econprof

Have the rules for mileage credit for paid upgrades recently changed? I've upgraded a few flights from Economy to Premium Economy recently. On my last flight (23 October) I only got E class credit rather than credit for N. Since this is my requalification year, this is a big deal.

econprof

I should mention that in the past when I'd done a paid upgrade to PE (many times), I've gotten 100% mileage credit.

htb

I think it has changed in that you can no longer predict the booking class you'll be booked into.
In your case, E mileage is higher than N mileage, so I wouldn't complain.
HTB.

econprof

Well, I was only credited with 25% of the actual miles, even though my statement on lh.com says the booking class was E. On miles-and-more.com it says the booking class was K. Post-upgrade, my reservation said booking class was N. Something is really screwed up at LH.

Nic33

You may wish to have a look at this thread.

"Business Class Upgrade" (Cash Upgrade for 90-160 EUR) on regional European flights

It now seems that upgrades can yield less (status) miles than the originally booked class. I recently purchased a cash upgrade from Y, and was booked into P, which yield less status miles.

econprof

I'm pretty sure I booked into K and upgraded into N. My experience in the past is that I'd get mileage credit for N if I paid for the PE upgrade. So it seems there's a policy change at LH.

Nic33

Yes, you should get N status miles, except if it was a same day upgrade.

econprof

Just spoke to the US SEN line. They said I could send in my receipt to the Miles and More team if I thought I "deserved" 100% credit and then it would be up to their discretion whether the miles would be credited. But because the original booking class was K, they claim I shouldn't get full mileage credit.

This is one screwed-up business model they have, if true.

Nic33

The LH website sets forth:

quote

You will be credited with status miles when you upgrade to Business Class. Please note that award miles cannot be awarded for your upgrade.

Unquote

https://www.lufthansa.com/de/en/upgr...-economy-class

This wording applies for upgrades to C and to PE, so there is obviously a typo in the PE upgrade section which should set forth" You will be credited with status miles when you upgrade to Premium Economy Class".

I understand this paragraph to mean that the upgradee is awarded (1) status miles of the new booking class, but (2) no additional award miles.

To my view, the information delivered by the SEN line was wrong, except if you did a same day upgrade (gate, check-in, plane)

econprof

I'll make this point to them.

econprof

So I've made the point to them three times on the phone now, to no avail. I also upgraded the inbound portion of my flight and got full mileage credit for it. I was told today that that was an "over credit" -- even though this is the way paid upgrades have always credited for me. The only difference between the outbound and inbound flights is that I asked for retroactive credit for the outbound portion (since it was taking forever), and that seems to have caused the accrual to be by what LH perceives are the rules -- that paid PE upgrades do not get PE miles, either award or status.

The wording on LH.com therefore does *not* seem to be a typo -- officially only upgrades to bus. class will be credited with status miles. Officially, no additional award miles are credited above those that accrued for the original booking class.

So word to the wise here -- do not apply for retroactive credit on a paid upgrade into PE. Wait for the miles to credit normally.

The chaos at LH with these IT things is really starting to grate on me. I'm just on the margin of renewing SEN this year, and every mile counts, even with a 10K LX mileage run between DUS and MXP. It just shouldn't be this hard for LH to a) make the rules crystal clear, and b) have their damn software give the right answer.

Nic33

It does not make any sense that upgrades into C are credited with C status miles and that upgrades into PE does not result in any upgrade with respect to status miles. It is simply not logical.

cas_de

Highly illogical Captain, but unfortunately it seems to be the reality. I am chasing M&M for retrocredits & adjustments for more than 6 months, including two paid upgrades H -> Z for €100 each, where I did only get credit for H. The call center insists that you don't get more status miles, contrary to the website and what others have posted above. This is so frustrating... I am within reach to re-qualify SEN this year and I hate to have to build in extra buffer just because the ...... M&M / LH IT screws up all the time.

econprof

Agreed. It also is illogical that when you pay for an upgrade, you also don't get an upgraded baggage allowance.

Some of us are restricted to book in economy when someone is reimbursing the tickets (universities and public institutions in Germany or public universities in the US, for example). It seems harsh and unnecessary to penalize those of us who want to upgrade (with our own funds) to PE.

LH has sent a pretty clear signal that it doesn't really care about loyalty among its economy class flyers. I've managed to keep SEN for 10 years (hopefully 12) flying nearly 100% in economy, but these kinds of changes really make me wonder....

econprof

I'm in the same boat. Projected to be about 500 miles over 100K by 23 December *if* I get proper credit. If not, I'll have to make a mileage run. But the crediting rules are so complicated these days (esp. because I'd be doing any mileage run on UA after Christmas) that it's hard to know exactly what to book.