Originally Posted by
hpmh
As the last few posts suggest, I spoke to customer care as well and they told me they are doing away with the old paper voucher method. Requests for the guarantee go through the computer/ipad now. I waited 72 hours for mine, didn't see anything, then called. They told me to expect to up to a week wait and to call back after 7 days. Miles posted 96 hours after the claim at the airport.
My data points from my past year of flying: I've had delayed bags and claimed the guarantee 5 times. 3 times were at SFO (all were the paper voucher) and 2 times were at SEA (both were via the iPad). In May 2022, it took 3 days from when I filled out the iPad form until I got my miles. In Jan 2023, it took 10 days. (I get an email from customer care once it's processed; it seems like they process them manually?)
Interesting note: the iPad-generated miles post to my account as "SERVICE COMPENSATION" rather than "BAG SERVICE GUARANTEE 2500 MILES".
My biggest gripe with the new iPad method isn't the delay for miles to post (I'm fine with that, as long as they post eventually), but rather the amount of time it adds at the airport before I can head out. With paper vouchers, there'd often be roaming agents who could hand you a voucher whenever the line for more serious issues (lost bags, damaged bags, etc) got long. I've never waited more than 1-2 minutes to claim a paper voucher. But at airports that use the iPad, there are no shortcuts and your only choice is to wait in line (and at SEA, the line is generally quite long). Both times I filled out the iPad, I had to spend an extra 10-20 minutes at the airport on top of the time I'd already spent waiting for my delayed bag. Of course, making the miles harder to claim might be intentional
