Frequent business flyers who have achieved high "Gold", "Platinum", "Premier" and other "special" designations are beginning to see a noticeable dilution in the benefits they receive from their airlines.
Upgrades are much more difficult to score, Club lounges are ever more crowded with fewer amenities, award redemptions for desired flights are almost non-existent or will cost a fortune of miles.
Reasons for all this are simple. Airlines are now viewing those programs as profit centers and not rewards for loyalty that most flyers think they are. Flyers are also competing with non-flyers as you can earn frequent flyer miles on every purchase through credit and debit cards. These non-flyers are competing for scarce awards and seats. Airlines mergers, code shares, alliances and joint ventures add even more mileage credits that are bound to be redeemed.
In the meantime, airlines are cutting capacity, and reducing the number of premium seats to add more luxuries like sleeper business cabins. Seats dedicated for mileage awards are also getting very difficult to find particularly to sunny destinations.
On a recent flight, an airline called priority boarding for their top mileage earners, and no less than 20 flyers lined up to board. We are likely to reach a tipping point where travelers will start questioning the value of some of those benefits. Unless you are in the top tier, you are likely to see a continuous dilution of these benefits.
www.premieretravel.com
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