Thaikwai

I posted this on an Asian travel forum, but there are obviously no Platinum members on the forum as I did not get any replies.......any Platinum members out there who could respond?

This new "Invitation Only" premium tier has been around for about twelve months now, with (supposedly) about 3,500 members. It promises a "world of privilege" with "priority airport services" and "priority when contacting the Thai Contact Centre", in addition to "enhanced recognition and benefits when flying Thai".

I have been a Platinum member for almost five months now and, to date, have had only one "enhanced recognition experience", when my name was on a board as I de-planed and a nice man carried my hand luggage and escorted me to Seoul Immigration. But that is the sum total, in almost 66,000 miles of travel on Thai since being invited to join Platinum.

As for "Priority Airport services", well nobody in Thai's ROP Customer Service seems to know what this means, never mind knowing what the enhanced benefits are when flying Thai. I am referring to benefits that are not listed as being part of the Platinum benefits. The priority airport services, and enhanced benefits are shown as being in addition to the regular benefits listed such as separate check in area, use of the F lounge etc.

As an example, I called the special Contact Centre number for Thai Platinum members and after 35 minutes of listening to the usual promotional rubbish I hung up, realising that this may be a special number but it certainly does not get you any priority service when calling the Contact Centre.

The one extra discounted rewards voucher is nice, as is being able to use the First Class Lounge at Swampy, but these are rarely used (by me anyway).

I wonder if there are any other Platinum members out there who have experienced the elusive "priority airport services" and "enhanced recognition and benefits" and, if so, perhaps you could let me in on what I'm missing, and/or share your Platinum experiences in general?

Or maybe someone from Thai Airways might like to enlighten us?

somkiat

Khun Thaikwai ,

principally I would be able to enlighten you on the Thai Plutonium program but after a bottle of French Rose`I fear to collide with Flyertalk rules of political correctness and therefore might ask you to wait til tomorrow . Kind of promise , honestly .

Somkiat

They dont like words like ....ing and ........ that`s why . Pity really .

somkiat

Assuming , of course , I wake up sober but usually i do .

BKKROP

Say good morning to the CSM as you board the plane, sometimes they are shy or quiet, try doing this for a week or two, this will change things as far as recognition is concerned, you soon get to know them and they get to know you and they never forget you.. Reading the post I would say that Plat is not going to make a world of difference to your flying, but it does for those outside of the Kingdom. Most plats were big time Gold card flyers, they were not flying Thai because they loved them, it was just commonsense to use them because of commitments in Thailand and neighbouring countries. An Australia to China ticket which so many buy twice a month, returns a staggering volume of miles each year. All the extra perks we had worked out a long time ago, we were getting return upgrades for every 50K, years ago but the use of the lounge, the spa, the checkins and the cheap purchase of awards for friends are the main features. I wouldn't hang on a phone for more than 30sec, you should get to know one or two operators who will look after you.

I think flying with other airlines makes you can either appreciate or understand more about TG. In most cases you will find that the other carriers have better aircrafts fancier food and better looking FAs, yet they do not look after you on the ground. TG offices are their greatest benefits for plats. the offices in Australia Indonesia hong Kong and Vietnam are exceptional. The main perk with Thai Airways is with all the flying 200k-300k flyers are doing, they ensure there are minimal problems, picking up the phone and being on a plane within hours is worthy of gong, changing tickets and sorting out awards is a nightmare, they seem to relish all that.

Many find that TG are happy to do things for us, it is in the Thai nature to help, which in our many culture has been forgotten. In Bangkok to arrive, have a massage and shower and be plonked back into another plane within the hour is doable, nowhere else is it. Most other places in my travels, if I asked someone to run across the road and pay 700baht for me they would laugh, or to walk with you from checkin to the plane, just in case there is a problem, get a life they would say.

somkiat

Mr Thaikwai ,

first of all I would like you to understand that Thai Plutonium is an instrument to make you feel selected , kind of Academie Francaise , Order of The Garter or the Chinese Polit Office . Invitation only everywhere . Because all that is not worth anything witghout the planet knowing about your status they supply you a truckload of plastic labels enough to label the dustbin in front of your domestic estate . You shoud consequently not appear being too picky about any materilistic consequences of your upgade within human society .

Which leads us to your complaints .

Within the range of benefits that are on offer there are only two of interest to me :

1) Keeping the neighbouring seat free . On a recent checkin for Guangzhou the Thai person told me that she did take care of this without me having asked for it . Very pleased . Though I later realised we were 6 people alltogether in the cabin . But anyway she did take care . On the way back just few seats were left and again the one next to me was free . So this seems to work .

2) Secret service-telephone number . As you say this leads you into the standard Bangkok system which is a most efficient tool to let you develop your first heart attack . The first 15 minutes you enjoy listening to Thai's special offers for cheap flights to Nakhon ....up which you start to dislike after the 12th time and when finally the " agent " talks you did possibly forget why you rang . I did never make the 35 minutes that you reported because my expiry time is about 20 , in excess . I now ring the Frankfurt office which arranges anything in a wee second . Typically I am trying to leave the People's Republic next day and it is night time already . I agree with your point that this needs improvement .


As I have now assembled many labels enough to present myself as Platinum til I die they might as well cancel the whole thing , mission completed . Thai is perfect for my purposes as long as , I may insist , the drinks are cold , plentyful and of high quality . Which they are .

