As the deadline is quite a bit out:

Plus, earn an additional 2,500 Bonus Miles if you sign up before May 31, 2007!*

sounds that you have plenty of time.

Steve B.

I joined today. The WC passes by themselves make it worthwhile. I am sure Mrs. RKG will be happy using them. And when she is happy, life is just so much more pleasant for me!

:)

note: Wow! The 2500 miles posted before I could finish my post!

Sounds like NW's wants to compete with UA's Amenti service? But everything I've heard makes amenti sound completely useless... If the White Tie concierge is useful for something (ie, better than free credit card concierges), then it might be worth it.

Ameniti is useless. It does not even have the SOS stuff....

I joined in January and this is my take:

-The 25% bonus miles for the covered fare basis codes post as quickly as the NW banked miles do.

-I got the 4 WC day passes with my WhiteTie card. I will give them to my family since I am already a WC member.

-I don't know what's the deal with offering Platinums a temporary silver membership (unless your Elite credentials ended on 2/28).

-I tried to use the concierge service to book a hotel in Hawaii, and they told me that the Starwood hotel I chose was no longer a White Tie participant. Too bad, because that would have been a nice deal :(

So, for the $149, it's probably worth the approx. 25K bonus miles I'll get and the 4 lounge passes I got. But I would be bludgeoning myself if I had spent $799 on it.

So is there a better rate on Hotels with whitetie?

This is my single experience trying to use the hotel benefit:

The WhiteTie website said you get a 25% discount at Hotel XXX (a Starwood hotel), an upgrade if available, and late check-out, I think. So, I jumped at it. A day and a half later, the WhiteTie email came back quoting me the exact same rate I saw myself on Starwood's website. When I asked where the 25% off was, WhiteTie informed me that Hotel XXX no longer participated in the WhiteTie program. Thanks. :( The WhiteTie website was updated the next day to remove this hotel.

It seems as if most of the hotels I have looked at have a little caption under them saying (paraphrasing): While Hotel XXX is not a WhiteTie affiliate, WhiteTie members hold Hotel XXX in high regard...

So, what's the point if you already are adept at using the internet? I can't think of one so far with regard to hotels.

Anyone have anything good or bad to say from experiences in the last three months? I see the website hasn't improved since I last checked. Now that I'm officially Plat and have an upcoming B fare, I should sign up up soon if I'm gonna. TIA

I've found it to be utterly useless. I get covered with the same insurance through my dive insurance operator. Never had the need for booking hotel/bar/club/restaurant (more out of habit than anything else) and am concerned that if I book my hotel with White Tie, I won't get any points...many hotel chains restrict point earning now to reservations made directly through their own web site.

Finally, not sure what fare basis qualifies for the bonus (seen various reports on this thread), but haven't had any bonuses post to my account yet.

Value - 4 day passes
Cost $150
Cost per pass - $37.50

IMHO, not really worth it. Don't think I'll renew again.

I think if you're flying all NW/KL metal, on B or higher fares it's worth it. I did the analysis on the 4 passes, and the Z and B classes I was going to fly, and found it a good deal. I certainly do wish that they'd have more info on all the benefits. I have no real idea what good the travel insurance is good for.

Thanks for reminding me, JC, of one bit of info I wanted to inquire about: the website says -

"The travel itinerary must be designated as Northwest Airlines, and all flight segments must be operated by Northwest or Northwest Airlink."

NW coded, not necessary to be NW metal, right?

I need to do my math and see how much this is worth.

JC, the SOS coverage can't hurt, can it?!

Thanks for your info as well, divrdrew.

****
Edit: Current promo is a $25 Visa gift card, so "cost" could be $124.

I joined right before a trip to Asia on a B fare. I received 4,300 WhiteTie bonus miles from the trip that posted with my credited flight miles, plus the 2,500 Perkology bonus miles for joining WhiteTie. The bonus miles plus the 4 single-use WC passes made it worth the cost for me to join at the reduced Plat rate. Without the B fare to Asia, I probably would not have joined.

No, it must be on NW metal. I had a KLM Cityhopper (w/ NW codeshare) flight from NUE-AMS as the only non-NW metal on a B-fare in March and they didn't give me the White Tie bonus on any leg. (just like last winter I had one AMS-ZUR leg and didn't get some promotional bonus on the whole trip).

Hmmmm, that's what I was afraid of, MadBrewer. Thanks.

For all who've reported miles posting: Did your itins contain non-NW segs? KL metal?

No, it can't hurt, but if there is no usable information on it, it doesn't seem to be able to help! :(