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
Nov 29, 2016, 10:01 am
#2432
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: YYZ
Programs: A3&O6 Gold,IC AMB & HH Diamond
Posts: 14,132
Nov 30, 2016, 6:56 am
#2435
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: YYZ
Programs: A3&O6 Gold,IC AMB & HH Diamond
Posts: 14,132
What I have noticed lately is in the first page after you get the results of your search one of the flights will say economy and then when you select it the next page is as follows, the mileage is for Business:
Nov 30, 2016, 8:24 am
#2437
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 162
Their website is a disaster. I wish I understood whatever cookie trick it is that alleviates all of the booking issues. For example, why would they pretend to let you drill down to select your itinerary with a single airline, but then force you to use the Smart Search to be able to book it? I get the concept of a mixed cabin, but they change cabin type during the booking process so that none of your originally selected cabin type is even part of the reservation.
Nov 30, 2016, 8:24 am
#2438
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: YYZ
Programs: A3&O6 Gold,IC AMB & HH Diamond
Posts: 14,132
Nov 30, 2016, 10:25 am
#2439
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: YYZ
Programs: A3&O6 Gold,IC AMB & HH Diamond
Posts: 14,132
Mixed Cabins with a Mixed Message;
It is a pleasure to greet you.
In regard to your case, we verified your attachments and noticed that you are being offered a scheduled in Mixed Cabins, which means that your trip will include both Economy and Business according to the flights.
The Mixed Cabin option is activated when there is no availability in class "I" (Business), "X" (Economy) or First Class (when available), reason why, the website offers you an itinerary by combining such classes.
Furthermore, we would like to inform you that when redeeming in Mixed Cabins the mileage needed for the whole award ticket corresponds to the mileage for the highest cabin, which is according to our Terms and Conditions.
If such options provided in our website do not suit you, we kindly invite you to attempt again the procedure by searching different routes, flights and dates through the section Enjoy → Air Tickets by accessing our website with your LifeMiles number and password.
We remind you the ticket redemption can also be requested by contacting Avianca's Call Center (PIN number required); however, administrative fees will be added to your transaction through this entity.
We appreciate your time and understanding.
It is a pleasure to greet you.
In regard to your case, we verified your attachments and noticed that you are being offered a scheduled in Mixed Cabins, which means that your trip will include both Economy and Business according to the flights.
The Mixed Cabin option is activated when there is no availability in class "I" (Business), "X" (Economy) or First Class (when available), reason why, the website offers you an itinerary by combining such classes.
Furthermore, we would like to inform you that when redeeming in Mixed Cabins the mileage needed for the whole award ticket corresponds to the mileage for the highest cabin, which is according to our Terms and Conditions.
If such options provided in our website do not suit you, we kindly invite you to attempt again the procedure by searching different routes, flights and dates through the section Enjoy → Air Tickets by accessing our website with your LifeMiles number and password.
We remind you the ticket redemption can also be requested by contacting Avianca's Call Center (PIN number required); however, administrative fees will be added to your transaction through this entity.
We appreciate your time and understanding.
Nov 30, 2016, 11:27 am
#2441
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: YYZ
Programs: A3&O6 Gold,IC AMB & HH Diamond
Posts: 14,132
Yes I knew about it but it makes it very confusing for some especially when you come to that last screen. So new FT'ers can maybe benefit from this.
Nov 30, 2016, 10:00 pm
#2442
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Toronto (YYZ)
Posts: 6,279
Dec 1, 2016, 2:52 am
#2443
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: BTS
Posts: 611
Eh? What is so confusing about this? It makes perfect sense. It tells you the cabin you're booking and the rate you're paying. A bit of common sense goes far...
Dec 1, 2016, 9:05 am
#2444
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2001
Location: YYZ
Programs: A3&O6 Gold,IC AMB & HH Diamond
Posts: 14,132
