Northwest WorldPerks (Discontinued Program) - Should I try to be Silver Elite?

Have been tossing this question in my mind for about at least 1 month. :confused: Perhaps someone could give me some advice. I just discovered about a month ago that I'm 5k miles away from Silver elite (lowest class of elites). I can't decide whether I should do a 5k to achieve the Silver elite. Benefits look very minimum on NWA website. Next year, I'll most probably be at least travelling coach once to Asia. Not sure which airline yet. Does anyone think I should try to get Silver Elite? Maybe there are more benefits than those on NWA's website? Plus, will the miles post in time for 2005?

You probably should. It depends on how much it will cost to get the 5k EQMs, how much disposable income you have, where and when you fly, and how much you value the UGs and other benefits. Depending on where and when you fly, you can have very good UG rates. I was over 90% for UGs in my two years as a Silver; add on bonus miles, the 'elite' phone line (for Silvers it's the regular phone queue, but you get bumped to the front, so no holding), ability to use F checkin when there are long lines, ability to preboard, ability to pick exit row seats/bulkheads for when you are stuck in Y, and it was well worth it for me.

As long as you fly before the end of the year, you'll make elite (if you fly Dec 31, and the miles don't post until Jan 2, they will still recognize the date of the flight as what's important, not the date the miles post).

Have been tossing this question in my mind for about at least 1 month. :confused: Perhaps someone could give me some advice. I just discovered about a month ago that I'm 5k miles away from Silver elite (lowest class of elites). I can't decide whether I should do a 5k to achieve the Silver elite. Benefits look very minimum on NWA website. Next year, I'll most probably be at least travelling coach once to Asia. Not sure which airline yet. Does anyone think I should try to get Silver Elite? Maybe there are more benefits than those on NWA's website? Plus, will the miles post in time for 2005?

Generally speaking, I would say Silver is worth it. It gives you the ability to do things like prereserve exit row and bulkhead seats (ok, any "P" seat really), access to the F check in line and a shot (although sometimes not much of one) at free domestic upgrades. Technically, you're not permitted access to the elite security lines, but nobody has ever turned me down. Also, you get a "special" reservation toll free number, as well a discounted membership to the World Club. OOoops, don't forget preboarding as well. The two benefits I utilize the most as a silver are the "P" seat reservations and preboarding. It's nice to get any seat you want that's available at time of ticketing, and know for sure that you will have overhead space for your carryon. There is also a 50% base milage bonus for being a silver. You also get most of these benefits on any skyteam carrier.

However, this is all relative to how much you fly. Do you fly only two or three times from US-Asia, or two or three times from Hawaii to the East coast? Then you may not care too much about benefits. Do you fly once or twice a month on short hops? You may not get enough miles/segments to really bump you up in status, but if you're on a handful of flights per month, you'll come to appreciate the small things, even when you don't get your upgrades.

The benefits of silver elite are as posted on the web. When I was silver, I loved it as upgrades were not that hard to come by, but this got harder. I do know that with irregular operations that silver status helped one of my colleagues be re-booked ahead of base members.

Being silver is a step up from base membership for domestic flying, especially if you are able to snag an upgrade. I can't think of much help for international flying other than the faster check in and extra miles. The silver elite line just puts you ahead of others in getting in touch with regular reservations, but sometimes even that is helpful.

For me, I got hooked, and ended up platinum, so I have been enjoying those benefits. I will step down to gold next year, but that will be quite good for me.

You mention only one Asia trip planned for next year, but what about domestic? Are you a NW-only flyer? Or do you sometimes travel with others? Do you normally only fly about 25K a year?

All good questions to help you in your decision because how they are answered plays a role in what to do about a MR now. Generally, if you travel very often, reaching the next level of elite can pay off with decent perks but that isn't always the case at the entry level. Are there perks? Of course and they do look enticing to the flyer within range of silver. But are they worth you spending that $X to achieve? If you can bank the miles for next to nothing, $100-200 go for it, but if it's more I'd say no.

Thanks for all your replies! Only mentioned asia flight because this is the very "long" flight that is already confirmed for next year besides other domestic.

Some followup questions:-
Is UG upgrades? What do you guys mean by "over 90% for UG"? Obviously, I've not sat in a "P" seat before:- what's the benefits- is it still coach? I usually have 0 to very light carry-on. What's the usual upgrade? Is it to business or is it to like "Economy Plus" as in UA? Does anyone in Silver Elite get Upgrade for International flights?

