May 26, 2014, 8:47 am
Last edit by: SingaporeDon
Every forum on Flyertalk has a personality. A forum gains a personality through user input over time, and Lifemiles is a very definitive example of how users have developed a unique community.
While Flyertalk boards actively encourage sharing of info, the Lifemiles community has developed and thrived via obscuring of certain data elements. It may not be easy for new participants to break through the codes and gain knowledge of the program's quirks, but the overall board community has adopted this unique approach. And frankly, that is not going to change overnight.
If a FT member wants to participate on this board, then they will need to respect other users. Hence, posts that run counter to this community's standards, will be removed.
While Flyertalk boards actively encourage sharing of info, the Lifemiles community has developed and thrived via obscuring of certain data elements. It may not be easy for new participants to break through the codes and gain knowledge of the program's quirks, but the overall board community has adopted this unique approach. And frankly, that is not going to change overnight.
If a FT member wants to participate on this board, then they will need to respect other users. Hence, posts that run counter to this community's standards, will be removed.
C1 North America
C1.5 Caribbean, Bermuda
C2 Europe
C2.5 Middle East
C3 Asia
C4 South America
C5 Africa
C6 Oceania
2X, 3X: in the context of this LifeMiles thread, 2X and 3X refer to any 2nd and 3rd legs of a one-way award ticket.
LifeMiles' Star Alliance Award Chart
LifeMiles' old Star Alliance Award Chart (before Oct 15 2014) // Table of changes
Cash & Miles redemptions: the price per mile purchased during award booking varies significantly depending on how many miles are purchased. The "sweet spots" are between 38% and 58% of the total mileage required, where miles are purchased for 1.5 cents. See here for some examples.
Beware of Cabotage: LifeMiles has been known to issue tickets that constitute Cabotage, and at least one instance of denied boarding has been reported, stranding the passenger. An easily-seen example is travel on Copa from LAX to SJU (via PTY).
Understand Cabotage: Departing country 1, transiting country 2, returning to country 1 (no stopping) *is* cabotage (example: depart JFK, connect in YYZ to return to ORD, or depart Miami, connect in Bogota, return to San Francisco). On the other hand, departing country 1, going to completely unrelated country 2, and ending up in country 3, is not cabotage. So if you fly JFK-JNB-ZRH, for instance, this is completely not cabotage.
Availability: Seeing availability for *A award seats elsewhere is no guarantee they are accessible on Lifemiles. For instance award space shown on ANA often is not accessible on Lifemiles. Similarly, finding award space on single legs doesn't mean you'll get award space on the combined itinerary. And no, there is no way to overcome that.
Screenshot Method
Send email to [email protected] with attached screenshots on Lifemiles website of each individual leg showing availability. Also, screenshot showing no availability as one booking. Include passenger names, gender and DOB and copy of passenger passport. They will either call you for payment or email the itinerary and give you 3 days to call up and make payment by CC.
NOTE: This previous thread has been closed; it can be read here LM F and J routes (and the occasional trick-it)
LM F and J routes (and the occasional trick-it) Rebooted v2.0
Jun 4, 2016, 12:46 am
#2311
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Brisbane
Programs: QF gold, HH Diamond, VA plat, Aegean Gold
Posts: 684
Jun 4, 2016, 3:53 am
#2312
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: allaroundasia
Programs: LH SEN, SPG Plat.M&S E+
Posts: 222
I tried website bookings online, but will now send them (Avianca) some screenshots showing availability on separate segments.
Jun 4, 2016, 8:13 am
#2314
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 3,725
TPE-BKK-FRA-ORD in BR J, TG F and LH F for 90K is reportedly possible.
TPE-BKK-FRA costs 115K in BR J and TG F.
How do you get the additional FRA-ORD leg added on *and* reduce the cost to 90K? The engine is forcing me to route via the east on United.
Screenshot method??
I can't imagine they would honor the error booking.
TPE-BKK-FRA costs 115K in BR J and TG F.
How do you get the additional FRA-ORD leg added on *and* reduce the cost to 90K? The engine is forcing me to route via the east on United.
Screenshot method??
I can't imagine they would honor the error booking.
Jun 5, 2016, 7:04 am
#2318
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: NYC
Posts: 9,125
TPE-BKK-FRA-ORD in BR J, TG F and LH F for 90K is reportedly possible.
TPE-BKK-FRA costs 115K in BR J and TG F.
How do you get the additional FRA-ORD leg added on *and* reduce the cost to 90K? The engine is forcing me to route via the east on United.
Screenshot method?? I can't imagine they would honor the error booking.
TPE-BKK-FRA costs 115K in BR J and TG F.
How do you get the additional FRA-ORD leg added on *and* reduce the cost to 90K? The engine is forcing me to route via the east on United.
Screenshot method??
I can't imagine they would honor the error booking.
Jun 5, 2016, 11:06 am
#2319
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: TLV
Posts: 522
mlqsko: remember in the old days when HOB was an expat, we saw a few rare instances of C3-FRA-IAH-HOB for the C3-C6 price. So what iluvdoco is seeking is not far-fetched, so long as LM hasn't implemented the 3-letter word. Good luck stumbling upon this routing again - these days it would be possible not just in Y!
Jun 6, 2016, 1:09 am
#2321
Join Date: Oct 2011
Posts: 3,839
Jun 6, 2016, 6:15 pm
#2323
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Programs: AY Platinum, UA Premier Platinum, OneWorld Emerald, VA Platinum
Posts: 558
BS. I just booked a biz/eco combo with the screenshots sent to [email protected].
Jun 6, 2016, 10:29 pm
#2324
Join Date: Feb 2007
Posts: 291
I had 3 attempts to get a MEL-RNO award with the screenshot message in the last week. I finally got the following (which is the 1st response I could understand):
Greetings Mr. jmoorfoot.
We can assist you with a manual booking procedure but only when you send us screenshots of the flights available on the same cabin. Additionally, it will be required that you send us the color scanned image of the passengers' passports.
We appreciate your valuable time and look forward to your response.
Kind regards,
I was able to get the redemption when I dropped the LAX-RNO leg as it was only available in Y.
Greetings Mr. jmoorfoot.
We can assist you with a manual booking procedure but only when you send us screenshots of the flights available on the same cabin. Additionally, it will be required that you send us the color scanned image of the passengers' passports.
We appreciate your valuable time and look forward to your response.
Kind regards,
I was able to get the redemption when I dropped the LAX-RNO leg as it was only available in Y.