Defecting from FD?
Nov 1, 2001 | 10:56 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Scotland, UK
Posts: 158
Defecting from FD?
Anyone else unhappy enough to abandon KLM?
I find KLM flights to be relatively very expensive these days, and the limitations of the FD program (no elite bonuses, no upgrades, limited alliances etc. discussed elsewhere) have now led me to decide to "defect" to American Airlines; starting a Platinum Challenge next month. This was obviously not an easy decision to make, but I feel I have little choice...
I'd be happy to come back to KLM if they improve their FD program, and ensure their prices are competitive. Any thoughts?
Incidentally, if anyone's interested, United Airlines will comp any Royalwing member to Premier Executive in their Mileage Plus program...
I find KLM flights to be relatively very expensive these days, and the limitations of the FD program (no elite bonuses, no upgrades, limited alliances etc. discussed elsewhere) have now led me to decide to "defect" to American Airlines; starting a Platinum Challenge next month. This was obviously not an easy decision to make, but I feel I have little choice...
I'd be happy to come back to KLM if they improve their FD program, and ensure their prices are competitive. Any thoughts?
Incidentally, if anyone's interested, United Airlines will comp any Royalwing member to Premier Executive in their Mileage Plus program...
Nov 2, 2001 | 12:24 am
#2
Join Date: May 2001
Location: New Brunswick, NJ, USA
Posts: 40
I defected from KLM to UA, where I am PremEx at this time. It was a difficult but necessary decision.
The most obvious advantage of KLM (and other European carriers) is that they frequently offer double FD points/miles, typically during January and February. In 2001 KLM extended their offer until June. No matter what status you have with KLM, you earn a lot of points during these limited periods. In addition, they sometimes offer promotions where (assuming that your IQ is at least a two-digit positive number) you easily earn 70000 points. A typical 3000 point question was "The swan is the symbol animal of KLM. What is the symbol animal of KLM?". Maybe I am simplifying things here a bit, but they want to infiltrate your brain by studying one of their broschures for five minutes, and after that you are easily able to answer a number of questions worth 36000 points. I am not kidding, I received (upps) 33000 points this way, ****. That corresponds (almost) to a free JFK-AMS-JFK roundtrip!!! In addition, they had an internet game, where you had to answer another set of 12 questions, each correct anwer worth 3000 points. Each questionairre contained a link to a webpage with the right answer, and, of course, you could switch to that page before submitting your final answer. This promotion gave me another 36000 points, yeah.
If you are a low volume FF (say you fly up to 20 or 30 kMiles a year, three or four roundtrips EU-US), then the FD program is quite nice. During the double point periods you might be able to establish silverwing or royalwing status and to earn free flights. However, if your flight volume goes up (say you fly 50 kMiles a year and beyond), you can easily establish high status with your US based carrier (i.e. PremEx on UA, etc.), which means you receive double miles whenever you fly, not just in those limited promotion periods.
One other aspect which influenced my decision, with the FD program you easily earn free single leg flights. For instance, you can receive a free JFK to AMS roundtrip for 35k points. However, if you need to go from PHL to DUS, you have to spend a serious amount of additional points for your intra-US and intra-EU legs.
One nice aspect of the FD program which I am missing in the US carrier programs is the possibility to receive free oneway tickets.
Scotsflyer, do you have a link about the UA comp initiative for royalwing FD members?
Regards
Chris
[This message has been edited by parallelrechner (edited 11-02-2001).]
The most obvious advantage of KLM (and other European carriers) is that they frequently offer double FD points/miles, typically during January and February. In 2001 KLM extended their offer until June. No matter what status you have with KLM, you earn a lot of points during these limited periods. In addition, they sometimes offer promotions where (assuming that your IQ is at least a two-digit positive number) you easily earn 70000 points. A typical 3000 point question was "The swan is the symbol animal of KLM. What is the symbol animal of KLM?". Maybe I am simplifying things here a bit, but they want to infiltrate your brain by studying one of their broschures for five minutes, and after that you are easily able to answer a number of questions worth 36000 points. I am not kidding, I received (upps) 33000 points this way, ****. That corresponds (almost) to a free JFK-AMS-JFK roundtrip!!! In addition, they had an internet game, where you had to answer another set of 12 questions, each correct anwer worth 3000 points. Each questionairre contained a link to a webpage with the right answer, and, of course, you could switch to that page before submitting your final answer. This promotion gave me another 36000 points, yeah.
If you are a low volume FF (say you fly up to 20 or 30 kMiles a year, three or four roundtrips EU-US), then the FD program is quite nice. During the double point periods you might be able to establish silverwing or royalwing status and to earn free flights. However, if your flight volume goes up (say you fly 50 kMiles a year and beyond), you can easily establish high status with your US based carrier (i.e. PremEx on UA, etc.), which means you receive double miles whenever you fly, not just in those limited promotion periods.
One other aspect which influenced my decision, with the FD program you easily earn free single leg flights. For instance, you can receive a free JFK to AMS roundtrip for 35k points. However, if you need to go from PHL to DUS, you have to spend a serious amount of additional points for your intra-US and intra-EU legs.
