abrutus

Im a UA Silver.
I did not signed up online on the copa website. What I did is I called Copa airlines and asked to be transfered to the copa connect members section.
Waiting time was less than 1 minute. I explained I wanted to sign up and that I was a UA silver member and would like to start as Copa silver if posible.
To make things short, the guy was very nice, He asked for Mileage plus number, then verified my status, then proceded to create a Copa account for me and asked me to verify it later on via e-mail.
I recieved a 3k miles bonus offer just to sign up and fill out some info on the copa website, and about the status request, he told me he put in my request in the system and that I would recieve a confirmation e-mail in no later than 2 weeks.
So in short, I called in, signed up, got the 3k promo and I am currently waiting for the confirmation e-mail to see if they will grant me Copa Silver status.
I will update you with once I get my results.

Milkman

I had pretty much same experience today as the post above. I just called them.

Woofdog123

had a different experience on calling back today to check status of my case. as background, i am ua gold and flew ~35k with copa last year. was told had to wait for the end of the 14-day review period on my case number to get an answer.

it is odd because I suspect my travel profile in 2014 was similar to or even slightly higher activity on copa than some others who are getting fast-tracked via phone. I do not believe copa has consistent policies on this.

this time, the issue was transferred to the connectmiles staff rather than handled by the elite line person.

I would add it seems a pretty straightforward yes or no on status but as it is I will be genuinely impressed if I have an answer by 14 days.

Kacee

These reports are just confirming my suspicion this program will be a cs nightmare.

No offer for this 1K despite a fair bit of past CM flying, mostly in paid J. And no incentive for me to change my current approach of UA to BOG and AV within Colombia. AV may not be the most cs oriented airline either, but their fumbling is at least somewhat endearing.

DarrenChannel

I used to have good experiences with Copa ... "used to" being the key words.

But now they won't even respond to my emails about ConnectMiles and a status match (this despite a favorable response from them in March about a status match from LAN).

Now, I've sent four emails over a two-week period, and haven't even gotten a lousy acknowledgement that they received anything from me. Nada. And whoever looks after their Twitter and FB accounts is no better. They couldn't do anything more than to blindly offer up a copy and paste message, "Please send your comments to [email protected] and we'll forward it to the appropriate department".

Not going to give my future business to an airline that won't even give me the courtesy of a response, or even a mere acknowledgement of my request. I'll stick with LAN.

flymexico2010

I already received twice the email to enroll in the program.
It seems that it is not working neither in chrome nor im IE.

Anybody else having this problem?

thanks

Woofdog123

my 14 days are up today; do not have my case number with me so wont be able to call until monday. needless to say, no email from them yet. frustrating as I have 3 rt's with them just in next 2 months, and option to book another.

I will post back when I get an email from them or call in with case number and ask for resolution. I am hoping the endgame here isn't, as suggested, panama-style bureaucratism.

DarrenChannel

I have two trips already booked with Copa, luckily not for travel until August.

But as I pulled up my reservations, to change my MileagePlus number to my new ConnectMiles number, I discovered it's not even an option in the menu! Really? How can they overlook their own program in the list that includes every other Star member, plus Aeromexico and AF/KLM?

Guess I have to call to get this changed.

abrutus

Just to give you all an update.
After I requested a Status match to my UA silver status, i was told to wait 14 days for a confirmation e-mail.
14 days came and no confirmation e-mail was sent.
I have a flight with copa on the 2nd of july, so I called them and asked them if they can please expedite the process as I have some upcoming flights with them and would like to start my experience with the same level I have with mileage plus (as silver).
I was transfered only once and put on hold for about a minute, while the guy who was helping me spoke I believe to his supervisor. After the short wait I was told I would recieve a confirmation e-mail that afternoon.
I NEVER RECIEVED AN E-MAIL; that afternoon, however I did check my status that evening and it had been updated to Silver status !!..
I see everybody complaining about Customer service at copa. My experience in the last month is been that if you call them up, they are more than willing to help you, and wait times have been very low.
however any type of communication via e-mail is right now will probably be slower than normal as their transition to this new FF program is really affecting a lot of things, even in their website!!
So if you are really in a hurry, just call up, dont e-mail.
Btw, given that I will be silver on day 2 of the program, and seeing how complicated it was to get it, im assuming I will not have much competition at the Gate for the upgrades on my next 4 intl trips with copa! ... I`ll let you know how the upgrades experiences go.

rrohio

I just got off the phone with Copa. I called their Us number and hit option 4 to be connected to Connect Miles. Agent was very good and I asked if I could get a Status Match as I am prem Plat on United and Plat on AA. All he needed was my Mileplus # and put me on hold for less than a minute to check on the Match which he said was approved. He asked to verify address name etc. and I already have the emails showing my Platinum status on Copa. Just have to complete a couple more Items to get the 3000 mile bonus.
It was less than 7 minutes total call and he spoke good English.
I am very pleased it was so easy to do

keitherson

They said they would "review the database" and email me back with updated information in 24 hours.. definitely not immediate here. I'm 1K. I'm kicking myself for not doing this in person at PTY or in Panama City when I was there last week!

Woofdog123

the ending to my story is similar to above - no response in 14-day period. called up, took me about 20 min (inc. their local panama system dc'ing me while on hold once) to get a number assigned, and status was matched (most was earned on copa anyway) by overnight. Overall a much simpler resolution than I feared.

To be seen going forward in the program - how many reward seats are actually made available. pricing in miles is certainly more attractive than united's, if the seats are there.

I hope copa co-brands a US-issued credit card.

Kacee

Pricing on CM is slightly lower on some routes.

Partner pricing is identical to UA.

If you want to fly UA, you'll have to pay considerably more than you would using UA miles, since they price as a *A partner.

Hardly any dramatic differences.

CM had a chance to make this an attractive program by offering *A partner flights at reasonable rates. They completely missed the boat there.

Woofdog123

all true, was only thinking of cm flghts when I wrote that. of course, they likely pay a fixed rate? for star alliance flights?

as far as earning miles, for short-route flyers, you may not earn more on cm than you would wiht a UA flight given the pricing on some short routes, (thinking some of CM's very high fares on pty-mia vs. any and all competitors) but for longer-haul (say 2500+ miles one-way) I think CM begins to offer a significant advantage. My normal CM flight is 6000 base miles RT, and at this point (gold) I never get more than 3k with UA, often only 2k, so a 6-7k mile diff. in effect triples or quadruples the rate of earning rewards on CM flights. for a 1k member the difference is an even higher multiple.

the big question, at least from my point of view, is whether normal pricing on CM will continue to be so much higher than competing routes that it offsets most or all of presumed value of additional miles earned.

Milkman

After waiting 16 days in vain, I just called them and spoke to a guy who opened the account for me and gave me instant access as Platinum perfer member, to match my UA status.
I received the confirmation email with my new CM number, but the link to verify my account is not working in IE. Next hurdle!