May 26, 2014, 8:47 am
Last edit by: SingaporeDon
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.
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.
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)
LM F and J routes (and the occasional trick-it) Rebooted v2.0
Jul 23, 2014, 2:00 am
#556
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Valencia, Spain
Programs: Pascal and Python, no C++
Posts: 738
And the chart is valid from mid October, as much as I remember.
PS there are of course those who say that the Central Asia price decrease is very good news for Europeans who like to fly in curves.
Jul 23, 2014, 2:26 am
#557
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: In the air
Programs: Occasional RTW club
Posts: 6,924
My guess is some of the low availability routes went down, and high availability routes went up. It's much easier to get TG routes than NH or CA routes (I forget, though, is Thailand S.E.A. or North Asia?)
Jul 23, 2014, 5:22 am
#558
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Valencia, Spain
Programs: Pascal and Python, no C++
Posts: 738
Thailand is South, of course. But there is a lot of availability in the North with China Air and Asiana, and Central availability has strengthened massively with Air India. So that logic isn't waterproof either.
Jul 23, 2014, 9:23 am
#559
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ, UA, Delta, BMI(RIP), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond (Thanks Amex) Hyatt Discov
Posts: 1,942
Also Australia/NZ to North Asia cheaper now than Auz/NZ to South Asia. Go figure!!
Jul 24, 2014, 8:25 am
#563
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
Might be a demand thing though. Many more Aussies I know want to go to South Asia than to North Asia, and I'm guessing many more tickets have been booked to South Asia from Oz than to North Asia.
Jul 24, 2014, 11:34 am
#564
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Valencia, Spain
Programs: Pascal and Python, no C++
Posts: 738
Jul 25, 2014, 7:57 am
#565
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: SPG Plat 100, A3*G
Posts: 678
After three days of back and forth on Twitter and now email, I still haven't received an answer to "Is LM blocking LH First class or not?"
"We have already escalated your case to the department in charge. We will have an answer as soon as possible"... yeah right
"We have already escalated your case to the department in charge. We will have an answer as soon as possible"... yeah right
Jul 25, 2014, 8:16 am
#566
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: BOM-SIN-EWR
Programs: UA*G (1K again), Sixt Plat, *was*: SQ QPP01 & SK EBS/EBG, LH SEN, AA EXP, 9wPlat
Posts: 8,606
Still need to burn off my LM miles...
Jul 25, 2014, 8:39 am
#567
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: SPG Plat 100, A3*G
Posts: 678
Jul 25, 2014, 3:15 pm
#568
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: SPG Plat 100, A3*G
Posts: 678
I think Freddie or Skytrax should have a new award category:"Biggest amount of effort to not answer a question".
The winner: LifeMiles
This is bounce number 5 or 6 I believe
The winner: LifeMiles
Greetings from Avianca. We hope this message finds you well.
We have received your comments regarding the procedures of our frequent flyer program which we have been sent to the Lifemiles Customer Service Department. They should contact you as soon as possible.
We have received your comments regarding the procedures of our frequent flyer program which we have been sent to the Lifemiles Customer Service Department. They should contact you as soon as possible.
Jul 25, 2014, 9:21 pm
#570
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Austin, Texas
Programs: Airline nobody. Sad!
Posts: 26,062
