2011 MVPG Guest UG certs
 

Can anybody tell me the code of the 2011 Gold paper UG certs.
I'm booking some travel for next year on a bargain fare and need the code to call in and UG, but haven't got my guest UG paper certs yet...

Thanks !

They never ask for the code.

My experienece is that sometimes they do - not always, but it is not unusual.

still not something we want floating around the interwebz for everyone to see... :eek:

The jig is up for certs soon anyway. It's kind of an elephant in the room around here, but I know most FTers are probably less than excited about them going electronic. :p

Can you point me to a thread discussing this (I did search) or elaborate ?

Previous years have been posted, and I honestly can't see the harm, but of course I respect any such sentiments; you could always PM me ?

The certs are almost never collected, and people use the same cert endlessly to have unlimited upgrades on just about any flight. No one talks about it openly, but it's pretty obvious that's what most FlyerTalkers do. Now that the certs are going electronic, this little system that's been going on is coming to an end.

Thanks to all those who sent me the codein a PM.

As it happens, I was asked for the cert code when I called.

Frankly, I'm shocked by how much annecdotal experienece is being passed off as universal truth on this thread.

While it is common for the certs not to be collected, in my experienece, and the experience of severaql friends who regularly use these certs, they usually are collected.

I don't think I've ever been asked for the cert anywhere besides SEA, and even there the odds are maybe 1/10 that they'll even mention it.

Just out of curiosity, what happens if you forget the cert at home and they do ask for it? Anyone ever had this happen?

Seems there are certain things that make it less likely to be collected, but they are slowly battering the hatches... had one collected in HNL in Aug...

Note for the New Year: Those who are traveling on certificated upgrades after Jan. 1, I for one would be interested in any report of widespread certificate-collection being implemented. Seems now it's infrequent and/or hit-and-miss. I'd like to know if there is a tangible change (especially for Golds) once we get into January. (It's a question I really didn't want to ask for fear of the answer, but I just got brave.)

What special event do you think is going to happen January 1st? Why would certificate collection rates change after the new year?

I just have a fear, and it is exactly that and I admit it, that the "good times" most of us have enjoyed with upgrade certs will not be around come January. What I mean is, we will all start being asked for the coupons when we check in - no exceptions. Jan. 1 is an arbitrary date, but it's my arbitrary date. I'd rather it be Dec. 31, 2011, but I reiterate my fear.

Most of us, myself included, have been afforded the privilege of sitting up front on the same coupon. I still have two of my four of my 2010 coupons. The other two I gave to a co-worker who didn't have status and was going to the east coast. My two remaining coupons should have been collected a long time ago; they weren't. I haven't been asked for them, and I haven't offered them, either. Bottom line: I've gotten something for nothing, many times over. I admit it, as should most of us. AS management also knows this and may conclude that the new year is as good a time as any to start tightening the belt a little. (Frankly, I hope I'm wrong because I have several trips booked for the first quarter and yes, I have called and upgraded myself via certificate. Hence, my interest in certificate-collection changes.)

AS could probably sell more F seats or at least get some buy-up's by dispensing with their largess. Less planes are in the air and F seats are a somewhat more precious commodity.

I realize there are some on the forum here who have strong feelings that this is how business should have been conducted all along. You're going to get your wish, it's just a matter of when. In the meantime, feel free to stick pins in the backs of your dave1013 voodoo dolls! :)

Hope that answers your question.

My sense, from my own experience and that reported to me personally, is that this shift has already happened.

Sometime this summer, when the "laminated cert" story got told at a Gold Lunch, is when I realized AS management was both cognizant of the situation and serious enough to take action to rectify it.

Prior to that, certificate collection was lax at best. Many agents forgot, didn't know it should be collected, or incorrectly believed that Golds did not need to turn in their certs. From recent TA behavior, I believe two things have already happened:

1) A software change was made to make certificate upgrades more prominent when checking in. Where it was a minor notation in an obscure field before, I believe the notification is now not easily overlooked.
2) A memo was sent to TA's system-wide. Multiple people have noted recent certificate collection at Hawaii stations, which are not operated by AS employees, so their behavior doesn't change unless AS management dictates from SEA. I've also had a TA at SEA explain that even though I was a Gold, the certificate was still required because it "held my seat." This is a marked departure from even a year ago, when many agents were fuzzy on the situation.

AS wants to implement electronic certs. We heard word of this in 2009 for 2010, and then again this year for 2011. Since 2011 certs have already been distributed, perhaps we'll have one last reprieve next year. But in the meantime, if AS wants to crack down on reusing certs by training front-line employees, they have no reason to wait until Jan 1. On the contrary, the leisure travel in the month of August, as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas, is probably when most certs get redeemed. AS would have no reason to wait until all those trips have occurred before beginning a large-scale policy shift.

Remember also that AS is a large company with many employees in physically distant locations. A policy shift is tough to implement instantaneously across so many employees and locations. It's much more likely that AS management have already taken steps and started communication to line-level employees, and over time, we will only see the enforcement rate go up.

Possibly so, but I wonder if they will even bother to spend the time, effort, energy, and money to retrain and reprogram their systems to handle physical certificate collection when it's just going to go electronic anyway.

I've been asked for exactly 0 certificates this year. I still have the two I was gifted in August.