Originally Posted by
mzzxx11
Ok, now I'm confused.
My understanding is that miles earned from *A flights count towards tiers + they can be redeemed for awards (tickets/upgrades).
Let's assume 40K miles were accrued from *A flights in the last 2-3 years. What's going to happen on 2014-11 when the new M&B commences?
It is (honestly!) very simple, and all FFP's work the same way.
Tier miles are temporary and expire after a given period (a year in the case of M&B). At that point, you have to start earning them again to maintain status.
Award miles are permanent and yours to spend for as long as the account remains active (and, unlike
Snacky, I don't believe this will end at any point in the foreseeable future).
Let's say on 1st January 2015 you take a flight that earns 1,000 miles. Those will appear in your account as 1,000 tier miles (towards your *S or *G status) plus they will also appear in a different bucket as 1,000 award miles.
You now have 1,000 miles towards your annual status renewal plus 1,000 miles to spend on flights or hotels or car hire or any of the other things A3 has spend partners for.
You do not fly for the rest of the year, so on 1st January 2016 your tier miles expire. You now have zero tier miles but still 1,000 award miles.
On 2nd January 2016 you fly another 1,000 miles. You now have 1,000 tier miles towards status and 2,000 award miles to spend.