fassy

Anybody noticed the "No points collection" checkbox on the passenger details page during the booking process? What is this and why is it checked by default? Tricking people in not earning points on the flights?

CPH-Flyer

I have not noticed that, when did that start to appear? And more importantly, is there an option to ctrl+Z after completion of the booking?

fassy

Will try to get an answer in the chat today...

CPH-Flyer

I played around with a booking, what it means is that you do not register the Eurobonus number of your account. If you don't log in you don't get this field. When I do log in but tick it, seat selection in Go costs money for me, if I don't tick it seat selection is free. I guess it is meant if you wish to enter another FFP to the booking. Just fairly poor choice of words.

It does not come up preselected for me.

mha

This checkbox has been around forever. It just used to be more well hidden before.

I believe it's primary usage are for government employees (or companies with strict policies) that don't let them earn points. Though I thought you were supposed to still be able to use status benefits.

Doesn't come up pre-selected for me either. It doing that is probably a bug, something that is not exactly uncommon on this site... I am pretty sure you can change the default value for it in your profile (though the checkbox is reversed -- in your profile you state that you want to earn points, not that you want to avoid doing so).

fassy

looked all through my profile settings, nothing which would indicate that the checkbox should be selected by default. In any case, "earning points" should always be the default, right? For SK is is much cheaper crediting the points to EuroBonus than to any other FFP - just surpassed by not crediting any points at all.

So, if it is just a way not to attach your EB FFP number, then the wording is more than poor. If it is an opt-out for certain passenger groups the prominent placing on the webpage makes no sense. And in most of the cases those employees would probably book through a corporate TA ending in a non-point-eligible booking class, rather than on the general website and opting out of getting points?

In any case the default seem wrong (or buggy)

EDIT:// just found it..."Inställningar" -> "PROFILINSTÄLLNINGAR -> Tjäna poäng" was a grey "check" icon... you have to click it to become a green "check" icon. UX experts a play here...

Just wondering why it is not activated by default when they migrated to the new website.

fassy

Got a reply from the Diamond Desk - within 6 hours, again I'm impressed, all of my tickets in the last 2 years have been resolved with a satisfying answer within the same business day - that mha is spot on:

"The reason that this can be chosen has to do with members who, for various reasons, can not earn points on trips they perform when it is against employer's rules."

So, I complained a bit prematurely but still I think the option is confusing.

CPH-Flyer

How many companies that have this strict rules will anyway allow you to book directly on an airline's website with zero control? That will happen through Concur or a corporate TA I am sure. I do know the Danish government does not allow for earning, but also does not allow you to book outside the agreements.

FlyingMoose

You mean for government employees that retroclaim all their flights and use their EB-card for status benefits?

livious

I lived in Austria some years ago and my company sent out a form to those travelling regularly that essentially asked is to either pay taxes on miles earned or vouch that we would not claim the miles. I believe that a new law was introduced and they were trying to comply. I never got around to sending in my form, but took the precaution of removing my FFP number from the TA's system and then added it at the airport. I have heard that some employers make their employees submit their boarding passes with their travel expenses as they realized that the employees were doing similar to myself. Of course you can simply retroclaim them afterwards and circumvent the system.

Another funny aspect of points collection is that my current employer expects me to use all points earned on company tickets, even though we cannot book award tickets through our TA (which we need to use). I have been asked several times to not talk about my personal holidays at work as the management knows that I am often booking with points and my 2-4-1. I am happy to comply with their expectations as soon as SAS IT can separate my leisure miles from my business miles...which of course would be hilarious to ask SAS IT to implement. Some rules are just meant to be broken as they cannot be enforced, which is the case for both points.

Jainzar

I have to use it also for company travel, but using points for upgrades on company tickets satisfies the requirement.

The whole setup gets really messy when you can pay the difference for a higher service / booking class with your own money and you get more points than in Y. Whose points are these additional points in this case?

fassy

Of course there are different rules in different countries... e.g. in Germany LH settled with the tax authorities by them paying taxes on the points/Miles.

Anyhow, in almost all countries there is no law that forces you to use points earned on business trips to use for business. It might be company policy but hard to enforce and even harder to implement.

there were a couple of scandals in Germany a few years back with state ministers and members of the Parlament using the huge pile of miles for luxury leisure travel. But nothing really was done to prevent this, just some public anger and claiming it is unethical. But as far as I’m aware they still do it.

I wonder why the airlines not just allocate 3 booking classes (one in each class, e,g use X, I and O) which just earn 0 miles and all tickets from governments or companies which such a policy book into that class. Of course the price will need to be linked to the available fare buckets - but mapping a ticket bought in H to X or J to I should be no magic in the back end systems.

CPH-Flyer

I guess the reason it does not happen is that the airlines are not really interested in it happening, it is a powerful marketing ploy for them. Look at the time and effort SK spent opposing the ban on points domestic Norway.

FlyingMoose

It is part of the inherit jealousy that exists in socialist countries where people are mostly just blinded by the apparent glory of frequent travel who have no idea or means to relate to the reality of it. Unfortunately in some, mostly Nordic countries you can throw in the equality card to make someone else's live more miserable.

herro

Typically you will negotiate a rate that does not include points earning at all. This is seen in some companies and government institutions. This is not SAS alone who have this option. But is is not something they want to promote I guess - they want the points and the loyalty that goes with it.