Nothing new for American flyers, but British Airways is still catching heat over their switch to revenue-based status earning. Here’s Andrew Neil, the longtime political analyst, on X:

The new BA tier points structure sets impossible hurdles even for frequent flyers regularly using business or first.

I have always planned my extensive and expensive global travel through London to use BA. These days are over.

I will now use whatever airline is most convenient and competitive. It will make travel planning easier. I can make more use of other airlines whose business and first seats are far superior to BA. Hello Emirates, Qatar, Singapore, Etihad etc.

British and Iberia are a year into this now, but revenue-based earning isn’t an inevitability if you’re with another program. Cathay, JAL, Qantas, and Qatar haven’t switched, and even in the US, Alaska gives travelers a choice to earn by distance or dollars.