Is frequent traveller status worth anything in the future?

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  • Isabel
    Participant

    I’m sure I’m not the only one travelling much less than we are accustomed to, and miss it. But when I did travel (with status) over the past few months, I just cannot get the frequent flyer benefits:
    – Priority check-in – vanished in most places
    – priority security check – join the general queue!
    – lounge access – most of them are closed! no alternative offered (PP is open)
    – boarding – according to seat row
    – food and drink on board – oh dear god.
    – customker service: we used to have a dedicated phone line. that has disappeared so now we just join the queue like everyone elese.

    Can anyone enlighten me with any frequent flyer benefits they are able to enjoy?


    DavidSmith2
    Participant

    Well I flew BA club world last week. It was a mixed bag but:

    – priority check in was still functional at both ends
    – priority security at LHR T5 still functioning
    – business lounges available at both ends
    – no priority boarding (unless actual business class)
    – food – the ‘BA in a box’ offer, which is pretty poor

    Nowadays I am only a lowly bronze tier but the steward did take the time to do the usual check on me and welcome me back etc. But if I still had silver or gold, and had been flying economy or WTP, I think the fringe benefits would have been better than a poke in the eye.


    cwoodward
    Participant

    Going forward I cannot think of any logical reason why the status – quo would overall materially change from that existing prior to January 2020 other than to become, as we move into 2022, perhaps more intense.


    Stevescoots
    Participant

    I do not see a reason why benefits would not return once we finally get out of this mess. The last flights I took were in September and november LHR-HKG-SGN and back again.
    LHR
    priority check in
    no priority security (understandable considering so few people)
    no lounge CX moved to T2 so no lounge
    priority boarding
    on board service and food was the same as pre-Covid
    HKG:
    Use of F lounge
    Priority boarding
    SGN on return
    Use of lounge ( I was the only one in)
    Priority boarding


    Gold-2K
    Participant

    If the airlines have any sense they will start to increase the benefits to ensure their frequent flyers (spenders) stay loyal. Especially for those who have status for life, it’s now much more tempting to try those airlines that seem to take the virus seriously.

    I have status with JetBlue and got an email this week telling me for whole of 2021 I had unlimited companion vouchers. “Any ticket, any seat” I can take a companion free of charge.


    Inquisitive
    Participant

    This topic was discussed several times and even without this current situation, the status matters depending on traveling pattern and airlines.

    If someone always travels business class, foe him/her the status does not matter.

    In my case, I get status from my long haul business class travels and it helps me for my short haul travels that are in economy. Mainly lounge access and occasional upgrades.

    I lived in USA for a while, there priority boarding is important to get space in overhead luggage bin, late and your luggage could be in hold and to be collected again at the destination gate.

    In my long years of travel, I had status at number of airlines, my experience with some of these are:

    SQ: When I attained PPS/Solitaire, there are some additional benefits including upgrades, krisshop vouchers and yearly invitation for some celebration with good food and drinks. Unfortunately after the introduction of Suits, the upgrade from business is vanished.

    BA: I found status via long haul business travel get me Gold status very quickly and upgrades were very frequent. In 3 years of my intense travel with BA, I was upgraded to First at least on 4-5 times/sectors out of a total about 25-30 long haul sectors, that is quite high compared to SQ or UA.

    UA: Most important advantage is priority queue at TSA plus occasional upgrade to First that is same as business for European short haul seats, priority boarding and one can take a fairly large carry-on inside.

    So it all depends on your travel pattern, route and airlines. A common sense says that sticking to one or two airlines make sense.

    1 user thanked author for this post.

    Krsnp
    Participant

    I recently flew EY on MCT – CGK – MCT route via AUH both ways and happy to report that as a Gold member:

    * I was still granted access to Primeclass Lounge in MCT, EY Business Lounge in AUH, and Sapphire Lounge in CGK. ALL of them offered way better service than pre-COVID-19 (in termsof the actual service). I also used my Lounge Key to access Al Dhabi Lounge in AUH on the way back (since my onward flight was in T1) though the experience was just OK.

    * Facilities and F&B offerings were of course limited but not to the extremes. Primeclass offered served buffet, the food tasty, and the staff very eager. In the other three lounges, you order off a menu or point at displayed samples. Options were limited, but the quality was very good I was pleasantly surprised (the food at EY Business Lounge never excited me, until that day!)

    * There were showers at Sapphire and Al Dhabi.

    * Priority check in and boarding were available though I didn’t always use them.

    I also benefited from extra luggage allowance, bonus miles, etc. So yeah, I am a happy customer 🙂


    TonyR
    Participant

    [postquote quote=1066747][/postquote]

    You are lucky Isabel. I have been Gold level with BA for ten years travelling almost exclusively Club World and have had one upgrade. I get all the Gold perks – check-in, lounge access, boarding etc – already with my ticket. The only Gold “benefit” I get with BA is extra Avios but those are useless as Club World reward flights for my partner are virtually non-existent. With the amount of travel I can do now I fully expect even my extended BA status to expire before I will fly enough miles to maintain it given the current pandemic status and so much “travel” moving now to Zoom

    I switched to BA from 20 years at the Virgin Gold level after my partner was refused a points upgrade from Premium to sit with me in Upper Class – “no seats available” – only to learn at the in-flight bar that five friends of the cabin crew had been upgraded free from economy. The switch doesn’t seem to have gained me anything other than a more extensive route network.

    I can see how if you do a lot of economy travel in normal times, the check-in, lounge and boarding benefits would be useful but if you travel mainly in business or first, the airlines really don’t know how to recognise their top level frequent flyers – at least in Virgin and BA. And I guess I now wait to see if the new BA policy removes my Gold status for the crime of being critical of them BA threat to frequent flyers who air criticism – The Times

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