DL status requirements increases, Flying Club a soft target?

[preiffer]

So, not only have the US airlines been slowly shifting to prefer revenue-based loyalty recognition for their FFPs instead of bum-on-seat-flown-miles, but they've also been slowly increasing the requirements to keep "status". In reality, it's a way of clearing out those who look for cheap mileage runs to "play the system" and instead reward those who, in turn, generate genuine revenue and profit for the airline.

However, DL have just announced a big hike - a 20% increase in the spend required to keep status for 2016. The impact will actually hit flyers next year as they earn in 2015 to keep their shiny ego-cards for the following year. I wonder... Will VS Flying Club be seen as a soft (landing) target for those who won't make the thresholds for DL's own scheme?

Or maybe we'll all become tired of their games....

I wonder... Will VS Flying Club be seen as a soft (landing) target for those who won't make the thresholds for DL's own scheme?

Or maybe VS will further change FC requirements ? They've got to be the easiest airline to attain/ retain Au status by flying ( not as a corporate or CC perk) and as we all know seem happy to accept the " enhancements " that the DL tie -up has brought.

DL

Indeed DL - it's not that long since the TP threshold for Au went up from 30 to 40 and I could easily see it rise again to 50.

Of course over the last 18 months Little Red has played into the hands of tier point runners (guilty!!) with flights as low as £40 making it really pretty simple to attain Au if you really want to. That won't be the case in a year's time which may help control the numbers.

Easiest? On BA I can have a fun trip to a bunch of places and ending in Hawaii and end up gold (kind of a level above VS gold), all for about 1700 quid. Ok, so its an exception to the rule, but never reached gold in my normal trips on VS...

The difficult balance is between attainability and benefit.
If it is too easy to get (such as VS silver) then the benefits are negligible making it a pretty ineffective way to generate business (which is the purpose of these schemes after all).
The VS is clever because it already revolves around value rather than miles flown as the more you pay for the ticket the more TP you get - regardless of how many miles you have flown to get there.
The problem is it fizzles out after 40TP and really needs something around the 75/80 TP level to keep the regular traveller hooked who knows that they will not get to the magic UNIQ level - but still ought to be recognised.

Easiest? On BA I can have a fun trip to a bunch of places and ending in Hawaii and end up gold (kind of a level above VS gold), all for about 1700 quid. Ok, so its an exception to the rule, but never reached gold in my normal trips on VS...

So what is the cheapest way to Au on VS (assuming no special TP promotions, US credit cards that award TPs or other freebies)?

I can find LAX-OAK in DL First for £84 each way so 13 legs would get you 39 points for £1092 plus a single leg in economy for £40 to take you up to 40 TP for £1132.

In the UK the cheapest LR fare I can find is LHR-MAN return for £94, so 20 of them could cost you £1880.

Easiest? On BA I can have a fun trip to a bunch of places and ending in Hawaii and end up gold (kind of a level above VS gold), all for about 1700 quid. Ok, so its an exception to the rule, but never reached gold in my normal trips on VS...

So what is the cheapest way to Au on VS (assuming no special TP promotions, US credit cards that award TPs or other freebies)?

I can find LAX-OAK in DL First for £84 each way so 13 legs would get you 39 points for £1092 plus a single leg in economy for £40 to take you up to 40 TP for £1132.

In the UK the cheapest LR fare I can find is LHR-MAN return for £94, so 20 of them could cost you £1880.

DL fares in First can be had with one stop R/T for roughly $500. At 12 TPs each trip, that means 36 TPs for $1500. Then a R/T in Y for ~$150-200 with one stop can be found and you can cash out with 40 TPs for under $2k.

I think it says something that the cheapest way to attain (and, for me anyway, easiest way to maintain) VS Au is via DL flights!

Even if I never flew VS, the roughly-equivalent perk-level on DL (Silver Medallion, with some perks of Gold Medallion), which having VS Au gives you, is cheaper and quicker to attain on VS than on DL.

Not sure if this is a note of caution or just a be-aware-of but if you have been VS AU for several continuous years and heading for lifetime AU then only TPs owned on VS Metal count towards earning that status.

Good point! There is one quirk in the system, though: VS/DL codeshares ex-LHR generate TPs which are classified as VS Metal.

i.e. Fly a VS/DL codeshare and the TPs will fall under the "Total VS Tier Points" line (not just the "Total Tier Points" line).

Easiest? On BA I can have a fun trip to a bunch of places and ending in Hawaii and end up gold (kind of a level above VS gold), all for about 1700 quid. Ok, so its an exception to the rule, but never reached gold in my normal trips on VS...

Care to elaborate smid ,I'm intrigued as to numbers

Here's one way, Blacky1: http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/1 ... ve-days-fo

Here's one way, Blacky1: http://www.businesstraveller.com/news/1 ... ve-days-fo

Ha ha ,thanks NYLON ,
Busy boy wasn't he !

I think the general idea is that the ticket cost around £1,500 (basically AMS-HNL return with various stopovers) and an initial positioning flight from LCY of - say - £200. So about £1,700 total.

Easiest? On BA I can have a fun trip to a bunch of places and ending in Hawaii and end up gold (kind of a level above VS gold), all for about 1700 quid. Ok, so its an exception to the rule, but never reached gold in my normal trips on VS...

Care to elaborate smid ,I'm intrigued as to numbers

Variations on a theme on the 100 odd page BA Tier Point run thread, it's been running during the BA Sale which is gone, but still present from some ex-eu destinations.

http://www.headforpoints.com/2014/10/15 ... to-the-us/

Basically, something like HEL or CPH or OSL (possible with a bounce to one or the other) to LHR then BA Babybus from LCY to JFK then JFK to PHX/LAX/LAS/SFO then on to HON/the other one. Back via variations on that route. All club/first (domestic), think no stopovers (ie: over 24 hours) on the way and back. Coming out at 1600ish. One was 1340TP, then some variations got it up to 1500TP and thus gold.

Dates are limited, but if you need for gold and the time, it's a damn good run. I've considered an east coast variation for silver (about 700 going to JFK coming back from BOS). But we've got our Romanian holiday, Vegas Holiday, and San Diego to Seattle holiday all within 6 months so no space (but a silver for seat selection might be good, so might just try myself for it).

Some nutcases were using this and even cheaper runs within the US, to get to GGL within a short period.

[Darren Wheeler]

Very similar to the old 'Blockbuster' (Gold Run) of V-Flyer lore...

Very similar to the old 'Blockbuster' (Gold Run) of V-Flyer lore...

I'll have a TP please Bob?