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Over the last couple of days both United MileagePlus and Delta SkyMiles have extended elite status and made other changes to assist members during the COVID-19 situation.

The details

Delta has announced the following extension for elite ‘Medallion’ members:

• “A full-year extension will be added to your current Medallion Status through January 31, 2022, with Diamond and Platinum Medallion Members being able to select Choice Benefits in 2021 as part of the extension.

• • Rollover for all 2020 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) earned on flight spend or your eligible Delta SkyMiles American Express Card. All 2020 MQMs will be rolled over to 2021 for qualification towards 2022 Medallion Status will be implemented.

• • All unused Medallion drink vouchers will be extended six months from their expiration date.”

United is offering something similar:

• “The big news: If you have current 2020 Premier status, it will be extended to January 31, 2022. At a minimum, you will enjoy the same published status next year that you have today, up to and including Premier 1K®.

• For the 2021 status year, United is reducing thresholds for Premier qualification by 50% for each status level, to make reaching an even higher tier easier. You’ll still need a minimum of four flight segments on United or United Express®”

Will British Airways Executive Club do the same?

I think it is inevitable that American Airlines AAdvantage, as the only ‘big 3’ US programme not to announce changes yet, will have to follow Delta and United’s lead soon. The situation for British Airways Executive Club is more complicated though, given the relative lack of direct competition here in the UK – not least given the financial pressure that Virgin Atlantic is facing.

So far, the measures BA has taken have been far from generous – in fact, they even led InsideFlyer’s Craig to wonder whether the airline was inexplicably trying to drive away elite members.

I am pretty confident that we will see some changes and improvements to the existing measures, but I’m not convinced that BA will feel the need to mirror what Delta and United have done.

What policies would you like to see British Airways adopt to help frequent flyers?