Comping and how to do it?
 

I,m a relative newcomer to this bulletinboard and have only just recently learned about the word comping. What does it mean fully and how does one do it?

I am currently Co gold elite, will any airlines comp this? Would BA/BMI ?

Welcome to Flyertalk!

You will find that airlines have differing policies regarding comping status. I have found that they typically will either (a) comp status so long as you can document your elite status on another airline, or (b) offer some form of accelerated "challenge" through which you can attain elite status by, for instance, flying 10,000 miles over a 90 day time span.

I would recommend you search the boards on Flyertalk for whatever carrier you have an interest in comping under the terms "comp" or "challenge".

That said, I also believe it is difficult to impossibile to be "comped" to a carrier's highest elite level (e.g. 1K, Chairman's Pref, etc.)

Good luck !


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Who is John Galt?
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Have a question before recommending what program to choose: where do you fly to and on what kind of fares?

thanks Terenz,

i am a leisure flyer and fly quite a lot throughout the world, i mainly use Ba and BMI. The fares are usually discounteed economy, occasionally business.

How does one actually "comp", who do you speak to, a manager within the FF programme, or can anyone within the ff dod it?

G-BOAA, check out the BA area, you will find that there is quite alot of info on BA and comping. As for BMI, once you are BA silver or Gold they probably will compy you to their similar level.

I just comped from United to BA without any trouble. I worked through the local sales office (SEA) and it was very easy. I simply faxed them proof of my UA status (Prem. Ex.) and gave them some idea of my near term travel plans and they comped me to BA gold. The only hitch in the process is that it takes time to get my new status in the system so I will not get the status bonus for my trip next week. The sales rep is preparing a letter of introduction for me though so that I can use the gold check-in and lounges.

Now I have learnt something. I honestly had only heard it used in terms of "comping" drinks in Economy (giving them free).

Funny that loads of the posters here already are regulars over at BA. (Scotty, I'll see you later!)

Thats amazing that the comped ba gold
I'm impressd. I guess the key is to
talk to the sales office. I tried a long time ago to get top status in british or virgin. I talked to the frequent flyer managers of both programs. They said one paid j class flight and then they would comp silver.

I happened to be co plat, ua 1k ,
and thinking about either aa ex plat or ba gold. If you guys happened to have a sales office name or number I would appreciate. By the way do you think ba gold or aa execplat is more valuable. In my company I could buy first class ,but I don't because whatever the cost of y I pocket the rest. 10,000 dollars minus 1,000 = 9,000 dollars in my pocket not a bad profit each time.
I don't mind coach but which program is more valuable for a y class passenger. AA : if you fly 100,000 you get 4 = 500 mile upgrades every 10,000 miles which you can exchange for 10,000 miles= 300,000 award miles . Esssentially 200% bonus: does ba have special perks besides 100% and 180 lounges. Any free
tickets or upgrades . I know a lot for a 24 year old but you guys have done this much longer than I.
Thanks

[qoute]In my company I could buy first class ,but I don't because whatever the cost of y I pocket the rest. 10,000 dollars minus 1,000 = 9,000 dollars in my pocket not a bad profit each time.
...
I know a lot for a 24 year old but you guys have done this much longer than I. [/quote]

Are you really 24, or 14? You sound more like 14 to me, if indeed you do pocket $9 000 every trip I sincerely hope that it chokes you when you try to spend it. It is theft at best, and fraud at worst.

You should be ashamed of yourself...

Why are you so sure to make that assumption? It sounds awfully strange to me too, but you seem to have come to a very definite conclusion. How are you sure that that's the case?

Hehe, this is the second thread (that I know of) where Arya Alliance has been accused of being a kid. The other is this one.

Arya, like it or not, one is judged by the way they write, much as one is judged by the way they talk.

I look awfully young for my age, and often get mistaken for someone half my age. I sometimes get carded by flight attendants when I order a stiff drink. But I don't mind, since it makes for some smiles, laughs, and fun conversation with the attendant.

I've found, though, that I never get carded when I open my mouth first and say a few things or start a conversation with the flight attendant before I order drink. The way one talks (or writes) is more indicative of age than even our looks.

Anyways... I have an on topic (*gasp*) question. When one gets comped by an airline, is the status good all the way into the next year? For example, if I get comped in May 2002, is the status good all the way to Feb 2004?

[This message has been edited by anthonyanthony (edited 10-27-2001).]

To answer the question. My company gives

me that option. How dare you accuse me of fraud. I don't insult you; by the way I guess being a managing partner gets some perks. That man being me ,so anyway ba gold vs. aa exec plat and why?

