Do you have a lot of Millemiglia points and don't know what will happen to them if Alitalia goes bankrupt? Here are some scenarios
There are a lot of clouds over the future of Alitalia and of course booking a ticket to fly with our airline of [...]
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There are a lot of clouds over the future of Alitalia and of course booking a ticket to fly with our national airline might seem like a gamble with a high risk of losing your money and your vacation. There is, however, a worse nightmare that affects all members of the loyalty program, the Millemiglia club, That of losing all the points accumulated in recent years.
In this article:
In this article we try to hypothesize some of the scenarios that could affect elite level holders and the piggy bank in which Millemiglia points are stored, and most importantly we will propose ways in which you can try to shelter them.
If Alitalia goes bankrupt what will happen to the Millemiglia points?
Answering this question is practically impossible; the loyalty program of airlines, including Alitalia, is one of the main assets, which is why in the diatribe between the government and the EU we talk about slots, brand and loyalty. In Norwegian's recent bankruptcy, all members saw themselves freeze your account and it is unclear, if and when, they will be able to regain possession of the points.
In the case of the Nordic company, however, we must keep in mind that it is a low-cost company not associated with any alliance, Alitalia, on the other hand, is a partner of Skyteam as well as being a traditional carrier.
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The worst-case scenario, the one that members don't even want to imagine, is to Lose everything without any possibility of use. Of less concern, however, is the possibility of losing status, in which case both a new Alitalia and a competitor could easily offer a strategy of status match To enable frequent travelers to maintain benefits.
How to try to shelter Millemiglia points
The premise is a must whatever choice is made one cannot wait to read in Corriere della Sera, "Alitalia is bankrupt" because by then it will be too late.
There are a few possibilities: one might be to convert the points into vouchers for rentals with AVIS. Until June 30, 7,000 MM points can be converted into a €25 voucher to be used for future rentals.
This solution might be suitable for those who have a few tens of thousands of Millemiglia points, safe vouchers are better than nothing.
The other possibilities focus on the choice of issuing one or more tickets, and specifically there are two options:
- Booking (finding seats) with Alitalia
- Booking with a partner carrier
In the first case, you do not shelter yourself from the worst-case scenario. If Alitalia were to go bankrupt, flights would be canceled and the passenger would hardly be reimbursed for the miles (perhaps just the taxes). In any case by paying with an American Express one should be partially covered from an insurance point of view.
In the second case, the problem could arise if the flight is cancelled By choice of passenger or carrier. Since the program no longer exists, where would the miles used to detach award tickets be reimbursed? Conversely, if everything went smoothly, European law guarantees the passenger from unpleasant surprises, except for the possibility of the partner not honoring the ticket due to Alitalia's bankruptcy.
But are there any bookable tickets with Alitalia?
The answer is STRONGLY yes, even too many. Too many in the sense that as of today virtually all of AZ's old intercontinental routes are bookable, even those that in the hypothetical revitalization plan was already written that they would be cut. My advice is to go for the safe, which is the Rome-New York.
We have already explained how much time before tickets are available and how book an award seat with Alitalia, today we can say. the availability of places for the period next February is still plentiful. So one strategy might be to book and move the issue to next February, while waiting to figure out the fate of the company and the Millemiglia program. In case of a happy ending we can always cancel the tickets, get back our miles and money spent on fees, or fly happy as planned.
A little personal reflection
In these tumultuous years, the American Express Alitalia credit card holders have always received special attention and a preferred route. At point collection deadlines depending on the status and/or card held, one could enjoy help in keeping the miles and thus avoid leaving points on the street. It is not certain that in the event of the company's bankruptcy something similar might happen, at the moment it is impossible to know but it might be a sensible thing to have an insurance policy in the portfolio called American Express Gold Alitalia: it is free for one year and could be useful in case of "tragedy."
In conclusion
It's like playing roulette and betting on red or black, being able to take a little insurance in case the house jumps. The choice is not easy since here at TFC we have set aside a few million Alitalia points and seeing them disappear overnight is not exactly the best. Are you in this situation? Tell us what you plan to do.
