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)
Nov 26, 2018, 4:13 pm
#1051
Join Date: Apr 2010
Location: SFO
Programs: OZ *G; HH Diamond;
Posts: 1,644
Then use that PNR with AV.
Nov 26, 2018, 4:22 pm
#1052
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: UA MP 1K
Posts: 119
@ctbarron: If it helps, I spoke with an operator named Christina (she said she was one of two during the hours I called). When I called back, I specifically asked for her.
On another note - How long does it take to receive a confirmation email or notification of any sorts from Avianca support? I sent out an email to support to try and book a flight (NRT-BKK-MEL) that does not appear as one itinerary, but does appear when searching the individual legs. United MP shows the whole trip as a possibility.
On another note - How long does it take to receive a confirmation email or notification of any sorts from Avianca support? I sent out an email to support to try and book a flight (NRT-BKK-MEL) that does not appear as one itinerary, but does appear when searching the individual legs. United MP shows the whole trip as a possibility.
Nov 27, 2018, 1:19 am
#1053
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,401
@ctbarron: If it helps, I spoke with an operator named Christina (she said she was one of two during the hours I called). When I called back, I specifically asked for her.
On another note - How long does it take to receive a confirmation email or notification of any sorts from Avianca support? I sent out an email to support to try and book a flight (NRT-BKK-MEL) that does not appear as one itinerary, but does appear when searching the individual legs. United MP shows the whole trip as a possibility.
On another note - How long does it take to receive a confirmation email or notification of any sorts from Avianca support? I sent out an email to support to try and book a flight (NRT-BKK-MEL) that does not appear as one itinerary, but does appear when searching the individual legs. United MP shows the whole trip as a possibility.
Booking online you may never get a full ticket receipt. Only the summary email which you can then use to access the relevant airline's manage booking function.
Nov 27, 2018, 9:47 pm
#1054
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: SFO, JFK/LGA, SEA
Programs: Alaska 75K, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium, *A Gold w/ Krisflyer Gold
Posts: 814
Just curious; since the sample email doesn't include any payment information, how do they collect taxes and fees levied on the ticket?
Nov 27, 2018, 11:09 pm
#1055
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,726
They call you to make payment.
Nov 28, 2018, 7:58 am
#1056
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: LAX_AMS_MNL
Programs: AS MVP, AA EXP - 1MM, BAEC BRZ, BVY GLD, Hilton DIA, Hyatt GLB
Posts: 749
Doing some search I notice that there are absolutely no OZ availability in J or F from ICN to LAX. However, If I put in HND to LAX it spits out HND-GMP / ICN-LAX in F for the transpacific portion.
Can I screen shot the availability and ask for say... XXX-ICN (available also) in J then ICN-LAX in F? If I try XXX - LAX it spits out CA or BR, but I want OZ.
Any tips and help would be appreciated.
Can I screen shot the availability and ask for say... XXX-ICN (available also) in J then ICN-LAX in F? If I try XXX - LAX it spits out CA or BR, but I want OZ.
Any tips and help would be appreciated.
Nov 28, 2018, 1:10 pm
#1057
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,837
Doing some search I notice that there are absolutely no OZ availability in J or F from ICN to LAX. However, If I put in HND to LAX it spits out HND-GMP / ICN-LAX in F for the transpacific portion.
Can I screen shot the availability and ask for say... XXX-ICN (available also) in J then ICN-LAX in F? If I try XXX - LAX it spits out CA or BR, but I want OZ.
Any tips and help would be appreciated.
Can I screen shot the availability and ask for say... XXX-ICN (available also) in J then ICN-LAX in F? If I try XXX - LAX it spits out CA or BR, but I want OZ.
Any tips and help would be appreciated.
Nov 28, 2018, 1:52 pm
#1058
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,401
Doing some search I notice that there are absolutely no OZ availability in J or F from ICN to LAX. However, If I put in HND to LAX it spits out HND-GMP / ICN-LAX in F for the transpacific portion.
Can I screen shot the availability and ask for say... XXX-ICN (available also) in J then ICN-LAX in F? If I try XXX - LAX it spits out CA or BR, but I want OZ.
Any tips and help would be appreciated.
Can I screen shot the availability and ask for say... XXX-ICN (available also) in J then ICN-LAX in F? If I try XXX - LAX it spits out CA or BR, but I want OZ.
Any tips and help would be appreciated.
