bokchoi

Hi FT,

I was surprised since my current card still has Gold status until December 2016 when I received a very nice package from Aegean today including a new Gold Card, a new baggage tag and a new product brochure.

The sneaky thing is, the membership is suddenly now only valid until January 2016.

To all you experts out there, is there anything I can and should do as a consumer?

Thanks for the tips!

myperks

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/aegea...tails-m-b.html

KLouis

You must have missed completely the fact that the M&B program was "changed" as of November 24. There are several threads here describing many facets and (685 posts on the main thread dealing with the changes), naturally, you can also see the description in M&B site. To prepare you for a shock, and helping avoiding a possible heart attack (please thank me for that), you'll find out that to renew your membership, from this year on, you'll need not only many more miles but, also, you may need to actually fly with Aegean!

At any rate, what amazes me in your post is the fact that you call yourself a "consumer". Forgetting the fact that everything has been done legally, have you actually ever paid (literally) for being and maintaining gold? E.g., have you ever flown them?

Feel free to use any explicit allowed by FT for my having written this!

bokchoi

Thanks for the prompt replies.

Allow me to rephrase my question: Has anyone had any success in challenging Aegean to retain their status to their original validity date? (excluding those with prior lifetime-status).

Thanks.

MSPeconomist

Are there people with lifetime status from Aegean?

TGflyergirl

No, but there are people who THINK they have lifetime status on the basis of some blogs. Aegean certainly never told them so.

KLouis

My gold card, issued many years ago and which I still use since the new one hasn't arrived yet, has no validity date! Yet, when they re-issued it saying that I had lost it (?!), there was one printed on it, with a date 18 months from the date of the issue. A simple reading of the T&Cs showed, in those days, that it was extremely easy to requalify (one flight every three years), but lifetime? No way! Never!

Jasperi

There are two options really, you could just fly frequently (it's a frequent flyer programme after all) and re-qualify. Or you could just keep your old card and use it in the period February-december 2016 and say to the check-in agents or whoever asks that their computer system is broken and you might get away with it. It's not that they're demanding you send your old card back or anything.

NWIFlyer

They're not demanding the card goes back, but you should be aware that the *A handbook given to all the lounges (not necessarily the check-in desks) shows the design of every card where the holder is entitled to lounge access - and a lack of *G on the boarding pass, plus a same result being returned from the *A database, would probably be an instant red flag to check any other credentials that are presented very carefully. Given the card technically belongs to A3, not to the holder, the *A lounges would actually be within their power simply not to hand it back (although they aren't terribly likely to take this action unless it's an A3 lounge you're trying to access).

If you really want to try this, and get refused, it might pay to beat a hasty retreat from the lounge before your last chance of even getting priority check-in and luggage disappears into the agent's hands ...

DELLAS

Your status on BP and on the computer systems will show you are non status if you don't renew every 12 months. The card is worthless in an argument.

All Star members and the database will have been updated so its easy for them to check.

goqsane

It's not worthless in LH ran lounges, you get away with everything if you play it well...

DELLAS

Mixed reports on that.

djjaguar64

Why does the term LIFE-TIME status keeps resurfacing? There is no such thing!!!

DELLAS

Because people read something on a thread/blog and take it for Gold without actually reading the airlines T&C's. Then they will swear blind there was such a scheme.

rankourabu

ok, maybe not lifetime, but is it too much to ask that these Dec.2016 expiry cards will be valid until the date printed on them?


sorry thats bs. Rules are clear.

from the star alliance employee handbook:

STAR ALLIANCE GOLD (SAG) CUSTOMERS TRAVELLING IN ANY CLASS
Customers have access to any Star Alliance member carriers’ owned lounges with the Star Alliance Gold
logo at the entrance. To gain access:
•
The Customer must present a boarding pass for travel on a Star Alliance flight departing from the local airport.
•
The Customer must present proof of SAG-level status. This is indicated on the boarding pass by XX*G, where XX is the carrier code of the carrier with whom the customer has SAG-level status. If the boarding pass does not show this, but the cus tomer can prove Star Alliance Gold status via a valid frequent flyer programme SAG-level card, access must be granted. In cases where the customer does not have the physical card, another valid indication of SAG-level status can be accepted.
•
Where a discrepancy exists between the loyalty status levels displayed on the frequent flyer programme card, boarding
pass, other document presented and/or the Star Alliance Premium Customer Database, the highest displayed level will
be honoured.
EXAMPLE
: boarding pass shows xx*S (xx = airline code *S=Star Alliance Silver), but customer presents a valid
FFP card showing the Star Alliance Gold logo: customer must be given access to the lounge