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)
Apr 11, 2019, 1:23 pm
#1216
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Sydney, Australia
Programs: UA, QF, VS, AA, US, HH, SPG
Posts: 974
Not sure what your issue is but LM works fine on both of my MacBooks and an iMac using Safari - all my software is up to date. Also from multiple locations (ie countries).
Apr 11, 2019, 1:37 pm
#1217
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: MDE
Programs: AA EP, CM PP, AV GM, UA Silver, SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,002
Thanks. Time for me to call my company's IT and see what we're doing that blocks it. ::heavy sigh::
Apr 11, 2019, 5:28 pm
#1218
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
Apr 11, 2019, 5:38 pm
#1219
Join Date: Sep 2012
Location: MDE
Programs: AA EP, CM PP, AV GM, UA Silver, SPG Gold, Hilton Diamond, Hyatt Plat, Marriott Plat, Accor Plat
Posts: 1,002
They helped me find the problem after the guy who answered the call couldn't log into his account, either. We tried a password reset, and it worked. Our office is in Medellin, and I had tried the pw reset from Cartagena over the weekend, but Lifemiles never sent me the reset email like their site said they would. When I requested it today, it arrived, and that somehow fixed it. Typical Lifemiles/Avianca IT quirkiness.
Apr 12, 2019, 6:14 pm
#1220
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,723
What happened to Austrian Airlines availability? Can't seem to find any now, either last minute or a few months out.
Apr 15, 2019, 10:26 pm
#1221
Join Date: Jun 2015
Posts: 93
Award available on UA but not on LifeMiles site
So I am trying to do a one way from A-B within USA on United. I know the award is available on United but I cannot find on Lifemiles site. Anything I can do?
Apr 15, 2019, 10:45 pm
#1222
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,406
If nothing at all shows on LM there’s nothing you can do either by calling the call centre or using screenshots. LM availability doesn’t always match what is being offered by partners.
Apr 16, 2019, 4:34 pm
#1223
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,393
Apr 22, 2019, 2:36 am
#1224
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SEA/PDX/PSC
Programs: MR PLT, HLT DIA
Posts: 396
I got a 'cannot book online and please call/email' message after typing in the name info. Went back to search again and the seats disappeared. In this case, will call LM help ? Thanks.
Apr 23, 2019, 12:57 pm
#1225
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Bergen County NJ
Programs: AA EXP, UA1K B6 Mosaic 1, Amtrak Select, Marriott Plat , AMEX Plat (noted for club access reference)
Posts: 786
My biggest grip with LIFEMILES is that when selected 2 tickets with taxes of $92.00 all of a sudden become $375 on the final page... I would understand if it's $184 (if the 92 was 2x) for 2 people and it was having an issue with calculating for 2 people but to go from $92 to $375 is UNEXPLAINABLE. You also NEED TO have the miles needed to redeem in your account to see these extra taxes, so once your transfer over the miles your kinda stuck as to having to buy the fare (especially when your transferring over 160K in points). It's literally the last screen where you hit submit. Buyer beware... I would complain but AV won't do a thing! And probably not something legal of a chargeback... This was a AV metal flight to FWIW...
Generally speaking if your flying AV and you have AMEX PLAT or CENT just use the rebate and buy J with AMEX. NYC-SA commonly find flights for $500 OW in J after the rebate its like $300 and no taxes or any other BS.
Also LATAM does the exact same thing however the taxes there are very reasonable...
Generally speaking if your flying AV and you have AMEX PLAT or CENT just use the rebate and buy J with AMEX. NYC-SA commonly find flights for $500 OW in J after the rebate its like $300 and no taxes or any other BS.
Also LATAM does the exact same thing however the taxes there are very reasonable...
Last edited by theboss7593; Apr 23, 2019 at 1:07 pm
Apr 23, 2019, 5:22 pm
#1226
Join Date: Aug 2004
Programs: AA (EP), Hilton (Diamond), Marriott Bonvoy (Titanium)
Posts: 8,937
What is the rebate?
Apr 23, 2019, 6:15 pm
#1227
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Bergen County NJ
Programs: AA EXP, UA1K B6 Mosaic 1, Amtrak Select, Marriott Plat , AMEX Plat (noted for club access reference)
Posts: 786
My guess, from reading this forum, is that the seats vanished because it did make a booking, and if you call, the agent may be able to find the booking by looking in the manifest for the flight, and if so, take your payment. The other option, as I understand it, is to take screenshots every page of the booking process so that if it generates an error at the end, you can email the screen shots and have it manually booked.
What is the rebate?
What is the rebate?
Apr 24, 2019, 6:20 am
#1228
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: San Juan, PR
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Marriott Gold
Posts: 146
Avianca doesn't see ET space ABJ-EWR
While I welcome any insight here, I'm posting mostly as a DP:
For a booking 9 days from now in Y, I saw availability on AC and UA. Hoping to avoid the close-in fee, I hopped over to the LM site, which wouldn't pull up the inventory.
