Gold Guest List beginner's guide
Jan 2, 2019, 3:10 am
#1351
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,327
I've just flicked through those updated T&Cs (they have definitely changed since I last looked at them).
1) Was the Hilton Diamond benefit always just a 12 month trial rather than an ongoing benefit?
2) Has clause 13.1 always been there?
13.1. British Airways may terminate any one or more of the Services or may terminate the Gold Guest List at any time. If terminated any rights that Members may have in relation to the Services or Gold Guest List (including any Gold Guest List Redemption Rewards) will cease.
1) Was the Hilton Diamond benefit always just a 12 month trial rather than an ongoing benefit?
2) Has clause 13.1 always been there?
13.1. British Airways may terminate any one or more of the Services or may terminate the Gold Guest List at any time. If terminated any rights that Members may have in relation to the Services or Gold Guest List (including any Gold Guest List Redemption Rewards) will cease.
Jan 2, 2019, 4:34 am
#1352
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Germany
Programs: BA GGL, CCR - TK G
Posts: 809
I've just flicked through those updated T&Cs (they have definitely changed since I last looked at them).
1) Was the Hilton Diamond benefit always just a 12 month trial rather than an ongoing benefit?
2) Has clause 13.1 always been there?
13.1. British Airways may terminate any one or more of the Services or may terminate the Gold Guest List at any time. If terminated any rights that Members may have in relation to the Services or Gold Guest List (including any Gold Guest List Redemption Rewards) will cease.
1) Was the Hilton Diamond benefit always just a 12 month trial rather than an ongoing benefit?
2) Has clause 13.1 always been there?
13.1. British Airways may terminate any one or more of the Services or may terminate the Gold Guest List at any time. If terminated any rights that Members may have in relation to the Services or Gold Guest List (including any Gold Guest List Redemption Rewards) will cease.
Interesting, I did not qualify for diamond by 5 nights and I am exactly at the same status like last year. Still need 5 nights to requalify...? 🤔😍
Jan 2, 2019, 4:37 am
#1353
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,327
Your status with Hilton runs until March, so you'll likely drop down on April 1st.
Jan 2, 2019, 4:44 am
#1354
Join Date: Nov 2017
Location: Germany
Programs: BA GGL, CCR - TK G
Posts: 809
Jan 2, 2019, 4:57 am
#1355
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,327
The 'collection year' for nights and status is Jan-Dec, but the validity of the card runs through the end of March.
You also carry over your unused nights. So for example if you are downgraded from Diamond to Gold but you've done 50 nights, you'll have 10 nights rolled over to your new collection year.
You also carry over your unused nights. So for example if you are downgraded from Diamond to Gold but you've done 50 nights, you'll have 10 nights rolled over to your new collection year.
Jan 2, 2019, 5:15 pm
#1356
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: London, UK
Programs: BA GGL
Posts: 262
After several phone calls I keep being assured that I will indeed get my wife's status extended but it never actually happens. If it doesn't happen I'm going to be really grumpy as she only had one short haul flight in that seven weeks of late 2017 and could easily have slummed it in the GC lounge, but I was so convinced I had it sussed!
Last edited by vindaloo; Jan 2, 2019 at 5:21 pm
Jan 2, 2019, 10:48 pm
#1357
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,914
I've just flicked through those updated T&Cs (they have definitely changed since I last looked at them).
1) Was the Hilton Diamond benefit always just a 12 month trial rather than an ongoing benefit?
2) Has clause 13.1 always been there?
13.1. British Airways may terminate any one or more of the Services or may terminate the Gold Guest List at any time. If terminated any rights that Members may have in relation to the Services or Gold Guest List (including any Gold Guest List Redemption Rewards) will cease.
1) Was the Hilton Diamond benefit always just a 12 month trial rather than an ongoing benefit?
2) Has clause 13.1 always been there?
13.1. British Airways may terminate any one or more of the Services or may terminate the Gold Guest List at any time. If terminated any rights that Members may have in relation to the Services or Gold Guest List (including any Gold Guest List Redemption Rewards) will cease.
Jan 3, 2019, 2:10 am
#1358
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: London, ARN, HEL, ..... or MAN
Programs: BA GGL / GFL, Mucci Diamond!, HH Diamond, Radisson Premium, IHG Gold, Hertz Gold
Posts: 5,874
I've just flicked through those updated T&Cs (they have definitely changed since I last looked at them).
1) Was the Hilton Diamond benefit always just a 12 month trial rather than an ongoing benefit?
2) Has clause 13.1 always been there?
13.1. British Airways may terminate any one or more of the Services or may terminate the Gold Guest List at any time. If terminated any rights that Members may have in relation to the Services or Gold Guest List (including any Gold Guest List Redemption Rewards) will cease.
