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
Oct 28, 2014, 2:25 pm
#1201
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Multiple locations
Programs: AAdvantage ExPlat LT Gold, BA Silver, Aegean Star Gold
Posts: 5,038
Oct 28, 2014, 2:35 pm
#1203
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: EWR
Programs: Free agent flyer, Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 365
I had that same issue, I got a call from a random 305 number, it was Lifemiles calling about my triple reservation same day different flights and cities. We cancelled two of the three, but need to see what they are going to charge in the end, since I was debited 41500 on the website and had paid part in C&M.
So if you get a 305 area code call it might be Lifemiles, no comments at all regarding the price paid and strangely it's the first time they proactively call when these tickets enter limbo land...
So if you get a 305 area code call it might be Lifemiles, no comments at all regarding the price paid and strangely it's the first time they proactively call when these tickets enter limbo land...
First I booked 2x: NRT-TPE-JFK in ANA J and EWR-UA in UA J for 42.5k LMs each
Even though I used miles + $$$, LM deducted the "full" 85k, and charged my CC $590.32. This is ticketed and confirmed.
Then I booked 2x: GRU-ZRH-BKK in LX J for 41.5k LMs each
I again used miles + $$$, but my miles balance was less than the full amount required for 2 tickets (in miles only). They charged my CC $584.92 and deducted 41.5k (one ticket). This is not ticketed.
No calls from LM yet. Will update when I get more information.
Wonder if I'll ever get those miles that I "co-paid" for back into my account.
Oct 28, 2014, 3:29 pm
#1208
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: EWR, SLC, SGN
Posts: 1,113
the "1000" is somewhat important part that my eyes wanted to skip and go straight to the -.36.
Oct 28, 2014, 4:43 pm
#1210
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
As a US citizen using an ordinary US passport, I've done US-GRU-EZE without a Brazilian visa -- but it was all on a single-ticketed PNR and the change of airline at GRU involved only a two hour connection.
Oct 30, 2014, 9:25 pm
#1215
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SXE
Programs: QF LTG, VA Gold, BA Gold, HH, SFSC
Posts: 502
There have been occasions where going over the 150k limit has been allowed. It either will work or it won't. I am not aware of account problems if you do go over.