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Arya,

While not accusing you with fraud, I would have to say from your other post that if you are receiving $9 grand "dividends" from your tickets by "cashing" the difference you have opened yourself up to some severe tax complications, especially as you state that you work in Germany. Don't be surprised if the federal authrities in Germany whack you for as much as 60% of the $9k no matter where you live!!!!

Originally posted by arya alliance:
In my company I could buy first class ,but I don't because whatever the cost of y I pocket the rest. 10,000 dollars minus 1,000 = 9,000 dollars in my pocket not a bad profit each time ...
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Originally posted by yyz-den:
Are you really 24, or 14? You sound more like 14 to me, if indeed you do pocket $9000 every trip I sincerely hope that it chokes you when you try to spend it. It is theft at best, and fraud at worst.

You should be ashamed of yourself...[/B]
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With such a username, I can see how anything posted would incite, yet I'm afraid the above response was off-base.

I know someone who owns a very large, very profitable company that allows the same procedure that is noted above. Its the employee's call - take the first class ticket or fly economy and get the difference. My friend says that, like our blond-haired, blue-eyed buddy above, most employees choose to take the cash.

arya is just another word for people od india and persia. just like irish =
celtic or english = anglo saxon.
I expressed this sentiment on a previous post on continental . To the comment about taxes I am a born u.s. citizen who lives in america; just who works in germany.

I have a relative who works for a large, well known corporation. He told me that any flight over 6 hours long (basically outside USA) the company will pay for business class. May be for management(?) of the company. If the employee uses their FF program (ie systemwides or miles) to upgrade, the company will give the employee about $2000 for doing that. The company saves alot of money and passes some of the savings to the employee. I believe that the employee pays taxes on the $2000.

Arya,

I doubt you will ever get BA gold if you trade your J for an eco seat, reaching gold or maybe even earning a comp will need a lot of premium class flying. If you always trade your first and keep the cash how did you reach CO Plat/UA 1K?

As for comping, if you are euro based you can probably forget it, I only know of US members that get a comp. Another friendly little tip: stop presing the enter key in the middle of line, it's pretty annoying reading.

Co plat : comped to gold and earned
pattinum. 104,000 base 350,000 award
miles. Thank for all the bonus promotions. Ua 1k : got comped to prem ex , then did baht run for 1k.

Next I will get comped to aa plat
and earn exec plat by not ever flying american. For the record I sometimes do buy full fare coach to get upgraded to biz. class. What special perks does ba gold have, do you get a free award ticket like ac super elite at a crtain threshold. Free upgrades or antyhing ?

Tried to play the comp game with continental, no luck , was only Silver with Delta, Continental wouldn't match it to keep me. Guess they looked at my profile and realized I was flying to IAH so ther wasn't a chance I would go through SLC or Dallas to get to Houston so why give away the extra miles.

Reached Platinum anyway, lossing my Silver on Delta, but Delta's U/G policy doesn't compare to Continentals.

The F/C seats are worth more than the free flights.



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Dave Wilson

Comping elite status is pretty much always a one-time deal. If an airline comps status, it's because they believe it will remove a barrier to using them for a lot of travel. If you don't come through, don't expect them to do it again. In other words, don't ask for it just to prove you can get it, to collect a luggage tag, or if you want to board early for a flight or two.

As for pocketing the difference: a few years back a client sent me to Nice. (Wish it happened more often!) They were willing to pay for a business class ticket. I asked them up front if they'd pay the same if I bought an economy ticket, since I'd rather have the $$ than the more comfortable seat. They said "fine," so I did. I ended up upgrading one way with miles and got a 4-across center section to sleep on the other. The extra income was, of course, taxable, since I could only deduct what I actually paid for my ticket from what I billed them for the project.

This was all open and above board. I don't believe I did anything remotely unethical or illegal. I have no reason to believe A.A. did. Unless someone else does, I suggest we ease off.

In the case of BA comping my status, they know from my UA statement that I fly paid business class, and about how many times a year I fly. My immediate work group also has quite a few BA golds so this increases the chance that they will get a reasonable amount of revenue from my business.

I live in Seattle so for European travel one airline is not much better than another. I got sick of the old 767s that SAS uses on its non-stop to Copenhagen, so that leaves only a handful of choices. BA must realize that they're likely to get most if not all of my transatlantic flights.

I'm sure that it was not a difficult business decision for them, but it can't hurt that I'm already booked to fly them twice in the next few weeks.