Originally Posted by AApokes08
Hello everyone. I have some question for the NW flyers.
My dad is going to become a WorldPerks Silver Elite this year (on August 30). What is the elite membership year?
I have chosen AA; and with AA he will become elite on August 30, 2005 and that will expire on Feb. 28, 2007. His elite status for the remainder of 2007 will be determined based on his miles/points/segments in 2006. Is this the same with NW?
The elite qualifying miles: are those the "butt in seat" miles? So if my dad flys 2,000 miles in economy, will his account be credited with 2,000 miles?
One last thing. I noticed that as a Silver Elite he can get upgraded to First one day before flight departure when flying on a discount ticket; what booking classes are considered "discount" on NW? Thanks for the help!
Welcome to the Northwest forum.
1. If your father qualifies on August 30th, he'll have elite membership till Feb. 28th 2007. The WorldPerks Account status page will note that his Silver Elite is good till Feb 28th 2006, but Northwest will go and update that sometime in December.
2. Yes. American's frequent flyer program works the same way as Northwest's. If he earns 25,000 EQMs between January 1st 2006 and December 31st 2006, his elite status will be extended to Feb 28th 2008. Similarly, if he earns 50,000 EQMs during the same time period, he'll be bumped up to Gold Elite and 75,000 EQMs to Plat (this is where AA and NW differ; AA's highest tier elite is a 100k threshold, whereas NW's highest tier elite is at 75k and above).
3. Elite Qualifying Miles (aka EQMs) are butt in seat miles with a minimum of 500 EQMs per segment. Therefore, all those miles you get from credit card purchases do not count as EQMs; however, any ticket booked in First Class (paid) or (paid) full Y or B class will earn a 50% bonus on top of the EQMs earned. For example, a Coach paid ticket between BNA and MEM (200 actual miles) will earn 500 elite qualifying miles. If it's in First, it'll earn 750 EQMs.
4. As a Silver Elite, he'll be automatically upgraded (space permitting) to First Class midnight 1 day prior to departure on ANY paid Coach fare. If he books a full fare Y-26/27 or full Y fare Coach ticket, he'll be upgraded at the time of ticketing.
Hope this helps!