sonthyad

I've had a US Bank Korean Air Skypass Visa Signature card for several years now, and today feel like I've been duped by a bait and switch. I should confess upfront that I’m not savvy about maximizing my miles, and not on top of strategizing my status upgrades. I originally enrolled for this card thinking that miles earned would go towards earning Skyteam Elite Plus status. My plan was as such: First earn 50K miles to get Morning Calm membership. The next level up, Morning Calm Premium is 500K, 10X the miles, which granted, is a lot. But I felt that if I put most of my personal and business charges on this card and flew internationally several times per year, I could eventually attain it. According to my research, the Holy Grail perk of earning 500K miles is once you reach that level you get Skyteam Elite Plus status, FOR LIFE. That is the lowest mileage requirement for any Skyteam member to get lifetime Skyteam Elite Plus status. I believe the equivalent on Delta would require 4 million miles.

So after flying over 40K miles and spending $60K on my card, meaning I have 100K+ accrued miles, I logged into my Skypass account to discover that I still have over 460K miles remaining to attain Morning Calm Premium Club membership. I called Korean Air support and had a nightmare getting through to the actual Skypass department. Customer Support tries their darndest to divert you from the Skypass department, although the support reps at Customer Support have no clue about the Skypass Visa and how those miles are credited. They were repeatedly instructing me to contact US Bank, who I just got off the phone with and pointed me to Skyteam. Finger pointing endless loop.

I finally get through to the Skypass department in Malaysia and get a supervisor who drops an A-bomb by informing me that Credit Card miles DO NOT COUNT towards Elite Status. That means I spent over $60K accumulating points that will do absolutely nothing for my original goal: get 500K miles to get SkyTeam Elite Plus status for life. I’m completely distraught about this revelation, and have never experienced this with other airlines’ credit card frequent flier mileage program. I thought that miles were miles. Apparently not. With Korean Air, miles earned via credit card are third class citizens good only for overpriced hotels and perhaps a flight upgrade, if available. I have zero interest in those offers. I just want to be able to check in an extra bag with higher weight limit than 23KG and get lounge access.

I did a bit of Googling and viewed several articles indicating that there’s a 20K mileage cap when using the credit card. Skypass support told me that there’s no cap, because none of the miles count in the first place. I really wish I put the money towards the Asiana Amex. Supposedly, only 40K miles results in Star Alliance Gold status for 3 years. As far as I know, the Asiana Amex miles are miles that can be used for status upgrades. But perhaps there’s a catch in there somewhere. These companies hide the crucial details.

I feel like completely dropping Korean Air and enrolling in a new airline or alliance with a credit card that earns miles valid for status upgrades. I realize there are so many different paths one could take. I would appreciate any advice as I could easily spend dozens of hours patrolling FlyerTalk forums and blogs for a viable solution. Thanks in advance.

sol95

I sympathise, but at the end of the day, you should've read the fine print.

Also, the norm in this is that miles earned on credit cards don't count as status miles, so it's not "bait and switch" in any sense of the term.

Often1

With some very rare exceptions, I don't know of any programs where CC spend counts toward elite status. One example is UA which would allow you to convert 50,000 in CC spend to 5,000 PQM once a year.

Please don't use terms such as "bait & switch". It's untrue. You simply did not read the contract to which you agreed. That is not on KE or the CC issuer. And it most certainly isn't "bait & switch."

geclub1

I just read Skypass website and it seems to me that Skypass does count
20K from credit cards for the initial Morning Calm Club qualification.

Also, the website made it abundant clear that credit card miles do not count for the Morning Calm Premium Club (500K level).

Therefore, OP by now should be a Morning Calm Club member, since he accured over 50K miles, with at least 30K flown miles.

But none of the credit card miles are counted for the 500K goal.

I am new to Skypass. Is my reading of the situation correct?

NoStressHere

I just hate when folks come here with such slanderous thread titles, when in reality, they did not read.

As said, with some exceptions and then only for some miles/points - you get higher levels based on BUTT IN SEAT. (BIS).

Sorry.

knit-in

Its a typical newbie error. Best to learn from it and move on.

If Credit Card spend went towards elite status, the value of status would be much much lower. As would be the benefits, much much lesser.