Luggage allowances for gold * Alliance member
 

I'm getting mixed messages on this subject. I probably just need to call the airline and get a difinitive answer, but anyway, here's the story.

DH and I will most probably be flying on Swiss Int'l from Amsterdam to Zurich on a short one-way flight. I have looked at train travel between the two cities, but it requires lots of time and lots of shuffling between trains! Too 'busy' for me.

Anyway, Swiss is in the star alliance, and I am a gold member, which allows me to check 3 (heavy) suitcases. But, if I read the Swiss site correctly, they say that only 2 pieces can be checked for flights within Europe. Who trumps whom on this one? Do I get my 3 bags, or don't I???

What say you?

Thanks.

Carol

If gold level then you get 3.

Extra Baggage Allowance - an additional 20kg (44 pounds) or one additional piece of luggage which means you can check in three bags instead of two.

http://www.staralliance.com/en/benef...silver-status/

I would disagree - the note on the star alliance site has a subscript 2, indicating it is for flights between n and s america.

I have found that staralliance carriers have different limits for inter-Europe flights and TATL flights.

Why don't you call Swiss and ask? It;'s their rules that will hold.

The cited site has a footnote, which would seem to exclude your flight. Call the airline. I read the Swiss airlines site as allowing a certain weight, depending on your ticket class; I don't think they consider you a traveler from the US unless your flight starts in the US.

good point mztery - gotta pay attention to those pesky little footnotes!

I believe that Lufthansa and SWISS have the same baggage rules -- at least that's what the LH web site says. The web site says that for flights within Europe, "<b>your free baggage allowance is determined according to the 'Weight Concept'. With this concept the free baggage allowance is defined by total weight of your baggage, rather than by the number of bags....Economy Class: 20 kg (44lb) - plus 1 ski bag on flights operated by Lufthansa and Swiss International Airlines</b>."

Star Alliance gold members additionally get "20kg for all classes of travel on Star Alliance Partner flights and Luxair and one piece of ski luggage on flights operated by Lufthansa and Swiss International Airlines."

So, according to the web site, the number of bags is irrelevant for the AMS-ZRH flight, assuming that flight is not part of another ticket. You get 20kg + 20kg = 40kg, or about 88lb.

Of course, that email that United just sent out a few minutes ago doesn't help clarify things now, does it ;)

"Dear XXXX,

Enjoy the special privileges you've grown to expect on United every time you fly on Star Alliance®, our global network of 28 airlines.

As a 1K® member, you're automatically a Star Alliance Gold member.

Enjoy special recognition and elite benefits like:
• Check three bags free <i>(no mention of weight)</i>
• Priority check-in
• ...."


FWIW, we recently had an intra-European flight on a different Star Alliance carrier, and I checked on baggage limits just to be sure. I don't recall the specifics, as we weren't close to the limit, but it was something similar to what rizzuto posted above. I'd call and check.

Sorry, if my response above sounds sarcastic, that was directed at the email--which I'd just received not once but three times!

Just got that email myself (I've not looked at email most of the afternoon since posting my OP question). No, it really doesn't help, does it.

I'm going to call Swiss!!!

Thanks everyone for your replies. I knew I'd get answers (or at least educated replies) here.

Where can I buy a suitcase that's shaped like a SKI BAG??? haha

One more question. I've asked on flyertalk, but I'll also ask it here to see what the fodorite flyers have to say.

I just got my holiday trip to Bangkok confirmed. My return is a 'Y' fare economy class. According to my EQM summery, some of my EQMs this year have been earned because of (and I'm quoting here): "the additional elite status miles (EQM) you get for buying certain tickets (booking codes F or A in first class, J, C, D or Z in business class, and Y or B in economy class."

My question.... is that extra bonus a per centage of the actual miles? Like 50% or 25% or..... 100% :)) ??

