The end of the year always brings about a flurry of travel activity. No, not to see clients or get business done, but rather those last-minute trips to ensure that Gold and Platinum status is assured in hotels and on airlines for the year ahead.
Sorry. Have I breathed the truth that dares not speak its name?
Well, as 2009 ended, there was a gloom about frequent travellers around the globe. A deep, dark sadness from so many of us who had failed to travel sufficiently to make the magic élite status.
Oh I tried, I really did. But as the year went on, it became clear there was no way I was going to re-qualify. At least not legitimately. There simply wasn’t enough travel to get to the higher levels.
After all, in this economic climate one can only justify taking the most necessary trips. Those nice-to-have but non-essential jaunts went out of the window.
Then there was that timely email from the corporate travel department, reminding us that arranging travel to suit one’s loyalty programmes was not allowed (Imagine that! You can’t route yourself from London to New York via Bangkok because there are bonus miles on offer! Spoilsports…) Nor have we been able to fudge the fare basis to get an upgrade or to ensure bonus miles.
No doubt many of you have been busy trotting around the world – but I am pretty sure you are in a dwindling group.
The planes may be full, but that’s because capacity has been cut, not that there are more people flying. All in all, it has been a pretty bleak time on the frequent-flyer front.
Nor do I think it will be much better next year. We have got used to finding new ways of doing business that don’t involve travel, and when we do travel we have become imaginative at saving money.
The dreaded Saturday night stay has re-appeared. Intra-European travel is often on the low-cost carriers who have yet to develop recognition for those who fly with them most frequently.
All of which is, perhaps, common sense and should have been clear a long time ago. I have always known that there was a difference between travelling on my credit card and travelling on the company’s.
Admit it; it’s true. We fly business class when we would never do so if we were paying for it ourselves.
We stay in better hotels, eat at fancier restaurants and ultimately spend more money.
There are many changes that I will certainly try to stick with, even when the good times come back.
For instance, on a recent trip to the US, I booked my car rental through a discount broker online. I was terrified that this was a scam – but no. I turned up at Logan Airport in Boston, handed over the dog-eared certificate and… bingo! There was a car waiting for me at a fraction of the price.
It is a story to be repeated again and again. Booking online, staying in smaller hotels: it’s all perfectly possible and saves a bundle. I just wish there were more miles involved.
The issue that became clear during the ‘Great Recession’, as some are now calling it, was that cutting back wasn’t just a question of taking a trip or not. It was the difference between saving jobs or someone being made redundant.
Perhaps, though, all is not lost. The smarter airlines and hotel companies are already being a bit more generous in renewing people who have not made the grade.
After all, there’s no point in offending your loyal customers just because they’ve had a bad run. So there is still some hope yet that many of us will sneak in through guile and goodwill.
I had felt that perhaps I was alone in this feeling of loss and mourning, but then another colleague sidled up to me and asked: ‘Is it possible to go from Gold to nothing in one go?’
There followed a look of fear and resignation when I replied: ‘Yes.’
Good luck!
Comments are closed.