Cathay Pacific Asia Miles - Lifetime Membership in MPC

This message is in response to SHADO, who stated on another board:

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Yes, everyone. The CX flier is going for MPC GLD, not AAdvantage. I hope you make Diamond!

SHADO</font>

Thanks SHADO. I am currently MPC Silver and I think I would be able to reach Gold in the near future, without difficulty. Diamond seems like a harder task to achieve as I am still a university student who has yet to see my 20th birthday later this year. I have time to travel but not sure if I would be able to fly 120,000 miles/year.

I read about Invitation life membership in the MPC on another thread and contacted The Club to inquire more information about the program. The representative seemed surprised that I knew about Invitation Life membership and stated they stopped offering Invitation membership approximately three years ago and had no intentions of offering invitation membership once again anytime soon.

It certainly seems easier to achieve lifetime status on AA (1MM for Gold and 2MM for Platinum) as I would be able to achieve this thru flown miles, bonus miles, credit card purchases, etc.,

I am loyal to Cathay Pacific Airways and the MPC but I feel that they should treat their long time elite tier members better. An elite tier member can fly enough to make Diamond year after year and if he stops flying his status will drop down to Green instead of downgrading to the previous tier (as in AAdvantage), and therefore he will not enjoy any of the benefits that MPC membership entails (with the exception of benefits that come with Green tier membership.) If CX had lifetime membership based on flown miles, at least I won't have to be disappointed if I don't reach an elite tier year after year as all my flight activity will eventually allow me to secure lifetime membership.

In any event, I am going to remain a MPC member and hope that they make some changes and enhancements to the program that elite-tier members will be pleased with.

Cheers! Thanks for listening and if anyone would like to add or comment to this message, you are more than welcome to do so.


Kind Regards,
around the world

[This message has been edited by around the world (edited 08-09-2003).]

Brief history:

MPC used to have lifetime membership, which was gained by being Diamond for some years or getting a certain number of Club Miles. In the mid-90s they withdrew this category of membership. However, in order not to upset the existing lifetimes too much they gave them "Invitation" membership which is renewed at their discretion each year and otherwise carries the status of a Diamond/Emerald (or possibly slightly higher on CX).

My understanding is that they do still occasionally give out Invitation cards, but not to individual travellers - they go to the top decision-makers in companies which place a very large amount of business (meaning many millions of US%$ per year) with CX. Presumably these are the people who also get invited to the CX special events (dinners, The Wing at the Sevens, etc). As a Diamond of three years staning I have yet to get invited to anything like that.

By the way your status does not immediately drop to Green if you stop flying - I believe you only drop one category per year. But, especially if you are based in HK, then the one that matters is Diamond: guaranteed seat at the lowest published economy fare at 24 hours notice, and access to the FIrst Class Wing/Pier whenever you fly CX/OW.

[This message has been edited by christep (edited 08-09-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by christep:
By the way your status does not immediately drop to Green if you stop flying - I believe you only drop one category per year.
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According to the agent I spoke with at The Club Service desk, your elite-tier Silver, Gold, or Diamond status, drops to the entry level Green tier, if you do not have enough qualifying flight miles for renewal. The agent however, may have been mistaken.

christep, does Diamond membership have any benefits that are not listed in the MPC membership guide? Do you know if they are going to make any changes or enhancements to the program to make it more attractive? As a CX Diamond card holder, what changes would you like to be implemented in the future?


Kind Regards,
around the world

[This message has been edited by around the world (edited 08-09-2003).]

There aren't any written rules of the main advantages of being Diamond. However the little things sometimes do come to light.. eg waiver of expedited fee (on a case by case basis and never guaranteed) for asiamiles awards, first priority for upgrades, and the purser definitely smiles more when reading your status.

The sad thing is that being Diamond is not that much different from being Gold. I wish CX would bring in some form of loyalty bonus like SQ's PPS does.

