Can Gold have 1 guest + 7yr old into GF?

Old Feb 24, 2017, 4:59 am
  #1  
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Can Gold have 1 guest + 7yr old into GF?

Currently, missus, me and little one are on course for 760 TP by mid TP year. It would be reasonably straightforward for me to hit gold especially as I'm considering the AMS-BOS-JFK run.

Is there any benefit for me alone to reach gold and the other two on silver given we mostly fly together? Any chance I would be able to guest them both into GF? Any other useful benefit?

I'd love to get them both to gold as well but with all the transfers and luggage (and cost!!) it might be a bit tricky.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 5:06 am
  #2  
 
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Nope - you'd need two Golds to get the three of you into GF: you can always ask, but I doubt the lounge agent would ever allow you in....you'd have to settle for Galleries / Club lounge otherwise...


One of the minor annoyances of BAEC - I travel for work on pricey tickets, which gets me to Gold. I hardly ever guest anyone into the lounge on those trips. I occasionally go and guest Mrs Ratpus on our holidays...but the once or twice a year we travel with friends (or I travel with friends alone) there's no lounge access...


Would be nice to get a mulligan on some extra guests maybe once or twice a year, rolling over all those times I guest no-one - but that will never happen!


Bad luck, I'm afraid.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 5:10 am
  #3  
 
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Other benefits of Gold for your situation though will be:


1. First check-in (can be really useful in some situations e.g. summer holiday weekends at LGW)


2. Fast track security at non-UK airports is more widely available as a OneWorld Emerald than a Sapphire...(CPH, HAM, several others in Europe where you can get fast-track as a BA Gold but not as a Silver)


3. The new "First Wing" coming to LHR T5 from April could be a nice way to cut down on security lines...


4. Extra availability on economy reward seats for the three of you


5. Ability to force a "double Avios" award seat out of cash fare inventory in an emergency...can be really useful for last minute short-hauls when cash fares are high


6. Ability to pre-select more seats, and also to "link" other bookings to yours for advance seat selection (useful if travelling with friends on different bookings)


7. Gold line are kinda useful


8. Some "soft" recognition is possible on board - not always, but last few flights in WT/WTP I got a sneaky glass of champagne etc.


Erm - probably some others I have forgotten. Many of the above can be useful to you even when travelling as a group of 3.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 5:13 am
  #4  
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Also could add additional avios as gold.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 5:36 am
  #5  
 
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And theoretical seating advantages, maybe more the case when travelling alone or as a pair, but still has some advantages as a good.

Also, linking PNRs so that someone not on your own PNR your travelling with can have seats with you and you will also usually be kept together in cases of disruption.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 5:52 am
  #6  
 
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Originally Posted by ratypus
Other benefits of Gold for your situation though will be:


2. Fast track security at non-UK airports is more widely available as a OneWorld Emerald than a Sapphire...(CPH, HAM, several others in Europe where you can get fast-track as a BA Gold but not as a Silver)


3. The new "First Wing" coming to LHR T5 from April could be a nice way to cut down on security lines...



5. Ability to force a "double Avios" award seat out of cash fare inventory in an emergency...can be really useful for last minute short-hauls when cash fares are high


8. Some "soft" recognition is possible on board - not always, but last few flights in WT/WTP I got a sneaky glass of champagne etc.


Erm - probably some others I have forgotten. Many of the above can be useful to you even when travelling as a group of 3.
Of the above:
I find priority boarding very variable outside UK with guests. GVA are particularly awkward.
New first wing I've been told by multiple checkin agents will be gold + 1 guest only
Double avios needs 30 days notice. Great perk, but not for last minute travel.
I've never even had an upgrade, let alone soft recognition!

I'm not disputing the value of the other perks (indeed, they're what keep me bothering with Gold!) but if the ones I've highlighted are the priorities for an individual, then I'd be realistic about their deliverability.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 6:31 am
  #7  
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Thanks for the info! I was hoping lounge agents might turn a blind eye to a 7yr old and let us sneak him in...

There are some occasions where I fly back alone first (Taiwan/Hong Kong) so Gold will definitely be useful.

Guess I'll just have to go ahead and treat myself to some nice TP runs on my own! Unless I can find a mega 740TP+ HNL run to take them on!
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 7:07 am
  #8  
 
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Originally Posted by benjai
Thanks for the info! I was hoping lounge agents might turn a blind eye to a 7yr old and let us sneak him in...
I am not 100% sure regarding BA GF but I can assure you that there are lounges where children are not counted as a guest. I managed several times as 1 adult (OWE) and 2 children without status.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 7:37 am
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Official policy to "blind eye" regarding counting child is up to 2 years old...we managed until Miss tb was a bit older (by being honest, and asking) with variable success: very good with AA, no luck with JL "try AA, they may let you in" -- which they did!, variable with CX. I think BA said OK until 3 (and in GC, not GF, which we didn't bother with).