I phoned in (only once), and the agent couldn't see it. She confirmed she could see ET space via ADD on other days, and claimed to understand what I meant about requesting a long-sell, but hard to know if she really did. Moreover, she also claimed availability might be different for LM than UA/AC. While sometimes Starnet blocking exists, this explanation is usually a confabulation by agents trying to make sense of the situation.
Perhaps HUCA would solve it, or perhaps it's the oddity of this 5th freedom flight. In any case, I booked as a revenue fare over at Air Cote D'Ivoire (HF) under a codeshare instead because it wasn't worth the taxes/fees on UA and my patience was low here. Notably, ET couldn't pull up that Record and when I phoned in with the ETKT#, they gave me their own Record that also wouldn't pull up. Free seat selection is rather novel for me - even if it required a 15 minute call. This is a W-fare on Air Cote D'Ivoire (HF) ticket stock, anybody still reading have any idea if it will credit? I see ET W-fares credit 100% to A3, but excuse my ignorance here, but I don't believe that translates over if it's HF ticket stock.
Possible areas to chime in:
Anybody have experience with LM and starnet blocking? I assumed this was only LX/LH in F
Anybody have experience with Long sell via AV/LM on phone? (Sticky seems indicate a hard not possible)
Anybody have experience with ET records not pulling up?
Anybody have experience with crediting S* metal on non-S* ticket stock to S* partner?
Cheers,
Ed
For a booking 9 days from now in Y, I saw availability on AC and UA. Hoping to avoid the close-in fee, I hopped over to the LM site, which wouldn't pull up the inventory.
I phoned in (only once), and the agent couldn't see it. She confirmed she could see ET space via ADD on other days, and claimed to understand what I meant about requesting a long-sell, but hard to know if she really did. Moreover, she also claimed availability might be different for LM than UA/AC. While sometimes Starnet blocking exists, this explanation is usually a confabulation by agents trying to make sense of the situation.
Perhaps HUCA would solve it, or perhaps it's the oddity of this 5th freedom flight. In any case, I booked as a revenue fare over at Air Cote D'Ivoire (HF) under a codeshare instead because it wasn't worth the taxes/fees on UA and my patience was low here. Notably, ET couldn't pull up that Record and when I phoned in with the ETKT#, they gave me their own Record that also wouldn't pull up. Free seat selection is rather novel for me - even if it required a 15 minute call. This is a W-fare on Air Cote D'Ivoire (HF) ticket stock, anybody still reading have any idea if it will credit? I see ET W-fares credit 100% to A3, but excuse my ignorance here, but I don't believe that translates over if it's HF ticket stock.
Possible areas to chime in:
Anybody have experience with LM and starnet blocking? I assumed this was only LX/LH in F
Anybody have experience with Long sell via AV/LM on phone? (Sticky seems indicate a hard not possible)
Anybody have experience with ET records not pulling up?
Anybody have experience with crediting S* metal on non-S* ticket stock to S* partner?
Cheers,
Ed
Last edited by eddieflyer; Apr 24, 2019 at 6:25 am
Apr 24, 2019, 12:38 pm
#1229
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,406
Basic rule, if the flight doesn’t appear on line, LM cannot, and will not, book it over the phone.
If individual sectors are available on line, but the end to end journey is not, you need to use the screenshot method. You can’t call.
If all the sectors appear on line, and the end to end appears on line, it you can’t book it, calling LM to have the booking done over the phone is an option (ie they can see what we see).
LM’s availability doesn’t always match what is shown on other sites.
If individual sectors are available on line, but the end to end journey is not, you need to use the screenshot method. You can’t call.
If all the sectors appear on line, and the end to end appears on line, it you can’t book it, calling LM to have the booking done over the phone is an option (ie they can see what we see).
LM’s availability doesn’t always match what is shown on other sites.
Apr 24, 2019, 12:40 pm
#1230
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,406
My biggest grip with LIFEMILES is that when selected 2 tickets with taxes of $92.00 all of a sudden become $375 on the final page... I would understand if it's $184 (if the 92 was 2x) for 2 people and it was having an issue with calculating for 2 people but to go from $92 to $375 is UNEXPLAINABLE. You also NEED TO have the miles needed to redeem in your account to see these extra taxes, so once your transfer over the miles your kinda stuck as to having to buy the fare (especially when your transferring over 160K in points). It's literally the last screen where you hit submit. Buyer beware... I would complain but AV won't do a thing! And probably not something legal of a chargeback... This was a AV metal flight to FWIW...
Generally speaking if your flying AV and you have AMEX PLAT or CENT just use the rebate and buy J with AMEX. NYC-SA commonly find flights for $500 OW in J after the rebate its like $300 and no taxes or any other BS.
Also LATAM does the exact same thing however the taxes there are very reasonable...
Generally speaking if your flying AV and you have AMEX PLAT or CENT just use the rebate and buy J with AMEX. NYC-SA commonly find flights for $500 OW in J after the rebate its like $300 and no taxes or any other BS.
Also LATAM does the exact same thing however the taxes there are very reasonable...