The PPS Population

[LionCity]

Thanks for the welcome Man Flyer and Lioncity. SQTalk is a good community and I am grateful to all those who contribute with good cheer.

1) I wonder if it is a good idea to differentiate the service levels for premium class passengers between "ordinary" paying passengers and PPS/TPPS passengers - what perks would be acceptable?

2) My experience is that SQ does try its best to clear waitlists if there are seats I don't expect them to chuck somebody else off.

3) I should also have acknowledged my gratitude to Krisflyer staff as well. I have been very fortunate in being able to utilise a chunk of accumulated miles with their help - again clearing waitlists etc during the recent "sale".

4) The staff at CDG have been terrific too

5) Yes most of the stuff on Krisshop is overpriced or useless but the mail order list used to have practical stuff eg Riedel wine glasses.....but they are now gone! Guess it may have to be some gadget then

7) its not just the KF earning capacity but the bonus miles on AMEX PPS / Solitaire which partly compensate for the ridiculously high redemption rates....what happened to rumors that they would come down?

Glad you could contribute.

a) I do get the Krisshop stuff onboard and it mostly because of the voucher, alcoholic stuff and some last minute shopping for ones at home after a non-stop trip aboard without shopping opportunities. Yes, I think they are overpriced.

b) My biggest negative is the changes in PPS without corresponding improvement in benefits (Should I say de-improvement?).

c) They can do a some things to differentiate between TPPS/QPPS and other premium travelers. But to me it will some upgrade vouchers particularly between J and F even if it is for short travel trip to less in demand locations should come in useful. But knowing the airline not to amongst be most generous ones, don't expect anything interesting.

d) So far experiences with Krisflyer staff has been good. But lack of redemption seats on savers is not helpful and requires a large heapful of miles.

e) Possibly the expansion of the sales of KF Miles to Credit Card companies has partially made the made redemption worse and causing the hurdle rate to shoot up.

f) The staff in SQ do make a difference and is a big redeeming quality in the overall service experiences. Surprised many still around and exhibit extreme loyalties despite with pay package often dosed with unexpected cut in pay and losing their jobs.

[cplh]

pps

Thanks for the welcome Man Flyer and Lioncity. SQTalk is a good community and I am grateful to all those who contribute with good cheer.

1) I wonder if it is a good idea to differentiate the service levels for premium class passengers between "ordinary" paying passengers and PPS/TPPS passengers - what perks would be acceptable?

2) My experience is that SQ does try its best to clear waitlists if there are seats I don't expect them to chuck somebody else off.

3) I should also have acknowledged my gratitude to Krisflyer staff as well. I have been very fortunate in being able to utilise a chunk of accumulated miles with their help - again clearing waitlists etc during the recent "sale".

4) The staff at CDG have been terrific too

5) Yes most of the stuff on Krisshop is overpriced or useless but the mail order list used to have practical stuff eg Riedel wine glasses.....but they are now gone! Guess it may have to be some gadget then

7) its not just the KF earning capacity but the bonus miles on AMEX PPS / Solitaire which partly compensate for the ridiculously high redemption rates....what happened to rumors that they would come down?

Welcome to SQTalk, cplh.



1) I can see that. As has been stated, it's ironic that a status that can only be earned by flying J & F, is only of benefit when flying in Y. 2) That has not been my experience over recent times actually, they have still been a bit funny clearing even as a TPP. I had much better record clearing as just QPP. 3) I have had fantastic assistance from the UK PPS Co-ordinator recently. 4) Fortunately not required any help but they are good at Changi. 5) I disagree about the vouchers, and have just had another batch expire on me unused last month. The only time I have ever used them was when a girl from the old Manchester Ticket Office was on the same flight to MAN and I gave them to her daughter to spend. A mate claims they just make him buy something he doesn't really want or need. 6) Yep, I use that. 7) Never had access to a KF mileage earning card, and it would be too late now anyway as I've given up on KF as a programme. Ironic as after years of moaning about the lack of a card here, they were 'allegedly' about to launch one in the UK prior to the downturn. I can understand those who can earn miles by card spend being keen though.

