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Yup, it’s that time of year again — your unused upgrade certificates, drink vouchers, lounge passes and other airline perks issued in 2017 will soon expire.
Ideally, you’d be able to put these to use yourself, or share them with family members or friends, but all too often frequent flyers finish out the year with unused credits left in their accounts. Rather than simply letting them go “poof” when the clock strikes midnight when they’re scheduled to expire, you might as well share them with a TPG reader, and make someone else’s day. Similarly, if you’re a reader in need of some of the perks outlined here, feel free to make your request known below.
First, you may be wondering what kind of “benefits” we’re talking about here. To give you an idea, these might include:
1. Alaska Gold Guest Upgrades: Top Alaska Airlines elites, including MVP Gold and MVP Gold 75K flyers, receive four certificates that can be used to confirm first-class upgrades on an economy ticket, either for the member, their companions or other customers traveling on their own. These upgrades clear into the “U” fare bucket and can be applied to most Alaska-operated flights. These can be shared with any eligible customer simply by passing along the certificate number. Alaska upgrades expire on December 31 of the year they’re issued.
2. American Systemwide Upgrades: American Executive Platinum elites receive four systemwide upgrades that can be used to move from economy to business class or business to first class on any American or American Eagle flight. You can earn two more upgrades after accruing 150,000 elite-qualifying miles and an additional two after hitting 200,000 EQMs. To share a certificate, you’ll need to call the Executive Platinum line and provide the confirmation number of the passenger you wish to upgrade. These upgrades expire on January 31 of the year after they’re issued.
3. United Global Premier Upgrades (GPUs) and Regional Premier Upgrades (RPUs): United Premier Platinum members receive two RPUs, while Premier 1K members receive six GPUs and two RPUs — in addition to the two RPUs accrued once 1Ks hit the requirements for Platinum. 1Ks can earn an additional two RPUs for every 25,000 Premier Qualifying Miles (PQMs) and two GPUs for every 50,000 PQMs. So a 1K who finishes the year with 200,000 PQMs will have earned a total of 10 RPUs and 10 GPUs. These upgrades can be shared online or via a reservations agent — you’ll need to provide the confirmation number and last name of the passenger you wish to upgrade. United certificates expire on January 31 of the year after they’re issued, but there may be an opportunity to extend two GPUs.
4. Lounge passes, drink tickets and more: This one’s a bit of a mixed bag, and can include airline lounge passes issued as a credit card or hotel elite status perk, drink tickets sent in airline elite status welcome packets and more. These benefits expire on a rolling basis, so check the certificate to confirm validity before offering to share.
Now that you know what you can share/request below, let’s go over some ground rules, as previously outlined by TPG‘s Nick Ewen.
Here’s how it works: If you have a perk or benefit that you absolutely won’t be able to use before it expires, post a comment below with details — include a description of the item, the quantity you have to give away, the expiration date and any other restrictions associated with it. Provide your email address for readers to contact you directly (it might be a good idea to set up a separate email address for this purpose). Then, when you have successfully transferred a benefit to a reader, post a follow-up reply to your original comment with the word “COMPLETED” so other readers know that the benefit is taken and not to contact you.
If you’re a reader and interested in a perk listed in the comments, contact the poster directly with an explanation of how you’ll put it to use — or, if you don’t see a benefit listed that you’d like to have, add a request, including an email address of your own. Please include any applicable details (like travel dates, class of service, etc.) to make sure you can actually use the benefit. Be brief and respectful, and recognize that the individual with the benefit has complete discretion to decide who should receive it.
Here are some additional ground rules for the exchange:
And, as a reminder, you’re not limited to the perks listed at the top of this post — you can share or request any benefits you’d like, as long as transfers are permitted by the program’s terms and conditions.
Source: thepointsguy.com