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LM F and J routes (and the occasional trick-it) Rebooted v2.0

Old May 26, 2014, 8:47 am
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Last edit by: SingaporeDon
Originally Posted by Moderator2
Every forum on Flyertalk has a personality. A forum gains a personality through user input over time, and Lifemiles is a very definitive example of how users have developed a unique community.

While Flyertalk boards actively encourage sharing of info, the Lifemiles community has developed and thrived via obscuring of certain data elements. It may not be easy for new participants to break through the codes and gain knowledge of the program's quirks, but the overall board community has adopted this unique approach. And frankly, that is not going to change overnight.

If a FT member wants to participate on this board, then they will need to respect other users. Hence, posts that run counter to this community's standards, will be removed.
Region definitions
C1 North America
C1.5 Caribbean, Bermuda
C2 Europe
C2.5 Middle East
C3 Asia
C4 South America
C5 Africa
C6 Oceania

2X, 3X: in the context of this LifeMiles thread, 2X and 3X refer to any 2nd and 3rd legs of a one-way award ticket.

LifeMiles' Star Alliance Award Chart

LifeMiles' old Star Alliance Award Chart (before Oct 15 2014) // Table of changes

Cash & Miles redemptions: the price per mile purchased during award booking varies significantly depending on how many miles are purchased. The "sweet spots" are between 38% and 58% of the total mileage required, where miles are purchased for 1.5 cents. See here for some examples.

Beware of Cabotage: LifeMiles has been known to issue tickets that constitute Cabotage, and at least one instance of denied boarding has been reported, stranding the passenger. An easily-seen example is travel on Copa from LAX to SJU (via PTY).

Understand Cabotage: Departing country 1, transiting country 2, returning to country 1 (no stopping) *is* cabotage (example: depart JFK, connect in YYZ to return to ORD, or depart Miami, connect in Bogota, return to San Francisco). On the other hand, departing country 1, going to completely unrelated country 2, and ending up in country 3, is not cabotage. So if you fly JFK-JNB-ZRH, for instance, this is completely not cabotage.

Availability: Seeing availability for *A award seats elsewhere is no guarantee they are accessible on Lifemiles. For instance award space shown on ANA often is not accessible on Lifemiles. Similarly, finding award space on single legs doesn't mean you'll get award space on the combined itinerary. And no, there is no way to overcome that.

Screenshot Method
Send email to [email protected] with attached screenshots on Lifemiles website of each individual leg showing availability. Also, screenshot showing no availability as one booking. Include passenger names, gender and DOB and copy of passenger passport. They will either call you for payment or email the itinerary and give you 3 days to call up and make payment by CC.

NOTE: This previous thread has been closed; it can be read here LM F and J routes (and the occasional trick-it)
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LM F and J routes (and the occasional trick-it) Rebooted v2.0

Old May 28, 2014, 2:40 am
  #61  
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Join Date: Sep 2013
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Programs: Ronin - churn and burn
Posts: 701
Originally Posted by yerffej201
Yes the reservation will not go through. You'll need to wait for the seats to come back (if they do) and try again.
In my experience your statement is incorrect.

I booked SQ J from SIN-FRA on the A380.
After inputting my credit card details I got the credit card error.
I called lifemiles, held for about 5 minutes whilst they checked and was told that I'd receive the e-ticket in the next 24 hours.

2 hours later, the e-ticket arrived.

caveat: I am Spanish and had no problems communicating. Experiences in English may vary.
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Old May 28, 2014, 5:02 am
  #62  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: TXL
Programs: A3 Silver
Posts: 1,116
Originally Posted by Jermyn
In my experience your statement is incorrect.

I booked SQ J from SIN-FRA on the A380.
After inputting my credit card details I got the credit card error.
I called lifemiles, held for about 5 minutes whilst they checked and was told that I'd receive the e-ticket in the next 24 hours.

2 hours later, the e-ticket arrived.

caveat: I am Spanish and had no problems communicating. Experiences in English may vary.
Calling when booking a tricked itinerary is a bad idea.
montezume is offline  
Old May 28, 2014, 5:05 am
  #63  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
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Originally Posted by yerffej201
I think your lm number is already attached to the ticket no?
Obviously the poster is referring to adding your ua number after booking. For recognition as a UA elite
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Old May 28, 2014, 5:06 am
  #64  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
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Originally Posted by yerffej201
I think your lm number is already attached to the ticket no?
Some people attach other FF numbers to their reservations to try to take advantage of elite benefits, etc. In this case, it might not be the best idea.
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Old May 28, 2014, 5:24 am
  #65  
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Originally Posted by montezume
Calling when booking a tricked itinerary is a bad idea.
No tricks needed.
SQ 77W and 388 J space shows up pretty frequently on the search, without forcing dates or carriers.

