Courtesy Upgrades for EuroBonus Diamond & Pandion
May 11, 2018, 6:46 am
#91
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: CPH, BRU
Programs: LH SEN* (*G), EBG (*G)
Posts: 793
A nice perk sure, but very vague in its implementation. It was supposed to be a benefit of EBD where there reslly are NO other extra benefits for EBD over Gold then drinks in GO and the CU.
If they want to keep it at a OPUP level then fine, but as it is there is such a HUGE divide that its not coming out well.
No one expects upgrades on every flight that has space, but to be honest the way it was presented to me I WAS expecting more then I am seeing
Yes still more then other airlines but then again other airlines dont offer this as a BENEFIT!
back in the day AA offered 8 SWU for upgrades on long haul for about the same amount of flying which gave CONFIRMED LONGHAUL upgrades and now they give 4, so long haul comp upgrades for top status do occur, in addittion to OPUPs
Perhaps we will see more but if it is ONE upgrade per year then to be honest its a VERY poor benefit as one can upgrade from GO to PLUS foe 15000eb points or PLUS to BIZ for 22000points yet the qualification requierment is double to Gold.
Just my dollars worth of opinions
we all have our own opinions so all is good
If they want to keep it at a OPUP level then fine, but as it is there is such a HUGE divide that its not coming out well.
No one expects upgrades on every flight that has space, but to be honest the way it was presented to me I WAS expecting more then I am seeing
Yes still more then other airlines but then again other airlines dont offer this as a BENEFIT!
back in the day AA offered 8 SWU for upgrades on long haul for about the same amount of flying which gave CONFIRMED LONGHAUL upgrades and now they give 4, so long haul comp upgrades for top status do occur, in addittion to OPUPs
Perhaps we will see more but if it is ONE upgrade per year then to be honest its a VERY poor benefit as one can upgrade from GO to PLUS foe 15000eb points or PLUS to BIZ for 22000points yet the qualification requierment is double to Gold.
Just my dollars worth of opinions
we all have our own opinions so all is good 
May 11, 2018, 7:37 am
#92
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: EuroBonus Diamond, Delta Skymiles 360, BAEC LTG, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,823
The perk is also useless in its undocumented form for fulltime C-flyers. Give me vouchers that I can use, including on itineraries for others. We've seen no improvements for Diamond or EB as a whole for the past year, again.
- Still no Diamond perks that make spending with SAS worthwhile for Diamond qualification.
- Still no rollover miles.
- Still no Upgrade Vouchers.
- Still no X Million Miler program.
- Still terrible lounge food and lounges are overcrowded.
The only thing SK seems to care about is adding useless EB partners to the program.
- Still no Diamond perks that make spending with SAS worthwhile for Diamond qualification.
- Still no rollover miles.
- Still no Upgrade Vouchers.
- Still no X Million Miler program.
- Still terrible lounge food and lounges are overcrowded.
The only thing SK seems to care about is adding useless EB partners to the program.
May 11, 2018, 9:19 am
#93
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
The perk is also useless in its undocumented form for fulltime C-flyers. Give me vouchers that I can use, including on itineraries for others. We've seen no improvements for Diamond or EB as a whole for the past year, again.
- Still no Diamond perks that make spending with SAS worthwhile for Diamond qualification.
- Still no rollover miles.
- Still no Upgrade Vouchers.
- Still no X Million Miler program.
- Still terrible lounge food and lounges are overcrowded.
The only thing SK seems to care about is adding useless EB partners to the program.
- Still no Diamond perks that make spending with SAS worthwhile for Diamond qualification.
- Still no rollover miles.
- Still no Upgrade Vouchers.
- Still no X Million Miler program.
- Still terrible lounge food and lounges are overcrowded.
The only thing SK seems to care about is adding useless EB partners to the program.
Indeed certs would be good, I would say full menu selection when flying long haul PLUS ala AA.
They have LT gold so perhaps LT Diamond would be good too.
Rollover miles would be great but there really needs to be more difference between EBD and EBG!
More benefits uptop to make the jump from Gold to Diamond worthwhile in MY OPINION
May 11, 2018, 5:29 pm
#94
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,112
The perk is also useless in its undocumented form for fulltime C-flyers. Give me vouchers that I can use, including on itineraries for others. We've seen no improvements for Diamond or EB as a whole for the past year, again.
- Still no Diamond perks that make spending with SAS worthwhile for Diamond qualification.
- Still no rollover miles.
- Still no Upgrade Vouchers.
- Still no X Million Miler program.
- Still terrible lounge food and lounges are overcrowded.
The only thing SK seems to care about is adding useless EB partners to the program.
