No show Reward Flight for mileage extension
Mar 2, 2016, 12:37 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: LHR
Programs: Accor PLT,Thai Silver, HH Dia, SPG Titanium (LT Gold), Aegean Gold, BA Silver
Posts: 5,116
No show Reward Flight for mileage extension
Has anyone booked a reward flight purely to keep the miles alive and not taken it without any problems?
Mar 2, 2016, 2:04 pm
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,694
Booking a flight using miles does not extend the lifetime of your remaining miles. By not taking the flight, you will lose the miles spent on the ticket, and the expiry date of your remaining balance is unaffected.
To extend the expiry date of your miles, you must earn level miles. This can only be done by flying on a paid ticket that earns level miles. Award flights earn neither award nor level miles.
To extend the expiry date of your miles, you must earn level miles. This can only be done by flying on a paid ticket that earns level miles. Award flights earn neither award nor level miles.
Mar 2, 2016, 6:58 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: GLA
Programs: AF/KL FB Plat 4L, VA Vel Silver, BA EC, LH M&M
Posts: 1,825
Mar 2, 2016, 11:06 pm
#8
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: GLA
Programs: AF/KL FB Plat 4L, VA Vel Silver, BA EC, LH M&M
Posts: 1,825
I would assume that this works in all programs where the validity of your miles can be extended by earning or burning award miles. I don't see why it would matter whether you actually fly with your ticket.
Mar 3, 2016, 12:13 am
#9
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: CDG/AMS
Programs: FB Plat for life, FB PC, M&M FT, Hertz President (+ many low tier cards)
Posts: 2,777
Mar 3, 2016, 12:35 am
#10
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,694
For a program to allow the expiry of miles to be delayed by the judicious booking of redemptions - and in the context imposed by the OP, namely the apparent refusal to book and fly revenue tickets - makes for a program that sounds less a frequent flyer program, but more a "frequent redeemer" program.
This sounds like something that would be the exception, rather than the rule. Which programs allow the spending of miles to extend the lifetime of an otherwise expiring balance? Which airlines have failed to realise their FFP should be structured to encourage travel/spend, rather than condoning long periods of otherwise un-engaged participation?
Mar 3, 2016, 6:08 am
#11
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: GLA
Programs: AF/KL FB Plat 4L, VA Vel Silver, BA EC, LH M&M
Posts: 1,825
Quote:
Originally Posted by cityflyer369
I would assume that this works in all programs where the validity of your miles can be extended by earning or burning award miles.
Yes - but which programs allow this?
For a program to allow the expiry of miles to be delayed by the judicious booking of redemptions - and in the context imposed by the OP, namely the apparent refusal to book and fly revenue tickets - makes for a program that sounds less a frequent flyer program, but more a "frequent redeemer" program.
This sounds like something that would be the exception, rather than the rule. Which programs allow the spending of miles to extend the lifetime of an otherwise expiring balance? Which airlines have failed to realise their FFP should be structured to encourage travel/spend, rather than condoning long periods of otherwise un-engaged participation?
Originally Posted by cityflyer369
I would assume that this works in all programs where the validity of your miles can be extended by earning or burning award miles.
Yes - but which programs allow this?
For a program to allow the expiry of miles to be delayed by the judicious booking of redemptions - and in the context imposed by the OP, namely the apparent refusal to book and fly revenue tickets - makes for a program that sounds less a frequent flyer program, but more a "frequent redeemer" program.
This sounds like something that would be the exception, rather than the rule. Which programs allow the spending of miles to extend the lifetime of an otherwise expiring balance? Which airlines have failed to realise their FFP should be structured to encourage travel/spend, rather than condoning long periods of otherwise un-engaged participation?
Mar 3, 2016, 6:39 am
#12
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,694
Indeed, point 14.4 of BAEC's T&Cs specifies that earning, redeeming, buying or transferring Avios keeps them alive for another 36 months.
Which is indeed far more generous than FB given that:
a) the "expiry period" itself is almost twice as long as in FB;
b) the prolongation does not require any flying (the FB equivalent scenario would require the earning of Tier Points to prolong the lifetime of Avios)
c) the prolongation does not require any additional spend (as long as you earn Avios via a "normal" transaction such as a hotel stay, or shopping at Tesco, etc, once every 3 years)
My apologies. Although BAEC is now my primary FFP, I only earn Avios via flying and I was not aware of the comparative leniency regarding Avios expiry.
Which is indeed far more generous than FB given that:
a) the "expiry period" itself is almost twice as long as in FB;
b) the prolongation does not require any flying (the FB equivalent scenario would require the earning of Tier Points to prolong the lifetime of Avios)
c) the prolongation does not require any additional spend (as long as you earn Avios via a "normal" transaction such as a hotel stay, or shopping at Tesco, etc, once every 3 years)
My apologies. Although BAEC is now my primary FFP, I only earn Avios via flying and I was not aware of the comparative leniency regarding Avios expiry.
Mar 3, 2016, 8:56 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Netherlands
Programs: KL Platinum; A3 Gold
Posts: 28,694
Indeed...Avios were born when the old BA Executive Club was brought together with the old Air Miles scheme (a more general supermarket/petrol/shopping loyalty scheme), and therefore is as much a general loyalty scheme as it is a currency for the frequent flyer programmes of BA, IB and other airlines. Given that Avios can be switched back and forth freely and without restriction between a BA account, an Iberia account, and a regular Avios account - and given that a regular Avios account holder could not be forced to, say, shop at each participating retailer once every XX months - then it simply doesn't make sense to force Avios holders to fly on BA (one of 350 total partners overall in the Avios realm). If such a restriction was imposed on BA EC members, they could simply transfer their miles out to their general Avios account to sidestep the rule, anyway.
Mar 3, 2016, 10:07 am
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: London, UK and Southern France
Posts: 18,362
