Hello everyone,
Actually a past user of AFF but for some reason, it couldn't find me anymore so started a new account.
I posted this in another forum as a warning but essentially this.
Those with HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card & Have Chosen Singapore Airlines As Your Star Alliance Status Airline - Read on
This warning is for those who have taken up HSBC Star Alliance Credit Card and have chosen Singapore Airlines as your chosen Star Alliance Status Conferral Airline AND you have now passed the one year anniversary.
I got this Credit Card back on 25/11/2022 and chose Singapore Airlines as the Star Alliance Gold Status Conferral Airline.
Obviously it has been a year and the whole experience with this credit card has been… experimental at best. With three parties involved in this, there will bound to be stuff-ups and as many of you have experienced dealing with international helpdesk, they can be quite… scripted and indifferent at best even if the flaw has been demonstrated crystal clear.
And so this is what happened.
25/11/2023 - Credit Card statement arrived. Confirmed requalification for Star Alliance Gold Status for another year.
28/11/2023 - Email from Star Alliance arrived. Saying I am eligible for Gold Status Star Alliance. Choose your airline by 12 December 2023 (14 days). After this, Star Alliance will request for the Status to be conferred to you (the Star Alliance Gold Status in the form of the KrisFlyer Gold Elite)
02/12/2023 - Received email from Krisflyer saying I have been downgraded from Gold to Silver because of lack of miles. This is the WTF moment.
02/12/2023 - Emailed Star Alliance which said I have to wait until 12/12/2023 (the 14 days changing FF period) and then the request will be sent to SQ which then will take somewhere between 1-14 days to confer the status. Last year, I nominated on 17/12/2022 and was conferred on 29/12/22, so a horrifying 12 days. So in total, from 25/11/23 (last Anniversary Statement issuance), up to 31 days between your eligibility and conferral of status.
17/12/2023 - Travelling overseas while the status is yet to be conferred. Big red flag!
So the blind spot is, as you can now see, is that despite requalification, they won't re-confer it to you for up to 31 days (3 + 14 + 14). If you are flying within these 31 days, you are screwed (for reasons including having already paid the whole airfares with free seat selection due to status and now suddenly you lost that status - will they stop me at the airport?)
So the lessons learned here (if you have this card and want to be with SQ and want to make the full use of it) are:
1. If you haven't applied for this card and wants to apply, DON'T DO IT CLOSER to your normal holiday flying schedule (eg: Christmas). Leave a space up to 2 mths prior. OR
1. You do not travel so close to your requalification month (in my case, I would never be able to travel as Gold in Christmas). Leave a space of up to 2 months. OR
2. You do not choose SQ as your Star Alliance Status Conferral airline (They take up 14 days to confer the status) OR
3. You do not get this card at all because they are being run by quite frankly, sub-par officials and for $450 per annum, hardly worth it.
So afterwards, I decided to move to Air Canada within the 14 days Star Alliance gave me and within 2 days (not 3), I regained my Star Alliance Gold which I can use on my SQ trip and obtain the benefits.
So the message for those who are requalifying and still sticking with SQ is that you WILL be downgraded to Silver and to regain you would have to wait up to 31 days. If you are travelling within those 31 days, you are at risk of not having status at all. Furthermore, even if you do get it, the T&C for choosing Krisflyer means you can only get maximum of 11 months worth of membership vs AeroPlan which will give you remaining of this and next year membership.
They are actually breaching their own T&C and I pointed this out explicitly but as I said, being international helpdesk, they have none of it. I am planning to escalate this to higher management later. The fault lies with Star Alliance and KrisFlyer, not HSBC.