1) Was the Hilton Diamond benefit always just a 12 month trial rather than an ongoing benefit?
2) Has clause 13.1 always been there?
13.1. British Airways may terminate any one or more of the Services or may terminate the Gold Guest List at any time. If terminated any rights that Members may have in relation to the Services or Gold Guest List (including any Gold Guest List Redemption Rewards) will cease.
Yes, the HH Diamond benefit has always only been 12 months in the Ts & Cs, but it's been extended every year for me now, for the last 7 years. Through usual patterns, I tend to "earn" Gold HH but have never had a problem getting Diamond extended through the GGL team.
Jan 3, 2019, 6:07 am
#1359
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: BHX
Programs: BA GGL CCR GfL, SQ Gold, Hyatt Glob, HH Diamond, Marriott Plat, Cafe Nero Loyalty Card (7 Stamps)
Posts: 7,327
Jan 3, 2019, 6:59 am
#1360
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold. GGL/CCR.
Posts: 13,243
Trying to avoid any Monty Python references here but the key definition is the meaning of 'life'. It's the life of the program or the life of the member, whichever ends first. The entire BAEC program can be scrapped by BA. The life of the program will have ended along with any lifetime benefits. Of course, it's extremely unlikely that this will happen but the contractual clauses are there to deal with that eventuality.
Jan 3, 2019, 8:39 am
#1361
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 7,464
Whilst it is not a published benefit, I've experienced far too many times a certain situation that it means there must be some "policy" or briefing to Ticket Agents at T5/T3. As a GGL, I've been lucky to have free changes to earlier flights/alternative destinations on many occasions this year (must be at least 7 times that I can remember in 2018/19, possibly more - all shorthaul flights), without the Ł60 change fee being charged. I am very appreciative of it, as I often find situations where I would rather not hang about in the CCR for hours on end and there is an earlier flight (either departure time/destination) that is useful to me.
Even this morning, at the T5 Flight Connections desk, I arrived at approx 07:55 from JFK and was booked on a much later LHR-ZRH flight - separate tickets (was expecting to do some work in London for the day), but it turns out there was no need for me to be there as I found out on arrival, and asked at the Flight Connections Centre for a seat on the 09:10 ZRH flight. The ticket agent conferred with a colleague for a short while, and it was clear that "as a GGL, we should not charge the change fee" was the advice given. The colleague advising was quite adamant about this, so thought I would post it here. My V class Avios ticket was swapped into a revenue X class, so that is a small bonus also.
As I said, I have had it too many times in the last 12 months for it to be a coincidence, but it is very good service when I need the change, but we should not expect this all times every time, since it is not a published benefit.
Even this morning, at the T5 Flight Connections desk, I arrived at approx 07:55 from JFK and was booked on a much later LHR-ZRH flight - separate tickets (was expecting to do some work in London for the day), but it turns out there was no need for me to be there as I found out on arrival, and asked at the Flight Connections Centre for a seat on the 09:10 ZRH flight. The ticket agent conferred with a colleague for a short while, and it was clear that "as a GGL, we should not charge the change fee" was the advice given. The colleague advising was quite adamant about this, so thought I would post it here. My V class Avios ticket was swapped into a revenue X class, so that is a small bonus also.
As I said, I have had it too many times in the last 12 months for it to be a coincidence, but it is very good service when I need the change, but we should not expect this all times every time, since it is not a published benefit.
Jan 4, 2019, 10:06 am
#1362
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 159
14 day grace period?
I'm currently a common-or-garden GCH, and with my TP year coming to an end next month I was looking at ending up in the region of 4,300TPs. Additional travel has just cropped up which means I'll now pick up 600 TPs in the first 14 days of my new collection year. I can't see a clear consensus on the forum (and no threads that I could find since 2015) on whether the 5,000 TP first-time qualification for GGL is ever subject to the 14 day extension for a new tier. GUF1/2s clearly are ineligible, but does anyone have any recent experience of BAEC applying the grace period to GGL qualification?
Thanks
Thanks
Jan 4, 2019, 12:11 pm
#1364
Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club, easyJet and Ryanair
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: UK/Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold (GGL/CCR)
Posts: 15,914
I'm currently a common-or-garden GCH, and with my TP year coming to an end next month I was looking at ending up in the region of 4,300TPs. Additional travel has just cropped up which means I'll now pick up 600 TPs in the first 14 days of my new collection year. I can't see a clear consensus on the forum (and no threads that I could find since 2015) on whether the 5,000 TP first-time qualification for GGL is ever subject to the 14 day extension for a new tier. GUF1/2s clearly are ineligible, but does anyone have any recent experience of BAEC applying the grace period to GGL qualification?
