Travel providers are interested in acquiring their competitors’ best customers, but elite status has a lock-in effect. You might want to defect from United to American or from Delta to Alaska, but it’s pretty tough to do that and start from scratch with a new airline. You’re well treated as an elite, and it’s rough out there flying without any status
So airlines came up first with status matches (you have elite status with a competitor, we will give you that status on our airline to make it easier to move your business over) and then status challenges (we’ll let you earn the status in an expedited way but do want you to prove you’re moving some business over, and get in the habit of flying our airline).
And now there are paid status match offers.
- The airline outsources the matching process, which gets things done more quickly (and ensures customer requests are handled promptly – very important when you have a valuable customer hot to bring over their business)
- The company handling the match does this all the time, they know the tricks, so this reduces fraud (and thus unnecessary expense)
- And customers actually paying for the match are more serious about taking advantage of the new status
Status matches done right are magic – reaching the right customer, at the right time, with the right offer. When your competitor is sticking it to their members, it’s almost loyalty malpractice not to go out aggressively with an offer to their best customers.
Air France KLM seems to have done quite well status matching against British Airways as BA scrambles to retain customers in the face of taking an ax to its elite program.
*over 4,000 British Airways customers had a status match approved (we know what percentage of those came from the HfP article we ran – it was a lot)
*95% of matches were to Flying Blue Gold status or higher, allowing the matcher to enjoy lounge access (amongst other benefits) when flying with Air France, KLM, Virgin Atlantic and other SkyTeam partners
*these 4,000 matchers had booked 17,500 flights on Air France KLM by the end of August (it isn’t clear how many flights the cohort also booked on other SkyTeam airlines)
*60% of matched customers have booked at least one Air France KLM flight so far
*60% of the revenue generated from these 17,500 flights was from bookings in premium cabins
When Delta announced plans to torch SkyMiles elite status two years ago (before backing off) several programs swooped in. We saw a feeding frenzy on Southwest as it walked away from its brand promise. The grass isn’t always greener. The best offers don’t end with the match.
Give new elites a great experience. When United Airlines and Continental integrated their systems, things went badly. American Airlines was smart. They’d never opened up a status match to Executive Platinum broadly before, but 1K members were welcomed in. And American then sent matched United 1Ks Admirals Club lounge passes. And they sent free wifi passes, because United didn’t yet have wifi. That was smart.
New elites should also be given an incentive to try the product and stick with it. Welcome them. Educate them about the program they’re switching to. Offer them promotions, especially if they haven’t yet engaged at the expected level. And make sure there’s an easy path to keep the status they’ve been given.
Once you’ve vetted someone as a qualified prspect to become one of your best customers, it’s worth tailoring offers to win that business over the long term like an annuity. Make sure the match is seamless, the communication is clear and prompt, and the follow up is compelling. Don’t stop at just opening up a match and calling it good!
I really like KLM… and AMS… that place is a total Schiphol!
Why not credit the blog that you’re taking your “though leader” commentary from?
It’s actually not “rough out there flying without any status”. Just buy tickets in J and F, and it’s not bad at all.
But, yeah, BA is not competitive in most markets.
I suspect in the US many top elites are hub captive. If you’re Dallas, Charlotte, Miami base for AA or Atlanta based for DL or Houston, San Francisco base for UA do you really want to deal with connections? Particularly places like Houston, Dallas, Miami, Charlotte, PHL that deal with summer weather.
DL could roll out the red carpet for me but there is no f%%king way I’m dealing with summer weather in Miami both Atlanta.
@George N Romey — 100%. I don’t always agree with you on here, but you’re absolutely correct on the observation above.
When I was based in SoFla, I flew mostly American outta MIA, because I didn’t want to have to go up to ATL, or over to IAD or IAH, etc.
@JohnnyBoy — Also, correct. Oh, if only we had unlimited money. So, it works well when someone else is paying, or when F and J are ‘affordable’ (or at least ‘good value.) There were some sweet spots during the pandemic, but, you know, borders were shut, people were dying, etc. I’d rather not have another pandemic or recession just to get to Europe in lie-flat for cheaper.
Ha, I was going to say something like @JohnnyBoy did — speaking first hand, it ain’t so bad as status-less peons. Do the “@Gene” – WFBF and you’re in pretty good shape!
@L737 — Yeah, WFBF is fine when it’s a 2-4 hour flight, and the difference is between $150 Economy, 3-3 configuration, vs. $500 First recliner, 2-2, on a 737 or a321.
Now, compare that to $2,500 Premium Economy (recliner) vs. $7,500 Business Class (lie-falt) on the world’s longest flight, a359ULR, +18 hours, nonstop, SQ21,22,23,24, between NYC-SIN. Personally, I’d like the bed, please.
@Thoughty – I link to where the data came from (LinkedIn post), the commentary is original to me
@1990 — Very fair point, I shall think bigger and grander!
@L737 — “You mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling…” (Inception).
BA destroyed Exec Club. I gave up and moved to Virgin. One J flight got me a1.5 years of Virgin Gold status. I never looked back. bye BA!
None of the big 4 including WN can sustain their networks without attracting passengers in competitive (non-hub) markets.
