A punk feeling lucky - retain silver for 220?

[albatross710]

It's QFF re-qualification time and I have to feel a little remorseful for using all those other asian airlines during the past 12 months.

I finished the year at 220 SC, 30 SC short of 250 for the silver re-qualification.

Looking at my account I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had retained silver. woohoo.

I admit I have been unfaithful to redroo this year, preferring the flexibility of some other carriers to whisk me to asia.

Question : is it normal to retain silver for 220? or should i be feeling lucky?

Alby

 

[Pvcmenace]

I would say Yes, you are lucky! My daughter had 3 years in a row attaining and maintaining silver and the 2 most recent years only made 240SC and no joy for her.

 

[Pushka]

When is your final date? If just yesterday sometimes it takes around 5 days to close off.

 

[mviy]

It's the 28th August now. The earliest the last day of the year could be would be 31st July if the year has already finished. If there wasn't a comp the new status would be reflected much sooner than now.

If the year ends 31st August then it's too early to tell whether a comp has happened. You'd need to wait till next week sometime to be sure.

 

[albatross710]

If the year ends 31st August then it's too early to tell whether a comp has happened. You'd need to wait till next week sometime to be sure.

Good point. I was looking at the account website which gave me this confirmation.

See below.

 

[mviy]

It's QFF re-qualification time and I have to feel a little remorseful for using all those other asian airlines during the past 12 months.

If you've saved a lot of cash then you've made a good choice. PS (Silver) doesn't give you a lot of benefits. SG (Gold) gives lounge access and WP (Platinum) gets you into the Domestic Business and International First lounges which is a step up again. If you can't get to SG or above there's limited value in chasing status. PS is nice to have, but I'd be much more concerned about losing SG/WP status than losing PS.

Was your 3 year average (SC from past 36 months / 3) above the required SC to retain PS?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

... but I'd be much more concerned about losing SG/WP status than losing PS.

Hmmm. Silver has huge benefits. Preferred seating for free on AA. Main cabin extra on AA for free at check-in. Free bag on AA. Group 4 (minimum) on AA giving access to overhead space. Emergency exits on CX for free at time of booking. 7-day advance seat selection on BA free of charge (saving hundreds of dollars in business class). Priority boarding on BA (access to overhead space). And of course business class check-in to smooth out airport time.

For QF, perhaps not so much benefit, except that I tend to get the offer of a call-back when calling QF reservations... saving hours of hold time (something which is unacceptable in the first place and really doesn't deserve praise).

 

[mviy]

Personally I mainly fly QF so benefits for flying AA, BA and CX whilst nice to have don't affect me most of the time. And if you fail to retain PS you're probably not flying enough to use the benefits of PS that you mention a lot anyway.

Having said all that I am hoping to reach LTS in the next few years or so. It would be nice to never slip back down to NB.

For me the biggest benefits of PS would be being above NB in the upgrade queue, perhaps slightly better reward availability (though you may need at least SG for that) and getting extra points on longer flights. Priority check-in is nice but if you have no lounge access its value is greatly diminished imo.

 

[drron]

2 years ago I retained PS with only 40 SCs.The year before though I had only just failed to reach gold.Oh those JASAs.
Didn't get it again.But that doesn't mean I don't fly a reasonable amount just that I usually post to a different program.Only get QF SCs when the booking class would get no credit with AA.

 

[Happy Dude]

Like drron, I got comped PS but with only 20SCs in the bank. I think I was PS for about 4 years prior? From memory I'd only just scrape PS so I don't think any sort of average was applied.

I wouldn't say that you were lucky but I would say that some other posters have been desperately unlucky.

 

[serfty]

SWMBO earned SG with 760 SC's. With that flight she decided to put a moratorium on flying.

At the end of her SG period she dropped to PS.

A year later she was comped another year of PS.

Another year later she dropped to NB.

In that time she did not earn a single ~ or SC.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Ms FM has just been comped silver for another year with 100 Sc. her 3 year average would have been well under as well. She only has 6 SC to go for lifetime silver and has the flights booked to give her 20sc, so that might have been a factor.

 

[mviy]

She only has 6 SC to go for lifetime silver and has the flights booked to give her 20sc, so that might have been a factor.

She'll get the LTS kit soon, I guess. Would be interesting if she gets the standard PS kit then a little while later after qualifying for LTS the LTS kit.

 

[Pushka]

What is the LTS pack? There's just a letter for LTG.

 

[Flying mermaid]

She'll get the LTS kit soon, I guess. Would be interesting if she gets the standard PS kit then a little while later after qualifying for LTS the LTS kit.

Don't know - I would imagine she would get the standard silver card and then next year when she should drop to bronze she would get the LTS card. I don't think she will have much paid travel in the next year, as she is still paying off her honeymoon with me

I should get a soft landing to gold in the next day, as I only have 90SC this membership year, so I guess I will see whether I get a standard gold card, or a LTG card.

 

[Flying mermaid]

What is the LTS pack? There's just a letter for LTG.

Isn't there a card that says life time silver if you drop to bronze _ I assumed that is what he meant. There is definitely only a letter for LTS and LTG, but no-one in our family has needed to use their Life time status yet.

 

[serfty]

Ms FM has just been comped silver for another year with 100 Sc. her 3 year average would have been well under as well. She only has 6 SC to go for lifetime silver and has the flights booked to give her 20sc, so that might have been a factor.

There's little doubt the three year average contributed to her extension.

 

[mviy]

Isn't there a card that says life time silver if you drop to bronze _ I assumed that is what he meant. There is definitely only a letter for LTS and LTG, but no-one in our family has needed to use their Life time status yet.

If you don't hold higher status when you level up to LTS you should get a letter congratulating you and a new card that says lifetime on it, I think. If you hold SG or above you'd just get a letter and when you fall back to PS you'd get the LTS kit if you haven't reached LTG before then.

Once you have LTS you can't fall to NB (Bronze) anymore.

 

[Flying mermaid]

There's little doubt the three year average contributed to her extension.

You might be right. I was just checking her account. 100 this year, but she had 380 the previous year, so would only have needed 270 the year before to get the 3 year average. She did have a J trip to South Africa that year, but it was an award but there would have been paid J to Durban return, so that was 80 and I did pay for a J trip to Auckland - it was a total disaster though with her being downgraded to Y on 3 of the 4 legs and I don't think I chased ORC so I am not sure how much she got for that. She might have just scratched up enough to get the 3 year average. Anyway once she gets her 6 SC she will be silver for life and I don't see her flying enough to ever get to gold again, now that I don't pay for her.

 

[Robert K]

Haven't flown much on OW last few years, but have just kept been compd silver.
I guess because it doesn't cost them anything really.