Thanks again (and in advance)!!!

>>>Is UG upgrades?

Yes.

>>> What do you guys mean by "over 90% for UG"?

Out of all domestic flights, the poster got upgraded 90% of the time.

>>> Obviously, I've not sat in a "P" seat before:- what's the benefits- is it still coach?

Yes still coach. These are the seats indicated P that you can pick yourself in nwa.com after you log into your reservations. They are the best seats on the plane in coach and this is a great benefit to have a shot in picking one of these if you don't get the upgrade.

>>> I usually have 0 to very light carry-on. What's the usual upgrade?

Carryon or checked luggage has nothing to do with upgrades.

>>> Is it to business or is it to like "Economy Plus" as in UA?

First class. Northwest First Class is not considered tops among the legacy carriers but it's first class nevertheless.

>>> Does anyone in Silver Elite get Upgrade for International flights?

It does NOT happen unless you are overbooked in coach and then NW "bumps" you up front (and they will likely pick a Platinum or Gold before you). So you can forget it with NW!

My guess is that Silver will not be worthwhile heading into 2006 and beyond. As a Silver I just returned from these following flights, zippo upgrades!:
DTW-SFO (twice)
SFO-MSP
PDX-DTW

I know SFO was a very long shot since lots of Plats are based there. I thought I will have a decent chance for the PDX-DTW segment only to be informed that I was number 16 on the list!!! I then proceeded to sit in an exit row seat next to a Platinum who could not believe she did not get the upgrade again ("seems to happen more and more lately")

Hope this helps.

Thanks for the reply, gpapadop. I thought that P seats was "bulkhead", which mean they have huge overhead space for luggage? That's why my comment about 0 to light carryon travel for me. Can anyone tell me why the P seats are great?

Thanks for the reply, gpapadop. I thought that P seats was "bulkhead", which mean they have huge overhead space for luggage? That's why my comment about 0 to light carryon travel for me. Can anyone tell me why the P seats are great?

They're toward the front of the plane so you're among the first off once you've landed. They tend not to be as cramped when the plane is full (i.e. you're more likely to have an empty middle seat), which also means that you're more likely to get your preferred seat (aisle or window) on a full flight than if you had to ride in "regular" coach. And you're also eligible for pre-selecting exit-row seats online, which is a HUGE bonus on transpacific flights.

"P" stands for Priority, "E" for exit ... NWA reserves the front rows of economy plus exit rows for Elite members... Silvers, Golds and Platinums all have access to "P" and "E" seats, as well as full-fare flyers (generally people paying top-dollar for their tickets, which are often fully refundable and changeable). With P seats, you will get seats closer to the front of the aircraft so you disembark first.

I spent several years as a Silver before moving up to Platinum (was only Gold for about a month, I was doing a few paid business class transatlantic trips back then).

In my opinion, the jump in benefits from base member to Silver is probably greater than the jump between any other levels (Gold to Platinum, Silver to Gold).

I don't recall ever missing an upgrade as a NW silver elite (though the folks on this board say things have changed since then).

As a newly-minted Silver Elite, I was over the moon because
(a) I got to use the silver elite reservations line, no waiting on hold
(b) 50% mileage bonus... those award miles piled up a lot faster
(c) I got to use first class checkin
(d) I got to reserve exit rows ahead of time, but always got upgraded anyway
(e) They let elites pre-board the aircraft

Despite what many jaded Platinums and Golds might say, I think NW's bottom tier programme (i.e., Silver Elite) is among the best in the industry. I think you should go for it if you plan on flying a bit next year. However, if most of your flying is with companions remember that you both won't get upgraded, but the preboarding and preferential checkin will still be there for you.

An year ago neither my wife nor I were elite. While I was visiting my mother early last Dec., I was sitting on the couch surfing the mileage run forum (I'd flown that trip on a "W" fare voucher and was wondering if maybe I would get miles ... ha!) and ended up booking my first MR. My wife had left the phone off the hook (darned cats!) so I couldn't reach her. When I was finally back in Mpls. and told her what her crazy hubby was about to do (MSP-TPA-MSP-LAX-MSP) in ~22 hours, she decided to go along. The rest is history. As 2005 unfolded, I realized GE & even PE were within easy reach.