No extra benefits that I am aware of, beyond the fact that I seem to get treated quite well as a Diamond. (Unless you count the fact that the ISM normally comes and introduces themselves, and have been known to offer Lynch Bages when seated down the back, albeit in a plastic cup). I've never been invited to any of the promised special events though. From previous discussion here it seems that this is much more likely if you are a Diamond somewhere other than HK - there are lots of us here (a few thousand I would guess).

Oh, and I don't think the handbook mentions waitlisting for award flights.

The programme itself is pretty good as far as I am concerned. The qualification criteria are about right. But what I would like to see is status bonuses to match the other OW airlines (AA particularly). I can earn the same free flight between two and three times quicker by putting my miles on my AA (Platinum) card as I can by putting them on my CX Diamond Card.

This tradeoff was discussed here at length here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/Forum83/HTML/001354.html

although note that the latest revision of the AA redemption mileage makes that scheme somewhat less generous, particularly towards flying on CX, where there were some great value awards previously.

[This message has been edited by christep (edited 08-10-2003).]

It's been a while - do Diamonds still get the coupon for the free cart ride at HKG?

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MikeFly:
It's been a while - do Diamonds still get the coupon for the free cart ride at HKG?

</font>

I last received one on July 28. I wondered if it had to do with the closure of the Pier.

About Diamond status, a lack of elite bonus is really a downer. Even, SQ offers elite bonus, as Guy Betsy says.

Beside the guaranteed seat up to 24 hours of departure in all Y subclasses and J, being a Dimond makes a tremendous difference in clearing waitlisted reservations for awards including upgrade requests.

I recently requested an upgrade to business and no revenue seats were there. So I was waitlisted. The next day, one seat appeared in J on seatmap.com. I gave MPC a ring and asked an agent to take a look at my PNR. Without my asking, she put me on hold and came back and said I am now confirmed in business.

They also took down award seats for me twice when only one revenue seat was showing in Y on seatmap.com.

I think SQ also does these -- clearing upgrades and securing redemption seats -- for PPS. At least it's been my experiences. (I really had to laugh myself when I got to know this, given that it is almost impossible to attain a premium cabin award with SQ via other Star Alliance programs.)

But if you don't do these redemption or upgrade requests, being a Diamond doesn't make much difference from being a Gold with the exception of the guaranteed seat on a shorter notice and First Class lounge access, I suppose.

[This message has been edited by Chiangi (edited 08-10-2003).]

the seat guarantee is the best benefit IMHO.

you can get F lounge access as other OW emerald (a lot easier to reach if u fly up front in BA)
of course, as CX diamond you can access J section of the Wing/Pier when not flying one world.

the upgrade priority makes very small difference:
1. if u r Diamond, you are paying for J most of the time, and upgrade from J to F is extremely rare (i never got a single one myself in my one year Dm membership), due to the fact that there are only 8-12 seats
2. for upgrade from Y to J, Gold would get you pretty good chance, as most Dm are not flying Y anyway (except perhaps on some tourist routes)

ohhh, and if you would like to meet the oldest lady in the crew (ISM), you dont need a Dm card, any OW emerald entitles your shaking hand with her.
-- note that she comes to you according to the FFP you credit yout trip to. i.e. if you are CX Dm but have put AA's PLT card in this trip, she knows you as a "sapphire", and sorry no handshake.

[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 08-12-2003).]

[This message has been edited by pegasus8228 (edited 08-12-2003).]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by MikeFly:
It's been a while - do Diamonds still get the coupon for the free cart ride at HKG?

</font>

An update. CX offered this to me a few days ago.

I had a boarding pass issued from another airport but went landside. On my way back to airside, I needed an orange tag for my luggage to enter the passport control and went to an Y check-in because it was the closest. After I showed my Diamond card, one agent gave me that tag, saw my boarding pass, noticed it was Gate 65 (far end), and politely asked me to go to the F class counter to fetch a voucher for a ride.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by christep:
By the way your status does not immediately drop to Green if you stop flying - I believe you only drop one category per year.</font>

An agent at the Marco Polo desk confirmed that your elite-tier status in The Club will automatically drop to Green if you do not meet the renewal criteria for Silver, Gold, or Diamond membership. I was told no exceptions would be made, regardless of your elite-tier status, longevity in The Club, or even if you consistently met the renewal criteria for membership for years. This is what I was told officially. What happens in practice - I do not know.

