Flying AF, Earn miles with AS but want ST Elite Plus benefit with CI
Jul 18, 2015, 2:10 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: London, UK
Programs: AA Plat, LAN Comodoro, LH SEN, Flying Blue Plat
Posts: 491
Flying AF, Earn miles with AS but want ST Elite Plus benefit with CI
I have a XXX-CDG-YYY-CDG-XXX itinerary with Air France coming up. I would like the miles to accrual to my AS account but also like to access the lounges at XXX CDG and YYY based on my China Airlines Elite Plus membership. Is this possible? If so, what would be the least painstaking (and safest) way to go about it? I really don't want the miles to go to China Airlines!
Jul 18, 2015, 2:28 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Paris, France
Programs: AF/KL Flying Blue Platinum for life/Club2000 Ultimate, Accor ALL Diamond
Posts: 22,104
I'm afraid you'll have to make a choice. Some people have already reported here having the FP with Elite plus status entered in the PNR to access lounge and then asked an agent at a counter afterwards to change the FFP to another one. But what can work for one flight, I don't see how you can handle that with multiple flights. So, again, make a choice of what's the most important for you about this trip.
Jul 18, 2015, 4:04 am
#3
Moderator: Aegean Miles+Bonus
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: AMS / ATH
Programs: AFKL Plat, A3 Gold
Posts: 7,376
You can try to simply put your AS card on the ticket, and access the lounge based on the physical card. You should probably mention upon entering the lounge that you don't want them to add the card to the booking.
If this is allowed, or if they will allow you, depends very much on the lounge attendant I'd say.
If this is allowed, or if they will allow you, depends very much on the lounge attendant I'd say.
Jul 18, 2015, 5:15 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist, Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Somewhere between 0 and 13,000 metres high
Programs: AF/KL Life Plat, BA GGL+GfL, ALL Plat, Hilton Diam, Marriott Gold, blablablah, etc
Posts: 30,671
I think it might work at some "home" lounges ie CDG but is most unlikely in outstations. they will scan the BP, see that it is not eligible, and are unlikely to allow OP in based on physical card.
Jul 18, 2015, 8:54 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Paris, France
Programs: AF/KL Flying Blue Platinum for life/Club2000 Ultimate, Accor ALL Diamond
Posts: 22,104
I'm not sure at all about CDG. BP are systematically scanned also (or they access your file via the sequence number). The computer will return an ineligibility message due to the class of travel and the non-Skyteam Elite plus status (because of the AS FFP) and so I doubt the lounge dragon will accept another FFP card without replacing the AS one in the file.
Jul 18, 2015, 9:19 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,805
I have no experience of this with SkyTeam, but have entered StarAlliance lounges using a status card different to the FFP number associated with the booking and shown on the boarding pass many times. It has never been a problem.
It would seem rather mean-spirited of Air France to refuse lounge access. After all, nowhere in the T&Cs does it state that you have to even claim/earn miles on the sector your status gets you lounge access. The status card was earned on the basis of your travel patterns in a previous time frame; the benefits of this status are only contingent on you taking a qualifying flight with a qualifying partner - it doesn't require you to actually claim miles for that, or any other, programme.
That said, lounge dragons may indeed consider it "wrong" that you have 2 FFPs associated with the booking (though Star in particular never bat an eyelid, and the PNR has two fields -FQTV and FQTS- to allow you to associate two different programmes with your itinerary - one for collecting the miles, the other for collecting the status benefits. But so many people in the industry don't know this and therefore incorrectly think that you must use just one programme and that if you refuse to have the "status" number input, that you cannot use the card to access these benefits.
In short, what you propose should be no problem, but you probably are going to face grief. The only thing going for you is that given that FB is neither of the two programmes, they may feel less "threatened" or "outraged" by the "stunt" they think you may be trying to pull.
Please report back on your experiences.
It may be easiest to not associate ANY number with the booking, and to retro-claim with AS after you have flown (unless AS makes retroclaiming difficult). In theory, showing your status card with your "blank" boarding pass should get you in. Just make sure that the lounge agents DO NOT add your number to your booking. It would help to have a simple story like - you have already requalified for another year with CI and/or are you are unhappy with the programme and looking to move to another Skyteam programme but have not yet decided (though this could open a new discussion where they try to sign you up to Flying Blue).
And if I ever encountered an agent who stopped me doing this, I would explain that I was doing it for good reasons. There increasingly are fare classes which do not earn in all or some partner programmes. If my main programme, where I hold status, doesn't earn miles on a particular sector, why should I not be allowed to enjoy the lounge access granted by status in that programme, even as I earn miles in a second programme?
It would seem rather mean-spirited of Air France to refuse lounge access. After all, nowhere in the T&Cs does it state that you have to even claim/earn miles on the sector your status gets you lounge access. The status card was earned on the basis of your travel patterns in a previous time frame; the benefits of this status are only contingent on you taking a qualifying flight with a qualifying partner - it doesn't require you to actually claim miles for that, or any other, programme.
That said, lounge dragons may indeed consider it "wrong" that you have 2 FFPs associated with the booking (though Star in particular never bat an eyelid, and the PNR has two fields -FQTV and FQTS- to allow you to associate two different programmes with your itinerary - one for collecting the miles, the other for collecting the status benefits. But so many people in the industry don't know this and therefore incorrectly think that you must use just one programme and that if you refuse to have the "status" number input, that you cannot use the card to access these benefits.
In short, what you propose should be no problem, but you probably are going to face grief. The only thing going for you is that given that FB is neither of the two programmes, they may feel less "threatened" or "outraged" by the "stunt" they think you may be trying to pull.
Please report back on your experiences.
It may be easiest to not associate ANY number with the booking, and to retro-claim with AS after you have flown (unless AS makes retroclaiming difficult). In theory, showing your status card with your "blank" boarding pass should get you in. Just make sure that the lounge agents DO NOT add your number to your booking. It would help to have a simple story like - you have already requalified for another year with CI and/or are you are unhappy with the programme and looking to move to another Skyteam programme but have not yet decided (though this could open a new discussion where they try to sign you up to Flying Blue).
And if I ever encountered an agent who stopped me doing this, I would explain that I was doing it for good reasons. There increasingly are fare classes which do not earn in all or some partner programmes. If my main programme, where I hold status, doesn't earn miles on a particular sector, why should I not be allowed to enjoy the lounge access granted by status in that programme, even as I earn miles in a second programme?