Elite status really helps may travelling more pleasant. SE gets you around many of lines, you get getter help at check in, better seats, etc. Our first experience as SE was at FCO (after "sleeping" in the lobby all night) -- we went to the KLM counter about 4:45 a.m. where there was already a looooong line for steerage and an empty FC line. Skyteam Elite, that's Silver Elite, right? Yes, sir! Made our day! And after a KLM rebooking fiasco in ATL, we got our first upgrades flying ATL-MSP the next morning. We were hooked! GE/PE eliminate virtually all waiting in line with the exception of occasional gov't bureaucrats.

The mileage bonuses add up to -- minimum 50% on NW.

Mike in Mpls.

Apologist at Large

My guess is that Silver will not be worthwhile heading into 2006 and beyond. As a Silver I just returned from these following flights, zippo upgrades!:
DTW-SFO (twice)
SFO-MSP
PDX-DTW



That's only a small, tiny fraction of the routes NW flies. As an SE I was upgraded numerous times -- and my wife still gets upgraded often. SE's are about 70% successful overall. Routes my wife &/or I have been upgraded on as SE's in 2005: MSP-ATL, ATL-MSP, MSP-STL, STL-MSP, MSP-OMA, MSP-TPA, TPA-DTW, STL-DTW, DTW-DCA, DTW-ORD, ORD-MSP, DTW-TPA.

Mike in Mpls.

Apologist at Large

When I figured out I could board early by being Silver, I figured it was worth putting an extra trip or two onto NW to get over the hump. Now I am severely addicted to status, and went bananas to up it to gold last december. It depends on the city you typically fly from and the nature of your trips (leisure? weekends? prime business travel? west coast?) whether you will get lots of upgrades or only a few as a Silver, but once you get them, you will be addicted. And those P seats? Some posters PREFER certain bulkhead seats to first class. Even if I DON'T get an upgrade, but have 5F, it doesn't bother me too much (though I do appreciate the bottomless glass of Cabernet in first).

Upgrades are tougher than ever for Silvers, especially on west coast routes. But clicking on the "P" seats and elite preboarding are reason enough to go for Silver. At the very least you'll always have bin space and never have to sit any further back than the fourth or fifth row of coach.

I agree, upgrades got progressively harder last year. I started the year as silver, had good luck, and then it got tough. I got gold, it got easier, and then it got tough again. Then I got platinum, and it was easier after that.

I am not flying as much on NW metal, so I haven't been able to test the waters much this year. From other posts it sounds like platinums are having trouble now too!

Have been tossing this question in my mind for about at least 1 month. :confused: Perhaps someone could give me some advice. I just discovered about a month ago that I'm 5k miles away from Silver elite (lowest class of elites). I can't decide whether I should do a 5k to achieve the Silver elite. Benefits look very minimum on NWA website. Next year, I'll most probably be at least travelling coach once to Asia. Not sure which airline yet. Does anyone think I should try to get Silver Elite? Maybe there are more benefits than those on NWA's website? Plus, will the miles post in time for 2005?

If you're that close and have time in Dec to do a mileage run or two when fares are much lower than what they are right now over Turkey day weekend, it's a no brainer... pariticularly if you're planning on flying a *lot* next year.

Have fun !

Bob H.

>>>>it's a no brainer...

I'm STILL the only person in first class on my MKE-MEM flight tomorrow (late Thanksgiving Day--do they serve Wild Turkey?). If you were Silver you'd be there too, that is for positive.

As it is I'm going to be wandering around the gate area asking for volunteers to be partner-upgraded just so that the FA doesn't flippantly pour the entire tray of nuts and pretzels in my lap as happened a year ago when I was flying in an empty front cabin!

[QUOTE=SpinzCity]
I'm STILL the only person in first class on my MKE-MEM flight tomorrow (late Thanksgiving Day--do they serve Wild Turkey?). If you were Silver you'd be there too, that is for positive.QUOTE]

Wow, very nice, and on Thanksgiving Day!! Well enjoy it.

I fly every year to Tokyo and having the ability to secure premium coach seats up front is priceless. Flying out of Memphis, upgrades are easily attained. I try to avoid planes that do not have first class. I am very addicted to the Silver status. Currently , I am 950 miles short of becoming silver for next year. I will do a 1 day turnaround trip within the next few weeks to retain silver status. As stated before from others, early boarding,first class check-in,securing good seats always starts your day travelling on a good note. By all means, go for silver. Happy holidays!!!

