request for status - denied
 

according to my reply from nwa they are not reviewing for exceptions - bummer. i easily directed over 20k with nw last year but fell a few thousand miles short. (lots of last minute shorter flights)


Dear [jim],

Thank you for your recent e-mail.

We are very sorry to learn that you did not qualify for 2006 Platinum
Elite status.

WorldPerks Platinum Elite is an annual program based on flight activity
from January 1 to December 31 of the previous year. Membership
privileges for the 2006 program year are valid from March 1, 2006
through February 28, 2007. The qualifying standard for WorldPerks
Platinum status is a minimum of 75,000 elite qualifying miles, or 100
elite qualifying segments.

Please note we are not reviewing accounts for exceptions for the 2006
program year. However, please contact us after January 15 to see if we
are offering any Elite Challenges.

If you have any additional questions, concerns, or need further
assistance, please let us know.

Sincerely,

[omitted]
Correspondence Specialist
WorldPerks Customer Service Center

Fair enough. I'm glad NW protects it's elite levels so those who earn it can have best chances of reaping it's benefits. What do you mean you directed 20K miles to them? Is that how many you flew?

I think he meant revenue - and I think you should talk to marketing directly (or your NWA sales manager) if you want to pursue it - not the email box....

20K as in 20,000$, not miles.

Well, based on the e-mail, at least it seems that NW has set a hard & fast rule, which even if you're 1 mile short, they won't bend. And there's the part of me that thinks that a threshold is a threshold... you don't cross it, you don't get the rewards.

However, customer loyalty should have its privileges. If the OP has been Plat for several years, and misses this year by 2,000 miles (perhaps with some extenuating circumstances), and has never asked for a comp or elevated status, I would think that NW should consider the request.

One reason I stick with providers like Verizon (cell phone) and Citibank (primary checking), is that when I need something from them (i.e. fee waived, compensation for errors or other situations), they tend to look favorably that with all of the competition out there, I've stuck with them.

I suppose to add some clarification I was posting their email mostly for anyone who was "1 mile short" or maybe even 1,000 short.

Personally I was a few thousand short but I know in years past some people have been bumped up so I thought it was worth a try since I have nothing to lose. Also I thought their line about not looking at exceptions interesting since they have in the past and now more than ever they are struggling to keep customers.

I don't mind too much they aren't bending the rule for me, even though I think it would make more sense for them to reward those who spend more money with the airline since this would drive more profits..

It seems every year around January they claim that the thresholds are hard and fast then around feb people are magically promoted.

The key is....
 

The key is to re-contact them per their request. They didn't put that line in there for nuttin :)

Good luck in your quest.

Michael :D

Your location is DTW, and that hurts you.

If you were from a non-hurb city, then you would get better chance....

If you spent $20,000 last year then you shouldn't have any problems making the PE challenge.

Speak to marketing
 

I have been given gold status by marketing when I didn't make it, and one year when I mostly avoided NWA and went with United and CO, marketing gave me SE for the year.

So it's hard as a large organization to have rules and then how to have equal rule bending. As each person is different in their interruptation of rules, attitudes towards customer service or what elite levels mean, you can get drastically different results with rule bending.

Say abc gets plat again, but xyz doesn't but has basically the same circumstances, someone is going to be po'd...Also klm who earned plat by taking an extra mile run, might also be po'd that he/she spent his/her valuable time and money to make sure they got plat following the well publicized rules.

So I think it's fair that regardless of the circumstances, that NW have a policy of no exemptions. Having challenges seems to be a fair way to make up the difference as well.

So this also begs the question, should we get one point for each dollar we spend vs mile we fly? Kind of like BizPerks, all based on revenue....hum....be careful what we ask for....

You do it that way, I spread my flying around :) I fly on cheap fares and know it -- so cheap that my RASM is lower than my CASM on just about every flight I take. I do for NW as long as NW does for me. If they don't want my "dedicated" business (I shell out some to DL every now and then) that's fine with me. I won't jump on the FT soap box and yell about how "dedicated" I am and that NW screwed me over.

Perhaps how some hotel programs work might be an interesting solution for the airlines.

Consider SPG: You get rewarded for both the stay, and the revenue. To make gold, their lowest elite tier, you need 10 stays or 25 nights. However, your points are directly reflected on your spending (gold gets 3 SPG points per dollar spent).

So, even though you'd be gold and have the same elite perks with 10 stays at the Four Points Des Moines Airport or at the St. Regis in New York, the St. Regis traveler would accrue significantly more points, and thus, better rewards.