Qantas unveils the biggest changes to status in program history

[Invisible Monkey]

Will a few more lounge passes make Silvers fly more often, providing QF more revenue, and then getting them to Gold where they then have lounge access in any case, making the over-crowding a moot point?

That scenario would make overcrowding worse.

 

[oz_mark]

Status and their perks should be earned from flying and shouldn't be easily awarded based on non-flying achievements. Qantas is an airline first and foremost that has subsequently leveraged the immense QFF membership to boost their revenue via OTG spending and we are all suckers for Qantas points and they know it.

Flying is the traditional path to status, and for a lot of people that’s how airline loyalty should be measured. But I think it’s also worth looking at how Qantas’ business has evolved and why the program now rewards more than just time in the air.

QFF isn’t just a frequent flyer program anymore, it’s a major business in its own right. A huge portion of Qantas’ revenue comes from partnerships with banks, retailers, insurance, financial services, wine, and so on. That revenue helps fund the entire ecosystem that makes lounges, reward seats, and elite perks possible. Or, putting it another way, flying is important but it’s not the only way members contribute value.

Re your anecdote about Points Club perks, I would assume that many are in the same boat. But Qantas has the data across millions of members. If they’re restructuring rather than scrapping the concept entirely, it suggests the perks were meaningful to a decent portion of the base.

As for Silver members, they’re a huge cohort and Qantas may want them to fly more. Giving them a bit more recognition isn’t about devaluing Gold and above. It's about encouraging those silver members to move up a level.