SAS | EuroBonus Lifetime Gold (EBG - LTG) [Experiences and Discussions]
#136
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Koala Lemur
Programs: SK EBD LTG (*G)
Posts: 2,447
When recently AB went belly up, there were very few meager match offers, mostly limited to German residents. I suspect that most status holders lost it. There was no lifetime program in AB, but LT does not make it any more attractive for competitors to take over the customer base.
On the transported pax numbers, AB was marginally larger than SK, and it was the only OW carrier heavily operating in Germany and surrounding countries. Many people hoped that there will be interest in this legacy. We got easyJet instead... My hopes are not very high.
On the transported pax numbers, AB was marginally larger than SK, and it was the only OW carrier heavily operating in Germany and surrounding countries. Many people hoped that there will be interest in this legacy. We got easyJet instead... My hopes are not very high.
#137
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: SYD, GOT
Programs: BA GGL; SK EBG; QF LTG; Hilton Diamond, A-Club Platinum, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 2,731
Sabena, Swiss Air, Ansett, Air Berlin and would Span Air also be in that bunch. All reasonable mainstream carriers that went bust rather than say the likes of Monarch etc.
Many people with AN had lifetime status as it was sold by the airline (Goldwings Club), and other than a status match that was about all their received. Lifetime status lost, miles lost, and I believe also there were many issues with people who had AN issues tickets on other carriers which were no longer honoured.
Acquisition such as Swiss, Brussels, BMI etc at leats had mileage intact but lifetime status was lost.
The other one is that SK is in *A, who knows if they will stay other airlines have come and left alliances. Also SK gold is for life, but it the benefits are not for life. Easy for SK to redefine what Gold is, for example Silver, Gold, Diamond becomes Gold, Diamond, Platinum :-)
KF
Many people with AN had lifetime status as it was sold by the airline (Goldwings Club), and other than a status match that was about all their received. Lifetime status lost, miles lost, and I believe also there were many issues with people who had AN issues tickets on other carriers which were no longer honoured.
Acquisition such as Swiss, Brussels, BMI etc at leats had mileage intact but lifetime status was lost.
The other one is that SK is in *A, who knows if they will stay other airlines have come and left alliances. Also SK gold is for life, but it the benefits are not for life. Easy for SK to redefine what Gold is, for example Silver, Gold, Diamond becomes Gold, Diamond, Platinum :-)
KF
#138
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
Sabena, Swiss Air, Ansett, Air Berlin and would Span Air also be in that bunch. All reasonable mainstream carriers that went bust rather than say the likes of Monarch etc.
Many people with AN had lifetime status as it was sold by the airline (Goldwings Club), and other than a status match that was about all their received. Lifetime status lost, miles lost, and I believe also there were many issues with people who had AN issues tickets on other carriers which were no longer honoured.
Acquisition such as Swiss, Brussels, BMI etc at leats had mileage intact but lifetime status was lost.
The other one is that SK is in *A, who knows if they will stay other airlines have come and left alliances. Also SK gold is for life, but it the benefits are not for life. Easy for SK to redefine what Gold is, for example Silver, Gold, Diamond becomes Gold, Diamond, Platinum :-)
KF
Many people with AN had lifetime status as it was sold by the airline (Goldwings Club), and other than a status match that was about all their received. Lifetime status lost, miles lost, and I believe also there were many issues with people who had AN issues tickets on other carriers which were no longer honoured.
Acquisition such as Swiss, Brussels, BMI etc at leats had mileage intact but lifetime status was lost.
The other one is that SK is in *A, who knows if they will stay other airlines have come and left alliances. Also SK gold is for life, but it the benefits are not for life. Easy for SK to redefine what Gold is, for example Silver, Gold, Diamond becomes Gold, Diamond, Platinum :-)
KF
Ofcourse we could then go into the various mergers overtime Delta of Northwest, United of Continental and most recently American of US Air. In all three cases, things were transferred over smoothly with the case of United's merger of Continental that lifetime status was also maintained.
In any event, a case could be made for diversifying your status overtime to ensure you're protected against these things (i.e. getting lifetime on SK and OZ as well as say BA for OW coverage which is increasingly possible thanks to discount INTL F fares).
Safe Travels,
James
#139
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
LT status wise I would not be hopeful. But thats just me. Plus if SK went belly up I doubt there would br many suitors for the whole operation. With these new changes SK is boubd to lose alot or members in the leisure market from my view. Perhaps for business flyers there is a point to stick with EB but leisure GO flyers not so much
#140
Join Date: Nov 2017
Posts: 3,359
-James
#141
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: AGH
Posts: 5,980
#142
Moderator: SAS
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: BLL & CPH & ZRH
Programs: LX, SK EBD (*G)
Posts: 3,153
Swissair was doing really bad in the years prior to its grounding and the actual financial situation was long not reported to the board, while still following a really stupid expansion strategy (while also being excluded from the european economic area). Furthermore there were a lot of other reasons, some of them really unfortunate and unlucky, for its ultimate demise, as sad as it is.