One nice aspect of the FD program which I am missing in the US carrier programs is the possibility to receive free oneway tickets.
Scotsflyer, do you have a link about the UA comp initiative for royalwing FD members?
Regards
Chris
[This message has been edited by parallelrechner (edited 11-02-2001).]
Nov 2, 2001 | 4:10 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Wesseling, NRW, Germany
Programs: LH SEN, UA *S , MR LT Titanium, HH Diamond, Hertz PC
Posts: 4,059
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
Each questionaire contained a link to a webpage with the right answer, and, of course, you could switch to that page before submitting your final answer. This promotion gave me another 36000 points, yeah.
</font>
Each questionaire contained a link to a webpage with the right answer, and, of course, you could switch to that page before submitting your final answer. This promotion gave me another 36000 points, yeah.
</font>
Greetings - Dirk
[This message has been edited by djohannw (edited 11-02-2001).]
Nov 2, 2001 | 4:59 pm
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Scotland, UK
Posts: 158
Parallelrechner,
the comp PremEx is not a documented feature of the MP program, but if you call UA Customer Service and simply ask them to match your KLM status, their computer system will offer PremEx for Royalwing or Premier for Silverwing. Or skip that stage and write to (for non-US residents):
Mileage Plus International Service Centre
PO Box 28872
Tucson
Arizona 85726-8872
Enclose a recent statement showing your Royalwing/Silverwing status and requesting match to relevant tier. Voila!
the comp PremEx is not a documented feature of the MP program, but if you call UA Customer Service and simply ask them to match your KLM status, their computer system will offer PremEx for Royalwing or Premier for Silverwing. Or skip that stage and write to (for non-US residents):
Mileage Plus International Service Centre
PO Box 28872
Tucson
Arizona 85726-8872
Enclose a recent statement showing your Royalwing/Silverwing status and requesting match to relevant tier. Voila!
Nov 4, 2001 | 5:20 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London and Zurich
Programs: AA, BA, Mucci: Sir Roger des Directions Routires, PCR
Posts: 13,609
I agree, Scotsflyer.
The FD programme is uncompetitive. There are said to be improvements afoot, but I've seen no sign of them. The promotions mentioned above may have helped some, but were not available to us in the UK.
The rot set in when KL gave up virtually all of their routes ex STN, so it was KL who decided that I would not be using KL much in future!
Add to this the difficulties KL have in ensuring that baggage travels with passengers and much inconvenience when KL failed to keep connections in AMS or simply cancelled connecting flights. It's not difficult to see why I now avoid KL.
Sad ...
The FD programme is uncompetitive. There are said to be improvements afoot, but I've seen no sign of them. The promotions mentioned above may have helped some, but were not available to us in the UK.
The rot set in when KL gave up virtually all of their routes ex STN, so it was KL who decided that I would not be using KL much in future!
Add to this the difficulties KL have in ensuring that baggage travels with passengers and much inconvenience when KL failed to keep connections in AMS or simply cancelled connecting flights. It's not difficult to see why I now avoid KL.
Sad ...
Nov 6, 2001 | 11:26 am
#8
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: London, UK
Programs: KLM Platinum, BA Gold, ex-HHonors Diamond, Starwood SPG Gold (ex-Platinum), StarChoice
Posts: 419
Great news, Scotsflyer. Do you have any info on the duration of the comp status - will they keep comping as long as you remain KL RoyalWing or is it a one-time comp? A *Alliance Gold card can always come in handy, and the fact that US airlines actually offer bonus miles and upgrades for their elites (hello, KLM??) is a plus when heading to the states...
Nov 6, 2001 | 6:35 pm
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Scotland, UK
Posts: 158
Andersja,
It's a once only offer, but still a good deal if you're considering "defecting" from KLM. After 1st year you have to requalify along with everyone else. Remember this is undocumented, but it is official policy to match status with most major airlines including KLM/NW.
As stated b4, just call UA customer service and ask them to match your status...
It's a once only offer, but still a good deal if you're considering "defecting" from KLM. After 1st year you have to requalify along with everyone else. Remember this is undocumented, but it is official policy to match status with most major airlines including KLM/NW.
As stated b4, just call UA customer service and ask them to match your status...
Nov 7, 2001 | 11:23 am
#10
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: London, UK
Programs: KLM Platinum, BA Gold, ex-HHonors Diamond, Starwood SPG Gold (ex-Platinum), StarChoice
Posts: 419
I'm surprised how open they are about the whole comping process (from email from customer service):
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">
Please forward your name, address, account number, e-mail address, and a copy of your
most recent summary from KLM, to be considered for our Premier Status Match program. You may send those details to the Premier Status Match desk by fax at (520)881-2889 or you may write to:
Mileage Plus
Attn: Premier Status Match
P.O. Box 28872
Tucson, AZ 85726-8872
</font>
Please forward your name, address, account number, e-mail address, and a copy of your
most recent summary from KLM, to be considered for our Premier Status Match program. You may send those details to the Premier Status Match desk by fax at (520)881-2889 or you may write to:
Mileage Plus
Attn: Premier Status Match
P.O. Box 28872
Tucson, AZ 85726-8872
</font>