Finkface

I just made 75k for the first time. I made Gold in March and got my four GGUs and was excited when I hit 75k in August. My four lounge passes and the 50k bonus posted but the four additional GGUs did not. I just called in and, after an hour on the phone with a very nice CS rep who checked with a bunch of other people, it turns out that 75k is only entitled to four GGUs. He said it changed about three years ago and getting the extra four all of these years has been a glitch which they have now corrected!

Needless to say, I am kind of pissed as that is one of the main benefits of 75k for me personally. I checked with some other FT friends, both of whom got their additional four earlier this year. The glitch was corrected around April, the rep said. Seems it could be true as one of them found the same info on two different FF websites.

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/what-...-status-worth/

Gold Guest Upgrades ($400)
You won’t enjoy any extra Gold Guest Upgrades for reaching 75K status, so I’ll keep this value at $100 apiece.

TPG website: In addition to unlimited complimentary upgrades, any traveler qualifying for Alaska MVP Gold status receives four Gold Guest Upgrade Certificates each year. (You don’t receive any additional ones for reaching MVP Gold 75K.)

Also https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/t...status-program
MVP Gold and Gold 75K members receive four Gold guest upgrades per year.

Anyone else make 75k recently and not received four additional GGUs? Have I really been wrong all this time and it truly was a glitch that I missed out on? Any ideas who I can escalate this to?

anteater

I am a relatively newer MP member, but I recall the GGU certificates being posted to my account after reaching Gold (4 GGU) and Gold 75K (4 GGU). When I called in this morning, I was told the GGU's are supposed to be deposited at the start of the calendar year, which seems odd. I will definitely have to look into this.

At first glance, it appears that I only received (4) GGUs when I reached Gold this year and none thereafter.

FlyerDigits

The web site is not clear and I'm not quite to 75K yet so this has been something I've wondered. The web site is reporting a technical issue for me so I can't go get the exact wording again, though it is vague. As a result of the uncertainty I searched the blogsphere & flyertalk, then came to the conclusion that I would get another 4 when I hit 75K. If that's not the case then I need to adjust my personal "value of status" spreadsheet.

Finkface

I think it is pretty clear that both we and AS have been misinterpreting the benefit for awhile now. The rep said it was changed to four GGUs only about three years ago but a glitch in the system kept awarding four additional GGUs. They have now fixed the glitch, much to my annoyance. If it was a glitch, fine. But don’t fix it mid-year when half got eight and half will only get four.

jrl767

from a revenue standpoint I can certainly understand AS trying to drive people to purchase F, but after all the moaning about lack of U space over the last year, and all the recent elation that AS appears to be making it somewhat more available, this is really a pretty unpleasant revelation from the customer loyalty side -- especially at this point in the year

985X

I got 12 cumulative GGU upon reaching 75K last year, and I got only 4 cumulative GGU upon reaching 75K this year. Those GGU are useless for me. I would happily exchange 2 GGU for 1 SWU on AA if they allow it (of course they won't) lol.

clarrkkent

Odd. I thought I was the one misinterpreting the GGU certs when I first hit 75K 5 or so years ago and 8 total showed up.

Am I really supposed to believe that AS went on awarding 2x the number of GGU's for 3+ years due to a glitch and either knew about it for 3 years and did nothing or it went unnoticed for the same amount of time? I don't buy their explanation at all.

Not accounting for the upside down pricing model we often find (GGU fare > F), they were literally hemorrhaging liability (not outright cash unless used I guess) for 3 years due to a "glitch". I can't imagine the root cause analysis, software fix, running a few test scenarios and then implementation would cost anywhere near 3 years of accidental 200% GGU awards.

They either decided to change the terms on the fly (which is totally their right) and create this "glitch" narrative OR they have the most incompetent IT and revenue management that ever existed.

clarrkkent

There is some bad training going on at the CS level. I also received a similar explanation regarding 75K status and rollover earlier this year. The rep insisted that I wouldn't get anything (bonus, GGU's, lounge passes, etc.) until the next calendar year. Feels like they just try to give any explanation that supports the inconsistencies we are seeing and not actually bother to look up the policies/guidelines.

Turned out I just need to complete 2 more segments due to the newly implemented minimum segments flown, then everything showed up as expected.

Finkface

It is the latter. Four GGUs for 75k. Period. It changed a few years ago but the glitch kept awarding four extra. They have now identified and fixed the glitch, my beef is that they did it halfway through a year so some got eight, some got four like me. That is the part that makes me angry, fix it starting in 2022 but don’t penalize those of us now who worked hard to get to 75k.

https://www.alaskaair.com/content/mi...ID:MileagePlan

RAD_PDX

I definitely had it in my head that I would earn 8 total for the year if I hit the threshold to earn 75K through the end of 2022 so I was disappointed to see that it was only 4.

AndyKehn

I earned 12 in 2020 and 4 in 2021, so I guess it worked out to be 8 each year.

PDXPremier

Same here....just made 75K last weekend and got the lounge passes but no GGUs. Honestly I'm still having a lot of trouble using them due to a combination high upfare prices from G class and lack of U space availability (which thankfully has improved in the past few weeks). I really which I could use 2 GGUs to upgrade from any published fare--seems like a good compromise.

brentyb

I would be upset if I thought I could ever actually use one

Finkface

I am upset because I use all of mine plus whatever I can scrounge every single year. I just took a flight last week that was upgraded with a GGU. And just three days ago, U space opened up on some October flights I have booked so I swooped in with GGUs. This was the most valuable benefit to me by far and the whole reason I took extra flights this year just to make 75k. Had I known of this, I would not have taken the extra flights and stayed at Gold.

Erasmus

Haven't been able to use a GGU since before the pandemic, and it's not because I haven't been flying. Got double digits set to expire at the end of this year; figured they wouldn't be extended, but now know they won't even be replenished. Agree with previous posters that I would be delighted to turn them in at at least a 2:1 (and probably closer to 3 or 4:1) ratio for an AA SWU...