Miles & More (Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and other partners) - LH M&M Question for beginner

Hi, Just joined M&M 2 weeks ago. When I joined they issued a FF number which begins with 9999. Only until i achieved 3,000 status mile will a new card be sent. Until then, no plastic card...

I was under the impression that I will still keep the FF number that was originally assigned to me, but that is not the case. I have now reached the 3,000 miles now, and it seems I have now been assigned a new FF number for LH with my PIN code...

Question for the experts here:
(1) Can I still use the old number 9999 that was originally assigned.. reason why I ask is that I have about 10 bookings on LH that I have done before I hit the 3,000 mile mark, where I used my old number... If the temporary 9999 number will not work now that they have assigned me a permanent number, how do I change my FF number for all of my booking? All of the bookings are in J or F. Is there a quick way to do that?
(2) What do I do with the 9999 temporary FF number? Is it recycled to someone else who join?
(3) I also noticed that when I access my new account online, there is now a customer number in addition to the LH FF number.. Why does LH use customer number?
(4) I will be making FTL status in about a week and SEN in a month - Since I dont need my card to enter the LH lounge, can I get LH to NOT send me the blue card and FTL and just wait until my Senator card comes?

(...)Question for the experts here:
(1) Can I still use the old number 9999 that was originally assigned.. reason why I ask is that I have about 10 bookings on LH that I have done before I hit the 3,000 mile mark, where I used my old number... If the temporary 9999 number will not work now that they have assigned me a permanent number, how do I change my FF number for all of my booking? All of the bookings are in J or F. Is there a quick way to do that?
(2) What do I do with the 9999 temporary FF number? Is it recycled to someone else who join?
(3) I also noticed that when I access my new account online, there is now a customer number in addition to the LH FF number.. Why does LH use customer number?
(4) I will be making FTL status in about a week and SEN in a month - Since I dont need my card to enter the LH lounge, can I get LH to NOT send me the blue card and FTL and just wait until my Senator card comes?
(1) Yes, you can still use the old number. However upon checkin it may be updated anyway when presenting your new card.
(2) No
(3) The customer number is consistent, whereas your M&M number depends on status (and whether or not you join the LH VISA card program).
(4) Why? Let them send the cards, because it is an automated process. I wouldn't try to complicate it.

BTW, making FTL next week and SEN next month does raise the question, when to welcome you as HON? :D

With each status level you'll be getting a new FF number. However, your customer number remains the same throughout your career. All of these numbers are linked to that uniqua customer number. Your lh.com account can be accessed anytime with any of your FF numbers.

Ahh.. thanks for the response.. I now understand why it is important to have customer numbers.... in this case, LH M&M is very unique from the other FF programs..It seem a bit more complicated to track different FF numbers for the same individual.

For example, on BA/AC/SAA - the FF number is the same regardless of status. (i.e. your status changes in the system, but your FF is the same) so there is no need to have a unique customer level.

BTW, making FTL next week and SEN next month does raise the question, when to welcome you as HON?
SleepOverGreenland I will be travelling all of this month (every week) mostly in C/F between CPT/JNB/FRA/YYZ so that would explain the rapid rise.. would be nice to be the first few HON member from CANADA!!

(1) Can I still use the old number 9999 that was originally assigned?Yes.


(2) What do I do with the 9999 temporary FF number? Is it recycled to someone else who join?You can still use it if you want. I don't think it will be recycled (but don't count on it 100%).

(3) I also noticed that when I access my new account online, there is now a customer number in addition to the LH FF number.. Why does LH use customer number? This will always stay the same.

(4) I will be making FTL status in about a week and SEN in a month - Since I dont need my card to enter the LH lounge, can I get LH to NOT send me the blue card and FTL and just wait until my Senator card comes?I don't think this will be possible. Probably an automated process.

You will now always get a new number for each of the levels. The format of the number determines the status level. All of these will stay linked to your account, so no problem in terms of mileage accrual if you use your FTL number once you get the SEN number. However, you may still want to us your SEN number on bookings as this will make sure that a SEN gets printed on the boarding pass and that all benefits in terms of waitlisting are granted. You don't need to wait for your SEN card to arrive to get the number. Once your online profile is updated to Senator, just give the SEN hotline a call and they will tell you the new number.

SmilingBoy.