#143
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: SJJ/AMS
Posts: 4,649
G
#144
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,198
SAS was in deep troubles some time ago and was only saved by falling oil prices. The underlying problems have not been resolved (wages for SE/DK crews, pilots, etc) and SAS is one crisis away from being in turbulent weather again.
LH Group nowadays doesn't integrate new aquisitions like they did with Swiss, instead the model offered to interested parties is to be like SN with an underlying EW operating platform. So crew and aircraft would be employed/owned by EW and the face to the customer branded with whatever legacy front is required.
FFPs are nowadays only valued for their customer database and the associations they have with various banks and consumer product companies. Any liabilities like lifetime stuff is usually shed in acquisitions.
LH Group nowadays doesn't integrate new aquisitions like they did with Swiss, instead the model offered to interested parties is to be like SN with an underlying EW operating platform. So crew and aircraft would be employed/owned by EW and the face to the customer branded with whatever legacy front is required.
FFPs are nowadays only valued for their customer database and the associations they have with various banks and consumer product companies. Any liabilities like lifetime stuff is usually shed in acquisitions.
#145
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: EuroBonus Diamond, Delta Skymiles 360, BAEC LTG, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,830
I struggle with life time status being perceived as a liability. There is no risk if a frequent flyer doesn't fly anymore and with it being so easy to reach Gold, most folks that do keep flying their lifetime status carrier would likely naturally obtain the status. Worst case they credit it to another *A program but that's covered in the fare.
#146
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Tokyo
Programs: JAL Metal Card (OWE), SAS Eurobonus Gold (*G), Marriott Titanium (LTP), Tokyu Hotels Platinum
Posts: 21,191
I struggle with life time status being perceived as a liability. There is no risk if a frequent flyer doesn't fly anymore and with it being so easy to reach Gold, most folks that do keep flying their lifetime status carrier would likely naturally obtain the status. Worst case they credit it to another *A program but that's covered in the fare.
#147
Join Date: Nov 2004
Programs: EB*G, BT VIP
Posts: 770
I have no illusions about lifetime gold to survive a merger or bankruptcy. But what really makes me wonder there is no small print at all attached to the notification about lifetime gold achievement... No definitions, no guarantee, no promise. So there are no obligations really, SK can cancel or reverse it any day...
#148
Join Date: Oct 2011
Programs: EuroBonus Diamond, Delta Skymiles 360, BAEC LTG, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Ambassador
Posts: 2,830
The context of liability was for a carrier taking over SK; should e.g. Lufthansa take over SK if they went out of business a lifetime status obligation built by SK would be a liability for LH and M&M. Especially if people then use the now Lufthansa status to obtain gold services while crediting to other programs M&M would bear the costs of lounge access, the other programs would get the income from the mileage accrual.
The only liability I see when you give people lifetime status is that the portion that was only flying to get to the lifetime status goes away and it hits your revenue. If you are bad at being an airline, like SK, then you could have people walk out and probably not even look at *A alternatives but other alliances instead.
The revenue from very frequent flyers greatly outweighs the minimal cost you get from the occasional external lounge usage. You just need to position your product in such a way that you retain those very frequent flyers. Or especially not set a course where you proactively try to discourage those very frequent flyers from using your airline, like SK is doing.
#149
Moderator: SAS
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: BLL & CPH & ZRH
Programs: LX, SK EBD (*G)
Posts: 3,153
I was wondering that if I buy a few hundred missing basic points with extra points to achieve gold status, if that year would count towards the ten years of gold I need to achieve to receive lifetime gold status. I took the question to the sas chat (that i didn't even know existed before) and the matter was solved quite promptly.
Yes it does count as seen in the following picture of the chat:
I hope this helps at least a few other wondering souls here
Yes it does count as seen in the following picture of the chat:
I hope this helps at least a few other wondering souls here
#150
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: KSU (Kristiansund N, Norway)
Programs: SAS EBD/ *G
Posts: 2,163
I wouldn't consider Ansett to be a legacy (Aussie feel free to chime in here if I'm off the reservation so to speak) although their loss as the only Ozzie * partner is dearly missed. The only example that I could think of was SwissAir which if memory serves me correct LH did end up eventually acquiring and I believe the elites were grandfathered? I'll let the Euro FTers comment on what happened there the only other thing I could recall was that SwissAir tickets were as valuable as the Deutsche Marks are now when they went belly up.
Safe Travels,
James
Safe Travels,
James
I'm not too sure about your comment about the current value of Deutschmarks. Except for banknotes issued in/before 1948, DM notes and coins can be freely exchanged into Euros, at the same rate as at the switch from DM to Euro: DM have exactly the same nominal value now (1 Euro is 1,95583 DM) as at the time of the switch in 2002.
https://www.bundesbank.de/de/aufgabe...in-euro-599338