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The existing system has FQTV and FQTS, so is literally designed for this, but as we know is rarely done properly in practice.
Indeed, and all those who have reported problems have failed to use that dual functionality and run aground by only having one (lower status) FF number in the booking and hoping to rely on a physical or digital membership card of a higher status for better benefits. That may work sometimes, but not always, and there’s no obligation on BA or any airline to accept it.
Let’s not lose sight that the people here know the rules, play the game. And make up 0.???% of the PAX.
I think the goose that has been killed are those travelling Club on business who choose BA to benefit from status on leisure travel. All of a sudden there are better options…
The existing system has FQTV and FQTS, so is literally designed for this, but as we know is rarely done properly in practice.
Indeed, and all those who have reported problems have failed to use that dual functionality and run aground by only having one (lower status) FF number in the booking and hoping to rely on a physical or digital membership card of a higher status for better benefits. That may work sometimes, but not always, and there’s no obligation on BA or any airline to accept it.
You are correct the system has the functionality. The problem is the staff do not know how toy use it, that it even exists and have received absolutely no training from BA. This is particularly an issue at outstations where there are no BA staff.
For those of us with earned status who now wish to credit to another programme, as they have no chance of obtaining status in BA going forward (me), this is deeply frustrating. I do not want to circumvent the system and I have not had to do so for over 15 years. It should be entirely possible for me to use the First wing and group 1 boarding while crediting to my choice of programme.
I think it is really telling that First Wing Staff are telling customers that they must credit to BA to obtain access (me twice in one week) and that all one world carriers removed the functionality to change numbers via the web site and MMB function on April 1st. It stinks frankly and seems entirely anti competitive.
…I think it is really telling that First Wing Staff are telling customers that they must credit to BA to obtain access (me twice in one week)…
Are they quoting any One World rules “and/or” BA rules?
Similarly pax with some low OW status on boarding card, not in a premium cabin attempts to enter BA lounge on a BA Gold card. Computer correctly says no.
According to the OneWorld published rules, presenting the status card is sufficient, so computer incorrectly says no.
I am still inclined to take this view, despite @JDB clucking every bit as much as an RJ metallic fowl! The OW terms make no mention of the FF number having to be displayed on the BP:
“Enjoy exclusive access to premium airport lounges around the world with oneworld Emerald or Sapphire frequent flyer tier status. Members of oneworld airline frequent flyer programmes with the equivalent of oneworld Emerald or Sapphire tier status can use lounges offered by oneworld airlines when departing on any flight marketed and operated by any oneworld member airline, regardless of cabin class being flown (exceptions are noted below).
Emerald tier frequent flyers can use First Class, Business Class or frequent flyer lounges.
Sapphire tier frequent flyers are welcome in Business Class* or frequent flyer lounges. (*does not include Qantas Domestic Business Lounges)
Emerald and Sapphire members may invite one guest to join them in the lounge. The guest must also be travelling on a flight operated and marketed by a oneworld carrier. ***You must be prepared to show your boarding pass and frequent flyer membership card, with oneworld Emerald or Sapphire tier status, to access a lounge.*** Access is available on the day of travel (or before 06:00am the following day), at the airport from which the oneworld flight on which the eligible customer is travelling departs.”
And I agree with @Paul about it being something of a stitch up!
clucking every bit as much as an RJ metallic fowl – you’re gonna get complaints!
Personally I agree about the interpretation of the rules and said so in one of the threads the other day (or was it this one, I’ve lost track!).
Where I think it can be expected to go wrong is if you have a BP which says ‘RJ tin duck = OW Ruby’ because that’s where you want to earn the points and then try waving someone else’s higher OW status card. OK I admit I did make part of that up.
Ironically all my travel for the next 12 months is totally @JDB compliant so I can’t test any of this 😂
Going for Rhodium Kakapo is still on the options list if things are still the same in 12 or 24 months.
Going completely off topic, I’m now sorted for the next two years after BA coughed up for my ORC claim from last month. Bizarrely they gave me the correct 5,601TP for three missing flights (3 * 140 * 13.33), and then added 5,655 for the BAH Double TP bonus. Where the additional 54TP came from I’ve no idea.
