But only those who wants to earn miles signed up, not everyone would prefer miles over reward points for example. And do MPC GRs really get preferential treatments onboard? The only "special" treatment I am aware of is they were welcomed onboard in the announcement.

I am not a big fan of CX, but as a GR - I have got op-ups; A few times ISM did try to locate me and shake my hands even I am not on special meal while I was in Y.

Did you have some kind of long history of flying with CX or is a VIP of some kind? It sounds odd that they would do it for all MPC GRs. If there are as many MPC GRs as some FTers suggested (which I don't think it's the case relative to the total HKG population size), it would take almost forever for the ISM to finish this. Has she mixed you up with some higher tier MPC members? :p

For flights that you got hand shakes from the ISM, did you notice whether she did that to other passengers as well? And was that a lot of passengers that received handshakes too?

Nah, but I was a SL years before. However, recently I have spending excessively on credit cards, then I flew on award tickets more than revenue ones. You might say I am just lucky for the op-ups, and things go more strange while they tried to upgrade me while I was holding a T-class award ticket.
I got my first upgrade on award ticket noticed by the ISM (after I found out my seat got sat by others). I gave the ISM the most strange look while I got the upgrade first time on award ticket, she joked "Mr.__ , if you really want your econ class seat back, we can help you out."

For the ISM cases, I was on shuttle flights (450/451) or shorthaul flights like 400/401. I believed the ISM were shaking hands with MPCs, as they were saying something like "Mr. ___, welcome on board, it is great to have you to fly with us again". And then FA would come along and confirm others with special meal arrangements.

So it wasn't MPC GR special treatment onboard then since you were SL at that time :p It will be quite interesting if MPC GRs get this kind of special treatment. But OP was a SL, he probably should have been treated better than the GRs and non-MPC and non-ow elites.

This board cracks me up! Just as you can't read an Economist.com article nowadays without seeing some wumao nationalist going on about how great the Chinese government is, it seems that you can't read a Flyertalk CX board article nowadays without someone mentioning credit card tie-ups :D

nah its more like you're given an MPC account whether you want it or not (unless you opt out)

at least i can use the priority desks if i wished

Ah, I messed you up with my Chi-lish.
I was in the status of GR while I receive these special treatments; To make things more weird, I never received anything special while I was SL unless I opted for special meal - the ISM might come around and confirm my meal code. And no, no opt-ups either for the period - even asked deliberately at gate.

Priority desks isn't a special treatment given onboard though.

That is so weird then. MPC GR getting personalized ISM greetings :eek: But then theoretically OP would have given at least the same if not better treatments than the MPC GRs on the same flight unless most of the Cantonese speaking passengers have MPC GO or above. Is JFK really that elite heavy?

I do not disagree with you. I was merely stating that many HK CX flyers have MPC status, but I did not mean a majority do.

and? but it is a special treatment given to MPC member nevertheless, and was given to any ethnicity that applied to any CX-sponsored credit cards. and i've seen pax of some certain ethnicity to be turned away when requested. However I never tried figuring out if said pax was turned away based on the lack of status or on ethnicity.

As for mainlanders, I can tell you why animosity exist. It's their habits. I've seen it in Hong Kong, I've seen it in US (an increase of mainland immigrants). Their habits is just not Western acceptable. Spitting, littering, general lack of respect for queues etc.

In Hong Kong, there's seems to be a competition for resources. Just read an article recently about how mainlander pregnant women would cross the border to deliver in HK hospitals due to superior medical facilities. This leaves HK women with longer waits etc.

Does every mainlander exhibit such traits? No, but enough do. Just the other day, I was driving in a NYC chinese neighborhood (predominately mainlanders) yielding as I was making a turn to a fairly good-looking woman crossing with her male companion speaking Mandarin. While crossing, she decides to hack one up and spit right in the middle off the crosswalk. She just looked at me as if nothing happened. Any positive impressions I had of her disappear right then and there.

thanks for putting in a very systematic "analysis"...

This is not just because of the superior medical facilities. This is because the babies born in HKG would then gain the "permanent residency" status - although that is still up to debate and interpretation of the "Basic Laws" but there is already a court-ruled precedent to grant the status to a teenager that was born years ago in HKG and then lived between China and HKG while growing up...

The tactic these pregnant women employed is downright scary - harmful to themselves and their babies, as well as draining the emergency medical services of HKG public hospitals, police and medics stationed at the borders...