Question
I upgraded my Bank of America US Airways Visa card to the Signature card because it offered check-in and boarding (for coach passengers) with first class passengers on all US Airways flights.
I have purchased tickets online with the Signature card and used the Signature card at the self-serve check-in kiosk to get my boarding pass. Three times in a row I have not been issued with a Zone 1 boarding pass. And the gate attendants look at me funny when I show my card with my boarding pass while baording before my Zone is called.
Apparently Bank of America forgot to tell US Airways about the offer they are making. And when I called Bank of America about this their agent also knew nothing about this and couldn't provide any help!!
Anybody know how I can get this to work without going to a lot of trouble?
Answer
sberk2000, welcome to FT. While I've sometimes had the same experiences as you, I've never had anyone tell me I could not board with the first group as long as I showed my US Visa card. To me that would constitute "does not deliver." I know that the extra step is less than ideal and it should work that you never have to bother but to me it is a relatively minor imperfection that I can bear on occasion. They do deliver as promised the early board and access to the premium ticket lines, just with some occasional added inconvenience. Just one more thought. Do you use your US Visa card at the kiosk and not anything else? If you use a US status card or other credit card it may be that you need to use the US Visa card only to get the machine to give you boarding zone status. Hope your future experiences are better and, again, welcome to FT.
Answer
From what I understand, the BofA pitch was "board early in accordance with zone boarding criteria." From what I recall, BofA and Juniper card holders board with Zone 2, not 1. Zone 1 is used for Chairman's, Platinum, and Gold Preferred. Zone 2 gets the Silver Preferreds and the World/Signature cards (and I can't remember where Star Gold and Star Silver fit in here). So I agree with upgrader that they do deliver on boarding - it may not be Zone 1, but it is ahead of the rest.
p.s. - You'll want to make sure that your DM account number is linked to this card - sometimes, that's been an issue.
Answer
From what I understand, the BofA pitch was "board early in accordance with zone boarding criteria." From what I recall, BofA and Juniper card holders board with Zone 2, not 1. Zone 1 is used for Chairman's, Platinum, and Gold Preferred. Zone 2 gets the Silver Preferreds and the World/Signature cards (and I can't remember where Star Gold and Star Silver fit in here). So I agree with upgrader that they do deliver on boarding - it may not be Zone 1, but it is ahead of the rest.
p.s. - You'll want to make sure that your DM account number is linked to this card - sometimes, that's been an issue.
Where does it say that Credit Card holders can board with zone 2? I have the Juniper card and don't remember seeing that. I'll like to print it out for my next trip. :)
Answer
I believe the early boarding is only for the primary cardholder, and that, too, not always.
The primary cardholder is my father.
In Philadelphia I was told that they do not honor the early boarding or check-in, even for the primary cardholder, just because there are too many who have the card. I have used the Visa Signature on occasion to purchase at USAirways.com. I routinely get zones 5 or 6.
Once in a while, if I ask at the gate and show the card, they will let me on early. But for the most part, I, too, agree that the supposed priority boarding and check in is of minimal benefit.
Answer
Thanks to everyone for their responses.
CLT Flyer you are exactly correct - board early in accordance with zone board criteria. I took this to mean zone 1 (as in first class), but this could also mean zone 2 which what I have been getting. Too much exercise - jumping to conclusions.....
Answer
From what I understand, the BofA pitch was "board early in accordance with zone boarding criteria." From what I recall, BofA and Juniper card holders board with Zone 2, not 1. Zone 1 is used for Chairman's, Platinum, and Gold Preferred. Zone 2 gets the Silver Preferreds and the World/Signature cards (and I can't remember where Star Gold and Star Silver fit in here). So I agree with upgrader that they do deliver on boarding - it may not be Zone 1, but it is ahead of the rest.
In PHX BofA card holders board with Zone 2, but do they tell you that anywhere? NO. I tried to board with Zone 1 on Tuesday (just got the card a few weeks ago)(I did not know that I could only board Zone 2) and the gate agent gave me a nasty look and told me to wait until Zone 2 was called!