Aug 17, 2013, 12:43 am
Last edit by: Tokyoite
Please do your homework before buying Lifemiles. It is what it is... for some that's useful, for others it's not.
Biggest complaints are about
- mixed class bookings are available but now many of the suitable connections dont show
- not being able to book anything that isn't available online (there are work-arounds, see screenshot method below)
- the quality of the call center (English speaking agents are scarce, you might get thrown in a loop with call transfers within their call center)
- no stopovers (>24H) or open jaws, but you can book one way awards
- no reservations on Certain subsidiaries of Star Alliance carriers (Lufthansa Cityline, Germanwings)
Problems with ticketing / lack of confirmation screen or email
- write down the confirmation number shown on the screen after confirming your purchase.
check here: http://serviciosenlinea.avianca.com/...doReserva.aspx
Sometimes, even if you cannot see the PNR, the record may have been created, so better to call them and give them flight details you were trying to book. They can find the PNR from those details.
- ticketing usually takes place within 10-15 min of booking
- but it may also take up to 2 days
- if miles have been deducted from your account and a temporary authorization has been placed on your CC, you're probably fine even if you did not see a confirmation screen
- if no e-ticket number is visible on checkmytrip.com after two days, you should contact LifeMiles. You can expedite the ticketing by emailing with your booking reference to: [email protected] after you have booked, especially if you have booked last minute flights, and need ticketing straight away
Screenshot method.
So, on a date you are looking for in the future, there is availability for LAX-NRT and NRT-BKK. But not LAX-NRT-BKK.
It may be a case of the LM system not offering the through connection.
Take three screen shots - two 'available' screen shots for LAX-NRT and NRT-BKK and the 'not available' screen for LAX-BKK.
Send them all off with a scan of your passport page (PDF) and LM will make the booking manually for you.
Send to these two email addresses, and CC yourself (just for your records)
[email protected]
[email protected]
Sample email:
====
Email topic: Urgent request for booking Lifemiles Award
====
Dear Sirs,
I have tried several times, over several days, but the following itinerary does not show on the website.
Please see the three attached screenshots I took just now.
Please do the manual booking First Class/Business class for xx,000 miles. (*Know how many miles the whole award should cost-here, to avoid surprises once ticketed)
The availability is only 1 seat for this date, so please process this request urgently before it is gone.
Los Angeles (LAX) - Bangkok (BKK)
Saturday August 11th 2018
NH 175 connecting to NH 807
(*Provide the specific flight numbers you want, to avoid surprises once ticketed)
My passport copy (Number xxxx, expiry 20xx/xx/xx, Nationality xxx) is attached in this email.
LifeMiles Number: xxx
First Name: xxx
Last name: xxx
Date of Birth: Month, date, year
Gender: Male/Female
Email: xxxx
Phone Number: +1-xxxx
Regards,
XXX
=========
Biggest complaints are about
- mixed class bookings are available but now many of the suitable connections dont show
- not being able to book anything that isn't available online (there are work-arounds, see screenshot method below)
- the quality of the call center (English speaking agents are scarce, you might get thrown in a loop with call transfers within their call center)
- no stopovers (>24H) or open jaws, but you can book one way awards
- no reservations on Certain subsidiaries of Star Alliance carriers (Lufthansa Cityline, Germanwings)
Problems with ticketing / lack of confirmation screen or email
- write down the confirmation number shown on the screen after confirming your purchase.
check here: http://serviciosenlinea.avianca.com/...doReserva.aspx
Sometimes, even if you cannot see the PNR, the record may have been created, so better to call them and give them flight details you were trying to book. They can find the PNR from those details.
- ticketing usually takes place within 10-15 min of booking
- but it may also take up to 2 days
- if miles have been deducted from your account and a temporary authorization has been placed on your CC, you're probably fine even if you did not see a confirmation screen
- if no e-ticket number is visible on checkmytrip.com after two days, you should contact LifeMiles. You can expedite the ticketing by emailing with your booking reference to: [email protected] after you have booked, especially if you have booked last minute flights, and need ticketing straight away
Screenshot method.
So, on a date you are looking for in the future, there is availability for LAX-NRT and NRT-BKK. But not LAX-NRT-BKK.
It may be a case of the LM system not offering the through connection.
Take three screen shots - two 'available' screen shots for LAX-NRT and NRT-BKK and the 'not available' screen for LAX-BKK.
Send them all off with a scan of your passport page (PDF) and LM will make the booking manually for you.
Send to these two email addresses, and CC yourself (just for your records)
[email protected]
[email protected]
Sample email:
====
Email topic: Urgent request for booking Lifemiles Award
====
Dear Sirs,
I have tried several times, over several days, but the following itinerary does not show on the website.
