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
Jul 4, 2014, 3:05 pm
#361
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: The Internet
Programs: Alaska Mileage Plan
Posts: 714
If you're using a tricked routing, there's no guarantee that you can hang onto it and you shouldn't expect it. I wrote more about this here and I suggest reading it (and fully understanding/accepting the risks) before booking any tricked routings.
Jul 4, 2014, 5:26 pm
#362
Join Date: Jun 2013
Programs: SPG Plat 100, A3*G
Posts: 678
If you're using a tricked routing, there's no guarantee that you can hang onto it and you shouldn't expect it. I wrote more about this here and I suggest reading it (and fully understanding/accepting the risks) before booking any tricked routings.
Jul 4, 2014, 5:32 pm
#363
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Programs: Flying: VA; Buying: AA, AS, AV, BA, UA!
Posts: 2,349
As far as I can see the blog post isn't relevant to the OP...the OP is intending to fly the entire tricked route, there is no hidden city. But the post about trick cities is perhaps intended to be more general advice rather than related to that specific situation.
Jul 5, 2014, 4:50 pm
#366
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Programs: Flying: VA; Buying: AA, AS, AV, BA, UA!
Posts: 2,349
You have 2 options. You find someone at SN prepared to reroute you, but they're unlikely to route you to your intended final destination as that would involve another carrier. Or, you call up LifeMiles and ask them to find you a solution.
Jul 5, 2014, 10:06 pm
#368
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: IC Royal Ambassador, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 486
Jul 6, 2014, 2:26 am
#369
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 989
So i called LM today, conceding defeat and wanting to just get a cancellation fee waiver and re-book a normal mileage ticket. However, the LM agent told me to contact the operating carrier to find an alternate routing and they will re-issue the ticket. Problem I see though, is even if the operating carrier opens up award space to the other cities it serves, the departure times violate LM's own rules for stopover and i will actually have about 17 hours in the connecting city. Heres to fingers crossed that will work.
Jul 6, 2014, 3:04 am
#370
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Programs: Flying: VA; Buying: AA, AS, AV, BA, UA!
Posts: 2,349
So i called LM today, conceding defeat and wanting to just get a cancellation fee waiver and re-book a normal mileage ticket. However, the LM agent told me to contact the operating carrier to find an alternate routing and they will re-issue the ticket. Problem I see though, is even if the operating carrier opens up award space to the other cities it serves, the departure times violate LM's own rules for stopover and i will actually have about 17 hours in the connecting city. Heres to fingers crossed that will work.
Jul 7, 2014, 7:37 am
#371
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 989
Your main problem is that the operating carrier will most likely expect LM to make the request. However you have a pretty good case to try and get them to do so without getting LM to request something for you. I wouldn't worry about the layover time, once the reservation is in place I doubt their system will struggle to ticket it.
Jul 7, 2014, 12:34 pm
#372
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: ZRH/SFO
Programs: A3*G - AZ CFP- HH DIA
Posts: 3,666
Just wanted to report my experience and provide a data point. After calling LM to ask about my options regarding the partner segment cancellation, a very helpful LM agent opened up award space on Avianca and rerouted me thru BOG and onto my final destination in the US with no additional cost in mileage. Even though it added about 6 extra hours of flying and an over night in BOG, I am 1000% happy with the outcome.
Jul 7, 2014, 1:38 pm
#375
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Valencia, Spain
Programs: Pascal and Python, no C++
Posts: 738
I hope you accompanied that with a PM to the OP that you were joking. Otherwise the poor fellow might be very nervous now...