- Still no Diamond perks that make spending with SAS worthwhile for Diamond qualification.
- Still no rollover miles.
- Still no Upgrade Vouchers.
- Still no X Million Miler program.
- Still terrible lounge food and lounges are overcrowded.
The only thing SK seems to care about is adding useless EB partners to the program.
Fewer and fewer are doing roll over miles (or nights) and to be honest, the first step to get better benefits is to cull the elite member numbers, there needs to be a fiscal balance between number of elites, and benefits offered So asking for easier access to elite benefits and better elite benefits in the same (almost same) breath is a contradiction in terms.
May 12, 2018, 8:20 am
#95
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: EuroBonus Diamond, Delta Skymiles 360, BAEC LTG, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,823
Fewer and fewer are doing roll over miles (or nights) and to be honest, the first step to get better benefits is to cull the elite member numbers, there needs to be a fiscal balance between number of elites, and benefits offered So asking for easier access to elite benefits and better elite benefits in the same (almost same) breath is a contradiction in terms.
May 12, 2018, 10:48 am
#96
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
I agree with the last piece though rollover miles would give me an incentive to fly SAS outside the 4-6 weeks a year that I need to requalify Diamond. For a company that needs every revenue it can get, this would be a major milestone. Culling the amount of elites should be a priority nonetheless. Delta lets me requalify Diamond three times over each year and is getting considerable revenue over SK as a result, it is one of those perks that has virtually no cost of the airline and incurs major benefits.
Exactly this. I requalify with A3/SK each year and oneworld as well. This year the spice will propably be Delta 🤪
Without rollover or ANY special benefits it really is a NO BRAINER TO branch out. I started my year Feb/2018 and will requalify by July so after that SK only when they offer the best deal.... Or they could get another 100k miles if there was any benefit to it!
May 12, 2018, 11:07 pm
#97
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,112
What they could do is add some level of bonus for additional milestones. For each additional 45K above Diamond. If they were decent, that could work.
And generally, there should be more benefits to Diamond than it is currently. But as someone said when Diamond was initially announced, and SK said they expected about 20K Diamond members "That is too many to add any serious benefits" A very true prediction.
I do belive that roll over is mainly just boosting elite numbers with little benefit to the airline, and the coat associated by have more elites than flown miles should generate.
And generally, there should be more benefits to Diamond than it is currently. But as someone said when Diamond was initially announced, and SK said they expected about 20K Diamond members "That is too many to add any serious benefits" A very true prediction.
I do belive that roll over is mainly just boosting elite numbers with little benefit to the airline, and the coat associated by have more elites than flown miles should generate.
May 13, 2018, 1:21 am
#98
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
What they could do is add some level of bonus for additional milestones. For each additional 45K above Diamond. If they were decent, that could work.
And generally, there should be more benefits to Diamond than it is currently. But as someone said when Diamond was initially announced, and SK said they expected about 20K Diamond members "That is too many to add any serious benefits" A very true prediction.
I do belive that roll over is mainly just boosting elite numbers with little benefit to the airline, and the coat associated by have more elites than flown miles should generate.
And generally, there should be more benefits to Diamond than it is currently. But as someone said when Diamond was initially announced, and SK said they expected about 20K Diamond members "That is too many to add any serious benefits" A very true prediction.
I do belive that roll over is mainly just boosting elite numbers with little benefit to the airline, and the coat associated by have more elites than flown miles should generate.
They could add little benefits like oerhaps a 35% bonus for EBD while EBG got the 25%
They could add 2 guests for EBD vs 1 to gold lounge
They could add menu items for free in LH plus for Diamonds
They could offer 32kg luggage allowance regardless of travel class for Diamonds
They could offer 1-4 confirmed upgrade vouchers for a one class upgrade for diamonds
seat block for EBD when possible would be awesome, sometimes I get it others I dont but if it was consistent 👍👍
Etc
These should not be HUGE cost benefits but would help differentiate between Gold and Diamond imho.
May 13, 2018, 2:04 am
#99
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,112
They could add little benefits like oerhaps a 35% bonus for EBD while EBG got the 25%
They could add 2 guests for EBD vs 1 to gold lounge
They could add menu items for free in LH plus for Diamonds
They could offer 32kg luggage allowance regardless of travel class for Diamonds
They could offer 1-4 confirmed upgrade vouchers for a one class upgrade for diamonds
seat block for EBD when possible would be awesome, sometimes I get it others I dont but if it was consistent 👍👍
Etc
These should not be HUGE cost benefits but would help differentiate between Gold and Diamond imho.
