BA blues

I received a blue BA Executive Club card in the post the other day. Had I never previously owned such a card, this might be a nice thing to receive. Sadly, though, it was to replace my silver card.

I was no longer a 'frequent flyer' in the eyes of BA. Fair enough - I've been grounded in recent months - but still a bit sad. No more fast-tracking, no more comfortable seating and trickling water. No more politeness from cabin crew.

It struck me that it's really quite a delicate thing; telling your customer they're no longer as important to you. Tricky, but a necessary side to any reward scheme. If you offer better service for greater investment, then it fits that the better service can be taken from you if you stop spending.

I wish I had kept the accompanying letter. Or read it. I just felt it would be fairly predictable. But it is an interesting problem. How would you announce this to your customer? Is there any positive way to say: