Originally Posted by
transparent
Update on my situation-- I had to fly from a different airport and bought a revenue ticket. I had originally also booked a miles ticket for my friend using my miles and with an MP+ Explorer card, and made sure all segments were X.
I thought:
1) my friend should "inherit" my elite status
2) show up on the upgrade list
3) receive EUA at my upgrade window
Looks like for some things #1 is true, they were able to check bags and select a preferred seat for free.
BUT they are not on the upgrade list for either leg, even though the ticket is X, and probably should have received an EUA at the five day window.
Did I misunderstand how this works?
I used the MP+ Explorer card to pay taxes on the reward ticket-- but how does CO know I have the card and should receive the benefit? Can they tell from the number? Must I use the card to pay or just be a cardholder to receive benefits?
Also is there any use asking for upgrade at the airport? Reports seem a bit mixed on the airport issue.
They're not
supposed to inherit your status, it's a system limitation in CO's systems that the award ticket purchaser's FFN and status show up on the traveller's record.
As such, they inherit your status.
There are multiple bugs at play with award tickets and credit cards where it doesn't always recognize the status (there's an XN vs. X issue as well as regular X issue that come up from time to time). That may be going on here, or it's possible that the MP Explorer Card doesn't yet provide this benefit.
Anyhow, the point is that since it's not supposed to happen, it's just a limitation, it's not something that's promised or guaranteed. That means that if the automation isn't working, you really have no recourse because it's a benefit the traveller is not supposed to get anyway.