The representative went on to state that if you were a few hundred miles short of renewal, then an exception may be made in your case, of course, upon request.


Kind Regards,
around the world

I have posted a poll at
http://forum.airwise.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7316

Would you please advise if it currently correct to state that CX seemingly refuse to publish guidelines. "Invitation" reported to be for 1.2mm flyers.

I have posted a poll at
http://forum.airwise.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7316

Would you please advise if it currently correct to state that CX seemingly refuse to publish guidelines. "Invitation" reported to be for 1.2mm flyers.

No... Invitation use to be 10 years of Diamond membership, which is roughly 1.2 million miles..... The people who received an Invitation back then are lifetime lifetime members with no expiry on their cards.. But now Invitation is no longer given out based on number of miles flown, and there are no "guidelines" to how it is given out. It is basically the same as BA Premiere membership - given out to CX's best customers based on a number of different factors such as CEOs of large corporations, celebrities, etc... People who receive Invitation status under these circumstances are renewed yearly and have expiration dates on their cards... so it is safe to say that CX no longer gives out lifetime memberships anymore at all.

An update. CX offered this to me a few days ago.

I had a boarding pass issued from another airport but went landside. On my way back to airside, I needed an orange tag for my luggage to enter the passport control and went to an Y check-in because it was the closest. After I showed my Diamond card, one agent gave me that tag, saw my boarding pass, noticed it was Gate 65 (far end), and politely asked me to go to the F class counter to fetch a voucher for a ride.


Actually there are diiferent CLASSES of Organge tags - One for F/J and Y Class (evident by the colour band the put around the organge tag.
I had the buggie voucher last week as well.

For correct number of figures of MPC members.. I would suggest reading this one particular post at CathayTalk.com

http://www.cathaytalk.com/showpost.php?p=10183&postcount=16

I am really taken back by the honest admission of a CX Marco Polo invitation member at http://www.cathaytalk.com/showpost.php?p=13664&postcount=4

This nonchalant yet honest admission shows the arbitrary nature of “invitation” members beings selected – criteria apparently removed from their FF activity. Please read the above posting and then you will better realize why I view the Marco Polo membership criteria as being unclear, certainly not transparent, and in some sense compromising the extreme loyalty of FFs who have stayed the course with Cathay Pacific and provided a small but steady revenue source for the company.

I don't find it surprising that "Invitational" status is given to those who don't fly that often. It is given to influential people, celebrities, and politicans who CX finds a big potential or already are giving CX a lot of revenue. "Invitational" status is not really a published status within the Club, therefore explaining why it is so "unclear and untransparent". For example, I know that Gigi Leung is an Invitational (from HK taboloids), and does she fly over 1 million miles every year? probably not. I don't think there is anything flawed with the system.

Gigi Leung is an Invitational .

Not for long. After her spilt up with Ekin I don't think her career will pick up again.

I am really taken back by the honest admission of a CX Marco Polo invitation member at http://www.cathaytalk.com/showpost.php?p=13664&postcount=4

This nonchalant yet honest admission shows the arbitrary nature of “invitation” members beings selected – criteria apparently removed from their FF activity. Please read the above posting and then you will better realize why I view the Marco Polo membership criteria as being unclear, certainly not transparent, and in some sense compromising the extreme loyalty of FFs who have stayed the course with Cathay Pacific and provided a small but steady revenue source for the company.

Enough of this "CLUB" membership talk.. it's sooo, OLD WORLD. Not surprising that CX, HKG based, to follow in the footsteps of the old colonism.

However, some of us would take admissions of that sort with a grain of salt. Real IN members would never dare admit anything.

Real IN members would never dare admit anything.To be fair, he did actually post a picture of his IN card in an earlier thread...

