Royal Orchid Plus Platinum ?

[rogerdee123]

By accident I ran across a long thread in "Flyer Talk" Thai Airways forum, beginning last year regarding the ROP platinum program that was quietly initiated last year (2010) by Thai Airways.

Apparently and according to the thread, the requirements at that time were .... 100k of annual miles flown and 80% on Business or First Class. Also according to the thread there has been no public announcement. Some Gold ROP members have received the upgrade by mail. According to the thread there are about 3500 Gold members qualified for the upgrade.

I am wondering if anyone on this forum has been upgraded to ROP Platinum and if so ... do you notice any significant changes/improvements in benefits? According to the thread it is suppose to include more baggage allowance and two free upgrades per year and I presume that Platinum trumps Gold for wait-listed seats. This seems a bit lame. Anything else?

Also the thread mentions that the new Thai Airways boss or CEO or whatever they call him has currently put this on hold ... although some have already received their new Platinum Cards .... also said to have microchips in them.

In any case .... just posting this here to see if anyone has any additional info on this.

You can find the thread by googling "Flyer Talk" and looking at the "Thai Airways" forum.

[tw25rw]

According to the thread, they announced it then never went through with it.

There has been a number of management changes at TG so maybe they will proceed when things have settled.

[trotbot]

got my shiny Platinum Card, although it is more purple than platinum. Virtutualy no additional benefits, can use the first class lounge, extra 10kgs, miles don't expire. It's invitation only, no criteria are published, but it is clear that economy plebs are not in the running

[theoldgit]

Having lost my gold status years ago I'm never gonna get one of these babies

http://www.royal-orchid-plus.com/Jun11/index.php?load=content_4

[supaprik]

got my shiny Platinum Card, although it is more purple than platinum. Virtutualy no additional benefits, can use the first class lounge, extra 10kgs, miles don't expire. It's invitation only, no criteria are published, but it is clear that economy plebs are not in the running

555 plebs 555

[tw25rw]

You need to have had ROP gold for a number of years and to have flown enough qualifying miles on TG rather than *A partners. Exact details haven't been published.

[boney]

got my shiny Platinum Card, although it is more purple than platinum. Virtutualy no additional benefits, can use the first class lounge, extra 10kgs, miles don't expire. It's invitation only, no criteria are published, but it is clear that economy plebs are not in the running

I guess I must be a pleb.

I have been gold for years and have flown a mix of pleb class and business.

Not received one and probably will not due to the fact I must be a pleb.

[tw25rw]

got my shiny Platinum Card, although it is more purple than platinum. Virtutualy no additional benefits, can use the first class lounge, extra 10kgs, miles don't expire. It's invitation only, no criteria are published, but it is clear that economy plebs are not in the running

I guess I must be a pleb.

I have been gold for years and have flown a mix of pleb class and business.

Not received one and probably will not due to the fact I must be a pleb.

How many of your flights were on Thai Airways planes?

[saakura]

got my shiny Platinum Card, although it is more purple than platinum. Virtutualy no additional benefits, can use the first class lounge, extra 10kgs, miles don't expire. It's invitation only, no criteria are published, but it is clear that economy plebs are not in the running

I guess I must be a pleb.

I have been gold for years and have flown a mix of pleb class and business.

Not received one and probably will not due to the fact I must be a pleb.

Same here. Been a gold member for over 10 years continuously, but not received one. I have about 250,000 Royal Orchid miles expiring 31st Dec 2011 and been racking my brains about it....dont want to redeem it for more flying or hotel stays.... But if miles dont expire with Platinum, then it would be good to have it and keep the miles for use when business travel stops.

[trotbot]

I do about 80-150,000 miles a year, all in business, 70% on Thai.

[Furbie]

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) hosted a gala evening at St. Regis Bangkok to introduce and launch the new elite status called Platinum of the Royal Orchid Plus frequent flyer program.

Senior THAI management welcomed THAI’s best customers, those among the new elite Platinum status, and other VIP guests. Platinum status is by invitation only, to THAI’s most valued customers who travel very frequently and exclusively in Royal First Class and Royal Silk Class, and who have been long-standing Gold members.

Platinum members are truly an international group of frequent travelers with approximately 60% of Platinum members residing in Thailand, with the remaining 40% residing in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America. All appreciate the comfort and service level of premium class travel with THAI’s legendary Royal Orchid service with the unique ‘touches of Thai’ across the THAI network.

Platinum members enjoy enhanced recognition and benefits when flying THAI, which include:

• Complimentary Upgrades that can be transferred to Award Nominees
• Priority reservation service when contacting the Thailand Contact Centre
• Guaranteed confirmed Economy Class seating, 48 hours prior scheduled departure
• Dedicated check-in at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
• Access to Royal First Class lounges
• Immigration Fast Track in Bangkok
• Additional baggage allowances
• Priority airport services
• Waiver of Royal Orchid Plus service fees
• More flexibility with Award Nominees
• No expiring miles

[MRToMRT]

If you log into your ROP account you can see the details - biggest is:

unlimited upgrades for you and your partner (!) after attaining a certain (undisclosed) mileage on your card