Can you backdate frequent flyer points

I

ice

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hi

Have booked a flight to sydney with Cathy Pacific however I neglected to join their frequent flyer programme.

Does anyone know if I can back date this flight (won't be flying till the end of the year) if I join now....its about $50 to join.

They are part of the one world alliance but I am not a member of any of these airlines either:(

There does not seem to be a relevant email address on their website so if anyone knows anything about frequent flyer points would love your advice.
 
ice - some schemes allow you to back date flights, but in your case you haven't taken the flight yet, so the issue shouldn't arise. If you join now you should be able to present your card at check-in and get the points added to your account.

However, I don't think it would be worth paying to join the scheme unless you plan on taking a lot of flights specifically with Cathay. It may be better to join another OneWorld scheme (like BA or American) and get the points added to that.

z
 
I don't know about Airline companies, but I worked with a hotel chain with their own frequent traveller program, and if you join on a later day than your stay, they will backdate points, I don't remember how long back they did go, I think it was either one or three months. So it might be worthy trying. All that info should be on their T&C's.
 
Most Airlines FFPs only require you be a member at the time of travel, not at the time of purchase... so you could join now.

I'm not a member of Cathay's programme so I'm not 100% sure of the details. A quick glance at their website shows they have 2 clubs - which is a little complex.

Marco Polo Club - which you have to pay $50 to join
Asia Miles - which is free

Marco Polo club allows you go get status / lounge acces etc the more you fly... obviously if you were to fly with Cathay a lot then you could build up this status and it would be well worth joining (though it's odd they charge - most airlines don't)

Asia Miles is for putting the points that you earn from flying into - where you can redeem them for rewards (if you have enough) ... it's owned by Cathay but has lots of other non airline partners too - kind of like a Hong Kong version of Superclub !

I certainly wouldn't pay $50 to join the "Marco Polo Club" if you're unlikely to fly Cathay again - paying gets you nothing really - only the right to accumulate status points with them if you fly a good bit.

e.g. A round trip from Heathrow to Sydney would not qualify you for any status with Cathay unless it was in First Class (and even then you'd only just get into their Silver level)

Asia Miles is free - so why not join .. if you fly Aer Lingus and other oneworld airlines in the future you might get something out of it in the end (though note most cheaper flights - especially Aer Lingus ones don't accrue many miles in most programmes)
 
If they are a member of oneworld you might consider joining one of the other airlines in the alliance.

Some airlines make it easier for you to make the next grade depending on what country you live in. For example, to reach silver/gold status with sas you need to take more flights if you live in Scandinavia than elsewhere. Same goes with FlyingBlue and France
 
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