Status matches make a lot of sense for people in the medium and small sized cities that aren’t hubs for anyone.
and not every customer in another airline’s hub is flying routes that are served nonstop from the hub carrier. or they fly routes that are also served nonstop by both the hub and non-hub carrier.
Oh no… BA lost ‘US Champion’ @RJB… whatever will they do… *waving bye*
The FlyerTalk forum mods & Community Director who are British were having quite a worry that the BA loyalty program change to elite status acquisition/retention would drive down activity on that most cliquish part of the site. Haven’t checked the recent numbers for that part of the site yet, but the program is a shadow of its former self for many of those without lifetime BA elite status.
The FlyerTalk Community Director Rob/NWIFlyer previously posted on the site that he wanted to drop a grenade on Rob of HeadforPoints. Quite crazy to have such a loose cannon be the “community director” of the site, but that is what happened while has Community Director.
The FlyerTalk forum mods & Community Director who are British were having quite a worry that the BA loyalty program change to elite status acquisition/retention would drive down activity on that most cliquish part of the site. Haven’t checked the recent numbers for that part of the site yet, but the program is a shadow of its former self for many of those without lifetime BA elite status.
The FlyerTalk Community Director Rob/NWIFlyer previously posted on the site that he wanted to drop a grenade on Rob of HeadforPoints. Quite crazy to have such a loose cannon be the “community director” of the site, but that is what happened while has Community Director.
I’ve found the BA J fares (purchased on AA website) are generally very competitive in the AMS/AUS market thanks to the KLM AUS-AMS nonstop and in many cases much less than the DL/KL fares.
It’s hardly rough without status; millions of people every day get by fine, and an airline credit card basically gives you the equivalent of status now.
Airlines focus on profits these days, while in the past, an elite member could get an upgrade; nowadays, US airlines will sell that upgrade for what amounts to peanuts to make some revenue from it. Furthermore, unlike the U.S.-based airlines, most other airlines around the world will let those seats go out empty and aren’t so free with their upgrades. I’m based in Asia, and I often find the front of the plane 1/2 empty, and those that fill the seats are paying for them.
I gave up chasing status a long time ago, and while I have lifetime status, it’s not worth the card it’s no longer printed on. I just buy business class on the lowest cost carrier that gets me to/from my destination at the times I want to travel.
“4000 top flyers bolted” is more than a bit misleading…the whole point of changing the program was to cull the number of elites, so of course people with status on BA that BA no longer prioritizes would status match to another airline while they still have BA status. In particular, they were trying to eliminate top tier status holders who were not top spenders (which is what the new program forces since it’s spend based), so losing the mileage-running top tier status holders who get there by flying cheap tickets is mission accomplished in BA’s book.
The counterargument would be, well couldn’t they have lost some top tier spenders as well? The new program benefits big spenders, they still have top tier status while not having to share lounges and other perks with as many other passengers, so why would they switch?
What a ridiculously small number for a company with $46 BILLION in annual revenue. Probably doesn’t even cover the salary of the people running this, and just proves the bloat of these programs.
Bravo to BA to putting money on better on board (and not) experience instead of picking up pennies.
BA has been cutting back on what it offers with regard to the in-flight experience, and it continued even after the changes were made to cut back on the number of lounge-entitled elite status holders in the BA frequent flyer program.
BA is a shadow of it’s former self. Compared to the year 2000 BA’s premium passenger numbers have barely grown and since 2008 or so it is even almost impossible to break them out of the overall IAG numbers. Today the ME3 plus Turkish fly far more premium passengers out of the UK than BA does, going East or South, and the big 3 US carriers plus VS fly a similar number East. BA has always been slow and provincial with the FF game, the club has always lagged the rest of the industry for at least 5 years. The difference is that while 10, 20 or 30 years ago, the home market instinctively thought BA a superior carrier, no one believes this anymore. Alex Cruz constantly comparing BA to LCC’s was perhaps the final nail in the coffin.
People forget that there are/were relatively few Gold’s to begin with, perhaps 50k worldwide, (getting rid of “Eurocheats”a decade before, a behavior that BA had encouraged, slimmed the numbers already) so 4k to AFKL, and perhaps another 4k to LH group, and perhaps another 4k to US carriers is absolutely huge, slightly more than a quarter of all their Gold Card holders. Firing such customers will be a case study at some MBA program in the coming years, as the big problem that most ignore is that they brought nothing new of value for those who stay (more tier points for holiday packages? The opportunity to use points for a wine club?!? While continuing to offer a mediocre product at best, bested by most of their competitors!
I am a Platinum Reader at Live and Let’s Fly. Does a View From A Wing blog offer a status match?
Gary – You’ve touched on something I’ve noticed as a new BA Gold member this year (I get the status for the Flagship lounge access). For the life of me I cannot understand what the benefit of BA Gold is over Silver, or indeed what the benefit is in general other than lounge access. I am Emerald with AA, and they often thank me for being a loyal AA customer (in the cabin & on the phone). Not sure I’ve ever heard that on BA.
@Jon Ton — No. Only status here is that the first comment wins, ‘memba?