Selling gold status
Dec 5, 2017, 4:12 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Skywards (Gold), Star Alliance (Gold), Turkish Airlines (Elite +)
Posts: 68
Selling gold status
Hi, I wondered if anyone can help. As a Turkish platinum card holder I can upgrade 3 people to gold status for a year for 40K miles each time.
Is it against the rules of the programme to sell these? I know you can't sell reward flights, but that is different and I can't find an answer on their website.
I have miles that will expire by the end of the year, so now would be a good time to be upgrading someone.
Is it against the rules of the programme to sell these? I know you can't sell reward flights, but that is different and I can't find an answer on their website.
I have miles that will expire by the end of the year, so now would be a good time to be upgrading someone.
Dec 5, 2017, 4:57 am
#4
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Skywards (Gold), Star Alliance (Gold), Turkish Airlines (Elite +)
Posts: 68
lol....well that's not a large margin of uncertainty.
I might nip into the Turkish airlines office tomorrow and see if they can confirm. I'm not going to break any rules and risk my own status. I know what it cost me to achieve it in the first place. Although a quadruple status miles offer a while ago helped out
I might nip into the Turkish airlines office tomorrow and see if they can confirm. I'm not going to break any rules and risk my own status. I know what it cost me to achieve it in the first place. Although a quadruple status miles offer a while ago helped out
Dec 5, 2017, 5:05 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Skywards (Gold), Star Alliance (Gold), Turkish Airlines (Elite +)
Posts: 68
Dec 5, 2017, 6:22 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,040
I certainly wouldn't post it on Ebay. (nor would I necessarily hand over any money to somebody selling status on Ebay!)
But you could put feelers out as to whether any friends of friends might be interested...
But you could put feelers out as to whether any friends of friends might be interested...
Dec 5, 2017, 7:41 am
#7
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Under the Cone of Silence
Programs: UA Gold; AA Dirt; HH Diamond; National Emerald; CONTROL SecretAgent Platinum; KAOS EvilFlyer Gold
Posts: 1,499
lol....well that's not a large margin of uncertainty.
I might nip into the Turkish airlines office tomorrow and see if they can confirm. I'm not going to break any rules and risk my own status. I know what it cost me to achieve it in the first place. Although a quadruple status miles offer a while ago helped out
I might nip into the Turkish airlines office tomorrow and see if they can confirm. I'm not going to break any rules and risk my own status. I know what it cost me to achieve it in the first place. Although a quadruple status miles offer a while ago helped out
Dec 5, 2017, 8:35 am
#8
Join Date: Sep 2017
Programs: TK E+, RJ S, AZ E
Posts: 1,869
Here’s an idea that I think is legit (but you’ll have, of course, to check it beforehand).
Give a friend an Elite status for 40K miles and let that person repay the same amount, i. e., transfer 40K miles into your account.
Your friend get Elite status and you get 40K miles that are valid for another 3 years.
Give a friend an Elite status for 40K miles and let that person repay the same amount, i. e., transfer 40K miles into your account.
Your friend get Elite status and you get 40K miles that are valid for another 3 years.
Dec 5, 2017, 8:37 pm
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Skywards (Gold), Star Alliance (Gold), Turkish Airlines (Elite +)
Posts: 68
Considering that it is almost certainly against the rules, I'm not sure it would be wise to inquire about it directly with TK. And I certainly wouldn't provide them with any info about you, like your name or account number if you do inquire. The last thing you'd want is to have them note something in your account, which could cause you problems if you later even legitimately use miles to gift the status to a friend/relative.
Dec 5, 2017, 8:40 pm
#11
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Skywards (Gold), Star Alliance (Gold), Turkish Airlines (Elite +)
Posts: 68
Here’s an idea that I think is legit (but you’ll have, of course, to check it beforehand).
Give a friend an Elite status for 40K miles and let that person repay the same amount, i. e., transfer 40K miles into your account.
Your friend get Elite status and you get 40K miles that are valid for another 3 years.
Give a friend an Elite status for 40K miles and let that person repay the same amount, i. e., transfer 40K miles into your account.
Your friend get Elite status and you get 40K miles that are valid for another 3 years.
Dec 6, 2017, 6:57 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Skywards (Gold), Star Alliance (Gold), Turkish Airlines (Elite +)
Posts: 68
Dec 6, 2017, 8:13 am
#13
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Under the Cone of Silence
Programs: UA Gold; AA Dirt; HH Diamond; National Emerald; CONTROL SecretAgent Platinum; KAOS EvilFlyer Gold
Posts: 1,499
Again, I may be being overly cautious, but hence my comment about not providing your name, account details if/when you inquire, that's all.
Dec 6, 2017, 8:24 am
#14
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2016
Programs: Skywards (Gold), Star Alliance (Gold), Turkish Airlines (Elite +)
Posts: 68
Logically speaking, you're correct, an inquiry should not have any effect. I'm just thinking in practical terms of what might happen due to a misunderstanding. Hypothetical example- you inquire, they say no, it's against the rules. But they've noted in your account something like 'customer was informed that selling status is against program rules'. Soon thereafter, you gift status to a friend/family member. Later some busybody at TK might deem it suspicious that you inquired about selling status, and later provided status to someone, thus launching a line of inquiry.
Again, I may be being overly cautious, but hence my comment about not providing your name, account details if/when you inquire, that's all.
Again, I may be being overly cautious, but hence my comment about not providing your name, account details if/when you inquire, that's all.
Last edited by Alisonnoonan; Dec 6, 2017 at 8:57 am
Dec 6, 2017, 10:08 am
#15
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Barcelona, London, on a plane
Programs: BA Silver, TK E+, AA PP, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott LT Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 13,040
Is it really worth it?
Let's say you find someone willing to pay $500 for Elite status. That barely compensates you for the 40K miles you must spend. Unless you really, truly have zero use for them and will let them expire.
OK, so let's make it $1000. Would you pay that to a random stranger in exchange for the promise of an Elite upgrade? Maybe, but probably not. So flip it around, is $1,000 enough compensation for the risk that TK audit why you gifted status to somebody whose name, address, etc. bear little resemblance to your own? Hard to say, but selling status is definitely not an approved activity, even if we're not quite sure if it is 100% prohibited.
Let's say you find someone willing to pay $500 for Elite status. That barely compensates you for the 40K miles you must spend. Unless you really, truly have zero use for them and will let them expire.
OK, so let's make it $1000. Would you pay that to a random stranger in exchange for the promise of an Elite upgrade? Maybe, but probably not. So flip it around, is $1,000 enough compensation for the risk that TK audit why you gifted status to somebody whose name, address, etc. bear little resemblance to your own? Hard to say, but selling status is definitely not an approved activity, even if we're not quite sure if it is 100% prohibited.