Jaenks

That 30k miles and 10k miles from spending is for South Korea and US credit card(Asiana) holders. For the rest of the world, it is 40k and 30k

jon503

That's correct. My point is that in practice, a heavy percentage of OZ's customer base is domestic Korean so I think this will lead to a noticeable increase in OZ elites over the next two years.

SYD/YYZ

For me the following has happened:

When I was gold (*S) I had a seat blocked ORD-ICN
When I was a Diamond upgraded ICN-SYD
As a Diamond Plus upgraded (with a Diamond on same reservation) ICN-FRA and also moved from economy seat to Smartium economy (extra leg room seat) from LHR-ICN and also had seat blocked on my continuing flight ICN-SYD. I have never been specially welcomed by crew but never really expect that especially in Y.

Obviously on Star Alliance Asian *G is the same to all other carriers.

I am not yet Diamond Plus lifetime so disappointed Diamond Plus standard members do not get F Lounge at ICN as business can be so busy (though I have yet to check out the new lounges).

I do agree for quite a bit more flying the published perks are fairly limited between Diamond and Diamond +. The upgrade is so random I don't assume or expect it.

SYD/YYZ

wyvern

Some data points from my first OZ flights (i've been an Oz member for few years and am on the way to lifetime D+ status:

LHR-SYD moved from economy to economy smartium on check-in (full flight)
ICN-SYD no noticeable extra benefits
SYD-ICN blocked seat next to me (this was confirmed at check-in), and the senior cabin crew member thanked me for flying OZ
ICN-LHR the empty two seats in my row of 3 were marked 'Do Not Occupy' by cabin crew (the only seats not in smartium to be so marked) and cabin crew took a lot of care to check I was ok for drinks etc

So it seems there are some benefits of D+.

I wasn't impressed with the lounge at ICN (business central) - overcrowded and with a poor food and drinks selection and a poor layout with the food at one end and the drinks at the other. The food was the same both times through the lounge in two weeks and not that great.

Priority boarding worked well, service and food on board was good.

As shame the bonus miles for flying OZ with status don't count for lifetime status!

bizum

Not sure if someone already mentioned this but D+ does not have to pay the extra 30% mileage on a redemption during peak season

drvannostren

I've looked at it, always thought I wouldn't need to shoot for D+. Just didn't seem like there was enough difference between the tiers, but they could always change it down the line.

I do think it's funny that hitting Diamond IIRC one of the "perks" was like 2 lounge passes, which forget the fact that I don't like or fly through ICN, if I were, I've got lounge access via my star gold earned already which entitles me to a guest as well...just kind of a pointless benefit.

I love the OZ program because of how easy it was to obtain my *G status for like 2.5 years cuz I qualified in half a year or so. My only minor complaint is not getting a physical card, it's not a big deal, but the digital card can't go into the apple wallet, no physical card, no luggage tag or anything, bit of a bummer.

sol95

zeer0

If nothing has changed over the past year, you can get a physical card and luggage tag if you find yourself in Germany for more than a few days (and of course Korea).

drvannostren

Didn't know you could get them in Germany, not that it would totally help me, but I might be more likely to be there than Korea.

Maybe I mistook WHEN I got given those. I could've sworn I hit Diamond and they gave me 2 lounge passes. But back to the point of the OP, I don't really think there's much of a reason to chance Diamond Plus. Unless you're gonna hit either of the lifetime statuses, which I likely won't. The small differences in the benefits really aren't of much relevance, getting to use First class lounge or check-in instead of business class...and only in Korea, like does it really matter?

I'm not ripping the OZ program at all lemme be clear. I'm in the program because of the generous rules. I'll continue to support the program and while I don't think I'll ever hit 500,000 miles, I'll stick with the program as long as I can just to keep my Star Gold rolling. I was an aeroplan member before, but they added $$$ requirements that were through the roof and that was it for me. Turkish seems like a decent program but IIRC United K fares (which I'm often on as a leisure traveller) were 0%, that was a dealbreaker. I've yet to redeem with OZ, and that seems to be the biggest downside, with fees and some strange redemption rules, but eventually I will and we'll see how that goes.

SightseeMC

I'm considering shooting for D+ and your experience interests me. Specifically:

1. Economy Smartium Op-Up
2. Blocked seat in main cabin if no Op-Up.

I'd probably take the blocked seat over the Smartium. I prefer to fly the A380 to the US and the pitch works great at 33/34"; I can "social engineer" an empty seat pretty well but a guaranteed one would be excellent. That said, can I request that at Diamond already? I've never tried it. The J upgrade would be fabulous, but I have no expectations that I'd ever book a full A350 flight just for the hope of one.

For waitlist, if I did book a full flight and wasn't going to get the upgrade, could OZ put me on the next non-full flight out instead of bumping a non-elite and having me fly a cramped plane? Anyone ever try that?

It would take getting the OZ BoA card and 1 more US r/t, so it's not a major cost. The extra trip would be a business expense anyway, just a potential inconvenience..

ttuna3

Made Lifetime D+ just in time to keep the First Class Lounge perk. That said I'm not above checking over on the Business Lounge to see what they've got as well.

Differences as Lifetime vs Regular D+ (this is 6 T-Pac trips to Tokyo):

Back in cattle class if I haven't been upgraded to J I always get a personal greeting from the FA on my side as I'm boarding or right after I sit down, followed by the Cabin Purser before they close the doors. The Service Manager usually stops by right after dinner. I'm usually asked which breakfast I want and they'll save me one. I usually just pay for the Smartium so no info on that upgrade.

I've been upgraded to J 3 out of 6 times from LAX even with empty seats in back. Usually the OZ ladies at the TBIT lounge page me when they get there (I'm usually coming in on UA about an hour or so before they're there). About 50 percent on the ICN to Tokyo legs and if they're using a 747 it's been a double OPUP to the old FC cabin.

Generally a slight improvement from the ground people, usually my bags have been coming out in the first 10 or so as opposed to just with the regular priority bags.

nme7

What were the fare class/codes you purchased for the times you were upgraded to J?

ttuna3

Mix of H, B and E as Lifetime, all from LAX. Didn't get one from SFO on a Y.

dinoscool3

Looking to jump ship to OZ from UA. I know the credit card spend counts for status, does it also count for lifetime? Even if I’m not chasing 1K I’ll still probably fly ~40-50k a year, so would get D+, but also thinking about getting the BoA card.

SPlDER

CC spend do not counts for lifetime. Remember, that earning ratio for Star Alliance partners is lower on OZ than on UA.