Over to you

behuman

This is another refreshing post from you, even if a little bit through your pink, or shall I write positive thinking glasses.

In german we say "the way you shout into the forest it comes back to you". This is not only with TG and if I personally have nice flights almost all the time it is probably also because I am friendly with the FA.

You must be a nice guy BKKROP, would love to know you personally.

And yes, TG is looking well after their ROP G already, especially on the ground. I see that all the time being myself LH SEN and my partner ROP G. Very easy to get one or two personal phone numbers to contact your favourite agent directly.

gaia

After a bit of a patchy start, my experiences are pretty consistent now.

1. Empty seat next to me
2. First served for drinks & meals orders
3. Access to the 2 first class lounges at BKK

What I'd really like as a benefit is the buggy ride at BKK.

hgp

Agree with most of what has been said here.

Being polite and saying hello is common courtesy... not something we should be doing to curry favour or advance a personal agenda. Personally, I always find I get better service with some friendly banter to the crew.

On numerous occasions the seat next to me has been blocked (either officially in the system or by the crew putting a "reserved" sticker on it so other pax don't decide to relocate during flight). Once, the CSM moved a passenger from the seat next to me to another seat. On quite a few occasions I've also received a "greeting line" of greetings - first the CSM, then the bus/first class cabin attendants coming to introduce and welcome me on board. WOW... really makes you feel good!

Treatment in BKK is consistently impecable. Yes, a buggy pick-up (when not otherwise entitled to it) would be nice, but after a long flight I actually quite like stretching my legs with a nice, brisk walk. OK, the nice brisk walk can sometimes seem a tad long if arriving at E10, but good to get the blood pumping!

On top of all that, the person I deal with in my local TG office is a rockstar - friendly, personal, attentive service.

As the saying says, "it's nice to be important, but it's important to be nice". TG*P is definitely about recognition and status, and that's good for the ego. It's also about the airline keeping key customers happy. So everyone wins!

Dr. HFH

Friends, once again I have edited some posts and removed others. I have also removed posts which consist solely of responses to other removed posts. Personal attacks (including sarcastic, unhelpful posts about another person or his/her posts) are contrary to the FT Rules and will not be tolerated. This is not the first time I've had to take such action in this thread recently. Please!! Let's keep the posts substantive and in the FT spirit.

pansted00

For me it's been really hit and miss. Either very good recognition and close to VIP treatment, or almost no recognition at all.
All in all I would split the odds at 50/50 between the two experiences.
I was surprised by the treatment I got at HAN , where someone greeted me at check in, took me through immigration and security like a VIP, took me to the lounge and even came to collect me from the lounge when boarding started.
For me the greatest perk of Plat is the first class access no matter what class of travel. The F class staff know me quite well now and give me an outstanding service each and every time.

Thaikwai

How can you get to know one or two operators when it is a random assignment system for routing the calls?

What possible problem could you have when walking to the plane from check-in?

I live in Bangkok and I travel across the whole region, probably covering 6-8 different cities in a typical month and it sounds from your post, BKKROP, that you probably travel a couple of routes on a regular basis, hence getting to know the CSM and staff better than I would.

Interesting point that has been made in some replies about keeping the adjacent seat free. I will ask for this next time I fly.....I do not see this mentioned in the benefits so it is obviously an unwritten benefit.

From what I have read in the replies to my post it seems that, as with so many aspects of flying Thai, the benefits of Platinum are applied/offered on very much a "hit and miss" basis. However, I do agree with the overall sentiment that Thai does excel on the ground.

Mchamp

Any recent updated experiences people care to share with their Platinum status? Any visual changes outside of the kingdom, such as flying out of LAX or FRA?

I almost feel that some places wouldn't understand that *P is higher than *G

Also just got off the phone with Thai Airways regarding my potential for *P and was told that I must ONLY fly in Business or First on Thai, even 1 single flight in Economy I would be disqualified..... REALLY?!

A_Lee

Yep, that's the same line I was told a few years ago when they first introduced the level. I'm not sure if that's really 100% the case, or if the agents are just misinterpreting the rules, or if it's a language issue. But I don't think I'd risk taking a chance shooting for Platinum only to have it denied because I once flew economy and accidentally credited the miles to ROP. Or even worse, if they were to detect I was ROP Platinum even though I credited to another FFP and disqualified me as a result. Anyways, I decided not to go for Platinum for other reasons, namely that they couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't change the rules as they've already done once. Until they get their act together and clearly publish the rules in their handbook, and don't try to be so secretive about the exact details of their program, there's no chance they'll be getting me to shoot for Platinum (and in the process fly TG a lot more than I would otherwise).

What's really stupid about this supposed rule is that there's the potential that C could be sold out, in which case they're forcing their members to not fly TG. What a concept! Create a FFP level that actually discourages you from flying their airline. Whoever is designing their Platinum level clearly has some issues with using their brain.

joy16

No, it does not disqualify you. But miles from economy flights cannot use to qualify the Platinum status.

A_Lee

According to TG's website, it does disqualify you:
http://www.thaiairways.com/frequent-...num_Status.htm
The word, "exclusively" means you cannot fly economy. That may not be their intention, but that they way I and I think most people would interpret the English words they've published. As I've said many times, TG needs to get their act together and VERY CLEARLY state what exactly their Platinum level is. Even TG staff are pretty much in the dark as to the exact details.