KenInEscazu

I am a Lifemiles fan, but there is enough evidence in this thread alone to indicate that it can be pretty dangerous to rely on them, even when availability is shown.

Having had nothing but good luck with my bookings, I have no personal experience to rely on, but I can say that when other issues have arisen, the local Avianca office has always been able to resolve for me that which could not be resolved online. Living in San Jose, Costa Rica gives me an advantage, of course, as there are Avianca offices all over town.

AA_EXP09

Not to mention IT fixes owing to DOT complaints...

stephem

understatement of the century! glad it worked out for you!!

lwildernorva

Not last-minute, but I got late summer flights from ORF to EDI on UA that have been running on almost all airlines for no less than $1600 (EI's been cheaper but with departures from IAD or JFK and an overnight stay required in DUB, incurring a charge for a hotel) for $1089 for my two sisters, including purchase of miles and all fees.

No tricks, just an honest-to-goodness savings of $500 per ticket because the 2-4-1 mileage promotion and the unusually high coach prices (I've paid less than $1000 for similar tickets the last couple of summers) worked in my favor.

Obviously, a classic YMMV, and my sisters won't earn any miles for their trip, but for that kind of savings, they're happy.

AirCanada881

Well, May 31st has come and I'm still able to buy 2x1

pr0digy25

A blogger should call this in and get it fixed!

mlqsko

But claim/demand a compensation first

stephem

I cannot seem to get it to take any of my credit cards! It keeps coming back with helpful page "Please enter other credit card number"

Any ideas? I've gone through 5 cards...

KenInEscazu

Trying calling your card companies until you can find one who will approve your purchase in San Salvador. Many of them have that country blocked without prior authorization from you. Apparently it is known for CC fraud, and that is where LM online transactions are processed.

May be where they are processed for the phone center, too, but that could be in Bogotá now. I'm not sure. If you have to call in (be careful what you say!), be sure to ask them.

AA_EXP09

I thought that they processed in Panama?

KenInEscazu

SAL was Taca's home base, and unless they have changed, that is where they still process LM online payments. I know this, as I had the same problem when first starting to buy the miles. I'm a little less clear on where AV is now based. I thought it was BOG, but it seems that I have recently read something about it now being in Brazil.

AV still has a major call center at BOG, so I'm sure they still process a lot of transactions there, but YMMV depending on how your call is routed. Either way, even Colombia, as much as it has been cleaned up (really remarkable and under-reported story), still has a big problem with card cloning operations there. They are fighting them hard, but it wouldn't surprise me if US banks were gun shy about accepting transactions from there without prior notice.

Panama is Copa's home base, but the way AV/TA is so spread out, it could be that they have some operations in various locations. It would not shock me to see a transaction show up on AV (Lifemiles) from Panama or any other Latin American country.

FWIW, Chase is the one card that I've never had to call to authorize before buying LM, so that's the one I always use these days. It could be, however, because I live in Latin America. They don't see transactions on my account from this region as being unusual. Other banks don't seem to notice, but I use my Chase UC Club card more because it has no foreign transaction fees.

pandaperth

I bought some miles just last week - my c/c transaction shows as "Avianca Lifemiles MC Panama PAN"

When I first bought miles (and then started transferring them under the 2x1 offer back in March), my c/c company phoned me to satisfy itself they weren't fraudulent transactions - there was a whole sequence of low-value transactions, starting from $30

This time, the much larger value single transaction was not queried.

lovtofly3

I was having great difficulty too with different VISA CC's,I switched to a Mastercard and boom went right through.

claurianta2

My Visa transaction was processed by AVIANCA LIFEMILES VI PANAMA and the country code is PA, so it does look like they process Visas through Panama as well.

KenInEscazu

I stand corrected, then. My purchase last month was done in person at the AV office here in San Jose, CR, as I had an ecert to apply which paid for more than half of it.

Things are certainly changing at AV, so I guess this is yet another. It may have been in place longer, and I just didn't notice.

I'm surprised that Panama would be a flag for so many US banks, but it obviously is from what I'm reading here. Again, a call to one's bank advising that a foreign transaction is coming should resolve it. If available, a card with no foreign transaction fee will reduce the cost of the purchase, or at least keep it from being inflated by one's bank.