Originally Posted by atothepoweroftwo

I know I will sound like I am an employee of Aegean who is defending them/us left and right no matter what, but I want to give you a perspective of someone working in eCommerce where chargebacks/disputes/claims are plentiful.

Chargebacks are considered to be the outcome of a complete breakdown in communication and usually the last step taken before the relationship is ended for good.

Now, reading through posts here I saw a lot of posters bragging how they're for example using lounge access benefits in a way that is hurting Aegean financially and that your affiliation with M&B is there only for your gain (a lot of you do not live in Greece/Cyprus and/or do not visit regularly apart from milage runs or do not fly with them at all). So let's say Aegean's losses are bigger-than-expected this year and hence each and every department has to cut costs. FFP dept goes ahead and reviews who is actually causing them to lose money (FFPs are supposed to earn money for the carrier, even though they are marketed as a benefit to flyers). They encounter your FFP activity coupled with the fees they had to pay for your chargebacks (usually EUR 15-30 per chargeback on top of the chargebacked amount) and decide cancelling your membership in the program is the way to go. What would happen with the award is something that you should take into account (I guess status miles can be reassigned if you have all the details of your previous flights). They would not be vindictive in doing this, they would simply be saving money as you are aware you are a money burner for them with an added risk of pulling the chargeback trigger.

If you want your money because you will not fly Aegean again, of course you should go ahead and claim it. Personally, I'm not submitting chargebacks even though Aegean cancelled all July and August flights from my home airport. I'm not even convinced I'll be able to visit Greece this summer at all (we have been "re-banned" and by the looks of it I highly doubt we'll be allowed in). So Aegean has my money and it's very likely I won't be able to use the vouchers for the foreseeable future.

But considering a lot of FFs really care about their miles and program affiliations, I would not be so easy on the trigger. I worked at multiple eCom businesses (some of them huge) and they had a wide range of ways dealing with customers who submitted chargebacks. Some of those ways can affect customers even outside the company/platform in question. Don't think I'm wishing something bad to happen to your FF account/Star Alliance reputation, but you should definitely do a risk assessment before hitting Aegean with chargebacks. Again, I'm all up for you getting your money, but the age old question of who is right aside - just make sure you are prepared to jeopardize your relationship with them, possibly permanently.