Is MCI's 5k offer as good as it gets?
 

I have been enrolled in MCI's 25k program in the past and, after looking through the archived BB messages, it appears as if MCI no longer offers this program.

I am aware of the 5k offer for switching to MCI, but isn't there anything greater? Does anyone know of any phone numbers and/or codes that I could use to get more? I would be tempted by the Sprint deals. However, I'm trying to accumulate miles in my AAdvantage miles account.

The offer I got from MCI expired December 31, 2000, but in it they offered 10,000 AA miles. You got 5,000 when you switched and 1,000 per month for 5 months. The phone number to call was 1-800-338-0125.

Perhaps they have something going now.

I just switched to MCI for 10K AA miles a couple of days ago, for the same deal as rogodwin. There was no code, I just asked for the 10K after being offered 5K and they gave me the deal with no trouble. If you have to call it anything, one CS rep referred to the 10K as a "winback promotion."

Is this a 1000 miles per month for 10 months, or 2000 miles per month for 5 months, or in some other forms??

It's been no miles any month unless you really hound MCI.

I was told 5,000 in 30 days, 1,000 every 30 days after until you're at 10K.

Good luck getting the miles from MCI and trying to get through to a live human at their customer service voice mail vortex. Also you will be flabbergasted when you see the amount of taxes, fees, and surcharges on your phone bill. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/eek.gif

I agree with Okay2go. It took me 5 months to get my 10K from MCI and it was a big hassle. After I got it, I immediate switch to Sprint for their 20K program. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I found out about a deal with MCI and Sun Country Airlines where you switch to MCI and stay for 3 months and you get a free round trip ticket, I did it for myself and my girlfriend and we did get the vouchers and have a flight for Minneapolis to San Fran reserved for July. It did take a couple of follow up calls to get them moving but was well worth it. Total cost of about $45.00 in taxes and the rip off 'fuel surcharge'. Call MCI and ask about the deal. Good luck.

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I have to respectfully disagree with most of the above posts.

I have two lines and I am just ending a 10,000 miles/six months/line deal.

On one line I got 5,000 DL miles when I signed up and 1,000 miles/month after that.

On the other line, I got 5,000 US miles for signing up and the other 5,000 after six months.

I have mentioned in other posts that MCI is aggressive in getting back lost customers. As soon as you switch (such as when your bonus miles deal ends) MCI will call. I'd ask for the same thing you're getting from your new provider and I'd be surprised if MCI didn't match it.

As an aside, MCI's internal record keeping and documentation is notoriously bad when it comes to these offers. Having been scammed several times before ("We've never had such an offer, sir."), I now make it a practice to document all of my conversations with them (names, dates, specific promises, and promotion codes). If only I had one of those recorders on my phone too...

Is it possible to get any of their offers in writing? Or is that asking too much from a "communications" organization?

IMHO, 5,000 miles isn't worth the hassle and overcharges MCI will give you. The overcharges are constant and the hassle is when you try to get out of their program. I wouldn't switch for less than 50,000 miles.

Some observations/answers from my alltogether to extensive experience with MCI.

Davidlee--in writing is alltogether too much from this "communications" organization. They refused.

Moondog--yes keep detailed notes it will help you. I also dont think their recordkeeping system is that screwed up, they just like to keep stringing you along until you give up. I get this idea because a supervisor read back to me most of the info on my account--took about 5 mins. Also if you tell them you are recording they will not talk to you. My understanding is that the only way you can get a legally binding recording is if you notify them you are recording them. When I tried they told me either I would shut off the recorder or they would hang up (This of corse in spite of the fact that THEY are recording you)

To the original question. I am told that the maximum miles now is 10,000 not sure of the time frame. Also be VERY careful, the supervisor told me that the salespeople are paid on commission and that they can enter codes that are expired, etc. I am currently in a dispute w/ MCI because a CSR entered a code that he knew was expired and told me that I would recieve the miles. MCI to date has been telling me that now they will not honor that committment, despite what I would consider to be a legally binding verbal contract with their representative.

Anyway thats my MCI rant, hope you have better luck.

I signed up for a deal in Hemispheres magazine in May 2000, 1000 kiles to signup and 1000 miles plus 5 miles per dollar per month for 5 months. They are slow to post, up to ten weeks but I got all my miles. Emailed asking about any other deals and they offered me the same one. So I'm off again.

I feel your pain, Mile Dog, but I've found that the strong always win in the end when it comes to dealing with these people. The fact is, if an employee of their company makes an offer to which you agree, they are legally bound to that offer. I find that hammering them with this fact, in conjunction with threatening to have their company removed from my phone bill, usually does the trick. The downside to fighting with phone companies is, of course, that doing so sucks up an inordinate amount of time (up to two hours per offer) and energy. But, in the end, I still think the miles are worth the trouble.