Please see the three attached screenshots I took just now.
Please do the manual booking First Class/Business class for xx,000 miles. (*Know how many miles the whole award should cost-here, to avoid surprises once ticketed)
The availability is only 1 seat for this date, so please process this request urgently before it is gone.
Los Angeles (LAX) - Bangkok (BKK)
Saturday August 11th 2018
NH 175 connecting to NH 807
(*Provide the specific flight numbers you want, to avoid surprises once ticketed)
My passport copy (Number xxxx, expiry 20xx/xx/xx, Nationality xxx) is attached in this email.
LifeMiles Number: xxx
First Name: xxx
Last name: xxx
Date of Birth: Month, date, year
Gender: Male/Female
Email: xxxx
Phone Number: +1-xxxx
Regards,
XXX
=========
Lifemiles serious booking problems - Beware (old legacy thread)
Aug 24, 2018, 5:03 pm
#976
Join Date: May 2015
Location: YUL
Programs: AC 50K, *A Gold
Posts: 301
There’s nothing you can do here. Lifemiles restricts award availability from its partners, and if it doesn’t show on line (via screenshot) then it’s unlikely you’ll be able to secure it (there are some exceptions to this, for example when an itinerary is sold out and LM sometimes offers alternatives).
Unfortunately it’s the rules of the program and it is wide-spread. United may show wide open availability for lufthansa first, but lifemiles only offers flights on one day for example.
You either have to wait for the LM tool to show the flights, or look for another itinerary. If you are a frequent Avianca flyer (BIS miles) send an email to the FF program highlighting your issue (but this has been around for years and is unlikely to change much).
Aug 24, 2018, 5:15 pm
#977
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,406
what do you mean if it doesn't show online (via screenshots)? I sent them the screenshots of the wide available flights on Wednesday see attached. And now Friday when they called me back to book they say they cannot see any flights left. How is it my fault their website doesn't work and it takes them 3 days to contact me back? I mean of course the seats can disappear in that time frame. I just don't understand how it is my fault their website has errors and that it takes them forever to get back to me just to say 'tough luck, sorry'
These problems with the LM booking tool have been around for years and this is nothing new. But normally screenshots work, just this is one of the rare cases where it doesn't.
LM doesn't guarantee availability. That they took three days to get back to you is not good, but that is also standard. The screenshot method is a work-around, which they introduced to try and help us, so any screenshot should never be considered certain until they get back to you (that is, it's not a published guarantee they will secure the seats).
I understand your frustration - I'm not trying to dismiss that. It's just most of us have been frustrated at some stage and we've tried everything in the book, so we have experience in this area (and in cases like this nothing is going to work).
Aug 24, 2018, 6:11 pm
#978
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: Hilton Diamond, Marriott/SPG Platinum
Posts: 496
so Screenshots Emailing method will work for most cases....for cases not working, nothing can be done from Lifemiles, have to take alternatives.
Aug 25, 2018, 7:34 pm
#979
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 261
Anyone had success using the screenshot method for a Business redemption when a routing shows up on the search?
Looking at a flight next year and while an option shows - i'd actually prefer to travel via different cities on a different airline, which is available via screenshot
I have used screenshot before successfully, however each time there wasn't a legal routing available on the search engine.
Looking at a flight next year and while an option shows - i'd actually prefer to travel via different cities on a different airline, which is available via screenshot
I have used screenshot before successfully, however each time there wasn't a legal routing available on the search engine.
Aug 26, 2018, 9:34 pm
#981
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
Anyone had success using the screenshot method for a Business redemption when a routing shows up on the search?
Looking at a flight next year and while an option shows - i'd actually prefer to travel via different cities on a different airline, which is available via screenshot
I have used screenshot before successfully, however each time there wasn't a legal routing available on the search engine.
Looking at a flight next year and while an option shows - i'd actually prefer to travel via different cities on a different airline, which is available via screenshot
I have used screenshot before successfully, however each time there wasn't a legal routing available on the search engine.
Plus, you will need to construct the search such that it shows zero availability on the date/route you need.
Best scenario is to tell them that you need to book two tickets, but only have miles for one award ticket, so you will book the other using cash.
The cheapest cash ticket is on the routing you want, so you need the award routing to be specifically as requested on the specific airline.
FYI, I hope (or suggest) your prefered routing is on one airline.
That way, you can search using the airline filter and get the "no award space found", but can get the award space on each leg of the itinerary.
A routing on mixed airlines, just to transit a specific point, or get a specific layover time, will not easily be OK'd (since the alternative routing available on the LM site will also show up, and the CC will likely refuse to search further)
what routing are you looking for?