[MAN Flyer]

Welcome to SQTalk, cplh.

having been a pps member for 10 years, i agree that the changes have not been pleasant but there remain some good reasons to try and retain membership if possible : 1) for those of us who fly on J for work (less often these days!) and Y for family trips or work, being a PPS member has its obvious advantages; 2) waitlists do clear; 3) the PPS Centre staff have been of much help; 4) ground staff have been great when there were issues; 5) the vouchers sometimes come in handy; 6) the discount at DFS is appreciated; 7) its a hassle but the extra miles from the Amex PPS / Solitaire card is worthwhile.

1) I can see that. As has been stated, it's ironic that a status that can only be earned by flying J & F, is only of benefit when flying in Y. 2) That has not been my experience over recent times actually, they have still been a bit funny clearing even as a TPP. I had much better record clearing as just QPP. 3) I have had fantastic assistance from the UK PPS Co-ordinator recently. 4) Fortunately not required any help but they are good at Changi. 5) I disagree about the vouchers, and have just had another batch expire on me unused last month. The only time I have ever used them was when a girl from the old Manchester Ticket Office was on the same flight to MAN and I gave them to her daughter to spend. A mate claims they just make him buy something he doesn't really want or need. 6) Yep, I use that. 7) Never had access to a KF mileage earning card, and it would be too late now anyway as I've given up on KF as a programme. Ironic as after years of moaning about the lack of a card here, they were 'allegedly' about to launch one in the UK prior to the downturn. I can understand those who can earn miles by card spend being keen though.

[LukeGT]

Sorry, but I'm feeling very annoyed by all this rubbish. In the spirit of keeping the content of thread qualitatively interesting, I'm going to hide all the OT messages.
I understand many of you are not responsible but only victims. To them, I kindly ask to be patient about this soft-deletion.

LukeGT

[LionCity]

having been a pps member for 10 years, i agree that the changes have not been pleasant but there remain some good reasons to try and retain membership if possible : 1) for those of us who fly on J for work (less often these days!) and Y for family trips or work, being a PPS member has its obvious advantages; 2) waitlists do clear; 3) the PPS Centre staff have been of much help; 4) ground staff have been great when there were issues; 5) the vouchers sometimes come in handy; 6) the discount at DFS is appreciated; 7) its a hassle but the extra miles from the Amex PPS / Solitaire card is worthwhile

of course there are ocasional shortcomings but sq flight staff have been consistently good despite all the uncertainties they have to cope with and its always a relief to enter an sq flight after having endure other airlines.

whether this level of service and brand image can survive the current crisis and cutbacks (especially apalling is the variability of the food being offered in Y) is not assured and one only hopes that SQ management learns from the competition.

what particularly irks me is how little pps members have to look forward to in terms of lounges eg disappearance of the wonderful incheon silverkris lounge, loss of access to virgin clubhouses.

Welcome to Sqtalk, cplh. Liked your balance and matured approach.

[cplh]

having been a pps member for 10 years, i agree that the changes have not been pleasant but there remain some good reasons to try and retain membership if possible : 1) for those of us who fly on J for work (less often these days!) and Y for family trips or work, being a PPS member has its obvious advantages; 2) waitlists do clear; 3) the PPS Centre staff have been of much help; 4) ground staff have been great when there were issues; 5) the vouchers sometimes come in handy; 6) the discount at DFS is appreciated; 7) its a hassle but the extra miles from the Amex PPS / Solitaire card is worthwhile

of course there are ocasional shortcomings but sq flight staff have been consistently good despite all the uncertainties they have to cope with and its always a relief to enter an sq flight after having endure other airlines.

whether this level of service and brand image can survive the current crisis and cutbacks (especially apalling is the variability of the food being offered in Y) is not assured and one only hopes that SQ management learns from the competition.

what particularly irks me is how little pps members have to look forward to in terms of lounges eg disappearance of the wonderful incheon silverkris lounge, loss of access to virgin clubhouses.

[tris]

Quite true. Most of the PPS benefits like lounge access and extra baggage etc becomes really a "benefit" if a PPS member fly Y. But in order to keep PPS status, one must keep flying J or F to accumulate the PPS value. So in the end, it is quite pointless. Only those that fly a lot of Y and at the same time also a lot of J or F will see tangible benefit. Otherwise, I think it's just a status symbol, sort of like a Platinium credit card was many years ago ( of course now is just too common ).

My Sister flew just as much as me in CX and she is Marco Polo member, and often boast of the number of times she was upgraded from Y to J ( usually due to overbooking in Y ) by CX. I have not yet encountered once of being upgraded while flying SQ.

