Status Miles on MEA codeshare
Feb 21, 2018, 4:47 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Vienna
Programs: BAEC Gold, TK E+, LH Sen, Accor Plat, Base level: AF, AS, DL, Hilton, IHG
Posts: 194
Status Miles on MEA codeshare
Hello,
Just a quick question to the forum to make sure I am not going to try to fight a battle I can't win.
I recently made a journey BEY-IST-SIN/SIN-IST-VIE with Turkish Airlines. For the BEY-IST leg, I opted for flight TK1867, as this minimized the (still long) layover in IST. TK1867 is a codeshare operated by MEA.
The miles never appeared in my account and I chased them up, but the TK customer service people are insisting that only bonus miles are awarded on codeshare flights outside Star Alliance. I am a bit miffed at this, as not only was it booked as a TK flight, the ticket was also issued by TK on a TK ticket number as part of the larger journey. On any other airline I have been a FF with, this would get you status credit assuming you credited to the marketing carrier's own FF program.
Further, before selecting the flight, I made a dummy booking and with the same flight the TK website said that 1350 award miles and 1350 status miles would be given for the flight (it was in business class) and it was on this basis I made the flight (otherwise I would have taken the earlier TK-operated flight).
It was annoying enough not to have the flight credit before my return SIN-IST flight (as it would have tripped me into Classic Plus and thus more miles on the long-haul leg), but it is even more so not to get any status miles at all when TK's own booking engine says they are awarded. With only short-haul flights on the horizon, the additional status miles would be a welcome boost towards elite level.
Do I have a chance to argue my case (I have sent them a screen shot of the booking engine) or should I just write this off to experience and worry about more important things?
Appreciate the advice from someone more knowledgeable!
Shuttle
Just a quick question to the forum to make sure I am not going to try to fight a battle I can't win.
I recently made a journey BEY-IST-SIN/SIN-IST-VIE with Turkish Airlines. For the BEY-IST leg, I opted for flight TK1867, as this minimized the (still long) layover in IST. TK1867 is a codeshare operated by MEA.
The miles never appeared in my account and I chased them up, but the TK customer service people are insisting that only bonus miles are awarded on codeshare flights outside Star Alliance. I am a bit miffed at this, as not only was it booked as a TK flight, the ticket was also issued by TK on a TK ticket number as part of the larger journey. On any other airline I have been a FF with, this would get you status credit assuming you credited to the marketing carrier's own FF program.
Further, before selecting the flight, I made a dummy booking and with the same flight the TK website said that 1350 award miles and 1350 status miles would be given for the flight (it was in business class) and it was on this basis I made the flight (otherwise I would have taken the earlier TK-operated flight).
It was annoying enough not to have the flight credit before my return SIN-IST flight (as it would have tripped me into Classic Plus and thus more miles on the long-haul leg), but it is even more so not to get any status miles at all when TK's own booking engine says they are awarded. With only short-haul flights on the horizon, the additional status miles would be a welcome boost towards elite level.
Do I have a chance to argue my case (I have sent them a screen shot of the booking engine) or should I just write this off to experience and worry about more important things?
Appreciate the advice from someone more knowledgeable!
Shuttle
Feb 21, 2018, 5:06 am
#2
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: 13,048
Dealing with Miles & Smiles is... well... challenging...
It seems perfectly logical to me that you should earn M&S status miles for TK marketed flights, as you mention. But finding somebody at TK willing and able to do anything about it is going to be tough. Some people report better service by talking face-to-face with TK staff at airport ticket offices, etc. although that may not be as fruitful for chasing missing miles.
Did you get bonus miles at least?
It seems perfectly logical to me that you should earn M&S status miles for TK marketed flights, as you mention. But finding somebody at TK willing and able to do anything about it is going to be tough. Some people report better service by talking face-to-face with TK staff at airport ticket offices, etc. although that may not be as fruitful for chasing missing miles.
Did you get bonus miles at least?
Feb 21, 2018, 5:48 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Vienna
Programs: BAEC Gold, TK E+, LH Sen, Accor Plat, Base level: AF, AS, DL, Hilton, IHG
Posts: 194
Dealing with Miles & Smiles is... well... challenging...
It seems perfectly logical to me that you should earn M&S status miles for TK marketed flights, as you mention. But finding somebody at TK willing and able to do anything about it is going to be tough. Some people report better service by talking face-to-face with TK staff at airport ticket offices, etc. although that may not be as fruitful for chasing missing miles.
Did you get bonus miles at least?
