An update regarding Diamond Plus.

I just finished flying in C and had a bit different experience. Approaching the check-in counter, the staff member wanted me to use the Diamond / *G lines. I said, no, I'm Diamond Plus, but she failed to comprehend what Diamond Plus was and again tried to direct me to the same lines. I insisted I was entitled to use the First class check-in and quickly one of the staff from the F counter came up to see what was the problem. I mentioned to her I was Diamond Plus, but she too was confused and said Diamond members should use the Diamond counters. I had to repeat "Plus, Diamond Plus", and then she apologized and said she didn't hear the "Plus". Probably because I was her first experience dealing with a Diamond Plus member.

After check-in I went to the Asiana club counter to get my Diamond Plus card since I haven't been able to go to my mailing address for a while to see if it's been sent yet. It took them quite a while to make the card due to them not being able to find the box with the Diamond Plus card blanks. Evidently that was the first request for a Diamond Plus card at the counter and it took two staff members looking through several boxes to find where they were. Not a problem at all, just a bit amusing to me. I'm now in possession of a red Diamond Plus card rather than the awful pink colored Diamond card, and they also gave me two red Diamond Plus luggage tags. They did not give me the Diamond Plus coupons, but said they're registered electronically and I can use them without the physical coupons. I didn't even recall what they were for Diamond Plus and will have to look it up later.

At the F lounge, my experience wasn't quite as good as the previous visits. There were only 8 people in the lounge, but the staff didn't seem quite as attentive as other times. Not bad, but just not as good as it could be. I requested a shower as usual but the staff member just said "go ahead" and didn't bother to escort me or run the hot water for me. I made the mistake of taking the first shower room, and the cleaning staff didn't do a complete job - a fairly common problem I've found with the cleaning staff in the OZ C lounges as well. Some tissue was left on the toilet seat and several of the amenities were nearly empty, requiring some additional effort to squeeze out enough of the remaining contents. I usually don't take the first shower, knowing that it likely gets the heaviest use and opt for another room, but didn't this time. Not really a bad experience, but just not as good as it could have been.

The hot meal selection didn't really appeal to me, so I just had some fresh fruits and dessert, no problems with melted ice cream this time. I knew I had a Korean meal on the plane waiting for me, so it didn't bother me that I didn't have a full meal in the F lounge.

On the plane, I did get a special ordered Korean meal of ssambap (as I detailed in another thread). I'm not sure if the ability to special order a C meal is a benefit they're giving me for being Diamond Plus or if they'll do the same for everyone.

I didn't feel like I got any special treatment on the plane, compared to what I got when I was in Y, but don't know if it's just because C already gives you much more personalized service or because they didn't know I was Diamond Plus. (I originally registered my OZ number for the flight but changed it to BD at check-in). The FA / in-flight manager did not introduce themselves to me like they did in Y though, so my feeling is that they didn't know I was Diamond Plus.

Still very happy with Diamond Plus and will have another chance to check out the F lounge this coming week, and again the following week. Then a month or more dry spell as all my flights in April are non-OZ.

A bit of a recap about the various packs for each level. For each level, I've only received the card, two luggage tags, a letter, and the appropriate coupons. (Didn't actually get my D+ pack or coupons yet). I recall DownUnderFlyer mentioning he got a passport holder with his Diamond pack, but I did not and nobody at the Asiana Club counter knew anything about it when I asked before. Maybe it's a free gift for those qualifying under the old rules, and under the new rules the free gifts are only luggage tags. I'm jealous about DUF's passport holder.

Aren't the 'blackout dates' and 'peak season' the same thing? When I reviewed the rules before I thought that anyone could get an award for a blackout date if they paid the 50% additional miles and that it was waved for Diamond Plus and Platinum members. So maybe their use of the term 'blackout dates' is a bit confusing.