Nov 28, 2018, 7:03 pm
#1059
Join Date: Jan 2018
Location: SFO, JFK/LGA, SEA
Programs: Alaska 75K, Hyatt Globalist, Marriott Titanium, *A Gold w/ Krisflyer Gold
Posts: 814
Say the availability I want disappears before theycan book it for me. How will they let me know they no longer plan to try?
Nov 28, 2018, 7:36 pm
#1060
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,401
I think one time i heard nothing back in about 5 or 6 days so I submitted a new request for a different date, which was approved. Never heard back about the original, but the booking team is pretty experienced and seem to know which bookings you have requested (one time i forgot to put my name or account number on the screenshot and they used the email address to put everything together!)
Nov 29, 2018, 3:18 am
#1061
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Seat 2A
Programs: AA EXP LT GLD 1MM, BA GLD, NH/UA*G, Hyatt Dia, Marr Tit LT PLT, IHG Spire,HH Dia, MGM NOIR,Hertz PC
Posts: 10,571
Is it common for the Lifemiles site to show phantom availability? Last night, I tried to do an award booking - the page error-ed out right at the credit card section. When I went back to try again, that flight was gone. I chose another one for the next day, got the same error-ed issue and that flight was gone as well. Chase sent me a fraud alert and I had to deal with all of that crap. I was hoping after reading on here that I had somehow reserved those seats in the booking process, so called this morning, only to be informed that it was phantom space. True? Or should I hang up and call again?
Dec 1, 2018, 9:31 am
#1062
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: IAD/DCA
Programs: Bunch of mid-tiers
Posts: 1,034
I haven't booked with LM in a couple years, but tried to book biz IAD-VIE on OS. Non-stop RT flight. Got to the end and got the "session timed out" error (I think, my Spanish is a little rusty). Been a couple of hours, no miles deducted, no charge to credit card. I tried twice with different browsers. However, the seats seem to have come out of inventory (on LM, UA.com, and Aeroplan). Any thoughts? IIRC there used to be issues booking OS with Lifemiles, but I thought they fixed this.
On another topic, I also booked two biz tickets on TAP Portugal using LM online. No issues whatsoever - got confirm screen and email, ticketed within about 10 minutes with miles deducted and card charged, everything visible on the TAP website, got seats. Very simple.
Dec 4, 2018, 5:50 pm
#1063
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 1,437
Just to close the loop on this. A couple of follow up calls with LM could not find anything on my original attempts earlier this week. However, the award seats went back into inventory about 4 days later. So, I called and booked the OS flights instead of trying online. Got a good rep again. He indicated they've been having phantom availability with some carriers (don't know if true). Can't select seats on OS website, but I think that's pretty typical of OS.
On another topic, I also booked two biz tickets on TAP Portugal using LM online. No issues whatsoever - got confirm screen and email, ticketed within about 10 minutes with miles deducted and card charged, everything visible on the TAP website, got seats. Very simple.
On another topic, I also booked two biz tickets on TAP Portugal using LM online. No issues whatsoever - got confirm screen and email, ticketed within about 10 minutes with miles deducted and card charged, everything visible on the TAP website, got seats. Very simple.
Dec 4, 2018, 7:52 pm
#1064
Join Date: Jan 2017
Programs: UA MP 1K
Posts: 119
second the above post - I called after waiting about 5-6 days and was told it would be done in the next 48 hours.
Dec 4, 2018, 10:42 pm
#1065
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Oakland, CA
Programs: Silver Level: DL, Non-Elite: AS, UA, AA, WN
Posts: 745
Is it just me getting the message below or is the website down?
Situation:
I just bought Avianca miles and am now trying to book an Avianca award (2 days in advance). I've tried the Ecuador/US site, as well as Vivaldi, Chrome, Chome in incognito, IE, and Edge. Nothing seems to work.
What could be the problem?
Edit to add: Solved, problem was due to a change in airport in the middle portion UIO-GPS/SCY-LIM, it could price it but not book it. As one ways, was able to book. My mileage account was blocked after doing so, but that's another issue.
Sorry, we could not process your request, please try again. If the problem persists contact our Call Center Option 3 or send us an email to [email protected]?subject=NO%20R...018%2023:27:25
I just bought Avianca miles and am now trying to book an Avianca award (2 days in advance). I've tried the Ecuador/US site, as well as Vivaldi, Chrome, Chome in incognito, IE, and Edge. Nothing seems to work.
What could be the problem?
Edit to add: Solved, problem was due to a change in airport in the middle portion UIO-GPS/SCY-LIM, it could price it but not book it. As one ways, was able to book. My mileage account was blocked after doing so, but that's another issue.
Last edited by Khabibul35; Dec 9, 2018 at 7:41 pm