Originally Posted by
rsking
I got FO luggage tags last year, but they aren't particularly useful. My name wasn't on them. Isn't that the real point of luggage tags--so they know who the luggage belongs to?
My GM tags that just showed up don't have any identifiers, as far as I can see (granted, they're still in the sheet with my GM card, so I haven't looked to see if there's anything on the back; haven't traveled yet this year, so no reason to put them on my bags yet, since I use my laptop bag for school as well). I thought the point was to advertise to the world who you are? GMs who aren't really aware of what GM means, so they walk around like they're the king of the world, the PMs who are slightly aware that they're almost something, and the DMs with the metal cowbell tags that announce to everyone "click clack I'm a DM click clack" with each step.
But seriously, I really wanted the FO tags so that when I get UGs as a GM, or when I buy G and A fares (I often do, when reasonable), I can get all kinds of glances.
As for benefits of FO, they are definitely advantageous. This is coming from someone who started the FF game cold turkey with DL. Preferred seating, occasional upgrades (happened often enough to keep me happy), discounted EC (a very nice perk), being recognized as the bread crust of a ham sandwich in the eyes of DL, and occasional access to SP baggage drop. It's not always blatantly advertised, but it's there. Under FB elite, DM, PM, and GM, there is FB and FO in smaller print. When I was FO, I even got in the habit of leaving my old luggage tracking tag on if I had the yellow SP tag, because I would walk in, an agent would ask "Sky Priority?" and I would say "No, just a Silver." And more often than not, they ushered me to the SP line, even when it didn't list FOs on the chart.