Has been well pushed with Air NZ and we have now lodged a complaint with the Commerce Commission.
I just think the two Statements,
"For Gold Elite members, complimentary upgrades may be confirmed by Air New Zealand up to 355 days before the flight."
and
Air New Zealand's definition below,
"Complimentary Upgrade" is a specified number of upgrades that may be awarded by us to Tier Status Members as part of their Tier Status benefits. Complimentary Upgrades are subject to seat availability at the time of departure at the airport and are not guaranteed."
are mutually exclusive, you can either confirm an upgrade or you cant.
If you cant at any stage confirm the upgrade then I believe it is deceptive to induce people to try and attain Gold Elite status in the belief that they will be able to confirm upgrades when they book a flight.
We did spend over $40 000 in a 12 month period to attain Gold Elite status and if they are only going to give you a seat they cant sell it is not really a benefit and in our case we have been punished for our loyalty rather than rewarded.