weird posting of Goldpoints
 

I withdrew 8 million GPs to AA to get platinum for life and the posting to AA is screwed up. I only opened the AA account about 3 months ago and I got 12,500+500 bonus miles everyday since I opened my account (i.e. only about 750k miles posted). Weird huh? Anyone else withdraw a large amount of points? Seems GP has a 13k max per day for miles withdrawl... I hope GP fixes this otherwise I'm screwed out of 1.25million miles...

How are you screwed out of 1.25 million miles? It sounds like it may take a while at the rate it's going. But why shouldn't you get them all? Personally, I've never heard of the limit you mention. But I'll be doing the same thing as you and am interested as to whether or not there are any limits, daily or otherwise.

Can I ask what types of things you purchased in order to acquire 8mil GPs?

Good job, BTW. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

-- Brian

If you ever withdrawed points to AA you should see it's 12.5k+.5k spread out amongst some days. Seems radisson has a limit or something with the airlines. I'm guess they have a hotel stay for like 12.5k max per night so that's what they're doing... Got the points through various online deals as described here previously but I had a high credit limit http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif I guess the wife can't complain when we're sitting on the beach in Hawaii...

Sounds like just under $20,000 worth of magazines!

The same is happening to me. GP CSR told me that it's a problem at AA. An AA CSR asked that I wait a week. Ok... I'll update in a week...

canadaflyer:

When did you initiate the transfer to AA?

Just curious, as I'd like to know if there has been any marked improvement, given the plethora of GPs (via Valuemags) to AA. Or whether your situation may be expected for recent transfers, end of Dec.

With Neal, I concur. I think you'll get your points as entitled. But it looks like it will takes some work, unfortunately. Probably will be the same for me, too. Best of luck. Sometimes I wish that these points/mileage programs would start treating miles more like banks treat money (however, the analogy is a bit weak).

JL2

Same thing here. Redeemed 250K GoldPoints to AA towards the end of last year. Should get 64,500 miles, but am missing 25,000 (two 12,500 postings). Miles posted each day thru 12/30, but nothing since then. I understand that AA typically freezes accounts the first two weeks of the year. Wondering if anyone else has seen AA postings since 1/1?

You're probably right about the "frozen" AA accounts. Diners usually takes a couple days to switch and mine haven't posted after nine days.

Actually I noticed the same thing happens on United and they don't post past the date you requested them. Nor do they post past the 1st of the month. For example, I requested 300k miles on the Dec 19 and I got 12.5k+.5k everyday from Dec 1->Dec 19 and not after that. Weird... I requested 25k on Dec 10 and got 12.5k+.5k on Dec 9 and Dec 10 but the Dec 19 doesn't overwrite Dec 9 and Dec 10 (i.e. I got a total of 12.5k+.5k on Dec 9 and Dec 10 not 25k+1k if it weren't a limit of one per day).

Don't worry!!!

Samething happened to my NW account. They apparently post it in 12,500 and 500 mile increments. I am missing 25,000... similar to what others have.

I called Goldpoints, they are not sure what happened. They suggested waiting for 30 days, then check with the airlines. Then you will have to fax in the frequent flyer statement to GP so they will recredit it then.

That's almost $30,000 Canadian... CanadaFlyer. It is almost one year salary of many people before tax.... so it's equal to 2 years of earning. All on magazines, wow, that must be a Guiness record.

This is identical to my case, same points xferred, etc. Glad to see there's a pattern which will make it easier to resolve by all parties involved.

I believe Radisson/Goldpoints does the automatic conversion to air miles in chunks of 50,000 Goldpoints (12,500 miles). The following appears on the Radisson website at:

http://www.radisson.com/RAD/Gold_Rew...?P0=&P1=redeem

"Exclusive Radisson Airline Partner Rewards
Only a Radisson Gold Rewards member is entitled to redeem Gold Points to airline miles at a 4:1 ratio. Redemptions are available at 2,000; 6,000; 10,000; 20,000; and 50,000 Gold Point increments. PARTICIPATING AIRLINE MILES PARTNERS: Air Canada, American, America West, Asiana, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Continental, Delta, EL AL, Gulf Air, Icelandair, Latin Pass, Mexicana, Midwest Express, Northwest, Qualiflyer, TWA, United, US Airways"

Also, in a response to an e-mail inquiry about my account, Goldpoints said that "points are converted on a weekly basis."

