jdmp

I fly Cathay alot using redemptions from Asia Miles points earned with credit card spend. I was a MPC Green member for about 10 years before they changed the rules and made MPC membership contingent on paying for tickets. A few months ago I saw a good deal on SYD-HK in business (about AUD$3,300) so I bought one, with part of the logic being that it would give me some club points and keep me in the MPC system for a bit. Anyway, I flew the purchased business class flight recently and logged in to see the status of my MPC membership after the flight. To my horror, I saw no Club Points and also, I couldn't access the MPC account sections of the website. I called up and was told that 1) My MPC Green expired July 2018, 2) even thought I had just flown business, if I wanted to get MPC Green back, I would have to pay USD$100 and 3) since the flight had already occurred, I wouldn't get the Club Points for that flight.

I know that I should have known more before buying the ticket and I assumed a bit ...but talk about a messed up loyalty programme... I just bought some of their premium product and their loyalty program rules make me regret it!

Is it worth pushing this and trying to get MPC Green based on my purchase and flight, or should I just give up and save myself the hassle?

Chromie25

Save yourself some hassle. Your MPC membership expired and thus you got no Club Points. Simple as that. If you really want to have your MPC membership back either pay US$100 or fly enough J in a short period of time that they will comp you one (though you still won't get CP for previous flights).

jdmp

I suspected that would be the advice. This whole situation does make me consider switching to Qantas though. A perverse outcome for a loyalty scheme...

garykung

You can do whatever you believe. The bottom line is it is not worth paying attention to GR, if you are not serious about SL.

fakecd

if you belong to social echelon that affords you liberty to buy a cheap J ticket then MPC Green isnt neccessary for you. keep finding cheapest to deliver J ticket next time for peace of your mind. you get everything MPC would give, except MPC doesnt give you a nice seat which is what you pay for anyways.

jdmp

Good advice. Thanks!

nastypenman

How differently would Qantas handle this situation, I wonder.

sxc

garykung

GR is definitely a fake status level. Still it comes with some perks. I would say that justifies the fee.

fakecd

you are correct. However i remember signing up for "mere" green tier back in the days, to get HKG-YVR opup, was best 50usd i ever spent (that was Y to J). and some would say priority check in for CX flight worthwhile. also even at petty Green Tier, you are better off than Asiamiles mr nobody.

i live in HK and maintain CX amex elite card and my green membership was always renewed due to spending criteria and waiver of annual fee on credit card. but for offshore flyer CX Green is, as you say, really nothing

bluetus04

When I first became MPC member many years ago, I didn't even paid for Green before that. Just happened to fly more than 30K miles within a year as AM and all of a sudden was given Silver. Anyone know if it's still guaranteed nowadays or it's more case-by-case basis?

Beltway2A

Qantas, bizarrely enough, is actually one of the few FFPs that continue to require a sign-up fee (A$99.50), albeit only for AU and NZ members. There are more ways to receive a complimentary membership than CX, and once you have singed up the base membership does not expire.

sparkj

That really sucks. I was going to suggest you credit your flight to another program instead, but seems its too late for that.
I would probably continue to try a few times to ask them to give you the club points (as for the $100, you can make the call). Since its a premium revenue ticket, I reckon it wouldn't be too hard to push through if you find a more convincing angle and be a bit more demanding (e.g. that it is their T&C that are hidden and hard to understand, and you would be disincentivized to fly with CX again given this experience...)

wyskevin

Haha, that was the way I got my SL too. (AM member had flied over 30K.)
Im not sure it still works like this nowadays.
However, if not, just write an email to MPC and I believe they would be happy to offer SL.
(Nowadays, the criteria is 300 club points instead of 30K)

Donkitravel