To be fair, he did actually post a picture of his IN card in an earlier thread...

I was referring to hairpeace.. whose card we never saw. The other member we did and we never questioned his status..

Currently there are 6 Star Alliance member/pending member airlines with life membership in their FFP. Skyteam has 4 member airlines with life membership, and in OW only 2 (AA and QF).
I have been trying to summarize for analytical purposes the Life Membership rules of the airline FFPs.
http://forum.airwise.com/forum/showpost.php?p=107118&postcount=7

To assist in choosing the best FFP I would like to research the past programs, such as the CX abandonment of their own program when faced with no viable commercial reason for dishonoring their membership rules.

I note that CX does not publish invitation membership terms. Would you please advise:

1. Has a CX member reaching 1 million status miles ever been awarded invitation membership?
2. Has anyone had their qualification on reaching 1 million status miles refused or denied by CX?

I note that CX does not publish invitation membership terms. Would you please advise:

1. Has a CX member reaching 1 million status miles ever been awarded invitation membership?
2. Has anyone had their qualification on reaching 1 million status miles refused or denied by CX?
If you have to ask for it, you don't deserve it.

If you have to ask for it, you don't deserve it.

oh come on, no need to be snippy. but yes, its more a matter of whether CX wants you to be a lifetime member, rather than vice versa.

oh come on, no need to be snippy. but yes, its more a matter of whether CX wants you to be a lifetime member, rather than vice versa.

Well has any regular member reaching 1mm ever obtained life membership since the unilateral rule changes removed clarity and created the vague "invitation" term?

oh come on, no need to be snippy. but yes, its more a matter of whether CX wants you to be a lifetime member, rather than vice versa.

As have been mentioned here on FT as well as on CathayTalk, there is currently NO lifetime membership offered by CX Marco Polo Club. Invitation membership does expire, and NO, flying 1 million miles does not help one get IN status.

As have been mentioned here on FT as well as on CathayTalk, there is currently NO lifetime membership offered by CX Marco Polo Club. Invitation membership does expire, and NO, flying 1 million miles does not help one get IN status.

This is not what the Marco Polo Club posted when they cancelled FF lif membership. What you say might be correct, but I am asking has anyone received the "invitation" upon reaching one million status miles?

If not, perhaps the dishonoring of membership terms is a permanent feature of MP membership?

This is not what the Marco Polo Club posted when they cancelled FF lif membership. What you say might be correct, but I am asking has anyone received the "invitation" upon reaching one million status miles?

If not, perhaps the dishonoring of membership terms is a permanent feature of MP membership?
From the tone of your postings here and on your airwise forum posting, you do seem to have some kind of personal vendetta against CX's program.

Every airline's program has something in their terms and conditions that says that the program terms and conditions can be changed at their discretion.

Cathay's terms and conditions:
CPLP reserves the right to modify The Club structure, benefits or other features including these terms and conditions or to terminate The Club at any time upon reasonable notice, where possible and CPLP and/or Cathay Pacific Airways :td will not be liable for any loss or damaga resulting therefrom.

Qantas terms and conditions:
3.1 Qantas reserves the right at all times, subject to applicable laws, to make any changes (whether material or otherwise) to Qantas Frequent Flyer, the Terms and Conditions, the Awards or Benefits offered, and the Fee Schedule, including: ... blah blah...

The reality is that with the current tenuous nature of the financial viability of airlines these days, any "life" benefits can't really be considered to be such.

sxc
No vendetta, just trying to define accurately each program.
Of course any FFP rules will contain rights to change, as these are necessary in case of merger, new outside regulations and such. But it is not business with integrity to rely on your own loop hole to dishonor an agreement.

What I need is facts. Has any 1mm achiever been duly awarded an "invitation"?

Gold Member,

So many FTers on the forum said MPC is no longer offering lifetime membership based on status miles or 10 years of Diamond.

People who had Lifetime status before are grandfathered but there are no rules for the annual invitational status given out to some people.

