Originally Posted by henry999
We are in SK EuroBonus. There, the qualifying period (or membership year) is based on when you joined the programme; for example ours runs from October-September. However, elite status is awarded on a calendar year basis. Most recently we qualified Silver in November of 2003 and when we got the cards they said 'expiry date: 12-04'. Then in January of 2004 we qualified Gold and when the gold cards came they said 'expiry date: 12-05'. So, it looks like status is good until the end of the calendar year following the one in which you qualify.
This is not quite true. Status lasts until three months after the end of your individual qualifying period. Since yours runs from October to September the status year happens to coincide with the calendar year in your particular case. However, for someone whose qualifying period is, say, April-March, status would last until June, etc.