Originally Posted by
scubadu
Well, I mean that may indeed be so (and I don't disagree with you). That said, I'm a bit gobsmacked that this is how Miles and Smiles handles "verifying your identity." I mean, like many, I've acquired an incredibly healthy stash of award currencies (Citi TY points, Capital One, etc.) and was considering booking award tickets on Turkish for my wife and I to Europe later this year. But I can't book an award for both myself and my wife, without first booking an award only for myself and traveling somewhere alone, without my spouse?! Seriously? That is utterly non-nonsensical.
Furthermore, I really don't even understand how you equate transferring a large amount of points to a new account being a red flag (which again, I don't deny), which could get it shutdown with the ability to book one or more awards. I mean, if the concern is fraud, why even allow you to book one award with the transferred miles first time out?
Honestly, I've never heard of this until reading this post and I don't know if this is real or not, but if so, it's a little stunning indeed. This just strikes me as a bizarre, very unfriendly customer policy...
Regards
I have no idea whether it is Miles&Smiles policy to first book and fly one award before an award can be issued for a companion. I had a cursory glance at the T&Cs but couldn't find anything. Respectfully, the OP is long and rambling and boils down to 'HUCA'. The first agent told me it couldn't be done, I tried calling back but the calls repeatedly dropped, and finally two hours later another agent managed to issue an award ticket.
My point is that the deposit of a large number of credit card points, or transfer from other loyalty programs (hotels, for example), into a newly-created frequent flyer account for an almost immediate redemption raises red flags because this is what mileage brokers do or have done. A sort of gas-and-go. From memory, we had a few reports that SQ (but I'm sure there are others) shut down accounts they believed were being fraudulently used. Usually an explanation gets these back up, but I'm just pointing out that there is always a risk.