Sounds like a fine plan. Thanks Randy, will look into it.

I'm in - even if just for the peace of mind. I think their web-site specifically states that upgrade awards are not included.

I signed up this week, simply for peace of mind.

It is clear that the word "insurance" is avoided. This is not an insurance policy in the technical sense of the term, otherwise it would have to charge proportionately to expected benefit and it would have to register in each state. This is more of an "assurance" program.



------------------
On the road,
In the air,
I enjoy travel
From here to there.

I've had AwardGuard for a number of years. (Until a couple of years ago, I was carrying a hefty number of TWA equity miles and wasn't sure I'd get to use them before TWA expired. Even after I used those, I still had substantial non-equity miles on TWA and so kept AwardGuard.) Ironically, I almost let it go this year in view of the AA acquisition, but decided to keep it one more year and monitor US's condition. Now I'm glad I did.

How does an assurance program differ from insurance?

I've looked at AwardGuard, but not sure about purchasing. Looks like you are only covered if the airline completely stops operating and the miles are not picked up by someone else. As I read it:
1. Filing Chapter 11 does not qualify for mileage converage if the airline is still functioning.
2. Discontinuation of an airline's FF program for any reason does not qualify for mileage coverage if the airline is still functioning.

In my view, the airlines are much more apt to file chapter 11 and reorganize while they continue flying or they are more likely to discontinue their FF programs but keep on operating. Total shutdown with another airline not picking up the FF mileage is highly unlikely, particularly with the rumored government bailout. I haven't made a final decision, but am not likely to purchase.

MileKing. Ansett is not part of the program cover, but what you describe as unlikley is exactly what happended to them this week.

Anyone know is AwardGuard is signable by folks who live overseas?

We've got members of the program living in some 34 different countries outside of North America. It's not based on where you live, just where your miles live. We've been working on extending the airlines we cover to include many other programs in Asia and Europe and still working on that, but it's very tedious.

As for not covering Chaper 11, the reason that is because in that case, the airline is acting as normal. You can continue to redeem awards and fly the airline, so there's really noting to take action on, other than the fact that airlines going out of business always go through Chapter 11 first. As for the airline dropping their program but keep flying - that has never happened and the odds are it never will. Programs tend to follow airlines. For instance, when Legend Airlines went out of business in the last year, it's frequent flyer program followed it out of business and all members lost their awards - too bad since they had that double miles for life promotion. Midway is one of the more unusual casualties of the indistry because some of you may remember that right before they closed their doors, Northwest had agreed to purchase them and everyone was joyed. When Northwest out of the blue changed their mind, Midway closed the very next day. There are no certainties in this business. I actually support legislation that miles and awards are a tangent liability and should be covered in any bankruptcy situation. I have yet to find many people that will support my position.

Anyway, hope your questions have been answered. Post any others if not.

Thanks Randy. I am convinced it is for me.

No less than the Australian Government agrees with your last point FWIW! Bet 2.5 million Australians wished you had covered that schme with AwardGuard.

www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,2914274%255E15488,00.html

Air NZ asked to help loyal travellers

23sep01

The Australian Federal Government yesterday appealed to Air New Zealand to make sure Australia's 2.5 million Ansett frequent fliers did not lose their entitlements.

While the Government hopes Air New Zealand management will guarantee frequent fliers, industry experts and legal pundits held out little hope that people would see their points again.

A spokesman for Transport Minister John Anderson told The Sunday Telegraph the Government believed responsibility for frequent-flier points lay across the Tasman.

"The Government's view is that when Air New Zealand bought Ansett, it also carried over its assets and liabilities, including the frequent-flier program," the spokesman said.

"While there is no legal requirement to honour them, there are 2.5 million Australians who hold a different view and say Air New Zealand should honour them."

I applaude AwardGuard as a concept but since its limited to a few US carriers plus BA (North America) and AC its not really that useful for me. So far in the last month it looks like I have lost my miles in both Ansett's Global Rewards and now SwissAir's Qualiflyer, neither of which are covered. Hopefully world wide coverage will happen soon.

We've been working on layering the insurance needs to take the program global but simply hadn't had the time to devote to that as of late. While we'll probably be able to complete all that in the future (sorry i couldn't add the term 'near') my guess is these guys will want a pretty hefty rise in premium costs to us.

Stay tuned, i'm sure there's plenty more news to come on all the airliens woes.

Just found out www.milepoint.com has an offer for AwardGuard. Here's what it says:

Two Year Membership $214.00 USD
[MilePoint members can use 5,350 miles to save 50% on this program. Final cost for MilePoint members is $107.00]


It appears to be the identical program offered through Webflyer. However, it did not say what it offers for a family plan.

Randy:

Could you have a US programs policy and a separate non-US and US programs policy.

That way US members need not pay a higher premium whilst I could get cover for my non-US schemes too.

Just a thought.

Randy:

No offense, but I have to go with NoStressHere on this one.

An insurance company is only as strong as the financial resources they have available to pay off claims. I sent an e-mail to AwardGuard with this concern, and received what looks like a form e-mail which did not address the issue.

For "regular" insurance (auto, liability, etc.), I can go to A.M. Best and check the rating of the insurance company. Best's rating is the accepted standard in the industry. I've seen many different types of contracts which specify a minimum required Best's rating in the insurance clause.

So back to NoStressHere's issue: what sort of independently-reviewed information is out there that the more skeptical among us can use to assure ourselves that AwardGuard has the financial resources to pay out in the event of a big hit?

[This message has been edited by cubsfan10 (edited 10-06-2001).]

(bump in light of current circumstances)

Has anyone purchased AwardGuard since 9-11?

Any new insight or experience to share?