Well, apparently Randy thinks that if UAL goes away, then UA Mileage Plus and all of its miles will go away, too.

I'd be interested to know if Randy feels the same way about US Airways and Dividend Miles.

From the December 5th chat with Randy:

Quite frankly, this is getting frustrating. I'm not sure I even want to deal with a company that cannot consistently answer a simple question. When the head honcho goes on line and says "don't worry, we'll take care of you" and the legal eagles are saying "The $7500 is given only once and is not replenished. You must keep your membership active in order to make claims against your banked miles. We would purchase tickets up to the amount of $7500 or until your miles were used up whichever comes first." (yes, that's a direct quote), the two are obviously in conflict, IMHO.

When it comes to a legal contract vs. an oral/web-posted "I'll stand by you", I know where I stand, having fought the written/signed vs. oral contract battle in court.

I guess it's a personal decision everyone has to make.

Insurance is regulated and while Randy may not agree, I am sure most insurance commissioners would say this is insurance. So if you are concerned, write your state insurance commissioner and ask for the annual report and disclosure documents that are would need to be filed. I highly doubt that any reputable reinsurance carrier would provided support to an unregistered company.

Now, if there is no registration, reach your own conclusion.

Well after reading a lot on this Joh and I will sign up today for this insurance I think. The chances of Mileage Plus vanishing completely is virtually nil, but then again, the premium cost is pretty small - under $100 each it seems. And gives some small peace of mind.

We both lost a pile of miles AND booked award tickets when Ansett crashed, so once bitten, twice shy.

Needing to move 230,000 United out into Hilton last night 3 minutes before they pulled the transfer plug has got me jittery, and I still have north of 500,000 left in UA.

I agree the terms on the website are not clear at all about whether it is $7500 of air travel covered per year you remain paid up in the plan, or $7500 one time only. Randy clearly says it is per YEAR that is covered, and that is good enough for me.

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[This message has been edited by ozstamps (edited 03-21-2003).]

Does anyone know how the $7500 limit applies to someone who gets Award Guard, and then adds a family member at the discounted price? Is it then $7500 for the 2 of us combined, or $7500 each?

Thanks.

Probably the best way to get this answered (and all other questions of a specific nature about the product) would be to contact AwardGuard directly.

I must disagree, ozstamps. The terms of the AwardGuard site clearly indicate that it is a $7,500 aggregate liability, not a $7,500 annual liability.

From the program overview:

From the AwardGuard FAQ's:
In some posts here on FT, Randy had said it was an annual liability. When he was then questioned about the discrepancy between his statement and the terms on AwardGuard's site (both in this thread, and in a chat transcript mentioned above), he dodged the question. In any case, I don't see how some contradictory posts here on FT could take precedence over the terms and conditions on the AwardGuard site.

Thanks for input nerd. Yes I agree there has been some confusion over this, having read over the thread. But I can't agree Randy "dodged the question" on chat - he seemed to answer it pretty cleary?

It's actually PER YEAR.

This appears to one of Randy's companies, and it looks to be a very clear statement to me. However as you point out, amending website wording to bring it into line with "$7,500 total payout each year you keep financial in the plan" [or whatever] might clarify things greatly?

It may well be a extension to FT'ers offered somehow via Randy's own blanket miles business insurance, who knows, which means wording needs to be in a particular way?

Anyway, his word alone is good enough for myself and Joh, and we have just signed up.

Under $100 each is well worth it - to us anyway.



------------------
~ Glen ~

Come visit HERE the most ** FRIENDLY FORUM ** on FlyerTalk. No flame wars, no personal abuse, no substance abuse. Not much of anything really!

More importantly, does anyone know where Randy lives, in case it all goes wrong

Seriously, folks, it's only a couple hundred bucks....

We're not talking about losing life savings here. Even if the whole thing collapsed. Which I highly doubt.

Have gotten a headache reading several threads on this in the past hour.

I must say that I am confused at WHAT the heck 'Award Extender' really is? I assume this is not what one needs to cover a possible UA total flop, as miles do not "expire" as such? Cost for it is DOUBLE 'Award Guard', which at under $100 a person ($119 + $89) when Joh and I sign seems great value.

