Dear
SkyMilesTeam,
In another thread it's come to my attention that there is going to be a big conflict with the new GUC expiration/application policy and the gifted Gold Medallion status.
The system does not allow you to gift status to someone if they currently hold that same status or higher. So if my wife is currently gold through Feb 28, 2014 then I must wait until March 1, 2014 when the status drops off to re-gift her status. This really does not make sense because the choice benefit specifically states the period in which the gifted person will have their status:
...for selections made for 2014 Choice Benefits, companion status is good through February 28, 2015
The problem now is that DMs who gift the same person status each year will be required to wait until the March 1 following their qualification for DM before selecting both choice benefits. If they also take the new GUCs, then those GUCs would expire on March 1 the following year and any travel using them would also have to be completed by March 1. If they re-qualify for DM they'll again have to wait until march 1 the following year to select their GUCs, which prevents them from applying it to any future booked travel. If they had a trip planned for March/April/May, they'd probably book it well before March 1 and upgrade inventory may be available when they book. But they couldn't actually try to upgrade until March 1, and the UG inventory would probably be gone by then.
It's a very simple and logical fix really. It makes no sense why you can't just gift status to someone who is currently holding the same status. Have it add on to the following year. Either that, or allow DM's to select one choice benefit at a time.