Norwegian Consumer Council: Customers must be allowed to keep bonus points on flights

Customers must be allowed to keep bonus points on flights even if they expire, the Norwegian Consumer Council believes.

During the pandemic, there has been little opportunity to travel, and many Norwegians are in danger of losing the bonus points they have with airlines. The Consumer Council is now intervening.

“We have written letters to SAS and Norwegian and asked them to extend the life of the bonus points. We are not free to travel now, and the airlines cannot annul the values the customers have entrusted to them,” Inger Lise Blyverket of the Consumer Council said.

Many customers had to cancel their holidays when the pandemic hit, and some were refunded with bonus points with an expiration date.

Chose points over money

When corona hit and travel was canceled, customers could choose whether they would receive a refund in the form of bonus points or a refund. The Consumer Council believes that the companies have manipulated the passengers to choose points.

Some customers also chose points to show solidarity with the airlines, and SAS and Norwegian would have been in an even more difficult situation if all customers had chosen to ask for their money back, the consumer director emphasized.

“Then, we expect the same honesty back to consumers,” Blyverket said.

Lost points

Norwegian is undergoing restructuring, and customers have no opportunity to use the points now. The company has sent an email to inform customers that the deadline can be extended by pressing a button.

“Of course, no one wants to delete their points. It is completely unnecessary to demand that we press a button so that they do not disappear. People will obviously keep their points, but there is a great risk that they will lose them now,” Blyverket pointed out.

She added that such an email is quickly lost in the mailbox, confused with advertising, or forgotten. By the fact that customers must actively do something, she believes that Norwegian is facilitating lost points.

When it comes to SAS, they have a product range that customers can pay for with bonus points, but the Consumer Council does not think it is a good idea to have a currency that can only be used for something the customer may not need, and without the opportunity to choose a competitor.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

Do you have a news tip for Norway Today? We want to hear it. Get in touch at [email protected]