However, it sounds like they actually CONVERT 50,000 points per day, and POST them (i.e., up to 350,000 points or 87,500 miles plus bonuses) once a week.

Kathy

My two missing sets of 12,500 miles posted late today! Yay...

I'd just be happy to get my Gold Points! I ordered on the 22nd of Decmeber, and they still haven't posted!!

Phoenixitc: I was wondering when did your first initial points post to AA and when did it get corrected? Finally, did you have to do anything to get this corrected or did it happen by itself? Thanks.

Some of you guys need to chill. GP says on their site very cleary posting can take upwards of 30 days. Don't panic. If you needed them in less time than 30 days and 2 weeks for crediting to your airline you shouldn't have done the deal. I have had transactions from the 17th post a week before one from the 12th (for the same merchant), crazy, but they do seem to catch the old ones sometimes. Otherwise wait until it is 30 days and then email them the info to get the points.

Canadaflyer, I wouldn't panic about your transfer, radisson seems to have a maximum of 12.5 +.5 per day, so you will probably see them continue to post in that way over the next month. AA does their statement cycle over the last day or two and first day or two of each month, I guess that year end may take a couple more days... same could be true with Radisson, so there may be a couple days there without any points. Hopefully they keep posting and you have them all by the end of January. Think of it as extending all those miles a couple more days under that 3 year expiring scheme. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif
Of course you do have to watch, all my AA transfers went fine but my NW one did post wrong, i.e. they shorted me 1,000 miles somehow.

Well I'm not panicking YET. I'm just very curious when this happens. I had a summary recently from Jan-Jan 12 and it shows no new transactions since Dec 31. Not sure what's up with that if they post every day. How long does it take to get your NW points? Air Canada seemed fast the first time but the second time seemed much slower. United was reasonably fast but not as good as AA.

Quick question:

I see you can redeem the miles on United. But Canadaflyer mentioned something about permanent elite status on AA - is there anyone to achieve permanent 1k or equiv. status on United with miles? Permanent RCC membership or the like?

AA is the only airline that counts ALL miles earned toward liftetime Gold or Platinum. UA and the others count only miles actually flown.

My transferred points came in thru two postings: The second two 12.5k sets (12.5k, 12.5k, + .5 & .5)came in a week after the first 12.5k sets (12.5k, 12.5k, + 5k) I didn't have to do anything, just waited. I had GP transfer 224k points on 12/30. The first of two postings occurred on or about 1/4, the second on 1/11.
The dates of posting for each set seems to be back-dated, ranging from 12/25 thru 12/31.

Hope this helps...

Despite all assurances, I am making NO progress with Goldpoints/ Valuemags. My points have posted-- but all at 150 per $ as opposed to the 450 promised. I have just completed the process of disputing all the valuemags charges on my Amex. IMHO, this is the only way to protect oneself for disputes that extend beyond the 30-day cancellation period.

I would encourage others in the same situation to do the same.

I'm having the same problem as you. While my order of Dec 24 posted at 150 pts/$, Goldpoints quickly adjusted them to 450 pts/$ the day after I called their cust svc on Dec 26. But I made one final order from ValueMags on December 31. At the time, I was assured by GoldPoints that any order up to December 31 would also get 450 pts/$.

Now when I call I am getting a different story. Goldpoints is now saying that the promotion officially ended on Dec 26, and any order placed on Dec 27 or later will NOT get 450 pts/$, not even after a 30 day waiting period.

When a GP rep told me this, I mentioned that several days before, at least one GP rep had assured me that orders placed up to Dec 31 would get 450 pts/$. After putting me on hold to talk to a supervisor, the rep came back and said they would make an exception for me and made a promise to credit my account with the remaining 300 pts/$, but only after 30 days.

So now I have to decide if I want to take that chance, because if the points don't show up I have little recourse, as the ValueMags 30 day money back guarantee will have ended.

So thanks JonNYC for the advice, I think I will begin a dispute (I too charged the magazine to my Starwood Amex) so that I can have some recourse when the 30 day "waiting period" ends and the points don't show up. But will AMEX really refund the purchase? Others here have said that since we will be receive the magazines we purchased, there's no justification for a refund.