Aug 26, 2018, 9:44 pm
#982
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Tokyo
Programs: Marriott Plat, HH G,Hyatt E,*A Gold, OW Emerald.
Posts: 3,023
what do you mean if it doesn't show online (via screenshots)? I sent them the screenshots of the wide available flights on Wednesday see attached. And now Friday when they called me back to book they say they cannot see any flights left. How is it my fault their website doesn't work and it takes them 3 days to contact me back? I mean of course the seats can disappear in that time frame. I just don't understand how it is my fault their website has errors and that it takes them forever to get back to me just to say 'tough luck, sorry'
If you dont mind, could you share the following info for what you are looking for?
Route you are looking for: E.g. JFK-SFO-SEA
The three screenshots you sent:
E.g. Screenshot 1 (shows availability). JFK-SFO
E.g. Screenshot 2 (shows availability). SFO-SEA
E.g. Screenshot 3 (shows NO availability). JFK-SFO-SEA
If you included all your details as outlined in the wiki post at the top here
-=====
Screenshot method.
So, on a date you are looking for in the future, there is availability for LAX-NRT and NRT-BKK. But not LAX-NRT-BKK.
It may be a case of the LM system not offering the through connection.
Take three screen shots - two 'available' screen shots for LAX-NRT and NRT-BKK and the 'not available' screen for LAX-BKK.
Send them all off with a scan of your passport page (PDF) and LM will make the booking manually for you.
Send to these two email addresses, and CC yourself (just for your records)
[email protected]
[email protected]
Sample email:
====
Email topic: Urgent request for booking Lifemiles Award
====
Dear Sirs,
I have tried several times, over several days, but the following itinerary does not show on the website.
Please see the three attached screenshots I took just now.
Please do the manual booking First Class/Business class for xx,000 miles. (*Know how many miles the whole award should cost-here, to avoid surprises once ticketed)
The availability is only 1 seat for this date, so please process this request urgently before it is gone.
Los Angeles (LAX) - Bangkok (BKK)
Saturday August 11th 2018
NH 175 connecting to NH 807
(*Provide the specific flight numbers you want, to avoid surprises once ticketed)
My passport copy (Number xxxx, expiry 20xx/xx/xx, Nationality xxx) is attached in this email.
LifeMiles Number: xxx
First Name: xxx
Last name: xxx
Date of Birth: Month, date, year
Gender: Male/Female
Email: xxxx
Phone Number: +1-xxxx
Regards,
XXX
=========
Aug 27, 2018, 8:00 pm
#983
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 31
LifeMiles serious problems can never be solved
I booked a flight to europe with xyz connections
now I can't even return
because I constantly receive error messages when trying to book my return ticket online
I called the reservation center they want U$200 dollars for assistance
which is a complete ripoff
LifeMiles Avianca Copa and many others should NOT be in business
they know absolutely nothing and they constantly lie instead of admitting their mistakes
would highly appreciate any help from here
now I can't even return
because I constantly receive error messages when trying to book my return ticket online
I called the reservation center they want U$200 dollars for assistance
which is a complete ripoff
LifeMiles Avianca Copa and many others should NOT be in business
they know absolutely nothing and they constantly lie instead of admitting their mistakes
would highly appreciate any help from here
Aug 27, 2018, 9:19 pm
#984
Join Date: Jun 2014
Programs: qantas
Posts: 1
Hi All,
I am a newbie, but asking my questions here as the newbie thread doesn't seem to be getting much traffic.
I have booked round trip flights in J SGN-NRT on ANA. My web booking went through quite easily (phew!). I got a confirmation screen and confirmation email with a PRN, my booking shows up on the ANA site and I was able to choose my seats, I can see an e-ticket number on checkmytrip, and my credit card has been debited. Should I expect to get an email from Life Miles with an e-ticket attachment as usually happens with other airlines? I don't have anything printable showing an e-ticket number to take to the airport with me.
I have read a few horror stories about people getting to the airport with LifeMiles bookings and not being able to board, so feel a bit anxious. Should I expect anything more from LifeMiles, or does it sound like I am OK as is?
Grateful for your advice. Thank you!
I am a newbie, but asking my questions here as the newbie thread doesn't seem to be getting much traffic.
I have booked round trip flights in J SGN-NRT on ANA. My web booking went through quite easily (phew!). I got a confirmation screen and confirmation email with a PRN, my booking shows up on the ANA site and I was able to choose my seats, I can see an e-ticket number on checkmytrip, and my credit card has been debited. Should I expect to get an email from Life Miles with an e-ticket attachment as usually happens with other airlines? I don't have anything printable showing an e-ticket number to take to the airport with me.
