FlyingMoose

Not sure if a business guy is someone in Business Class or someone having a job in an office but as a very frequent flyer that fits both categories, the main reason to do this is because lounges also get terribly boring and aren't always a place to relax. Specifically the SK lounge in ARN is typically a zoo with groups of passengers from the same company or government entity having the most irrelevant and loud conversations you couldn't imagine. It is frequently easier to just queue for boarding where you're in the first group to enter anyway and work on your phone. The other reason is not having to fight through groups of coach passengers that are in group 5+ but are in the front of the boarding queue because they were able to make it to the airport independently but can't follow basic boarding instructions.

It is really a lot less about showing off which is what coach passengers seem to just naturally assume.

nacho

Another reason could be that that person doesn't bother walking to the lounge, not all the lounges are by the gates.

Fredrik74

I thought everyone used the lounges to get some value back? The people over at the Swedish forum are rather embarrasing in their endevours.

Fredrik74

Let's not go there. Don't give them any ideas. Besides, I think I don't want to have too many points stored there. You never know what will happen. Or when it will happen.

Somehow I hope what you're saying is similar to what SAS are doing because if they can earn more money that way it's beneficial to their frequent flyers(and gold card members).

GUWonder

I consider the miles/points, lounge and other status benefits to be part of the rebate I get from crediting activity to a frequent flyer program. I’m not embarrassed by getting my money’s worth from the loyalty programs in the space.

nacho

Which forum?

I would say having lounge access makes travelling a lot more bearable especially flying SAS GO.

GUWonder

Definitely not flash…, nor family life, nor parts of Reddit in Swedish

nacho

Businessclass.se/insideflyer.se?

Fredrik74

Bingo. One for Sweden and the other for Norway.

Bc.se isn't even a site for frequent flyers. Their thread for yearly travel shows almost nobody with even 100 legs or even 50. I'm sure they exist there but those people are likely more in the background. Those that travel on day trips to visit lounges are more visible.

nacho

Why would anyone travel on day trips to visit lounges?

In Sweden you can practically do card churning so they do that to manufacture their spending through AMEX and get enough EB points and several 241 to get their C tickets, which is something that you can't really do in either DK/NO.

If SAS does go south, I guess there won't be much activities on those forums left

Fredrik74

To have a nice day out? To game the system?

I have my personal opinion ...

Yeah, various payment solutions such as Curve, GBIT etc and the Amex Plat on top so that they're EBG and Hilton Gold. I realized this isn't valuable to me but for someone who is eating out a lot the math may be better. I understand the allure of the plat or centurion cards for some. In my past I found out that a Swedish billionaire had the green card only...

GUWonder

Of the few Danish billionaires whom have shot the breeze with me over the years in Sweden and in Denmark, most of them don’t seem to have personal Amex cards. My sense from some is that such lot would find the miles and points (or other travel-related bank card) game rather bizarre and an American peculiarity. Not only in this regard but also in others, I do think of Swedes as having been the most Americanized Scandinavians in this regard too.

I’m there with the .se.

My main interest there has been non-SAS stuff.

I think some think it’s a way to get their money’s worth and then some. Let’s say someone in Stockholm has an SL period pass and wants to play the EC 261/2004 game, then the lounge access and a careful play of the EC 261/2004 game could make for some gains. While the following probably wouldn’t really play out very well in Sweden, in some places people have parlayed premium cabin flights and premium lounge use as economic opportunities via socializing, social-climbing facilities or as pick-up places.

GUWonder

@nacho,

If someone used an SAS Amex to buy groceries and get a few hundred SEK back with the grocery purchase, would the cash amount of the charge on the receipt still count for points earning? Just thinking if people are incentivized to withdraw c 10k SEK cash per month this grocery store way to run up c. 120k SEK in additional charges per year on the SAS Amex cards.

nacho

AMEX Plat doesn't give you EBG, only the EB Mastercard does but it has cut down the status point earning drastically this year. From what I have observed, they mostly pay bills and buy unnecessary stuff with it to make the spending which IMO totally meaningless.

The only reason they are so keen on it is because of their over perceived the value of business class tickets and the 241 voucher. It's great when they double dip and work out but I have seen them having to cancel the trip (they have to book it like 330 days before) and then lose the 241.

Those people who try to game the system must have excessive amount of free time, for example: students on CSN

Why would a billionaire care about a 241 coupon and points? I had the chance of doing that while I was living in Sweden but both Mr and I agree that we would never want to pay 2.5% fee just to get some points that is more restrictive than cash.

I haven't signed up for that one - so you are into spending $ in Argentinian Peso to save some $

Exactly, if I have that kind of $ why would I bother with the miles? You are 110% tied up and they can stop the FFP any time, and it is not as flexible to get award tickets vs revenue tickets. The 241 has to be used within a timeframe if there's another pandemic or their flights are cancelled the 241 is gone.

Yes but the cashback might count as cash advance (I don't dare to try). Forget about this for a second, assuming that there's no fee for cashback (I only know COOP CC - you can take $ out if you are shopping grocery for someone else without them noticing it. E.g. you buy grocery for 1200:- and you take 100:- out, in the statement it appears as 1300:-. I know someone was doing it).

This would work if you happen to have a COOP bank account to deposit the $ in right away, or ICA - somewhere that you can deposit $ (it's not that safe as there are people around you seeing you with a stash of cash). However, I think they might flag your account pretty quickly if you deposit 10k cash every month. I have seen people writing about their Swish get blocked by the bank because there are unusual transactions. If you don't have a supermarket bank account, you'll need one or you will have a hard time finding a bank that takes cash.

What those Swedes do instead is to pay all their bills through Betalo or Billhop and pay 2,5% fee, this way they can pay their mortgage bills, utility bills, tradesman bills, CSN debt, parking tickets through Betalo (which only works for some bills but not all).

jamesbrownontheroad

File under "probably nothing" but SK1012 ARN-SFT ES-ACK today 2023-03-09 has been holding at FL100 s-e of SFT for about 30 minutes. SFT arrivals show "new info 09.50". Not clear if there is a problem on the ground or in the air.

Edit: diverted LLA.