"Flight miles earned on most paid, published fares on Star Alliance airlines count toward elite status qualification. Plus, when you fly on United or United Express, Continental, US Airways, Air Canada and Lufthansa on a paid ticket in First Class (F A), Business Class (J C D Z) and Unrestricted Economy (Y B), you can earn a 50% EQM.EQS bonus. So it's easier than ever to regain your 1K status."

This is quoted from UA's web site. Looks like 50%! I've answered my own question with just a little bit of persistent searching.

I can say, definitively, that you will get 40 kg for a Swiss flight within Europe as a *G. Rizzuto's interpretation is spot-on.

travelgourmet... Thanks for your confirmation of what I am interpretting as the baggage rules. I think we will be just fine.

Tickets on Swiss are booked. I learned an interesting lesson (which I don't think I've mentioned here). I looked at booking a one-way for DH and myself, on Swiss, AMS to ZRH. It was VERY expensive (about 340 SFr each ticket). It was suggested that I investigate a rt ticket, and then just toss the return portion.

I found fares for a rt same-day travel to be about the same price. Then, I discovered that if I booked a 'stay' of 2-3 days, the cost of the rt ticket was reduced to about 279 SFr. BIG discovery was when I put in dates for rt with a return of a week later. MUCH lower price! Maybe because it was including a weekend. But now we have our rt tickets for 149 SFr each, and will just toss the return portion. Lesson learned: look at all the options!!

if you need the miles from the swiss flight and are using your UA FF # - be very careful. it's unlikely they will make a deal if you only do it once but the risk when doing this when you want the miles form the flight is greater than if it's a non aligned airline.

Are you sure you're actually on a "Y" fare class? Because the letter "Y" may also simply means "economy/coach" service class, and not the unrestricted fare class. "Y" fare is usually ultra-expensive, sometimes as much as or more than discounted business.

rkkwan... this was an "ultra-expensive" ticket! And yes, it is a 'Y' fare. Says so right on my reservation. The only reason I paid a lot was because I'm thinking of just how much the 'entire' trip would normally cost me.

I'm flying free in first class to get to BKK from ORD, so I bought an upgradeable (SWU) one way ticket that showed actual 'possible' availability of upgrades (I'm currently waitlisted, as usual) and it was on 882 all the way back to Chicago, and not on some route thru LAX, IAD, BOS, or somewhere else out of the way. That's why I did it. And now I'm smiling because I get 150% EQM miles to boot.

So all in all, it was about what I'd be paying for a round trip 'upgradeable' (SWU) ticket, but I get extra EQMs and get to enjoy first class yet again on a long trip from ORD-BKK!

If you look at the whole picture, it was not such a bad deal.

Carol

(but thanks for making me take a closer look at what I had booked!!!!) :)

I THINK i understand your logic on the BKK-ORD, but the very real possibility is that you will fly F on the outbound and E+ o the return. By the holidays all the planes should have new C in place with fewer seats.

The other drawback on 882 is that if your SWU clears from BKK to NRT, and not NRT to ORD, you will use an SWU for a relatively short flight.

It seems you know just enough to do some things well and others maybe not so clearly? Esp around the holidays, it's more crucial to look at historic loads for the flights you are going to be on, not just that there are open seats now.

I fly to BKK at least three to four times a year..... so I've done this many times! I am not a newbie at this routing.

Trust me... the SWU is less likely to clear from BKK to NRT than it is from NRT to ORD. But so far... knock on wood, I've been at the top of the waitlist, sometimes at the gate, sometimes I clear 100 hours before flying, sometimes within days of booking my ticket. I'll take my chances. Ten out of ten, so far, since earning 1K status.

And I've done a BKK Christmas/New Years Eve+ trip three years in a row now. The 747s to/from Asia and ORD are all reconfigured; the 777s have not yet been done (as of Aug when I last returned from there). I am aware of fewer C seats.

Thanks for your comments, in any case. I will keep them in mind.. and I'll try to post (on Asia forums) my successes at upgrades.

the 777's are showing completed for my trip in November.