Mid March I flew Norfolk-Charlotte-San Francisco. I had the option of either UA or US Air. I thought I'd try US Air this time. What a mistake. I was assured that US Air had an arangement with Lufthansa and so I assumed they would honor my Gold Status. They didn't.

They charged me for an extra bag and were quite rude and stubborn about it. They gave me some story about honoring the Star Alliance in May. They won't get the chance with me.

I wrote a comment at the lounge in Charlotte and have never even received an acknowledgement from US Air.

I will never fly them again unless it's absolutly the only option.

:mad:

Assured by whom??

Hello Shofar and welcome to Flyertalk.

The advice you were given was premature. US has never stated that they would provide reciprocal status for LH elites in the past.

This is now changing. We're expecting the announcement concerning US entering *A in approximately 2 weeks. The rumored date of entry in May 4. We're all expecting that status will be recognized for all of us across the alliance as of that date.

I was assured that US Air had an arangement with Lufthansa and so I assumed they would honor my Gold Status. They didn't.


Shofar, welcome to FT!

Mid-March, as a LH Gold, you should have been able to check-in at the US Airways FC counter (instead of the coach line), have any miles flown credited to your LH account, and been allowed to pre-board the aircraft with the FC and elite status passengers.

There was no provision for lounge access or upgrades at that time so if that is what you were hoping for it would have been an assumption, not a benefit.

What was denied of you?

It sounds pretty clear what he was denied - a free extra bag at check-in.

Where does it say in the T&C that extra bags are allowed for anybody who is not US Elite?

I flew UA IAD-DEN-OAK in January, and had an extra bag. I had been told by the reservation agents on the phone that as a US GP, I would be allowed to have an extra bag. But when I showed up for check-in at IAD, I was informed that only *A elites were allowed an extra bag, and since US was not yet in the *A, I would have to pay. I fought it for awhile but eventually paid the free. The agent agreed with me that it was a silly rule given the level of integration between UA and US but said she could not change it. So, I'm not surprised that the US agents wouldn't allow you to have an extra bag due to your LH status.

I flew LH in November, shortly after the agreement started. I got the miles (and bonus) for the trip but was informed at several LH stations about US not being in *A and therefore it was "impossible" to get miles and "not permitted" to use the first-class checkin. From what I've heard, LH has since better informed their staff of the marketing agreement with US.

Long story short -- it's too bad you were not granted all the perks you expected based on your LH status but this is a common problem. Once US joins *A, I'd urge you to try again.