'Award Extender' is designed for our members who have miles expiring on one of the airlines we cover. After fulfilling a six-month vesting period at the 'Award Extender' level, we will extend your miles for an unlimited time as long as you keep your membership active and it does not lapse. Only miles that expire after the six month vesting period has been completed will be extended.'

Reading it all I agree with another poster on a previous thread the word "insurance" is not used anywhere. I assume (and it only that) this means that the program does not then need to be registered in 50 whatever states and 30 foreign countries and covered by all kinds of mountains of regulatory paperwork - all of which would probably treble or quadruple the cost at no extra $$ cover for us. It is more "Assurance" than "Insurance" as that poster said.

We are simply buying peace of mind here, for a pittance IMO, and trusting Randy that claims - if any occur - will be met as promised. We are happy to take it on that trust basis.

And lets be honest here folks ... the alternative policy/cover to cover these miles is WHAT???

QUESTION: Is there a cap to either the number of accounts or number of miles?

ANSWER: No cap on the number of programs covered per membership to the extent of those listed in our materials (it doesn't matter if you belong to 2 or 12 programs) and we don't have an actual cap to the number of miles we can protect for you (some members have millions and with the Midway program, while their award structure was not mileage-based, some members did have coverage equal to about 900,000 miles, which why some 10 years later they are still enjoying their awards courtesy of AwardGuard). The restriction is based on payout per year. For instance, new members can't have claims equal to more than $7.500 in a given year PER program. The reality is that most people may redeem 2-4 rewards a year and most don't exceed that cost. The cost being the claim to supply substitution of awards via a purchased airline ticket.

Yes, I would be thrilled with that change. Since it currently says:
This $7,500 is a fixed-limit liability and cannot be exceeded, regardless of the number of years that an AwardGuard account is maintained or the number of programs that go out of business in a given membership year. The coverage will expire when you have used up all your miles and/or points, or we have spent $7,500 in replacement value, whichever comes first. You must keep your membership active in order to make claims against your banked miles and/or points.

it would also be a change in the program rules.


Anyway, his word alone is good enough for myself and Joh, and we have just signed up.
[/QUOTE]

As I've said before, that's a choice you are free to make. Me, I'll take the legally binding terms of the program, as posted and as agreed to when registered, over bits on an internet site.


Bottom Line - The program web site and legal terms of the program say $7,500 aggregate, one-time, fixed lifetime total for all progams that go out of business in a year, and you must maintain your membership every year to use that aggregate total. Randy has posted that you can get $7,500 per year.

If we can all agree that those are the facts, can we stop beating it to death and leave it to individual interpretations/risk profiles/trust? Hmmm?

Since $7,500 may buy you only ONE business class ticket to EUrope it is obviously best not to use this product to cover massive mileage balances.

I have been subscribing for over 10 years as I was worried about the viability of my TWA miles. I'll still pay, but this does lesten the value of the product. On a positive note it does limit the exposure of the program to huge claims which means it may be there when you need it (even if a airline size of UA goes under).

The Colorado Revised Statutes, found here:

http://198.187.128.12/colorado/lpext...102JD_10-1-102

defines "insurance" as "a contract whereby one, for consideration, undertakes to indemnify another or to pay a specified or ascertainable amount or benefit upon determinable risk contingencies, and includes annuities."

As defined by the legislature of Colorado, "Award Guard/Privilege Flyer" as described in the Statutes, is selling insurance. Are they licensed to do so? Have they met the regulatory and reserve requirments that would allow them to do so?

Is Award Guard/Privilege Flyer/Randy Petersen registered and licensed to sell insurance in Colorado, it's residence? Do they have reserves which are verified by governmental authorities which allow them to make the guarantees they do on their website?

If "Award Guard/Privilege Flyer" is not licensed as an insurance company, it may be a significant problem. Since according to the Statutes the product they are selling is insurance, a claim that what they are selling is something other than "insurance," he/she in my opinion may be violating various provisions of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, found here:

http://198.187.128 .12/colorado/lpext.dll/Infobase/3470/3472/3474?f=templates&fn=document-frame.htm&q=consumer%20protection%20act&x=Advanced &2.0#LPHit1LPHit1

Caveat emptor.



[This message has been edited by iwass (edited 03-23-2003).]