Originally Posted by thecortex
It'll take a couple of days for the mileage to post and then probably a few more for the system to update and recognize you as Elite (I believe this is done once a week on a Saturday).
That is absolutely correct. I have been in the same situation last year, hoping that my Silver would get processed in time for my return flight. I left on Friday, returning on Monday. I flew the miles, but they didn't post until Monday morning. Even though I had enough miles, my status still showed Base member.
Originally Posted by thecortex
In any case, until nwa.com shows you as Silver - which will be a few days after your outbound mileage posts - you're SOL as far as receiving bonuses.
That is not entirely correct. Just because nwa.com shows you have status, does not necessarily mean the rest of the computers in the system agree. Case in point: This past summer, I had another similar long flight where my outbound flight put me over 75k to get me Platinum. The miles posted and the day of my return flight, my status also changed on nwa.com to Platinum. I called the Elite Reservations line to see about getting an upgrade (I had been on the wait list) with my new status, and she said her computer recognized me as Gold yet. She was able to verify that yes, I did indeed have the 75,000 miles, but explained that not all off the computer systems get updated at the same time.
When I got to the airport, same thing. My boarding ticket still showed Plat (and hey, I wanted to make sure I got my 125% bonus!) so I asked again. The counter agent couldn't see my 75k either, but I showed them a print out from the morning earlier showing the nwa.com page. I was fortunate that I had a really nice counter agent (who I previously spoke with numerous times before) and she graciously upgraded me as a 'Congratulations.' Had she not, I would have been 4th of the waiting list for two seats.
Hope that helps!