Isn't it ironic that the only time you can enjoy PPS benefit is by flying Y, as flying by J or F make no material difference being a PPS or not?

And if you fly Y all the time, you might not get your PPS renewed the following year. I am wondering what SQ is trying to acheive?

Being a PPS myself for the last 2 years, i have yet to enjoy any upgrade to J be it Y being overbooked or not, even though the front cabin is quite empty. i guess only TPP can enjoy such benefit and they have to be "Lucky" enough.

[benlee]

Unfortunately, PPS as what Manflyer mentioned is now a "Pointless Passenger Service" in many practical senses. From a purely logical angle, SQ Krisflyer position has worsen from a benefit point of view.

Quite true. Most of the PPS benefits like lounge access and extra baggage etc becomes really a "benefit" if a PPS member fly Y. But in order to keep PPS status, one must keep flying J or F to accumulate the PPS value. So in the end, it is quite pointless. Only those that fly a lot of Y and at the same time also a lot of J or F will see tangible benefit. Otherwise, I think it's just a status symbol, sort of like a Platinium credit card was many years ago ( of course now is just too common ).

My Sister flew just as much as me in CX and she is Marco Polo member, and often boast of the number of times she was upgraded from Y to J ( usually due to overbooking in Y ) by CX. I have not yet encountered once of being upgraded while flying SQ.

[LionCity]

ginkoka could be right. I was told it was about 20,000 by a reliable non-SQ friend.

[Kiwi]

I don't know how many people would voluntarily fly, say, TG instead of SQ to save money for their employers.

Many people do every day, for all sorts of reasons.

Agree. Or to stretch it further..voluntarily fly in Y when they are entitled to fly in J/F by their company.
Unless part of the savings goes to the employee.

Choosing to downgrade is slightly different. In many cases the reason an employer may pay for J/F on longer flights is specifically to have the employee fresh for meetings once they arrive. If the employee chooses to downgrade and as a result is not as productive on arrival that may be a false economy, in some situations.

[acey]

I don't know how many people would voluntarily fly, say, TG instead of SQ to save money for their employers.

Agree. Or to stretch it further..voluntarily fly in Y when they are entitled to fly in J/F by their company.
Unless part of the savings goes to the employee.

[LionCity]

So can anyone verify how many QPP, TPP and LPP are there now? Better still, how many are based in SG?

Has the number dropped significantly since they downgraded our benefits?

There was so much talk and angst about leaving the SQ programme either involuntarily or by choice when perks were cut. But I seriously wonder if many frequent fliers [particularly those who continue to occupy the front cabins] really migrated to other programmes...

From my experiences, it seems to be more QPPS migrating out rather than the TPPS. Noted from a few reliable inside sources that PPS number have dropped significantly. How many I do not know. But it is certainly accelerated by the downturn. It probably does not take a frequent flyer maths genius to figure that out from more spaces in lounges, less load in premium cabins, easier upgrading for myself in a full flight, enhanced requalification requirements etc.

The SQ Krisflyer program I found it to be significantly weaker than other programs and lack the major incentives found in TG, LH or other StarAlliance members particularly after the major changes of 2007.

At least for me, if ever I drop out of PPS, I will definitely switch alliance be it TG, LH or CX. I can see the practical benefits of switching to CX with the number of flights I take to China in J or F and their more frequent upgrades as compared to SQ. Unfortunately, PPS as what Manflyer mentioned is now a "Pointless Passenger Service" in many practical senses. From a purely logical angle, SQ Krisflyer position has worsen from a benefit point of view.

[eddyooi]

So can anyone verify how many QPP, TPP and LPP are there now? Better still, how many are based in SG?

Has the number dropped significantly since they downgraded our benefits?

There was so much talk and angst about leaving the SQ programme either involuntarily or by choice when perks were cut. But I seriously wonder if many frequent fliers [particularly those who continue to occupy the front cabins] really migrated to other programmes...

[ginkoka]

I wouldn't call saving my company money "nothing in it for me".

I don't know how many people would voluntarily fly, say, TG instead of SQ to save money for their employers.

[Kiwi]

I don't know about your corporate travel policy, but the default airline for my company is SQ, even if other airlines are cheaper (and they usually are). I could switch to a cheaper airline if I so choose, but there's nothing in it for me other than the cheap thrill of snubbing SQ.

I wouldn't call saving my company money "nothing in it for me".