LifeMiles Can't Book Air China
May 29, 2016, 1:26 pm
#47
Ambassador: LATAM
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PNA
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 4,648
Let me clarify the situation:
Air China is still possible to book (with Lifemiles) but only for accounts based in Colombia (or maybe another country that I am not aware of it) !
Don´t ask me where I´ve got this information from but it´s the truth.
And before you try to setup an account based in Colombia, be ready to have some ID proof just in case their department is calling you and closing your account! (Didn´t happen to me!)
So, they tell you lies about not being able to book CA anymore!
(But technically spoken, they´re right as long as your account is not Colombia... based.)
Air China is still possible to book (with Lifemiles) but only for accounts based in Colombia (or maybe another country that I am not aware of it) !
Don´t ask me where I´ve got this information from but it´s the truth.
And before you try to setup an account based in Colombia, be ready to have some ID proof just in case their department is calling you and closing your account! (Didn´t happen to me!)
So, they tell you lies about not being able to book CA anymore!
(But technically spoken, they´re right as long as your account is not Colombia... based.)
May 30, 2016, 5:45 am
#49
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: CAN BUF YYZ
Posts: 4
I managed to get to the Lifemiles call center and had my CA flight booked and just flew with CA yesterday with no problem.
It was a long story. I tried to book CA's PEK-SYD on May 29, 2016 in September, 2015 online, and got the error message. Instead of bothering calling Lifemiles, I went with my second choice, OZ's PEK-ICN-SYD. In Apr 01, 2016, I found out that my PEK-ICN flight by OZ had a schedule change, which made my connecting time in ICN less than 70 mins, the MCT. Then I called the Lifemiles department in the US. After being redirected for several times, the agent found me availability on SQ's PEK-SIN-SYD flight, but by checking the availability of ANA at the same time, I found award space on CA969 PEK-SIN to be available so I asked the agent to get it. The agent got it with no problem and reissued the ticket in a 134 ticket number, which is Avianca's ticket number, not something I've gotten under 202, TACA's ticket number.
I've called CA's number in China and US to reconfirm my ticket, and it turned out to be all set. When I checked in with CA yesterday, I had my CA969 and SQ231 boarding pass issued together by CA and bags tagged all the way to SYD.
Conclusion: There should be some mysterious difference b/w Lifemiles' website and call center, by the fact that they even used different IATA number for ticketing. However, given the fact that Lifemiles' call center is absolutely difficult to call, and CA rarely release any award space with C on their North American flight, I would not raise my hope on booking CA's Intl C class with Lifemiles.
It was a long story. I tried to book CA's PEK-SYD on May 29, 2016 in September, 2015 online, and got the error message. Instead of bothering calling Lifemiles, I went with my second choice, OZ's PEK-ICN-SYD. In Apr 01, 2016, I found out that my PEK-ICN flight by OZ had a schedule change, which made my connecting time in ICN less than 70 mins, the MCT. Then I called the Lifemiles department in the US. After being redirected for several times, the agent found me availability on SQ's PEK-SIN-SYD flight, but by checking the availability of ANA at the same time, I found award space on CA969 PEK-SIN to be available so I asked the agent to get it. The agent got it with no problem and reissued the ticket in a 134 ticket number, which is Avianca's ticket number, not something I've gotten under 202, TACA's ticket number.
I've called CA's number in China and US to reconfirm my ticket, and it turned out to be all set. When I checked in with CA yesterday, I had my CA969 and SQ231 boarding pass issued together by CA and bags tagged all the way to SYD.
Conclusion: There should be some mysterious difference b/w Lifemiles' website and call center, by the fact that they even used different IATA number for ticketing. However, given the fact that Lifemiles' call center is absolutely difficult to call, and CA rarely release any award space with C on their North American flight, I would not raise my hope on booking CA's Intl C class with Lifemiles.
May 30, 2016, 8:16 am
#50
Ambassador: LATAM
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PNA
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 4,648
Yes I've said twice in this thread that I reach the payment page and I also booked and flew SIN-PEK.
I did also mention that my account is very old and occasionally has grandfathered qualities. Not true to simply say that Colombian accounts are the only ones that can book CA though.
If anyone wants to add a Colombian ID to their account to see if that works then just add a random 8 digit number for Cédula de Ciudadania or a random 6 digit number for Cédula de Extranjería
Avianca has no way of checking this, but be mindful that if you add a Colombian address to your account then you are liable to 16% tax on miles purchases.
I did also mention that my account is very old and occasionally has grandfathered qualities. Not true to simply say that Colombian accounts are the only ones that can book CA though.
If anyone wants to add a Colombian ID to their account to see if that works then just add a random 8 digit number for Cédula de Ciudadania or a random 6 digit number for Cédula de Extranjería
Avianca has no way of checking this, but be mindful that if you add a Colombian address to your account then you are liable to 16% tax on miles purchases.