I have read a few horror stories about people getting to the airport with LifeMiles bookings and not being able to board, so feel a bit anxious. Should I expect anything more from LifeMiles, or does it sound like I am OK as is?
Grateful for your advice. Thank you!
Aug 28, 2018, 2:25 am
#985
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,406
I booked a flight to europe with xyz connections
now I can't even return
because I constantly receive error messages when trying to book my return ticket online
I called the reservation center they want U$200 dollars for assistance
which is a complete ripoff
LifeMiles Avianca Copa and many others should NOT be in business
they know absolutely nothing and they constantly lie instead of admitting their mistakes
would highly appreciate any help from here
now I can't even return
because I constantly receive error messages when trying to book my return ticket online
I called the reservation center they want U$200 dollars for assistance
which is a complete ripoff
LifeMiles Avianca Copa and many others should NOT be in business
they know absolutely nothing and they constantly lie instead of admitting their mistakes
would highly appreciate any help from here
Aug 28, 2018, 2:30 am
#986
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,406
Hi All,
I am a newbie, but asking my questions here as the newbie thread doesn't seem to be getting much traffic.
I have booked round trip flights in J SGN-NRT on ANA. My web booking went through quite easily (phew!). I got a confirmation screen and confirmation email with a PRN, my booking shows up on the ANA site and I was able to choose my seats, I can see an e-ticket number on checkmytrip, and my credit card has been debited. Should I expect to get an email from Life Miles with an e-ticket attachment as usually happens with other airlines? I don't have anything printable showing an e-ticket number to take to the airport with me.
I have read a few horror stories about people getting to the airport with LifeMiles bookings and not being able to board, so feel a bit anxious. Should I expect anything more from LifeMiles, or does it sound like I am OK as is?
Grateful for your advice. Thank you!
I am a newbie, but asking my questions here as the newbie thread doesn't seem to be getting much traffic.
I have booked round trip flights in J SGN-NRT on ANA. My web booking went through quite easily (phew!). I got a confirmation screen and confirmation email with a PRN, my booking shows up on the ANA site and I was able to choose my seats, I can see an e-ticket number on checkmytrip, and my credit card has been debited. Should I expect to get an email from Life Miles with an e-ticket attachment as usually happens with other airlines? I don't have anything printable showing an e-ticket number to take to the airport with me.
I have read a few horror stories about people getting to the airport with LifeMiles bookings and not being able to board, so feel a bit anxious. Should I expect anything more from LifeMiles, or does it sound like I am OK as is?
Grateful for your advice. Thank you!
I'm not familiar with any stories of people with Lifemiles bookings not being able to board. At least not from a ticketing perspective (possible the people might have had other visa issues?). I haven't seen anything that I recall on FT either. So I wouldn't be worried on that account! You don't normally need a copy of your ticket - just present your passport at the check-in counter. However - there are some airports that require a copy of your itinerary/e-ticket to allow entrance into the terminal, so it's always a good idea to print it out. You can print this out from any source, for example checkmytrip, or the ANA site etc etc. Or you could email Lifemiles and get them to send you a copy (but that doesn't always work!)
Aug 28, 2018, 8:25 am
#987
Join Date: May 2015
Location: YUL
Programs: AC 50K, *A Gold
Posts: 301
quick tip if you run into the error: Send a direct message on facebook to the lifemiles page. They answer very quickly if you tell them it is urgent and you are trying to reach an english speaking supervisor because you need a manual booking. This is the best way to get it done ASAP instead of the screenshot image that last 3+ days .. I learned the hard way
FYI the people on the phone from lifemiles told me they were working on fixing the errors and buggy website but have given up, so now they are going to be launching a totally brand new website in a few weeks. Truth or myth? Only time will tell.
FYI the people on the phone from lifemiles told me they were working on fixing the errors and buggy website but have given up, so now they are going to be launching a totally brand new website in a few weeks. Truth or myth? Only time will tell.
Aug 28, 2018, 9:32 am
#988
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia
Programs: UA, QF, VS, AA, US, HH, SPG
Posts: 974
quick tip if you run into the error: Send a direct message on facebook to the lifemiles page. They answer very quickly if you tell them it is urgent and you are trying to reach an english speaking supervisor because you need a manual booking. This is the best way to get it done ASAP instead of the screenshot image that last 3+ days .. I learned the hard way
FYI the people on the phone from lifemiles told me they were working on fixing the errors and buggy website but have given up, so now they are going to be launching a totally brand new website in a few weeks. Truth or myth? Only time will tell.