Thanks
Thanks
Jan 4, 2019, 12:51 pm
#1365
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: London
Programs: Don't even mention it. Grrrrrrr.
Posts: 968
Thought I would share my recent experience of trying to "correct" an alleged bug in BA's systems where nomination for a partner card between end of Tier Point Collection Year and Membership Year End results in 12 months of Silver (or Gold) rather than 2 years.
Reputedly (in this forum), a simple call to the GGL would sort this out ... in reality nothing could be further from the truth
Last year, I nominated a member of my HHA for a Silver card. I did this on the first day of their new membership year (09/09) while they still had a Bronze card with expiry of 31/10. This was because they were due to fly during October and I wanted them to have lounge access etc. It all worked fine, card arrived in time and as expected had an expiry date of 31/10/18. Hence, taking note of the experiences related on here, I made a note for a year later (today) to call the GGL line and get the expiry extended a further 12 months.
Unfortunately, despite what might have happened in the past, this does not work (or perhaps no longer works).
A long telephone call followed my an exchange of emails referencing the GGL Ts&Cs (https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...-list-benefits) resulted in a final position from BA as follows:
"... I do agree that in the Terms and Conditions that section 8.3 state that 'For Nominees who are existing Executive Club members, the discretionary British Airways Silver/Gold Card period shall begin from the date of acceptance by British Airways of the Nominee and last until the Nominee’s Membership Year End date and for the 12 month period thereafter.' However, in the terms and conditions Definitions section, the term 'Membership Year End' actually refers to and means the expiry date on the membership card.
As you nominated XXX after the 'Tier Point Collection Year' ended but not before the defined 'Membership Year End' XXX actually had the card for the agreed length of time. From 09th September 17 until 30th September 2017 (from nomination to year end) and then the subsequent membership year, bringing the expiry of the card to September 2018. The only way that XXX would have gotten the status until 2019 would be if you nominated him after 30th September.
I understand that there are online forums where this is thought to be a bug in the BA system but I can assure you this is not the case and the system will always nominate the member for the correct period of time."
And when you go back and read through the entire Ts&Cs the above statement is indeed true
So people should beware of relying upon anecdote, however well meant, as the published Ts&Cs are the canonical source !
Not a massive deal in this particular case as the person in question currently has zero Oneworld bookings
but though people would like to know.
Takeaway: Nominate the day after their current membership card expires to get the longest time at Silver (or Gold)
Moral of the story: RTFM
Reputedly (in this forum), a simple call to the GGL would sort this out ... in reality nothing could be further from the truth
Last year, I nominated a member of my HHA for a Silver card. I did this on the first day of their new membership year (09/09) while they still had a Bronze card with expiry of 31/10. This was because they were due to fly during October and I wanted them to have lounge access etc. It all worked fine, card arrived in time and as expected had an expiry date of 31/10/18. Hence, taking note of the experiences related on here, I made a note for a year later (today) to call the GGL line and get the expiry extended a further 12 months.
Unfortunately, despite what might have happened in the past, this does not work (or perhaps no longer works).
A long telephone call followed my an exchange of emails referencing the GGL Ts&Cs (https://www.britishairways.com/en-gb...-list-benefits) resulted in a final position from BA as follows:
"... I do agree that in the Terms and Conditions that section 8.3 state that 'For Nominees who are existing Executive Club members, the discretionary British Airways Silver/Gold Card period shall begin from the date of acceptance by British Airways of the Nominee and last until the Nominee’s Membership Year End date and for the 12 month period thereafter.' However, in the terms and conditions Definitions section, the term 'Membership Year End' actually refers to and means the expiry date on the membership card.
As you nominated XXX after the 'Tier Point Collection Year' ended but not before the defined 'Membership Year End' XXX actually had the card for the agreed length of time. From 09th September 17 until 30th September 2017 (from nomination to year end) and then the subsequent membership year, bringing the expiry of the card to September 2018. The only way that XXX would have gotten the status until 2019 would be if you nominated him after 30th September.
I understand that there are online forums where this is thought to be a bug in the BA system but I can assure you this is not the case and the system will always nominate the member for the correct period of time."
And when you go back and read through the entire Ts&Cs the above statement is indeed true
So people should beware of relying upon anecdote, however well meant, as the published Ts&Cs are the canonical source !
Not a massive deal in this particular case as the person in question currently has zero Oneworld bookings
but though people would like to know.Takeaway: Nominate the day after their current membership card expires to get the longest time at Silver (or Gold)
Moral of the story: RTFM