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
Mar 13, 2018, 7:33 am
#2836
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 1,319
Thanks 
This thread, kinda like "negotiate & trick it" in the "mileage runs" forum, is unreadable for the uninitiated, but sounds like not many useful tricks are left anyway.
I figured out a problem with multicity - it would not let me enter actual airports because airline defaulted to Avianca. Setting to "Star Alliance" fixed that issue. But yes, you are correct - not a useful search mode.
All I found so far is that LM allows bookings from one region to another by way of a more expensive region (although that's true occasionally of other programs, even MileagePlus). Unfortunately, since there is no way to pick a specific connection, it's useful only when the search just happens to give the right result.
This thread, kinda like "negotiate & trick it" in the "mileage runs" forum, is unreadable for the uninitiated, but sounds like not many useful tricks are left anyway.I figured out a problem with multicity - it would not let me enter actual airports because airline defaulted to Avianca. Setting to "Star Alliance" fixed that issue. But yes, you are correct - not a useful search mode.
All I found so far is that LM allows bookings from one region to another by way of a more expensive region (although that's true occasionally of other programs, even MileagePlus). Unfortunately, since there is no way to pick a specific connection, it's useful only when the search just happens to give the right result.
Mar 29, 2018, 3:16 pm
#2841
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Programs: Delta Platinum
Posts: 96
So if LifeMiles is showing me a LH route (EWR-FRA-MUC) as available in biz on all legs, but EF and UA website say it's lying, who should I believe? I presume I should not believe LM, but if I try to book the flight, will it work anyway even though space is not technically available or will it error out? I realize the correct answer is to just try it, but don't want to transfer over 60k+ points from TY if it's not gonna work.
Mar 30, 2018, 6:11 am
#2845
Join Date: Jan 2000
Location: Annapolis, MD
Posts: 483
So if LifeMiles is showing me a LH route (EWR-FRA-MUC) as available in biz on all legs, but EF and UA website say it's lying, who should I believe? I presume I should not believe LM, but if I try to book the flight, will it work anyway even though space is not technically available or will it error out? I realize the correct answer is to just try it, but don't want to transfer over 60k+ points from TY if it's not gonna work.
Last edited by CG; Mar 30, 2018 at 6:16 am Reason: Mistake
Apr 20, 2018, 5:17 am
#2846
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SXE
Programs: QF LTG, VA Gold, BA Gold, HH, SFSC
Posts: 502
I am looking to fly EDI-HKG via IST next year. I can see the individual legs on TK, but not the combined journey. Trouble is, there are plenty of other options, just not via IST with TK. What are my chances of the screenshot method allowing me to book with TK?
Apr 21, 2018, 7:17 am
#2847
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Australia
Programs: KrisFlyer, AA, Qantas, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 592
Ticket is confirmed and shows on Lufthansa's website and was even able to manage my booking on the LH website. Seems I got very lucky! (Out of FRA). So a rare win for Lifemiles (I've had issues before where United shows and Lifemiles does not)!
Last edited by jubbing; Apr 21, 2018 at 9:16 pm
Apr 21, 2018, 8:22 pm
#2848
Join Date: May 2012
Location: SXE
Programs: QF LTG, VA Gold, BA Gold, HH, SFSC
Posts: 502
Apr 22, 2018, 4:11 am
#2850
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Australia
Programs: KrisFlyer, AA, Qantas, SPG, Marriott
Posts: 592
Seems like all the blogs are picking up on this after I posted 24 hours ago. Doesn't matter - they may close this soon, but I got the flight I wanted so smiley faces all around.