Refundable tickets. How often can you do this?

 
Old Jan 14, 2012, 9:27 pm
  #1  
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Refundable tickets. How often can you do this?

Hi everyone,

Just had a thought of purchasing refundable tickets along with the mileage multiplier upon checkout as a means of obtaining points for a cheaper price. After the points would post to my account I would refund the ticket.

I know this is one option that people look into to extend the expiry time of their points. However I was thinking of using this option to purchase a larger amount of points.

I have a few questions;

1) Is the mileage multiplier cost handled by US Airways, or by points.com, as is used during when you buy under a promo? If handled by points.com I'm guessing they won't like you using the same CC. I've heard of instances where points.com limits the amount of transactions possible per card.

2) I realise that churning the same/similar route for points then refund would raise a few eyebrows at US airways. Is there a sensible amount that is realistic to do - say for example one route has better mileage multiplier cost per point then another route - it would be best to take advantage of this.

3) What is the rough refund timeframe from real world experience? I know they can take up to 6-8 weeks officially, but generally they should be much quicker?

I'm just trying to find a way of getting points a bit cheaper then the current price they have - even with the promos the deals aren't great - but still good nonetheless.


Any information would be helpful.

Cheers
slodki is offline  
Old Jan 14, 2012, 11:16 pm
  #2  
 
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While I don't know of anything written that would keep you from doing it daily, keep in mind that US would eventually notice and could change the rules by eliminating the miles multiplier from counting on refunded tickets. They could even keep the money paid for the miles multiplier. So by trying to take advantage of the program for something it wasn't intended for you risk screwing it up for everyone that has a legitimate reason to refund a ticket once in a while.

Jim
BoeingBoy is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2012, 4:18 am
  #3  
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Hi Jim,

I understand what you are saying. This was just a thought to do once off transactions to get an injection of points - not to do on a continuous daily basis.

Last thing I want is to draw attention to myself or to the miles multiplier..
slodki is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2012, 6:37 am
  #4  
 
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US's refund process is not automated; it can sometimes take a while to get your money back (45+ days). Given the high CPM (it is rare when the Multiplier offer comes out at less than just buying the miles when they go on sale), the high cost of a refundable ticket, and the amount of time your money will be tied up if the refund process isn't smooth, I'm not convinced that it's not better to just buy the miles outright.

FWIW points.com is in charge of this transaction. The price goes up as the number of miles goes up. So while there are some routings that are more lucrative than others, it's generally only a few miles difference; then you're bumped up to a higher price category.
dcpatti is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2012, 6:29 pm
  #5  
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Umm, I pretty sure the mileage multiplier is non-refundable even if the ticket is. I think the mileage costs are immediate and even if the flight is canceled (by US) or refunded, you still get charged.

I think US will let you do this all day, they'd love it. You're just buying high priced miles.
masonuc is offline  
Old Jan 15, 2012, 7:26 pm
  #6  
 
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Oh yeah without a doubt you can do it over and over. It's just usually not the most cost-effective way to buy miles.
dcpatti is offline  
Old Jan 16, 2012, 6:35 am
  #7  
 
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Not sure if you can do this. I actually did a multiplier not too long ago for the heck of it. The multiplier is charged as a separate transaction.
IADCAflyer is offline  
Old Jan 16, 2012, 9:57 am
  #8  
 
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I did this and my account got audited and never got to keep the multiplier miles. Had to dispute with my cc...

big YMMV on this one.
chewy3 is offline  
Old Jun 5, 2013, 2:33 pm
  #9  
 
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: Born and raised in South Carolina, now in New York City.
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Any update on the US Airway trick? I'd like to "buy" about 36k miles but am worried my account will get shut down.
saranyc is offline  
Old Jun 5, 2013, 3:00 pm
  #10  
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1. No trick, it's a terrible deal.
2. You will get caught, lose miles and have account zeroed out.
3. US now much better on fighting of scammer CC disputes, so you lose that.
Often1 is offline  

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