In November 2020, Norwegian filed for bankruptcy protection in Ireland. Then a few weeks ago the airline announced it would end long haul flights and get rid of 787s. Now it has been announced that Norwegian Rewards, which is Norwegian’s loyalty program, is being “paused.”
In this post:
Norwegian suspends loyalty program
The Norwegian Rewards program is being paused at least until the current bankruptcy protection proceedings are over, and until “the COVID-19 situation allows.” Norwegian is promising to be transparent and to not devalue CashPoints (the value of which is tied to Norway’s currency), and does aim to relaunch the program.
What are the practical implications of the Norwegian Rewards program being paused?
- All program benefits with Norwegian are being paused; membership will remain active, but during this time it will not be possible to earn or spend CashPoints or Rewards on Norwegian’s products or services, from flight tickets to extra baggage
- You will still be able to earn CashPoints with partners (presumably because this is a revenue opportunity for the airline)
- Following the pause, a potential limit on CashPoints spending may be implemented; at that point you’ll be able to earn and redeem rewards, but the airline reserves the right to limit the spending of CashPoints as means of payment until the impact of the ongoing pandemic is under control
- CashPoints and Rewards validity will be extended by at least one full year
Norwegian is suspending many aspects of its loyalty program
Even if Norwegian Rewards returns…
Even if the Norwegian Rewards program does make a full comeback at some point, it may not be of much value to many people who had previously participated in it.
Pre-pandemic Norwegian made a huge push for its frequent flyer program in the US, and was even planning to introduce a US credit card. With Norwegian no longer operating long haul flights, that’s of limited value at this point.
The same is true for people with Norwegian vouchers. A lot of passengers have vouchers with the airline due to canceled flights, but those aren’t of much use if you’re based in the US and the airline doesn’t plan on resuming transatlantic flights.
Norwegian is ending long haul flights and getting rid of 787s
Bottom line
Norwegian is undergoing a major reorganization, and in the process the airline is pausing its frequent flyer program. You’ll still be able to earn CashPoints with partners (since this is a way for the airline to make money), but you won’t be able to earn or redeem CashPoints otherwise.
Only time will tell if Norwegian emerges from its current bankruptcy protection proceedings. The airline is highly leveraged, and if the airline does survive, it will be a shell of its former self.
Anyone impacted by the Norwegian Rewards program being paused?
(Tip of the hat to Steve E)
Back in February 2020 I purchased tickets for my family to fly from San Francisco to Paris in early June 2020, then returning from Munich in August. After COVID-19 happened and it was clear that the flights had to be cancelled I opted for the optional Cash Points Rewards Program, which offered an additional 20% incentive to compensate for possible fare increases when redeemed later. Well, now that Norwegian is only flying out of Denver...
Back in February 2020 I purchased tickets for my family to fly from San Francisco to Paris in early June 2020, then returning from Munich in August. After COVID-19 happened and it was clear that the flights had to be cancelled I opted for the optional Cash Points Rewards Program, which offered an additional 20% incentive to compensate for possible fare increases when redeemed later. Well, now that Norwegian is only flying out of Denver all these points are no longer valuable to me. Back in July 2021 I had inquired about the possibility getting the Cash Points payed out as a refund due to teh stop of Norwegian's Long Haul flights - following is the response I got from their customer service:
"Following the recent changes to our network, we certainly respect your request for special consideration to have your CashPoints transferred to you in cash.
According to our Terms and Conditions for CashPoints, the CashPoints cannot be paid out in cash. Similarly, when submitting a claim for travel credit in CashPoints instead of a ticket refund, the customer is informed and agrees that they understand that the request is binding, and once submitted, the cost for the entire booking for all passengers will be converted to travel credit as CashPoints.
If a flight is disrupted and the customer is entitled to a ticket refund, they will always be able to claim a refund back to the form of payment used upon booking. In addition to offering a monetary refund, we also offered the alternative of a ticket refund in the form of CashPoints. As informed when submitting the claim, monetary claims for the cost of the ticket will not be accepted after the claim is submitted.
Unfortunately, considering these conditions, we’re unable to honour your request. We understand that our response may not offer the outcome you were seeking, but we do assure you that you will still be able to redeem your CashPoints on flights in our European network.
May we advise you that we will be giving all members with CashPoints due to expire on 31 December 2021 the opportunity to extend the validity of those CashPoints by one full year. You will receive more information about this. We also recommend that you check your Norwegian Reward account where you can find the expiry date for the points you have earned: https://en.norwegianreward.com/login"
I also inquired with a lawyer but was told that nobody wants to deal with airlines unless there is a lot of money involved, due to the typical international nature of their business. So unless they bring back some flights to the US that work for us we'll likely have to write this experience off as a loss :-(
Same situation here. Had a flight booked from L.A. to London. I was going to try and use some of the points on a flight within Europe but they're only allowing a small number of points to be used with a purchase. They're useless.
My husband and I love over 1600 USD from a cancelled trip from San Francisco to Berlin. Without long haul flights, the cashpoints are utterly useless to us. I've filed a consumer complaint through the department of transportation and I'm in contacts with Norwegian customer service. No luck with anything yet. We have to be able to do something about this.