I am still inclined to take this view, despite @JDB clucking every bit as much as an RJ metallic fowl!
I’m sure there was a smiley face missed out!! 😁 We all have our knowledge and experiences to contribute
Well of course it was a pun on clucking/birds, all meant in jest!
So @AndrewT are you silver or gold now?
Gold for two full years, after clocking up an impressive sounding 22,458TP from one trip 🙂 Somebody will probably suggest that people doing that is why the system had to change. The same trip now wouldn’t even get 20% of Gold!
That’s a great result. I’m one of the despised 3 grand golds from last year so going to enjoy it till next April then see how the land lies.
Gold for two full years, after clocking up an impressive sounding 22,458TP from one trip 🙂 Somebody will probably suggest that people doing that is why the system had to change. The same trip now wouldn’t even get 20% of Gold!
Some of the system needed to change (got silver once from a single BAH trip in F). But instead of changing the “system” they just kept it and changed the thresholds. More stick and less carrot I think!
I think JDB is being far too generous to BA on this one. Surely, if a passenger has earned status with BA, which often requires loyalty to that airline above its competitors, then the customer has every right to use said status for its duration. If BA has introduced rules around having a specific FF number on their BP then they need to make that clear to their customers. Currently the rules widely available online (as quoted by Northern Lass) make no mention of such rules.
For the last couple of years I basically got Gold through my flights on AA and AY.
I did fly BA for my short haul trips but the bulk of my TPs weren’t from BA flights
As long as you did the 4 qualifying flights it didn’t matter how you earned your TPs.
Those qualifying flights could have been on IB so zero on BA metal
So you could get BA status with zero little loyalty to BA.
Those qualifying flights could have been on IB so zero on BA metal
So you could get BA status with zero little loyalty to BA.
That bit has actually improved in the new scheme. There is no need to fly any qualifying flights and nothing on BA metal at all unless you are going for GGL.
It’s the only improvement to the scheme.
Congrats to @AndrewT on getting Gold in the new scheme albeit from using the double BAH promo.
I think anyone who achieves status that way shouldn’t beat themselves up and shouldn’t be criticised by anyone. It was BA who came up with the promotion. It’s not our fault it lead to unintended consequences – that’s down to BA not thinking things through properly, just as they are now finding with people switching to gaining status through other schemes and still using their status with BA in the interim. That used to happen in the old scheme too but was far less prevalent as gaining/retaining status with BA was the “easier” choice.
@Paul – BA staff do know how to use the dual functionality. Whether they wish to help you out by using it is a different issue.
@NorthernLass – the rules are what they are. BA staff, BABS and Iberia staff/Amadeus all involved in recent reported refusals are not wrong about this, you are. No amount of wishful thinking or seeking to run with the foxes is going to help you. PS there are no OW ‘terms’ that bind you, BA or any OW airline.
@Tom – I understand the concept re previously earned membership, but the rules do make it clear that such membership must be demonstrated in a particular way. If you, as a member, don’t follow the rules to which you have agreed and prefer to wing it, I really don’t see that you have a legitimate complaint.
@memesweeper – the OW ‘rules’ to which you refer, as stated previously, are not ‘rules’ and do not and cannot override the BAC terms and conditions. Each OW airline is free to set its own rules and policies under the broader umbrella of OW guidelines.@jdb 4 times in the last 10 days I have asked BA staff in the FW check in area, at the customer service desk in Galleries First, at Dublin, at Glasgow and I have seen no evidence that they have any idea about FQTV and FQTS. They look like animals caught in the headlights and their reaction is to waive you through rather than engage or resolve. That two flights credited to BA when the had AY clearly printed on the BP and group 5 boarding says it all!