FYI the people on the phone from lifemiles told me they were working on fixing the errors and buggy website but have given up, so now they are going to be launching a totally brand new website in a few weeks. Truth or myth? Only time will tell.
Aug 29, 2018, 11:38 am
#989
Join Date: May 2015
Location: YUL
Programs: AC 50K, *A Gold
Posts: 301
Unfortunately there's still nothing you can do. As I said above, it's very rare for the screenshot method not to work. Your chances are normally pretty good if you have a screenshot. If you don't have a screenshot (for example UA's tool may show availability, but the LM one doesn't, so you can't produce a screenshot), the chances are zero.
These problems with the LM booking tool have been around for years and this is nothing new. But normally screenshots work, just this is one of the rare cases where it doesn't.
LM doesn't guarantee availability. That they took three days to get back to you is not good, but that is also standard. The screenshot method is a work-around, which they introduced to try and help us, so any screenshot should never be considered certain until they get back to you (that is, it's not a published guarantee they will secure the seats).
I understand your frustration - I'm not trying to dismiss that. It's just most of us have been frustrated at some stage and we've tried everything in the book, so we have experience in this area (and in cases like this nothing is going to work).
These problems with the LM booking tool have been around for years and this is nothing new. But normally screenshots work, just this is one of the rare cases where it doesn't.
LM doesn't guarantee availability. That they took three days to get back to you is not good, but that is also standard. The screenshot method is a work-around, which they introduced to try and help us, so any screenshot should never be considered certain until they get back to you (that is, it's not a published guarantee they will secure the seats).
I understand your frustration - I'm not trying to dismiss that. It's just most of us have been frustrated at some stage and we've tried everything in the book, so we have experience in this area (and in cases like this nothing is going to work).
The next day I receive a phone call from support and the transaction was smooth, and the guy was very professional.
All in all, a painful experience but on the second attempt (when a random seat showed up, as I constantly check for reward redemption on aeroplan/lifemiles daily) I was lucky and was able to grab it. The whole process from the first time I had the attempt took 7 days..
The screenshot method is not the way to go. If you want a seat and the website crashes upon booking, do the following:
-call lifemiles booking
-ask to create a manual booking and reserve the seat for you
-have the miles ready as next day support will cal you to complete the transaction payment. (if they don't just contact them through facebook chat and they are very fast to answer, they'll have someone call you during the day).
btw by doing so, the carrier surcharge usually for AC (25USD) was waived for some reason. It ended up being 30$ to book the flight (taxes) instead of 55$ on lifemiles website before it crashes.
Aug 29, 2018, 3:21 pm
#990
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,406
So a seat re-showed up on aeroplan's website, I immediately went to lifemiles to check and it was there as well. I called the lifemiles call center and asked if he could book it over the phone, he told me there is a 30$ fee (even though the website doesn't work) but he recognized me and said his supervisor would waive the fee. The guy created a PNR for me but said support would call me the next day for payment.
The next day I receive a phone call from support and the transaction was smooth, and the guy was very professional.
All in all, a painful experience but on the second attempt (when a random seat showed up, as I constantly check for reward redemption on aeroplan/lifemiles daily) I was lucky and was able to grab it. The whole process from the first time I had the attempt took 7 days..
The screenshot method is not the way to go. If you want a seat and the website crashes upon booking, do the following:
-call lifemiles booking
-ask to create a manual booking and reserve the seat for you
-have the miles ready as next day support will cal you to complete the transaction payment. (if they don't just contact them through facebook chat and they are very fast to answer, they'll have someone call you during the day).
btw by doing so, the carrier surcharge usually for AC (25USD) was waived for some reason. It ended up being 30$ to book the flight (taxes) instead of 55$ on lifemiles website before it crashes.
The next day I receive a phone call from support and the transaction was smooth, and the guy was very professional.
All in all, a painful experience but on the second attempt (when a random seat showed up, as I constantly check for reward redemption on aeroplan/lifemiles daily) I was lucky and was able to grab it. The whole process from the first time I had the attempt took 7 days..
The screenshot method is not the way to go. If you want a seat and the website crashes upon booking, do the following:
-call lifemiles booking
-ask to create a manual booking and reserve the seat for you
-have the miles ready as next day support will cal you to complete the transaction payment. (if they don't just contact them through facebook chat and they are very fast to answer, they'll have someone call you during the day).
btw by doing so, the carrier surcharge usually for AC (25USD) was waived for some reason. It ended up being 30$ to book the flight (taxes) instead of 55$ on lifemiles website before it crashes.
The LM call centre can book seats which show on line, but for a fee.
Thanks for the data point, I'll give it a go next time!