We lost about $2500 from our flight that was cancelled in May 2020. They only offered cash points, then in 2021 they cancelled long haul flights and when I called and demanded a refund they said I should chosen that back in 2020. I explained I never was given that option and the woman continued to argue with me about it for about 20 mins. She ended her call with me by saying no one...
We lost about $2500 from our flight that was cancelled in May 2020. They only offered cash points, then in 2021 they cancelled long haul flights and when I called and demanded a refund they said I should chosen that back in 2020. I explained I never was given that option and the woman continued to argue with me about it for about 20 mins. She ended her call with me by saying no one knows the future and it’s possible long haul flights may come back and that was her resolution for me. I will never use this airline again and I may even look into a lawyer to get our money back if it’s worth it. I loved this airline until they royalty screwed me and my loved ones out of thousands of dollars.
I too lost about 2,000 GBP because they wouldn't give me a refund for a cancelled flight from London to Boston in April 2020. They offered my cashpoints and in hoping to at least use them for short haul flights within Europe.
I also lost about $1000 usd when they canceled my flight and offered cash points (and nothing else). I just tried to book a flight recently with the cash points and found out I could not. Is there any recourse for those of us who lost our money. This is so wrong!
If this can make you feel better: I didn't accept cashpoints and asked for a refund. This was "granted" but the money never materialized since last spring... Norwegian hasn't been the only one doing this. I have the same situation on La Compagnie which still owes me a refund but refuses to pay "until they can resume operations".
I wanted to fly from London to New York in April 2020 with my family (4). They cancelled my flights and offered CashPoints. I accepted because I undersood bad situation of all Airlines and wanted to help them to survive. But I strongly believed they will resume flights to US in some months and I will fly with them to US. It looks like I was stupid i had trusted them. Now I have 2000...
I wanted to fly from London to New York in April 2020 with my family (4). They cancelled my flights and offered CashPoints. I accepted because I undersood bad situation of all Airlines and wanted to help them to survive. But I strongly believed they will resume flights to US in some months and I will fly with them to US. It looks like I was stupid i had trusted them. Now I have 2000 USD in CashPoints, they promised me (in conversation) possibilities to use it for Short-houl flights. Now it looks like they have cheated me. It will not be possible to regain the money in any way. They have taken my money and try not to give it back.
Is it really legal? How about consumer’s protection? Can thay change the rules after my acceptance of their offer to take CashPoints that I will be able to use to pay for other flights? Does anyone know if somebody have taken any legat action againts it? Do they really believe that anybody will buy any ticket for flight by cash if they do not keep their promisses?
Here in Norway, this has caused a PR disaster for the airline. There have been quite a few stories about customers with thousands of dollars worth of cash points they’re now unable to access. On top of that, the restructuring process has also legally paused any outstanding refunds for flights scheduled before they entered restructuring.
The latest update I have is that the government is looking at providing about 1.5 billion NOK through either a...
Here in Norway, this has caused a PR disaster for the airline. There have been quite a few stories about customers with thousands of dollars worth of cash points they’re now unable to access. On top of that, the restructuring process has also legally paused any outstanding refunds for flights scheduled before they entered restructuring.
The latest update I have is that the government is looking at providing about 1.5 billion NOK through either a loan or hybrid capital, and the airline is looking at cutting debt by around NOK 20 billion plus raise around NOK 3 billion from shareholders. The Norwegian stock has been reduced to a penny stock on the OSE, most of the shares owned by leasing companies have been sold. Share prices have been yo-yoing for months as day traders are having fun.
@shoeguy
Because they had a viable short haul operation in the Nordics? It was the B787 and flying all over the world that got them in trouble.
@Gregg
Nope by all account the government of Norway will be supporting the new slimmed down version of the company due to wanting a domestic competitor to SAS.
Norwegian has $500+ of my money in those Cashpoints, due to THREE cancellations of the same SFO-CDG flight in 2020! No refund offered either..It is, in my view, illegal. They hold millions of American passengers's money hostage. And of course, if I want to fly from Oslo to Copenhagen, I will now have to BUY my way. Right...
Why is this carrier still in business?
And guy from Finland, no we were not aware that anything was wrong with the airline. Why would we know that?
They did not offer me a refund. They offered cash points plus 20%. No refund offered
@Maria - you can “want” your money but you won’t get it. If you accepted the bonus off you can’t claim they didn’t offer a refund. Also airlines can change the terms of their program (or end it) at their sole discretion. Bottom line - you will never get your money back!
Something tells me they will be “pausing” their entire flight schedule soon, too.
Norwegian baited and switched period. They offered cash points to me instead of a refund last year when the cancelled my flight from Boston to London. I want my money.
@Daniel from Finland, please, don't be ridiculous. The average leisure flyer is not up to date with the corporate health of the carriers they fly. Consumer protection laws exist for a reason.
@Evan, can’t blame anyone but themselves if people are stupid enough to accept something like that from an airline on the brink of bankruptcy.
I'd be furious if I were a Norwegian passenger who accepted CashPoints + a 20% bonus in lieu of a refund for a cancelled flight during the coronavirus pandemic.