Status renewal – or not with Miles & More

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Viewing 12 posts - 16 through 27 (of 27 total)

  • STORMIN'
    Participant

    First of all, many thanks indeed for the feedback on this. Just to update – I tried another entry point into LH management and attached a link to this Forum thread but it seems that all communication relative to Miles & More matters just finds its way back to the Miles & More team and ends up on the same jobsworth’s desk – it does appear to be the same individual that is responding. Anyway, the same robust position is being maintained so I have just got off my last LH Group (LX) flight this morning from Dubai. That’s me now done – I’m all set with Oneworld and Skyteam, so I do need to find another Star Alliance operation to attach myself to. Whilst my Tiers period expired at the end of 2017, my Senator card remains valid until the end of next month, so I will now investigate a Status Switch / Match to another Star Alliance airline – most possibly TK

    Footnote – Mr Otley, can you please explain why my tagname which was in place at the start of this thread has changed to reveal my real name – not a problem for me in respect of this thread but it might have been on a more sensitive topic


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    Try Aegean. It has a low threshold, 35,000 for Gold I think. The only thing is you won’t get the bonus miles if not flying with them.


    FDOS_UK
    Participant

    [quote quote=845688]First of all, many thanks indeed for the feedback on this. Just to update – I tried another entry point into LH management and attached a link to this Forum thread but it seems that all communication relative to Miles & More matters just finds its way back to the Miles & More team and ends up on the same jobsworth’s desk – it does appear to be the same individual that is responding. Anyway, the same robust position is being maintained so I have just got off my last LH Group (LX) flight this morning from Dubai. That’s me now done – I’m all set with Oneworld and Skyteam, so I do need to find another Star Alliance operation to attach myself to. Whilst my Tiers period expired at the end of 2017, my Senator card remains valid until the end of next month, so I will now investigate a Status Switch / Match to another Star Alliance airline – most possibly TK
    Footnote – Mr Otley, can you please explain why my tagname which was in place at the start of this thread has changed to reveal my real name – not a problem for me in respect of this thread but it might have been on a more sensitive topic
    [/quote]

    That’s a Data Protection breach – please fix it immediately BT.


    Montysaurus
    Participant

    Early last year I wrote to the BA Exec Club to say I had been a Silver Member for 23 years continuously (the nearest I ever got to Gold was 1100 points) but would struggle in 2017 to maintain my status due to a postponed commission. I did not ask for my silver status to be retained, I merely pointed out why I might drop back. I received a charming reply to say that I was appreciated as a loyal customer, my concern had been noted and that I would be awarded silver status in 2018 even if I failed to reach 600 points in 2017. I was also told that in 2018 my situation would be reviewed for 2019. As it happened I did reach 600 points in 2017. This shows that BA does have a heart and will consider “helping out”.


    JonathanCohen09
    Participant

    Another interesting thread, I had the same problem with BA a number of years ago when I missed Gold by 50 tier points and they would not budge on that ocassion. That was the beginning of the end of my relationship with them.

    I completely understand that there has to be a cut off but I also think that there should be some flexibility for people who just miss out but have far exceeded the requirement in previous years.

    That brings me on to something interesting that Hilton Are doing with their frequent stay programme. They have announced that from now on any one who stays more nights than required to gain a certain status level will be able to carry those nights over to the following year where they will count towards that years status. What a great way to keep people loyal.

    I hold Diamond status which needs 30 separate stays in 12 months. I did 33 stays last year and so I am already 3 stays towards retaining my status this year.

    I wonder if any other hotel programmes will follow suit and indeed will any of the airlines offer a similar benefit. This innovation will certainly mean that Hilton will keep my business.

    What do others think about this idea?


    SwissExPat
    Participant

    @Joathan

    As a former Hilton Diamond member for numerous years, please dont get me started.

    The good people at Hilton decided a few years ago that if you tagged on a redemption night to a stay (which I often did) that this would the disallow the WHOLE stay as counting for Status. I lost mine that year and now am lost to Hilton honours as a result.

    So perhaps not the greatest example of a loyal and encouranging FF program.


    JonathanCohen09
    Participant

    Hi SwissExpat,

    Sorry to hear that you had a poor experience and I would feel the same if that happened to me.

    Things seem to have changed as I often booked 1 or 2nights paid and then tagged on a free night using points and there was never any problem getting credited for the stay.

    Now you can use points and cash for bookings and you get stays credited and points for the cash spent so I am happy but I have no wish to get you started as you said.


    STORMIN'
    Participant

    A quick follow-up to this debacle – after attempting to access other levels of the appropriate management along with elevating this matter within Lufthansa, I have been firmly informed that there are no exceptions to the rules, no matter what the circumstances. As an alternative, I have been invited to part with €2000 to retain my status – I don’t think so. The final sentence of their response which I attribute to the German sense of humour is – we trust that we can keep counting on your loyalty – yeah!


    capetonianm
    Participant

    I have been firmly informed that there are no exceptions to the rules, no matter what the circumstances.

    After I left my last ‘day job’ I had about 500,000 LH Miles, and Senator status. I rang the M&M call centre to make redemption bookings but found that whatever route and date range I wanted, and I was prepared to take Y or F if C wasn’t available, there were no redemption seats, and I gave a wide range of destinations and dates over a 6 month period.

    The Miles were due to expire about 6 months later and there was no way I could make a booking, so I asked for an extension. Naturally this was refused and I asked to speak to a supervisor, was then told ‘she vill tell you ze same, rules are rules.’ Ploughing on, I spoke to a supervisor, pleaded my case, and was told : “Ve vill look into it and email you in 3 days.”

    Three days later I received an email and they had extended my miles’ validity for a year. At the end of that year, and knowing that I would not have been able to pull off the same stunt again, I used the miles for purchases from LH online shop. What was interesting was that they ended being worth more that way than in redemption air tickets or upgrades.

    They do make exceptions, or perhaps I was lucky. I also won an EU261 case against after they had told me I couldn’t claim. Maybe I am even more dogmatic than the Germans!


    capetonianm
    Participant

    I might have succeeded because I ‘phoned Lufthansa’s Head Office and asked to speak to the Chairman, and the lady said : “Vich Chermann do you vish to speak to, ve are all Chermanns here.”

    That of course would have been in the days before their English speaking customer service was transferred to a call centre in India, and a particularly useless one at that as the staff are not empowered to make any decisions at all, just to apologise, stall, and obstruct.


    STORMIN'
    Participant

    Yep – that’s been my experience. I said that I wanted to take this up directly with the Lufthansa CEO – Carsten Spohr but I could never get past any of the gatekeepers. I will continue to spread my experience amongst as much business travel social media as I can whilst now focusing upon a status swap with another Star Alliance airline so that I, at least, retain my Star Alliance Gold status


    LuganoPirate
    Participant

    It’s a Teutonic mentality to obey the rules and this is why LH are so strict – it’s in their DNA!
    Personally I’ve always had great experiences with the Miles and More carriers and rarely had a problem getting a mileage ticket with a bit of flexibility, and never had a problem upgrading a ticket with miles. Two weeks ago I was able to get a mileage ticket with 3 days notice in First to South Africa (JNB) and Mrs. LP a day before her flight in Business, and in her case she has no status with them.

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