It seems perfectly logical to me that you should earn M&S status miles for TK marketed flights, as you mention. But finding somebody at TK willing and able to do anything about it is going to be tough. Some people report better service by talking face-to-face with TK staff at airport ticket offices, etc. although that may not be as fruitful for chasing missing miles.
Did you get bonus miles at least?
I did at least get the bonus miles, but as I am only a few thousand off Elite, a boost of some more status miles would be welcome.
Cheers
Shuttle
Feb 21, 2018, 10:42 am
#4
Moderator, Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles & Accor ALL
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: BRU
Programs: TK*G, Accor ALL Platinum
Posts: 7,587
As with all Star Alliance programmes it is the metal that counts for status miles. Codeshares with non *A carriers do not earn status miles.
Feb 21, 2018, 12:20 pm
#5
Join Date: Dec 2007
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 139
Dealing with Miles & Smiles is... well... challenging...
It seems perfectly logical to me that you should earn M&S status miles for TK marketed flights, as you mention. But finding somebody at TK willing and able to do anything about it is going to be tough. Some people report better service by talking face-to-face with TK staff at airport ticket offices, etc. although that may not be as fruitful for chasing missing miles.
Did you get bonus miles at least?
It seems perfectly logical to me that you should earn M&S status miles for TK marketed flights, as you mention. But finding somebody at TK willing and able to do anything about it is going to be tough. Some people report better service by talking face-to-face with TK staff at airport ticket offices, etc. although that may not be as fruitful for chasing missing miles.
Did you get bonus miles at least?
Furthermore, codeshares also mess it up. You can have say, a T class ticket on TK, and have a segment on a non-TK carrier (with a codeshare). That T class does not carry over to the codeshare flight. It's very hard to find out what deal TK has with them and how that flight is coded for booking class internally by the third-party airline.
If you want miles, steer clear of codeshare flights. The codeshare flights marketed as TK will mess it up more, not less. Btw, this is not just TK, it's the same for other airlines too.
Feb 21, 2018, 1:20 pm
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Vienna
Programs: BAEC Gold, TK E+, LH Sen, Accor Plat, Base level: AF, AS, DL, Hilton, IHG
Posts: 194
Shuttle
Last edited by Shuttle; Feb 21, 2018 at 1:42 pm Reason: typo
Feb 21, 2018, 2:44 pm
#7
Join Date: Dec 2007
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 139
Well, lesson learned. But to say it was to be expected, well, I expected, perhaps with hindsight, naively, but not unreasonably, TK to follow what they offer on their booking engine (image below), which clearly states that you get status miles for this flight. But, as I said, I will chalk it up to experience and not book outside Star Alliance in the future.
Shuttle
You're totally correct with your expectation if the website lists it. Star Alliance doesn't do that, but I think airlines can have reciprocal partner arrangements, in which they can decide to give miles to each other's customers. That's a possibility but I don't see MEA listed on the partner page. Looks like bad info regarding those miles (in the picture), unless someone can correct me in my interpretation.
Side story: (I had a similar case last year - I bid for an upgrade and flew in business. But the internal booking class was not C and I got 0 miles out of my transatlantic flight)
Feb 22, 2018, 12:22 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Vienna
Programs: BAEC Gold, TK E+, LH Sen, Accor Plat, Base level: AF, AS, DL, Hilton, IHG
Posts: 194
Did you get miles properly for your other leg IST-SIN? My understanding would be that you would get it for IST-SIN.
You're totally correct with your expectation if the website lists it. Star Alliance doesn't do that, but I think airlines can have reciprocal partner arrangements, in which they can decide to give miles to each other's customers. That's a possibility but I don't see MEA listed on the partner page. Looks like bad info regarding those miles (in the picture), unless someone can correct me in my interpretation.
Side story: (I had a similar case last year - I bid for an upgrade and flew in business. But the internal booking class was not C and I got 0 miles out of my transatlantic flight)
You're totally correct with your expectation if the website lists it. Star Alliance doesn't do that, but I think airlines can have reciprocal partner arrangements, in which they can decide to give miles to each other's customers. That's a possibility but I don't see MEA listed on the partner page. Looks like bad info regarding those miles (in the picture), unless someone can correct me in my interpretation.
Side story: (I had a similar case last year - I bid for an upgrade and flew in business. But the internal booking class was not C and I got 0 miles out of my transatlantic flight)
Well, although I am missing some miles, at least I got to experience an airline I had not otherwise flown on (MEA- who were very good I must say).