They could add 2 guests for EBD vs 1 to gold lounge
They could add menu items for free in LH plus for Diamonds
They could offer 32kg luggage allowance regardless of travel class for Diamonds
They could offer 1-4 confirmed upgrade vouchers for a one class upgrade for diamonds
seat block for EBD when possible would be awesome, sometimes I get it others I dont but if it was consistent 👍👍
Etc
These should not be HUGE cost benefits but would help differentiate between Gold and Diamond imho.
If I were SK I would probably scrap the curtesy upgrades in favour of vouchers They would still retain control of the inventory, so nothing much would change, except giving people a more clear feeling of a tangible benefit..
Making seat block a tangible benefit is a sure PR looser. Once you have Diamonds in more blocks of 3 than you have free seats, the constant complaints about "there were free seats on the plane, but I did not get my seat block" will start. There is no winning here.
May 13, 2018, 2:54 am
#100
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
There are indeed cheap ways to achieve a differentiation of Diamond vs. Gold Though most of these are more symbolic than anything else.
If I were SK I would probably scrap the curtesy upgrades in favour of vouchers They would still retain control of the inventory, so nothing much would change, except giving people a more clear feeling of a tangible benefit..
Making seat block a tangible benefit is a sure PR looser. Once you have Diamonds in more blocks of 3 than you have free seats, the constant complaints about "there were free seats on the plane, but I did not get my seat block" will start. There is no winning here.
If I were SK I would probably scrap the curtesy upgrades in favour of vouchers They would still retain control of the inventory, so nothing much would change, except giving people a more clear feeling of a tangible benefit..
Making seat block a tangible benefit is a sure PR looser. Once you have Diamonds in more blocks of 3 than you have free seats, the constant complaints about "there were free seats on the plane, but I did not get my seat block" will start. There is no winning here.
I can see the benefits of the seatblock but I will admit it may have issues, but the seat block sure is a appreciated benefit, I am not sure why it Works sometime but not others. The extra space is great for relaxing and there is zero cost to SK as if The plane fills up they remove the seat block
As a side note I shall suggest to the mods perhaps EBD benefits or lack there of should be separated into its own thread
May 13, 2018, 3:22 am
#101
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,112
I can see the benefits of the seatblock but I will admit it may have issues, but the seat block sure is a appreciated benefit, I am not sure why it Works sometime but not others. The extra space is great for relaxing and there is zero cost to SK as if The plane fills up they remove the seat block
As a side note I shall suggest to the mods perhaps EBD benefits or lack there of should be separated into its own thread
As a side note I shall suggest to the mods perhaps EBD benefits or lack there of should be separated into its own thread
May 13, 2018, 4:01 am
#102
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
Good idea
I guess having a drink or few in the sun has made this poster a bit slow today I created the new thread now lets see if it gets any wind in the sails
May 13, 2018, 4:54 am
#103
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: CPH, BRU
Programs: LH SEN* (*G), EBG (*G)
Posts: 793
I agree with the last piece though rollover miles would give me an incentive to fly SAS outside the 4-6 weeks a year that I need to requalify Diamond. For a company that needs every revenue it can get, this would be a major milestone. Culling the amount of elites should be a priority nonetheless. Delta lets me requalify Diamond three times over each year and is getting considerable revenue over SK as a result, it is one of those perks that has virtually no cost of the airline and incurs major benefits.
I would think though upgrade vouchers (even for intra-european, albeit worthless almost) and then give another one for each xx miles would be a benefit to some.
May 13, 2018, 5:17 am
#104
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Seat 1L these days :)
Programs: AF Platinum/AY LUMO/SK EBG/baEC S/HYATT Globalist/MR LTP/A3 *G/HH Dia/IHG plat
Posts: 7,947
Just for my understanding, why would rollover miles incentivize you to fly SK? Are yoiu not just pushing your requal forward?
I would think though upgrade vouchers (even for intra-european, albeit worthless almost) and then give another one for each xx miles would be a benefit to some.
I would think though upgrade vouchers (even for intra-european, albeit worthless almost) and then give another one for each xx miles would be a benefit to some.
Rollover miles helps create a buffer incase there is a lean year of travel somewhere along the years. Ie paternity leave, illness, work changes etc. In my case after 90k I credit left over miles to A3 and get status there too and then qualify for OWE and this year will branch out to ST too so that I am not stuck with just one program incase they decide to devalue benefits in the future.
Of course if there were some added benefit some of that
Would be credited and flown on SK.
But thats just me.
May 16, 2018, 6:50 am
#105
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: EuroBonus Diamond, Delta Skymiles 360, BAEC LTG, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,823
If my travel in the future is temporarily more convenient on another airline then I can choose convenience over forced annual qualification. Or in short, I could chose to fly SK without tradeoffs.