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Silver to Gold FC Status Upgrade

Posted:
10 Nov 2004, 20:24
by mike-smashing
Hi folks,
Just done a quick scour around to see if anyone has posted before about this - couldn't see anything obvious, sorry if this is another age old question.
I've just done my Ag to Au qualifying flight, and the tier points have been credited to my account.
Any idea how long before whatever bit of magic down at Crawley realises and upgrades my FC status, and ships me out a membership pack?
Only thing is, I've potentially got another Transatlantic flight coming up at pretty short notice, and probably down the back or in PE, and my choice of airline will depend on how quick they sort it out!
If I can be sure of having my VS Au benefits by then, I'll probably go VS (then I get some TPs toward next year), otherwise, I'll go UA (where I've already qualified as Au for 2005, so don't need the miles, but will get lounge access, and probably a confirmed upgrade).
Cheers,
Mike

Posted:
10 Nov 2004, 20:41
by mcuth
Mike
I think there's supposed to be an automated "upgrade run", but I'd give FC a call. When my TPs credited, I left it a few weeks then called and they were absolutely fine about doing it there & then

Cheers
Michael

Posted:
10 Nov 2004, 20:41
by HelenF
I'm not 100% sure on this, but I seem to remember someone posting something about a periodic (monthly?) 'sweep' to upgrade people's status, but that the upgrading could be done manually in cases such as yours if you gave VS FC a call. Worth a try? After all, the worst they can say is 'no'.

Posted:
10 Nov 2004, 21:11
by mike-smashing
OK, thanks folks...
Now I come to think of it, I qualifed for Ag in December 03, and it was January 04 before my Ag pack arrived and a new FC number was issued.
I'll hang back a day or two to see if I get "swept" in the meantime, and then I'll give them a call and dangle the carrot of doing it sooner than the "sweep" and getting some more business

.
Shame that it seems to work this way, comparing it with UA, where your status in the computer changes usually as soon as the qualifying miles/sectors are posted to your account - and therefore, even without the Au card, your new entitlement automatically appears on boarding cards and the like (your Mileage Plus number stays the same for life).
Cheers!
Mike

Posted:
10 Nov 2004, 21:43
by HelenF
I wouldn't have thought it was too complicated to have the computers recognise when you reached a threshold and generate a request for a pack to be sent out, but then I'm not a techie

Could just be an economies of scale thing that means that doing lots of packs once a month (or once a whatever) makes more sense.

Posted:
10 Nov 2004, 22:59
by RichardMannion
http://www.v-flyer.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1673You should see a note on your account (viewable online) within a few days to indicate that you have met the required 40 points to acheive Au. It then takes up to 4 weeks for your pack to be fulfilled, as these are made by a third party company.
Thanks,
Richard

Posted:
11 Nov 2004, 08:17
by sahajesh
I waited 5-6 weeks for my account to go from Red to Gold (the TP screen showed that I qualified for Silver) but never actually gave me a new number. In that period, the end of month 'sweep' date had passed with no change to my status.
In the end, I just used the Contact Us form on the website and was upgraded within 2 days and got an email back from FC confirming the new status.
Cheers,
Sahajesh.

Posted:
11 Nov 2004, 13:15
by mike-smashing
I may have to book the flight within the next few days, so I phoned up FC in the end. Sorted straight away over the phone, "Your Gold pack should be with you in the next few weeks".
Excellent...
Mike

Posted:
11 Nov 2004, 14:47
by cshore
When this happened to me (i.e. taking a flight just after
qualifying for gold), I contacted FC who checked it out and
sent me an email which I could print out and show to
everyone concerned (checking, lounges etc.) to confirm
the new status in advance of receiving the pack.
It worked fine.