I think what is worse, especially away from LHR but to a degree at T5 is that staff are clueless about the changes and their impact on some passengers. They are neither curious or informed which in a service industry is just dire.Why exactly does One World have a “lounge access policy”? If it’s only a “guideline” then its own levels of status are effectively meaningless. This is not what BA is saying on its own website:
***Lounge access is available to:
British Airways customers flying on a scheduled flight in Club Europe, Club World or First
Silver and Gold members of The British Airways Club travelling on scheduled flights operated by British Airways or one of our oneworld®partners
*Emerald and Sapphire members of any oneworld airline frequent flyer programme travelling on a scheduled flight operated by British Airways or one of our oneworld partners*
As a Sapphire or Emerald member, you’re welcome to invite one guest per departure flight to join you in the lounge. Your guest must be travelling on British Airways or one of our oneworld partners.***Are BA perfectly within their rights, for example, to refuse access to all American passengers travelling in PE or Y who present BPs showing their AA Advantage number plus Emerald/Sapphire status? I can’t imagine that going down very well.
@NL I think the issue is putting your other OW FF no on your BP and using your BA status to access the lounges.
American Airlines takes a dim view of doing that ie using your AA or other OW status to access certain benefits while accruing miles and Loyalty Points (AA terminology equivalent to BA TP) to another scheme. Especially when you try to use your AA status but credit to other OW scheme. They are less worried when it’s using other OW status to access their lounges but crediting flights to AA as they get paid for giving lounge access. Remember AA doesn’t even give access to its own lounges on domestic itineraries to its own status frequent fliers. So it’s not surprising BA and IB are tightening up on this.
It’s also a result of BA not thinking through the consequences of their changes to their scheme. They wrongly assumed BAEC members would just adopt the new BAC scheme without question and wouldn’t turn away and adopt other schemes.
It’s also come about because BA made it so easy to gain status with the Double TP BAH promo. And now it’s not nearly as easy to gain or retain status. BA further alienated customers by ending the BAH promo earlier than initially promised.
@Paul – you are asking the wrong people! This is something that you would ideally put into your booking ab initio with reservations staff. Travel agents are an easier option. Many have also reported doing it themselves toggling between schemes at each relevant stage of the trip.
And re First Wing access being denied, what would you do? You might have someone else’s membership card but probably not their BP. If you were BA wouldn’t you want to make the point? BA is entitled to change the locks after you have been caught playing away. If you don’t hold the right boarding card it’s wholly unreasonable to expect access and if granted it’s a lucky bonus.
@NorthernLass – there are none so blind as those who will not see!@NL And by the way I happen to agree with you. What I think BA/IB is doing is wrong. I have never known access to the lounge using BA status requires the BA number to also be on the BP. Flashing the card should be enough.
I am also unhappy about the changes to BAC. Unlike others I have not bothered to switch OW scheme but I am no longer actively chasing BA status. I fly business class all the time so gain lounge access that way anyway. The rest of the benefits are pretty pointless anyway other than free seat selection at point of booking for Silver upwards and t-7 days for Bronze. I am now a mere Blue member and that is unlikely to change for the foreseeable. I will be extremely pissed off if BA introduces a business lite fare structure like Finnair and Qatar Airways. To my mind lounge access should come with the business class fare regardless. I also refuse to pay for seat selection. And if that means I end up sitting next to a stranger so be it. I will take my chances at T-24.
Edit to add But I also would not fight a CS agent if they refuse me access to a lounge. It’s not worth battling someone over. Perhaps people should fight their corner but I don’t think it’s a battle worth fighting.
@AJA – you are right that BA/IB don’t have the moral high ground here and are behaving like jilted lovers, but that is their prerogative and BAC passengers have signed up to/agreed to the terms that some staff or BABS are now enforcing. Many recount on these pages recount with glee how they play the rules or break the spirit of the rules vs all sorts of big corporations. Funny how they don’t like it being done back to them.
I agree that battling a decision re baggage or lounge access is unwise and quite unedifying. I still can’t get my head around the extensive complaints re BA lounges (in my view not really justified) only now to see people fighting tooth and nail to be allowed access.
I still can’t get my head around the extensive complaints re BA lounges (in my view not really justified) only now to see people fighting tooth and nail to be allowed access.
Isn’t that the sad side of human nature? If you can’t complain about what you’ve got or what you think you’re missing out on, what else is there to complain about?
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