Adam Smith

Is it inconsistent, or did it just take them some time to get it set up?

For me, initially, passes were not marked as used when they were used. Then, after a certain date, when they were used, they got marked as used. It's possible that at least one pass was used more than once. If AC can't keep track, how am I supposed to?

But my sample size is very small.

asovse1

I'm going to throw a bunch of guesses because I'm very unfamiliar with how MLL access is governed, but I'd say "it took time to set up". All my friends' used-but-not-deleted passes were in Aug and Sept. For friends who flew Oct and Nov, they worked as intended, with the exception of one at YVR Dom last week, leaving me with an unexpected spare as the year ends.

The old-fashioned paper vouchers from a few years ago had a barcode that resembled our boarding passes, right? I never read the data on them so I don't know what that info contained.



Maybe there's some knowledge on these ancient passes somewhere else on FT, but I used that "read my boarding pass" app I mentioned earlier to scan the ones on Google (it's crazy how eBay sellers and bloggers would not bother to blur out these codes lol) to see what the barcode data contained, and it seems like the raw data is parseable into a fake boarding pass that allowed admittance. There are no identifiers that can be traced to the FFP (maybe it's in the raw data?) so it's clearly missing something, so take the parse with a grain of salt (it's not as if this barcode scanning app does anything special or use insider info to read aviation-related barcodes). I can't say how long it took AC to set up their systems when they first introduced these passes, but if it looks like a boarding pass and acts like one, I'm guessing it was a clever workaround to allow MLL admittance without fuss. Bringing us to the modern passes...


As for the current-era digital passes, they're Aztec barcodes, like our frequent flyer cards! Except the raw data for a MLL pass is formatted very differently than the data for my Aeroplan card. So maybe AC needed to update their systems to parse the digital passes which wasn't obvious until a bunch of data points floating in that the passes didn't get marked as "used". It goes without saying that you (probably) can't bring this barcode to a United Club or other lounge and expect it to work. Only AC lounges would be anticipating this format which of course takes time to set up.

So yeah, I'm siding myself with the theory that it took a while to implement and work as intended. lol

vancouver25k

I don't see the answer in the AC101 thread nor in a search (but my eyesight has been questioned before). This seems to be the most relevant recent thread; please correct me if I've posted to the wrong place...

The MLL passes I have are only for Domestic/TB. Are there such things as MLL passes good for International lounges? I have friends flying Europe->YYZ->South America and I was going to give them passes but I don't think my passes will work for them.

canadiancow

I've seen... one: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/33434873-post34.html

But you're correct. Yours will not work.

Still no idea how to get them.

stoddaj1

Good morning. My son is on his way this morning from snowy Nova Scotia. Due to yesterday's weather his flight was delayed and he missed his connection. I have an expired digital MLL pass, is there any chance that might work for him? We already gave away the new passes we received.

As always, thanks for your knowledge.

Captain Canuck

I suspect that if he offers the old pass in the lounge, it will not scan correctly in the system and he will receive the glare of the Lounge Dragon

That being said, if he also has the new versions for this year, why not try and see if the old ones work - AC has had a few IT issues of late, so who knows (the 2021 passes still show on my account). If no luck, he can pull out the new one and ask they try it

CC

stoddaj1

Just spoke to him and he'd rather not be embarrassed if the pass does not work.
Thanks for your input. Appreciate your time.

codfather

An interesting data point for the thread...

Not sure if anybody else had a similar experience, but the three MLL passes I had were able to be used by about 9 different people over the course of the year. On one occasion, the lounge dragon allowed three people in on one of my passes after telling them that one pass was good for all the people on the PNR (not sure where she got that info, but obviously they weren't going to challenge her on it). One of my friends used one of the passes in August of last year and was able to use the same pass again in October without issue. Even on December 31, the AC app still showed that I had two lounge passes available to use even though I know they had already been used a number of times.

Perhaps the lounge dragons just aren't confirming that they have been used? Super strange either way.

asovse1

They don't! lol

I had a flight rebooked from Dec 31 to Jan 3, and I had the offline pdf saved which I didn't want to go to waste. I scanned it, they said it had expired in 2021. For once, the system's on its toes!

gospelle

I hope this is the correct thread for this question. I have have been given 2 MLL passes with my 35k status. I've never had staus before so know nothing about the passes.

I don't need them as I have a black cc and I assume I can give them to a friend, as they say 'transferable' on them. But i'm not sure if my friend must have an AC ticket or how I actually transfer it to him.

Do I just send him a screenshot of the QR code? And can he use when flying Westjet?

Adam Smith

Yes, or the PDF you can generate from the website.

No, he still has to be flying AC or another *A airline (but can only access domestic/TB MLLs).

asovse1

I ended 2021 with 2/3 passes on my 75K account marked as "used".

After checking this morning, in addition to the 2022 passes I haven't yet distributed, I now only have 1/3 2021 passes marked as "used" on my 75K account, and 2/3 2021 passes are available to download. Obviously, the 2021 passes are useless as I attempted to scan them earlier in the year. I compared the Aztec barcode of the new stray pass to what I have in my record and the raw data is different. I think the one I received was a new and procedurally generated barcode. Of course it's useless and I'm the victim of a dumb glitch but it's enough for me to fantasize how AC could possibly be issuing them in the back-end.

jack1

I received 4 guest passes because of having a CIBC visa cc.
my questions are: if I am traveling with 3 other folks can all 4 of us use this 4 passes during the same trip/lounge. (YYC lounge)? And, can we use these passes in YYC even though we are traveling premium economy?
I tried to check on Aeroplan and it doesn't say anything about if all passes can be used at once.
Thank you

yyznomad

Not provided as part of our benefit selections or default packages, and it's been like this with the paper versions for several years already.

Whygee

Do you think they would let me into the domestic lounge with an international boarding pass?

Thanks