Well, ValueMags instantly offered to refund my orders as soon as I told them I had placed the order in dispute with Amex (see message from them below.) I think they (or GoldPoints) would love to "get out" as it were.

SO, the choice may be between a complete refund (and piece of mind) now-- or waiting and hoping and praying for the proper adjustment later.

If I were you, I think I'd be tempted to ask valuemags for a refund of any post 12/26 orders since you really will be relying on their good-will at that point and I don't think Amex can/will help you for those orders, IMHO.

Here's what ValueMags sent in reply to my e-mail:

The words are good...but-- I dunno. I want the miles & mags-- given a choice-- but this whole situation feels like a game of chicken and beat-the-clock.

I think those of you already disputing the charges are really jumping the gun!! The valumag quote in the last post confirms this. I have been reading every post on every message thread concerning the valumag "450" promotion. I still have not seen anything to make me start worrying about my orders, all of which were placed prior to 12/26/01.

I understand that some of you are getting the points posted incorrectly. But this happens all the time, not necessarily with Goldpoints but with all the airline and hotel programs in general. It's just a matter of getting everything straightened out. Furthermore, Amex and every other card issuer wants the customer to try working things out with the merchant first. You only dispute charges as an absolute last resort!

There's something else I cannot understand about disputing the charges right now. You have something like 60 or 90 days to dispute charges on a purchase. Why not wait the 30 days to see if your points post? If after the 30 days things look really bleak and Goldpoints tell you to take a hike, THEN dispute the charges.

I bought over $7,500.00 worth of magazines and not a single point has yet to post. Yes, I'm a little anxious and would feel better if every last point had posted. But they said allow 30 days. Some program points post much sooner than expected and some take much longer. Seeing as how Goldpoints is "snowed under" due to the incredible success of the promotion, I wouldn't be surprised if it took longer. Of course, after 30 days I would definitely call and start to make some noise. But until then, I believe the prudent thing to do is sit back, take a few drinks or Xanax if necessary and sit tight.

Well, everyone has their own approach, I suppose.

I do find it quite frustrating that whilst many here are dealing with the logistics of transferring their GoldPoints into their FF accounts-- some (like myself) haven't even had the GoldPoints post to begin with-- or even worse, have some of them post @ 125 points per $.

I admire your serenity though-- 'specially with that much $$ on the line.

Let me ask you an important question in regard to the above quote. You say you have made no progress with Goldpoints. But what was the gist of the conversation/email correspondance? Did they say something like "We're working on it and hope to get the rest of the points to you soon" or was it more like "you're only getting 150 points per dollar and that's that." Also, are your problems just with purchases AFTER 12/26 (when the promo supposedly ended) or with purchases made prior to that as well?

It also sounds like valumag will go to bat for you in making sure you get the proper amount of points. Have you given them the opportunity to even try?

[This message has been edited by Neal (edited 01-14-2002).]

I posted the most recent correspondence with ValueMags in my post above. All my purchases were prior to 12/26. Their words are very reassuring, their actions to date aren't. I've exchanged numerous e-mails with ValueMags (GoldPoints, on the other hand, has ignored my e-mails.) My point balance has reflected a 150 points per $ for several weeks now-- and some orders are yet to post at all.

Perhaps I value my time differently than you do your's? Maybe you and I have very different occupations? I personally did not anticipate this level of "participation" when I took advantage of this promotion. I thought it would be a quick-and-easy cash for miles opportunity. For my purposes, the amount of time/mental energy that has been required has reached the break-even point, if you catch my drift.

SO, I made a recommendation here and I herewith withdraw it. I'll handle it my way, and I wish you good luck in handling your situation your way.

Has anyone withdrawn points to NW? How long did it take to show up in your account? Withdrawing to United took ~2 weeks. AA is same day (Thursday).

Canadaflyer, I believe that Goldpoints batches all airline mile transfers and dumps them to the airlines every Thursday. So if you request it on a thursday morning, it will go to your airline that night, and may post as soon as the next morning (but more likely within a few days). My NW transfer that posted wrong posted within 4 days of the relevant Thursday(I admit I didnt check everyday, it could have been there in 1). So if you request on Friday, your batch won't go out until the following Thursday, thus it could take 8-12 days before posting, regardless of airline (this is as I understand it and have observed).

