seat right away...

I am not quite clear what you mean by 50% AND birthday? I recall the 50% Discount on miles for an Award ticket was first given as a birthday gift, valid only during the month of birthday; then validity was extended to the months each before and after the birthday; and later to all year

paolo64 may have meant the 2 key elements to be:

- Gold/Plat Upgrade(s)
- 50% Award

They are for me...

sure, but the upgrades have neither anything to do with the birthday gift nor the 50%

I agree with your earlier post that noted the 50% award IS the current version of what we both remember as the birthday gift, and the changes to it.

So I can only guess the paolo64 just confused him/herself in their post (something most posters have done).

Cheers, TK