Both my husband & I have been very loyal to Q...not driven by altruism but by the benefits conferred by the various status levels which have been used and enjoyed. But we have recently had a series of such bad experiences, we are discussing not only "stopping" the pursuit of status credits and points but boycotting them with our $$ by avoiding them when possible. I, more than my husband, am wavering. My reasoning is simple - I'm an American living Down Under and when I fly home on my own dollar, I make use of lounge access, priority boarding, excess luggage and upgrading with points (and I've had decent luck with this being Gold and choosing my flying days carefully). My Aussie husband says "stuff it" - let's fly virgin when we want to visit the US (which I do more frequently than he does) and take it from there.
When I fly for work, I can fly other airlines (business class if overseas) and when I fly for personal, I will be free to shop based on cost (although will lose the lounge access/luggage & boarding privileges), and most significantly, the hope of upgrading.
I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has "quit" being loyal due to really, really, really poor service/experience - and have you found that it has or has not mattered. I've been Gold for 10 years, so this feels like a big decision (in a very first world problem-way).
When I fly for work, I can fly other airlines (business class if overseas) and when I fly for personal, I will be free to shop based on cost (although will lose the lounge access/luggage & boarding privileges), and most significantly, the hope of upgrading.
I guess I'm wondering if anyone else has "quit" being loyal due to really, really, really poor service/experience - and have you found that it has or has not mattered. I've been Gold for 10 years, so this feels like a big decision (in a very first world problem-way).