Go for the Silver! My sis secured upgrades from the West coast more than 1/2 the time this year as SE. All the perks mentioned are nice -- especially the separate security lines and preboards. Also, you'll be able to board early on Continental and Delta flights!

Good luck.

For the OP,

I forgot to add that as the year goes on, upgrades at your status level are harder to get. That is because there are more and more elites that you are competing for upgrades with. West coast routes are harder to upgrade as silvers. That is because due to the length of any west coast flight (with the exception of LAX-LAS, there aren't any short west coast flights), anybody who flies with ANY frequency will obtain status very quickly. For instance, all I do is fly cross country, so I get 5000 EQM's every trip I make. 5 trips = silver, and if it took me all year to make those five trips, you can bet my last trip has a lot more former silver-now-gold/plats ahead of me. Whereas I may have had a shot earlier in the year, the more frequent flying silvers have now become golds, automatically trumping me for upgrades, and there are surely new silvers who are competing with me for upgrades. So, yeah, end of year west coast upgrades for silvers are very very difficult.

...as the year goes on, upgrades at your status level are harder to get...

However, this culminates in a massive housecleaning on 2/28. :D

Mike in Mpls.

Apologist at Large

I think Silver Elite on Continental and Northwest is a great deal, looking from a cost perspective. I might make 10-12 domestic trips a year, and maybe one international using cheap tickets. I don't really have to do mileage runs, all I have to do is throw in a double or triple connection when I know I have time to burn in getting to my destination. I did this with United to earn status, then had NW comp me.

So here I am paying an average of maybe $350 per round trip (fares to/from North Dakota tend to be assinine), and I am sitting in First class a majority of the time. So I am basically getting a service that would average me around $700+ per trip a year (when you factor in non-upgraded segments) for what I would usually pay. Even if you still have to do a mileage run, the cost analysis is simply unbeatable.

So far, I'm 2 for 2 with NW upgrades as a Silver, although my return trip to ND. is not looking good.

Thanks all for the replies. Most probably would do it. As I got the previous miles *unaware* (I don't even remember which ticket or tickets- Y/Q/whatever I flew- & it was not > expensive), I will have to research the bucket for coach to make sure I get that 5k miles :)

Generally speaking, I would say Silver is worth it. It gives you the ability to do things like prereserve exit row and bulkhead seats (ok, any "P" seat really), access to the F check in line and a shot (although sometimes not much of one) at free domestic upgrades....

My sentiments exactly, but I would like to add two coments;

(1) Standard caveat "your mileage may vary." (Groan) I fly a minimum of 2.5 trans-Pacific flights per year (American mainland twice + Hawaii), so maintaining SE status is easy for me. :D

(2) Priority check-in has lost its luster at Narita because everyone has to go through the same passport check and baggage X-ray line before you get to the F, B, and Y check-in lines. :mad:

I agree, upgrades got progressively harder last year. I started the year as silver, had good luck, and then it got tough. I got gold, it got easier, and then it got tough again. Then I got platinum, and it was easier after that.

I am not flying as much on NW metal, so I haven't been able to test the waters much this year. From other posts it sounds like platinums are having trouble now too!

I am a newly minted Silver and had my first Silver flight second week of Nov. PDX-MSP-LGA and back, and was upgraded everytime - first through OLCI, then at the airport! I'd say it's definately worth it to get the status. Will be going to BOS next month and I'll test the upgrades again then.

Thanks for the reply, gpapadop. I thought that P seats was "bulkhead", which mean they have huge overhead space for luggage? That's why my comment about 0 to light carryon travel for me. Can anyone tell me why the P seats are great?


The bulkhead row on NW has excellent leg room - and makes a wonderful seat when first class upgrade is not achieved!

(On the jets with four rows of first class, this is Row 5. I love it!)

Go for Silver. I think clarence5ybr summed up the benefits nicely. As others have said, your upgrade success will vary depending upon when and where you fly, but my rate was over 90%. And I always book an exit row seat (an Elite benefit) as a "consolation prize" in case I don't get an upgrade. There's more legroom in the exit rows than in F, and as a skinny guy, I don't mind the narrowness of the seats that much.

A friendly warning, though: if you start getting upgraded most of the time, you'll likely get hooked on flying up front. To me, it's become the "normal" way of flying. I'm getting a ticket for a friend who's going to visit me in a few months, and I was going to put her in F, because I couldn't stand the thought of giving her a coach seat. :) (In the end, she told me that she preferred to fly at a reasonable time in coach instead of taking a 6 a.m. flight to sit up front.)

