EUA on Reward Ticket
 

Is it possible to get an EUA on a Reward ticket? If so, does it matter if the reward ticket is a standard or easypass reward?

TIA

No, unfortunately not - no EUAs on reward tickets.

Yes you can. You must be Gold or Platinum, and be flying on Northwest.

No kidding? I had no idea.

Is there anything special that you have to do to request this? Does the ticket have to be on Northwest stock?

Reason I ask, last year I flew on a Continental standard reward ticket (and I was Plat all of last year), but with all the flying on Northwest and on Northwest flight numbers:

Fri 30JUN06 NW 972 W AUS 7:15AM MSP 10:06AM
Fri 30JUN06 NW 2775 W MSP 12:55PM YQT 3:37PM
Tue 04JUL06 NW 2776 W YQT 4:05PM MSP 4:47PM
Tue 04JUL06 NW 975 W MSP 8:47PM AUS 11:23PM

And on NW 975, we went back to AUS with some seats empty up front. I didn't complain, because I thought since I was travelling on a reward ticket, I wasn't eligible for EUA.

I've had every award flight on NW EUA'd this year so far (~5 segments). Nothing special, UG's clear at the normal window for Gold/Plat (as long as your OP# is in the res).

dan

I actually received an upgrade (at the gate, processed manually by the agent prior to departure) as a OP Silver flying on a CO reward with NW. It was a lightly-loaded D9S out of MEM, so I went up to the podium figuring it would be worth the shot. As it turned out, there were a handful of seats in F that were not accounted for, so I got the u/g.

While I don't believe the upgrade will process automatically for Silvers, you could get lucky at the gate if you go about it right.

You need to make sure your CO Elite number is in the NW side of the reservation.

CO often blocks your OnePass number from showing/displaying on reward tickets. It's a very primitive way of getting around the automation issues relating to upgrades, etc. Most airlines let your number and status show on reward tickets, but they program their other systems to treat the ticket differently. It appears CO does not allow the number to display, which prevents status and other legitimate benefits (e.g., Elite Access) to display on reward tix.

Every time I fly on a CO reward, my OP status and such does not show up. Meanwhile, DL and NW have no problem recognizing ST E+ status.

Anyhow, so when you book a NW award with CO miles, CO is doing someting to the frequent flyer number so that it doesn't stick correctly. As such, NW will not get your OnePass number. You have to manually give NW the OnePass number, either on the nwa.com site or by phone. Then, you'll be able to select Elite seating on NW, as well as qualify for EUA and ST E+ benefits.

Wow!
 

That is great news... I might not ever fly CO on an award ticket again.

I suspect this a bug in the SkyTeam system.

CO Insider: Don't read this thread!

No it's not. NW has it as a published benefit.

Hold on a second -- so if you're on a coach reward (on CO), and it blocks your OnePass status, then you don't get Elite Access, correct? That doesn't seem to make any sense.

For CO elites?!?

To get the Elite access you have to show your current OnePass card indicating your status.

Are you serious? That's really pathetic. I bet 75% of the people out there don't know where there cards are, considering you normally don't need it for anything.

Yes. Done it many times. Thanks for letting the cat out of the bag Channa.:rolleyes:

Tell me about it. Every other airline out there handles it properly -- they put your mileage number in there, let you fly around with your status and mileage no. on your boarding pass, but they just block whatever perks don't apply (e.g., mileage accrual, etc.).

This really throws a damper in the whole security line thing too -- try telling the line monitor there that you're really Elite, but it's just not showing Elite Access because of CO's non-standard programming techniques for Elites on award tickets. Might as well get in the back of the line.

Even NW and DL can handle CO Elites on reward tix better than CO can.