People who had Lifetime status before are grandfathered but there are no rules for the annual invitational status given out to some people.

I see you get around on this life membership issue. Anyway, there must be some internal CX rules, and I want to find out if invitation membership is ever given to loyal FFs why fly 1mm? Maybe this is the case. Let us find out!

lol. I am currently have miles in 8 frequent programs and is has status in 2 FFP (had Elite status in 5 FFPs at different times) so have looked into it a little into lifetime status but my travel patterns are too unpredictable right now that I find what works for me is to get at least 2 Elite status every year so I have options.

lol. I am currently have miles in 8 frequent programs and is has status in 2 FFP (had Elite status in 5 FFPs at different times) so have looked into it a little into lifetime status but my travel patterns are too unpredictable right now that I find what works for me is to get at least 2 Elite status every year so I have options.

As I have to travel a lot to China I also manage to meet your 8 FFP current miles figure, though I try to favor an airline which provides good service and a reasonable FFP. Much of what happens to me will be affected by which Chinese airlines join the major alliances.

According to my March 2006 FFP lifetime membership summary (http://forum.airwise.com/forum/showpost.php?p=107118&postcount=7) only Air China has FFP life membership in China, though both of the Korean carriers have FFP life membership. Still I will wait my survey results around the forums before drafting my conclusion.

I see you get around on this life membership issue. Anyway, there must be some internal CX rules, and I want to find out if invitation membership is ever given to loyal FFs why fly 1mm? Maybe this is the case. Let us find out!

why fly 1mm? hmm.. ever thought that because they have to? not because they are loyal to the ff program, but because they are loyal to the airline?

There are no rules on getting invitation membership. And I doubt anyone has been given a lifetime membership solely because of flying 1 million miles ever since they discontinued the official program. There are probably a variety of factors on who gets an invitation membership that we will never know unless you become part of CX senior management..

Its sorta like asking about presidential pardons.. how is it determined who gets pardoned, and why? Its up to the president and his judgement is based on a variety of reasons. Just replace the president with CX senior management and presidential pardon with invitation membership and you should get the point.. :rolleyes:

why doesn't CX offer lifetime membership? because they don't have to.

Can anyone share information about the differences between Invitation level and Diamond level (other than the requirements to earn it)? Invitation comes across here as being very desirable, but practically speaking how is it better than Diamond in terms of benefits?

Can anyone share information about the differences between Invitation level and Diamond level (other than the requirements to earn it)? Invitation comes across here as being very desirable, but practically speaking how is it better than Diamond in terms of benefits?

On the rare occasion when CX cabin crew decide to take meal orders in order of priority.. INV get their orders ahead of anybody else! But that's a small benefit.

Read: http://www.cathaytalk.com/showthread.php?t=164

As I understand it there are no additional benefits specific to Invitation members, but for anything which has a priority (waitlisting, upgrades, meal service etc.) then Invitation is first in the queue, ahead of Diamond. Outside CX they are just normal OW Emeralds.

On the rare occasion when CX cabin crew decide to take meal orders in order of priority.. INV get their orders ahead of anybody else! But that's a small benefit.

It is not that rare in my (limited) experience. On more than 75% of the flights I have taken on CX during the past year, they did that zigzag meal order routine. :D

Thanks for the answers. Invitation doesn't seem as if it has that much value over Diamond then. Would cabin crew consider Invitation to be ahead of Diamond in the pecking order, and to that extent treat them better (I know this is both subjective and marginal!)?

One of the threads I came across when searching here suggested that Invitation was CX's equivalent to BA Premier, but that does not seem to be the case, since Premier gets many worthwhile benefits ahead of BA Gold.

CX Diamond itself gets many unpublished benefits. The same will go for INV status.

Many benefits are unpublished.

I am a regular longhauler on 1W and please remember that QF lifetimes are only at their silver and gold level. Of these, only gold is worth having for lounge access etc. It takes approximately 11 years of platinum status points (minimum renewal level) to get there. A pity that they did not have the programme when I was commuting round the world twice a month in F or J!