Jun 18, 2016, 1:55 am
#51
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 77
Yes I've said twice in this thread that I reach the payment page and I also booked and flew SIN-PEK.
I did also mention that my account is very old and occasionally has grandfathered qualities. Not true to simply say that Colombian accounts are the only ones that can book CA though.
If anyone wants to add a Colombian ID to their account to see if that works then just add a random 8 digit number for Cédula de Ciudadania or a random 6 digit number for Cédula de Extranjería
Avianca has no way of checking this, but be mindful that if you add a Colombian address to your account then you are liable to 16% tax on miles purchases.
I did also mention that my account is very old and occasionally has grandfathered qualities. Not true to simply say that Colombian accounts are the only ones that can book CA though.
If anyone wants to add a Colombian ID to their account to see if that works then just add a random 8 digit number for Cédula de Ciudadania or a random 6 digit number for Cédula de Extranjería
Avianca has no way of checking this, but be mindful that if you add a Colombian address to your account then you are liable to 16% tax on miles purchases.
I've emailed Avianca the flights I want to book and hope they will reply soon.
Jun 18, 2016, 1:34 pm
#52
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 77
This is the reply Lifemiles sent to me,
It is a pleasure to greet you.
We apologize for the experience you had when redeeming your booking in our website; we have verified the itinerary you are requesting and must advise you the flights operated by Air China are currently sold out, reason why, you are receiving an error message during the ticket redemption.
Due to the aforementioned situation, we recommend you try once more the ticket redemption by searching alternate routes, dates and different airlines, which must not include Air China.
We appreciate your time and understanding.
Kind regards,
It is a pleasure to greet you.
We apologize for the experience you had when redeeming your booking in our website; we have verified the itinerary you are requesting and must advise you the flights operated by Air China are currently sold out, reason why, you are receiving an error message during the ticket redemption.
Due to the aforementioned situation, we recommend you try once more the ticket redemption by searching alternate routes, dates and different airlines, which must not include Air China.
We appreciate your time and understanding.
Kind regards,
Jun 18, 2016, 4:14 pm
#54
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 77
I agree, these flights appear on United's website as available and I would book through the United site but I don't have enough available miles at this time.
Jun 18, 2016, 4:17 pm
#55
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,403
I have seen cases of phantom availability on LM for Air China. Before LM cracked down it was possible to use the screenshot method to book CA, but you had to cross-reference with UA (or similar) to make sure the availability was really there.
Jun 18, 2016, 4:45 pm
#56
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 77
If these flights truly are not bookable then why show them on the website, both United and Lifemiles?
Jun 18, 2016, 5:12 pm
#57
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: AU
Programs: former Olympic Airways Gold (yeah - still proud of that!)
Posts: 14,403
Sometimes systems lag behind what is truly available - they system may have incorrectly identified a seat as being available, or the seat was available but someone else took it (or is in the process of taking it). I'm not sure of the extent of phantom availability for star alliance - but generally UA has been spot on. For Oneworld phantom seats are fairly common especially for CX.
Jun 19, 2016, 2:11 pm
#58
Ambassador: LATAM
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: PNA
Programs: BAEC Silver
Posts: 4,648
I think the concept of phantom availability is a bit of a diversion. LM has had CA availability that some can book but others cannot. LM has given mixed and unlikely reasons for this.
For what it's worth, I can also not book CA anymore either.
For what it's worth, I can also not book CA anymore either.
Jun 28, 2016, 7:57 am
#60
Join Date: Jun 2016
Programs: Star Alliance
Posts: 2
Air China Not Renewing with LifeMiles??
I tried to book a flight from JFK->PEK on Air China and that error message popped up. I contacted Support@lifemiles and asked why I was getting an error message. This is our conversation.
Me: I am trying to book an award flight with Air China on your website but it will not allow me to go to the next step (Itinerary) it shows an error message. Is this a website error or are you not releasing award seats for Air China?
Support: We have verified the itinerary you are requesting and must advise you the flight operated by Air China is currently sold out.
Me: Which itinerary are you referring to because I didn't give you any details other than i'm trying to book an Air China flight.
Support: I would like to confirm you that all flights operated by Air China are sold out on our loyalty program and we do not have information about the airline renewing seats with our program. We recommend you to try looking for alternate airlines.
What a headache! Who knows if their response is true. I've gotten different answers from the call center, email, and twitter.
Me: I am trying to book an award flight with Air China on your website but it will not allow me to go to the next step (Itinerary) it shows an error message. Is this a website error or are you not releasing award seats for Air China?
Support: We have verified the itinerary you are requesting and must advise you the flight operated by Air China is currently sold out.
Me: Which itinerary are you referring to because I didn't give you any details other than i'm trying to book an Air China flight.
Support: I would like to confirm you that all flights operated by Air China are sold out on our loyalty program and we do not have information about the airline renewing seats with our program. We recommend you to try looking for alternate airlines.
What a headache! Who knows if their response is true. I've gotten different answers from the call center, email, and twitter.