Originally posted by jimbob247
I guess most people are happy but it doesn't seem to reward those spending the most.
FWIW on BA they are very tight on tier points and miles on restricted Y tickets.
Perhaps I am the exception rather than the rule, but my first FF program was on Delta fifteen years ago. In those early days I flew Y all the time. I could never justify spending all that extra on a premium seat. Then one day I made up enough points to get an upgrade. After that one taste of the forbidden fruit (and one particular flight where I was stuck next to a bible basher in the middle seat of five on an MD-11), I have never since flown Y longhaul.
In those days, if you played the system, you could travel in BC all the time on upgraded restricted Y fares as long as (a) you made five return transcon trips each year to make gold status and the miles and (b) you were flexible enough in your schedules. It was hard work, but you could make up enough miles, status credits and vouchers to sustain the habit.
The rules have changed since then, but my preference in the pointy end hasn't! So in the end, despite my earlier freeloading, they got the money out of me anyway. I have more miles than I have time to use up these days - I like to think of them as a rainy day investment. It's always nice when you find yourself at a loose end for the weekend on a Friday, and to be able to simply book yourself on a flight for next to nothing [y]
My point is that had those miles perhaps not been so generous on those early Delta flights, I might never have ended up investing in the comfort of premium longhaul travel.
Cheers, Howard
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