My daughter is also 7 and (as detailed elsewhere) on recent trip, didn't bother trying for the three of us: just went in with her and I, leaving Mrs tb outside.

Not wishing for this to descend into the rights and wrongs of guesting an additional small child, just sharing real world experience.

Also don't want to debate too much about value of TP running just to get Gold (OWE) -- OP can decide value proposition for themselves, but on FT we do occasional have "folie a deux" about these things. I have occasionally timed a work trip (bring forward to December, or pushing back to Jan) to make OWE, but the dollar value of all the benefits of basic BAEC G in particular don't add up to more than a few hundred pounds for all but the most extreme user (Champagne guzzler crowd etc).
I'm EXP with AA, where the SWUs are much more valuable, but even then...

Once when I was BAEC Silver, and living in BOS, I contemplated spending $2k on a HNL TP run to make gold...my wife brought me flatly down to earth: asking how much free orange juice did I intend to imbibe over a year to justify the cost?!
Same here: OP could buy no end of F&M picnics for the cost of a substantial TP run, which would be far more pleasant than GF...

tb
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 8:19 am
  #10  
 
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Originally Posted by benjai
Thanks for the info! I was hoping lounge agents might turn a blind eye to a 7yr old and let us sneak him in...
I have heard many heated arguments at the GF desk with people being refused extra guest.(child) I am pretty sure during school holidays there are signs up to confirm one guest only
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 8:38 am
  #11  
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Ah, I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask nicely. Hopefully both of them being silver would help. Otherwise we'd just have to slum it in the business class lounges...

But its good to know that some lounges do let them in. Would love to guest them into CX first lounges in HK if possible.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 8:46 am
  #12  
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Originally Posted by benjai
Ah, I suppose it doesn't hurt to ask nicely.
Please don't if there is a queue of people waiting to get in (as it often happens).

People asking for favours often create the queue in the first place and/or lengthen it.

It isn't right to keep other people waiting because you want the rules bent.
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 8:47 am
  #13  
 
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3. The new "First Wing" coming to LHR T5 from April could be a nice way to cut down on security lines...


Do we know when in April ?- travelling on the 4th
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 9:17 am
  #14  
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Originally Posted by trueblu
Official policy to "blind eye" regarding counting child is up to 2 years old...we managed until Miss tb was a bit older (by being honest, and asking) with variable success: very good with AA, no luck with JL "try AA, they may let you in" -- which they did!, variable with CX. I think BA said OK until 3 (and in GC, not GF, which we didn't bother with).

My daughter is also 7 and (as detailed elsewhere) on recent trip, didn't bother trying for the three of us: just went in with her and I, leaving Mrs tb outside.

Not wishing for this to descend into the rights and wrongs of guesting an additional small child, just sharing real world experience.

Also don't want to debate too much about value of TP running just to get Gold (OWE) -- OP can decide value proposition for themselves, but on FT we do occasional have "folie a deux" about these things. I have occasionally timed a work trip (bring forward to December, or pushing back to Jan) to make OWE, but the dollar value of all the benefits of basic BAEC G in particular don't add up to more than a few hundred pounds for all but the most extreme user (Champagne guzzler crowd etc).
I'm EXP with AA, where the SWUs are much more valuable, but even then...

Once when I was BAEC Silver, and living in BOS, I contemplated spending $2k on a HNL TP run to make gold...my wife brought me flatly down to earth: asking how much free orange juice did I intend to imbibe over a year to justify the cost?!
Same here: OP could buy no end of F&M picnics for the cost of a substantial TP run, which would be far more pleasant than GF...

tb
Not wishing to derail the OPs original question, but here's my account of chasing status and the value I applied to this.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ng-status.html
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Old Feb 24, 2017, 9:35 am
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Originally Posted by madfish
Not wishing to derail the OPs original question, but here's my account of chasing status and the value I applied to this.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...ng-status.html
I read and enjoyed your analysis when you first posted. But other than the one-off mass group booking, you used GF 6-7 times (value GBP140 for a decent upgrade to the GC meal -- if you really do drink Champagne with every meal as your regular habit in or out of airports, let's bump that up to GBP300). Extra avios at GBP100. An extra year as OWS vs OWR is very valuable, I grant if one takes weekly domestic flights. But even say 10 flights for the average user, with lounge access, that's only GBP200 max (the actual value of a meal in GC is much less I would argue, even with plonk). The extra redemption bucket in SH is very valuable, and if one really does make multiple redemptions, then it can be worth it. Otherwise, all told, much less than GBP1000 of value in cold hard cash terms, and cash is far more valuable. Don't get me wrong: I try to make sure I hit OWE every year, and sometimes it does require some juggling to make it happen. But we need to be honest that mostly we're kidding ourselves about the value proposition. That's why it's such a great scheme for airlines...if the actual value exceeded the perceived value, for the majority of users, the scheme would collapse.

tb
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