I think AA may still be doing year end cleanup as I have several since the 1st that haven't posted to AA.

Re the triple points, I emailed Goldpoints last Wednesday to get my points tripled on a couple orders, I did not get a reply email (don't think I asked for one) but the additional points posted today, so I would say they are working on about 4-5 day turnaround. I did go thru the "contact us" area of their site, I didn't email to a specific address (which if wrong might delay the process).

Please Do not put things in dispute with your credit card companies yet!!!!!!!! This creates a chargeback situation which the merchants (valuemags) gets charged a fee for. There is no need to do this yet, at least wait until day 29, at which time decide abort or continue, if you abort just tell valuemags to cancel, don't dispute it, this causes valuemags to lose money (more than just your order amount) due to the fees charged the merchants for disputes. If Valuemags gets whammed with all these disputes (when your real dispute is with goldpoints, not VM anyway!) for sure there will never again be such a promotion as VM won't be able to stay in business.

I believe GP will make good on the triple points, but you do have to give them time to get it all straightened out.

I have to agree with the comments about waiting a bit longer. To me it appears that GP is taking care of things slowly but surely.

I received an email response to one of my complaints regarding incorrect credit for a valuemags order (150 v 450). It stated that the discrepency had been confirmed and that I was to received the difference. The GP points appeared the next day. That resolved one problem. The other is an order that has had no points posted but my credit card has been charged. I am going to wait the 30-day period for this plus missing points for Hickory Farms and Gift Certificate orders.

With regards to batching and AA... I requested a transfer for my wife's account of 20K GP to AA on January 4th. GP did the batch transfer on January 6th, the 5K points posted to my wife's AA account last night, Jan. 15.

In total, I'm still waiting for 225K GP points. That's a whole lotta AA points so I'm going to wait.

For additional info...

I emailed and faxed GP during on or about 12/30 and again on 1/2 regarding the missing or incorrectly posted points. FYI...

Data points:

I purchased ~$300 worth of magazines on 12/24, ~$120 worth of food from Hickory Farms a few days later. In both cases, I'd made the buy just before the triple miles offers were withdrawn, only the base points (no bonuses) were posted, and I contacted GP customer service.

On Friday (1/11), the triple miles bonuses for both purchases got posted.

One more instance where it appears that GP is getting to things slowly but eventually.

In general, we like to think of things as being black or white: a program is good or bad, a person is a hero or an evildoer, a bit is either 0 or 1. In practice, though, the choice is not always binary. GP gets bad marks for not anticipating the reactions to their offer and for withdrawing the offer with no notice. But GP gets good marks for wading through the problems and (apparently) doing the right thing in the fullness of time. I'd give particularly good marks to the GP customer support people, who have been extremely courteous on each occasion that I've dealt with them.

my first miles finally posted at AA. it was a hickory farms order that actually appeared on Goldpoints the day after i placed it (unlike my 2 valuemags and 1 hallmark orders.) anyway, i redeemed 14,000 points about 2 weeks ago and they just posted in my AA account today. they posted as 500, 500, and 500 under miles and 2,500 under bonus. i can't complain...i got 4,000 miles when i should have gotten 3,500. now if only my other orders would appear.

i have yet to receive my GPs from a purchase made on the 12/19. thus, the 30 day deadline is coming up quickly. i received a very prompt reply from shari at valuemags and she told me that it should be resolved in 5 business days (from today). five business days puts me past the 30-day deadline and i can then phone GP for a direct credit.

i have not, nor will i dispute my charges against my credit card unless i do not get my points after 35-40 days pass. that is reasonable amount of time. before that, i would hope that any credit card company would refuse a dispute. valuemags has been very considerate in all this.

oh, and i value my time very highly too.

Didn't you already get a bunch of points at 450 per dollar before they started with the 30 day hold? Glad to see you're not disputing anything for now. I really believe it's counter productive (at this point in time) and unnecessary.

Note also that the deadline is 30 business days. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/frown.gif

yeah i did..but i placed a second order too...ah well...i just want it resolved before i move to sydney and can't deal with it.

Where did you see that? I could only see a reference to "30 days" in the FAQ.