ANA is a “customer” and JAL is a “client”…SFC’s deterioration reveals its “true feelings toward customers

ANA’s Ruthless Scalpel for SFC

The “training” to acquire airline membership status as a senior member was popular as a way out of the dream of “VIP treatment for life. However, it appears that this boom may finally be coming to an end.

On April 23, ANA announced a review of the “ANA Super Flyers Card (SFC)” system. The details of the revision have been filled with the cries of “ascetic monks” on social networking sites.

The revised system will establish “two categories based on the amount of annual payment. This means that the “free rider” attitude of “as long as you pay the annual fee for the card, you can enjoy free drinks at the lounge even on low-cost flights” will no longer be valid. For customers who have been training hard up to this point, the ladder has been removed. In addition, there is the reality of the “new class society” where people are selected based on the amount of their credit card transactions.

Lounge access is limited to “3 million a year

SFC is a credit card that can be applied for by those who have reached the rank of “Platinum” or above, which is reached with 50,000 premium points (PP) earned from flying ANA and other airlines per year. Once you have obtained the SFC, you only need to pay an annual fee of just over 10,000 yen to keep it, and you can use ANA and other lounges at airports, priority check-in, and so on. It also comes with “Star Alliance Gold” status, which can be used on partner airlines overseas, and family membership is also available.

The SFC will begin offering services in new categories from April 2008. PLUS” and “LITE” are divided into two categories. The upper category, “PLUS,” grants “ANA Lounge,” “5,000 mile accumulation,” and “Star Alliance Gold status” to those who make annual ANA and ANA Pay payments of 3 million yen or more.

On the other hand, if the annual transaction amount is less than 3 million yen, the member will be classified as “LITE” and will not be allowed to use ANA lounges and will only be granted Star Alliance Silver status. LITE members will still be eligible for services other than lounge access, such as priority boarding and priority baggage claim when boarding ANA Group-operated flights.

The new system is available not only to new SFC members, but also to existing members. The amount of “payment” is the basis for classification, without regard to the number of flights flown or the number of members. If a member has reached 1 million lifetime miles on ANA Group-operated flights, they are eligible for “PLUS” regardless of the annual amount of payment.

Screams of “major revision” and rejoicing senior customers

Immediately after the announcement of the revision of the new system, there were mixed comments on the Internet, with some calling it a “major deterioration” and others calling it an “improvement.

For example, “Major revision, what a shock,” “I don’t spend 3 million a year on credit cards,” “I can no longer get free rides on the advanced service,” “I think I should stop training,” and “ANA’s recent image of continuous revision,” “JAL is kind enough to consider existing members when making revisions,” and so on.

On the other hand, there are also many people who evaluate the new system as an “improvement. Many of them are businesspersons who usually use ANA cards as their main payment method and reach the rank of Diamond or Platinum every year, as well as entertainers and cultural figures who fly in the higher classes.

The comments include, “The lounge will become more comfortable as it will be cleared of unworthy members,” “The lounge will be much cleaner and less crowded,” and “The dignity of the lounge will be maintained. There are also many complaints about the current lounge crowding, such as “people are flying around and taking over the lounge even though they have nothing to do,” “the suite lounge (which only Diamond members have access to) is crowded,” and “I’m fed up with users who crowd the lounge like bait.

This time, the response was clearly divided on the availability of the lounge. The lounge has certainly become overcrowded in recent years. I have been an SFC member for about 10 years, and in fact, ANA lounges at Haneda, Fukuoka, and other airports have become uncomfortable spaces where it is difficult to find a seat depending on the time of day. I have also seen people in ANA lounges on international flights in a state of partying, with three or four people gathered around drinking alcohol and making noise, or people taking food and drinks at random and arranging them on a desk while streaming video.

ANA lounges are crowded due to JAL’s revision

JAL also has a similar system, the JAL Global Club (JGC). However, in January 2012, JAL made a major revision and shifted to Life Status Points (LSP), which can be accumulated through a lifetime of boarding and service. At that time, existing JGC members were guaranteed the rank of “JGC Three Star” with access to JAL and partner airlines’ lounges in Japan and overseas, while the criteria for newly acquiring JGC were raised significantly.

In fact, JAL has had its share of twists and turns over the treatment of JGC members in the past. JAL imposed a “quota” on annual flight performance, and members who cleared the quota were given “oneworld Sapphire” lounge access, while those who failed to clear the quota were given “oneworld Ruby” status, a lower rank. The quota was dropped due to protests from existing members, and all members have been awarded Sapphire status to this day.

Over the past 10 years, the number of ANA SFC and JAL JGC members has continued to increase, partly due to the influence of SNS and the media. In particular, both companies have implemented “Double Campaigns,” in which boarding results are accumulated more than usual for COVID-19 crisis. And it is undeniable that JAL’s revision of its system caused people who were training to fly to concentrate on ANA, causing the lounges to become even more crowded.

Members’ anger at the sudden removal of the ladder

Although the new criteria of “3 million yen in annual transaction amount” has been set this time, many SFC members say it is not a matter of money, as ANA had been actively recruiting SFC members, as seen in the recent “Double Campaign,” until just before the announcement of the new criteria.

The introduction page of SFC on ANA’s official website says in a large, almost incendiary tone, “Enjoy the same services as Platinum Service members for as long as you are a member,” and “Status forever guaranteed. The article continues, “Please note that the information is subject to change. The article also clearly states, “Please note that the contents of this article are subject to change.

ANA has also been featured in NTV’s variety program “Boiling Word 10,” which often features celebrity Shunsuke Kazama and others “training” on airplanes, and ANA has cooperated in the coverage. The most recent program was aired on ANA’s flight to Istanbul, Turkey, on February 13, 2014. It has only been a little more than two months since then, and some are objecting to ANA’s stance itself on this announcement.

The “true intentions” of a looming class society and corporations

In fact, it is not uncommon for credit card companies to “rank” their customers based on the amount of their credit card transactions. For example, Delta Air Lines of the U.S. grants its “Delta AMEX Gold” status, which allows access to SkyTeam lounges, to those who spend 1.5 million yen a year on credit card purchases.

As with air travel, there is also “hotel training” to obtain or maintain senior member status at hotels. In the summer of 2013, Marriott, which operates hotels worldwide, raised the annual fee for its “Marriott Bonvoy American Express Premium Card” from 49,500 yen to 82,500 yen and raised the annual spending amount from 1.5 million yen to more than 4 million yen, which is a condition for receiving free nights as a continuing benefit. The annual fee for the “American Express Premium Card” was raised from 49,500 yen to 82,500 yen. When this change was announced, there was a wave of comments on the Internet from cardholders who called it a “change for the worse.

As is often the case with measures to reduce the number of cardholders, the “Priority Pass,” which allows access to lounges around the world, was recently changed from unlimited to five times if the card is issued with a credit card. This situation is a reflection of the class society in the modern age.

However, in addition to this, the SFC case, as well as the most recent TV program, has left many people wondering, “What is the company doing about it? In addition to the SFC case and the most recent TV program, many people cannot help but wonder, “What is the company doing about it?

Incidentally, there is a difference between ANA’s membership number, “ANA Mileage Club Customer Number,” and JAL’s “JMB (JAL Mileage Bank) Customer Number. The term “customer” refers to all unspecified people who purchase or use a product or service, while the term “valued customer” includes the nuance of a special entity such as an important customer or VIP with a high frequency, regularity, or deep relationship with the company. From this difference in expression, it is hard not to get a glimpse of the difference in the company’s view of its users.