Suites needs tricks though, so I hear.
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Old May 28, 2014, 5:27 am
  #66  
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
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Posts: 1,607
I'm still seeing C2 to C1 very happily

Last edited by AirCanada881; May 28, 2014 at 8:47 am
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Old May 28, 2014, 5:28 am
  #67  
 
Join Date: Nov 2013
Location: TXL
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Originally Posted by Jermyn
No tricks needed.
SQ 77W and 388 J space shows up pretty frequently on the search, without forcing dates or carriers.

Suites needs tricks though, so I hear.
Except the original question was

Originally Posted by KiFly
Ok, this is new to me.
Booked a well known tricked route and got the message "could not process credit card payment ...bla bla... please call our call center".

PNR created, miles are still there.

Obviously I don't want to call. Anyone had this before ? Will the reservation just be canceled if I don't call and thus no payment will go through ?

Any help appreciated
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Old May 28, 2014, 5:38 am
  #68  
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: BSL/FRA
Programs: UA 1K, TK*G (not matched)
Posts: 160
IMHO the now unavailable boomerangs have nothing to do with a change of LM's internal award space search algorithm.

Every (!) boomerang that used to been available on LM could be found in the Amadeus timetable so it was my conclusion that LM uses the Amadeus timetable for route search and then checks class availability on the segments found within that timetable.

When you now search for the same boomerangs in the Amadeus timetable, they are gone.


To verify my hypothesis, I did just a random search for "forced carrier" boomerangs within the Amadeus timetable and did found for example a C3-C2-C2.5...
... and: This boomerang still shows up in LM.

Final conclusion:
LM did not change anything within their algorithm...
BUT...
Amadeus changed it's timetable search algorithm.
germantraveler is offline  
Old May 28, 2014, 5:38 am
  #69  
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
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Posts: 2,245
Originally Posted by Wilko Pali Sedef
I'm still seeing C2 to C1
Was that supposed to be coded?

Totally pathetic attempt if so. Seriously this thread may as well cease to exist. Everything is known. Nothing is new, and the sad attempts at coding are just giving it all away.
Aussie_flyer is offline  
Old May 28, 2014, 6:16 am
  #70  
 
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: CDG
Programs: TK Elite
Posts: 1,607
Originally Posted by Aussie_flyer
Was that supposed to be coded?

Totally pathetic attempt if so. Seriously this thread may as well cease to exist. Everything is known. Nothing is new, and the sad attempts at coding are just giving it all away.
You're smart enough to recognize code, good for you Now I'd advise using the same intellect in making sure your youtube videos aren't more shaky than an earthquake
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Old May 28, 2014, 6:18 am
  #71  
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Originally Posted by montezume
Except the original question was
Sorry, missed that

For the sake of clarity:

The credit card error appears on both tricked an non-tricked itineraries.
In my experience, a phone call quickly clears things up and ensures that you are ticketed.

However, if your itinerary is tricked, it is best not to call. You should wait 2 days and if you still see no e-ticket. If no ticket, move on.
Jermyn is offline  
Old May 28, 2014, 7:03 am
  #72  
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
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Posts: 5,896
Originally Posted by germantraveler
IMHO the now unavailable boomerangs have nothing to do with a change of LM's internal award space search algorithm.

Every (!) boomerang that used to been available on LM could be found in the Amadeus timetable so it was my conclusion that LM uses the Amadeus timetable for route search and then checks class availability on the segments found within that timetable.

When you now search for the same boomerangs in the Amadeus timetable, they are gone.


To verify my hypothesis, I did just a random search for "forced carrier" boomerangs within the Amadeus timetable and did found for example a C3-C2-C2.5...
... and: This boomerang still shows up in LM.

Final conclusion:
LM did not change anything within their algorithm...
BUT...
Amadeus changed it's timetable search algorithm.
Any guesses as to why Amadeus changed?
Deltahater is offline  
Old May 28, 2014, 7:24 am
  #73  
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 14
Originally Posted by Jermyn
No tricks needed.
SQ 77W and 388 J space shows up pretty frequently on the search, without forcing dates or carriers.

Suites needs tricks though, so I hear.
is it possible to book suites with LM?
zlatan_tu is offline  
Old May 28, 2014, 7:30 am
  #74  
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 14
Originally Posted by germantraveler
IMHO the now unavailable boomerangs have nothing to do with a change of LM's internal award space search algorithm.

Every (!) boomerang that used to been available on LM could be found in the Amadeus timetable so it was my conclusion that LM uses the Amadeus timetable for route search and then checks class availability on the segments found within that timetable.

When you now search for the same boomerangs in the Amadeus timetable, they are gone.
how to search the Amadeus timetable for boomerangs?
zlatan_tu is offline  
Old May 28, 2014, 7:54 am
  #75  
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: AT
Programs: *G at A3,TK;M&M,LM; IHG RA, AB Plat.
Posts: 105
Originally Posted by germantraveler
When you now search for the same boomerangs in the Amadeus timetable, they are gone.
.....
Final conclusion:
LM did not change anything within their algorithm...
BUT...
Amadeus changed it's timetable search algorithm.
Expertflyer shows also non of the "old" bummerangs anymore.

This change may be a result of the investigations of DOT...
hannes08 is offline  

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