Originally Posted by
metallo
I believe everyone received automatic contract extensions, but I don't think the funds can be used beyond the new contract expiration date.
I know the email I received also mentioned that I could request a refund of unused funds, but it was clear any Airpass benefits would be lost by requesting the refund (which may not be a big deal if you're just losing free wi-fi, or your AC membership, or something else easily replaceable like that, but it could be a bigger deal if you had Airpass-related status, for example).
If you've built up a big balance, I suppose one strategy could be to wait until just before the contract expires to continue enjoying any benefits, and then request a refund at the last minute. And to add a disclaimer -- I don't know everyone's individual situation, and I don't know whether the emails Airpass sent out varied between different members, so perhaps different offers were extended to different individuals.
My contract was not extended (but I am a small peanuts Airpass customer). I had just a few hundred dollars that I requested to be refunded, and the phone rep didn’t mention a thing about losing benefits (the email I received said benefits would end when contract expired, not when refund requested - but perhaps I need to read between the lines). Much to my dismay, a few days later I received an email which stated I would need to rebook all of my Airpass flights to regular tickets. A quick phone call to Airpass cleared that up and the refund process was canceled, but I sure wish they’d train the phone agents to go over the consequences of requesting a refund of the Airpass balance.