If necessary, I'll probably do mileage runs so that I at least maintain Silver status.

Good luck!

Technically, you're not permitted access to the elite security lines, but nobody has ever turned me down.

Actually, if you get upgraded in advance or at check-in, it's perfectly okay to use the VIP security line because you're holding a First Class boarding pass. (Unfortunately, this happens less often now that we have to deal with the R bucket and battlefield upgrades.)

An analogous situation happened during my Silver days when I got stuck at MSP overnight due to a weather-related misconnect. My Silver status wouldn't get me a free hotel room (they said I needed to be at least Gold), but, they paid for my hotel room because I had been upgraded into F.

Both of these are consistent with the general rule that if you're in F, you get all the benefits of F, no matter how you got there.

Northwest First Class is not considered tops among the legacy carriers but it's first class nevertheless.

I agree. And perhaps more importantly, I think NW offers the best odds of getting an upgrade. The fact that Airline X may offer a better domestic F product is inconsequential if I'm stuck back in Y.

I agree. And perhaps more importantly, I think NW offers the best odds of getting an upgrade. The fact that Airline X may offer a better domestic F product is inconsequential if I'm stuck back in Y.

I wouldn't even say that NW's First Class product is substantially worse than any other US airline. Recently, I've been in US and UA first, and I can say that I recieved substantially more and better service on NW. Really, these days on all domestic, non-transcon flights FC service is hit-or-miss anyway. My only complaint with NW's FC is that the seats aren't even close to their competitors.

jcs17,

I've also been unimpressed with DL's domestic F product. In particular, I flew it in both 2004 and 2005, and I could see some obvious cost cuts this year, like a switch to plastic wine glasses. Also, the seats were no better than NW's, and IIRC some of them were leather (which I dislike, but that's just me). Okay, so DL has in-flight entertainment, but their selections rarely interested me... I'd rather watch a DVD on my PowerBook or listen to some music on my iPod.

The one good thing about Delta: last year they had an electronic music channel that was pretty good. They may have even played some deep house. ;)

>>>>>plastic wine glasses !?!?!?!?!?!??!

This would make Delta the Days Inn of First Class.

>>>>>plastic wine glasses !?!?!?!?!?!??!

This would make Delta the Days Inn of First Class.

Yup... my bottomless wine glass in flight was plastic. And IIRC, the utensils were plastic too. Perhaps Delta should advertise "picnic-style" dining in F. :rolleyes:

I really try to avoid Delta, but whenever I want to use my miles for an F ticket, it seems that my choice is to fly DL or do a RuleBuster.

On a somewhat related note, during my most recent NW flight, I found that they've switched from cloth napkins to cloth-like paper. But, they've brought back the metal knives. I noticed that while my forks had the new NWA logo on them, the knives looked older and sported the old logo.

Actually, if you get upgraded in advance or at check-in, it's perfectly okay to use the VIP security line because you're holding a First Class boarding pass. (Unfortunately, this happens less often now that we have to deal with the R bucket and battlefield upgrades.)

An analogous situation happened during my Silver days when I got stuck at MSP overnight due to a weather-related misconnect. My Silver status wouldn't get me a free hotel room (they said I needed to be at least Gold), but, they paid for my hotel room because I had been upgraded into F.

Both of these are consistent with the general rule that if you're in F, you get all the benefits of F, no matter how you got there.

Being a silver out of LAX sucked... not too many upgrades precleared. But you're right, I've used the F pass to beat security. Like I said though, I have NEVER been stopped at security for being a silver but not gold.

////The bulkhead row on NW has excellent leg room - and makes a wonderful seat when first class upgrade is not achieved!

(On the jets with four rows of first class, this is Row 5. I love it!)////

Actually, leg room in row 5 is about 4 inches more than in first.

//////SE's are about 70% successful overall.////

Where did you get this info, MSPMike?

////The bulkhead row on NW has excellent leg room - and makes a wonderful seat when first class upgrade is not achieved!

(On the jets with four rows of first class, this is Row 5. I love it!)////

Actually, leg room in row 5 is about 4 inches more than in first.

//////SE's are about 70% successful overall.////

Where did you get this info, MSPMike?

Even if that last point is true, I think it's utility is minimal... What that really means is that some markets, silvers have a tough time, and in other markets, silvers get upgraded almost as much as plats.