Notyourbag

With LifeMiles having random availability I thought it would be useful to have a thread listing those itineraries that can actually be booked and ticketed to give people an idea of what is and isn't possible (and what is phantom!)

To kick things off... I booked last night

BKK-SYD in F with TG
Sunday 8th Dec
41,000 MILES + $431.29 Points & Taxes

Seat config looks like a 380 although the ticket and Thai Airways website says 747.

Tokyoite

there is a thread for that. why start a new one?
LM F and J routes (and the occasional trick-it) Rebooted v2.0

Notyourbag

Thanks. I didn't see that thread. I looked through the past 12 months and only saw 1 award booking posted. The rest seemed to be all commentary on award availability and not successful bookings folks had made.

wpcoe

A few days ago I booked BKK-NRT (TG J) and NRT-IAH (NH F) for the first week in March for 86,380 miles. I had bought a tranche of miles with 135% bonus, so those 86.38k miles cost US$1213. The reservation itself had $81 fees/charges. At ~$1300, I'm satisfied with that for a long-haul flight in F.

(Had I bought more miles and qualified for the current 145% bonus, I could have saved about $50.)

Notyourbag

Did you use Screenshot method? If so what was the turnaround time in Avianca getting back to you to ticket it?

freed0m

It is even cheaper with transfer bonus and you don't have to buy a lot to qualify.

wpcoe

No screenshot needed. It appeared while searching availability on lifemiles.com.

I guess I need to check into the transfer bonus. I thought there was a fee for mileage transferred to/from another member, and it (partially?) offset the transfer bonus?

[edited to add:] Here's an except of the footnotes for the current 115% transfer bonus (how does that trump the 135% bonus I got?):

So, if you wanted to transfer me 41k miles there would be a 47.15k bonus for a total of 88.15k so I could get my 86.38k TG-NH ticket . However, to transfer 41k miles would incur transfer fees of $615, no? If I've got that straight (not sure) then you would have to be willing to sell me (is that permitted?) your 41k miles for less than $600 to be cheaper than the $1213 I got buying the miles under the 135% bonus plan. Now, if someone is willing to just give me 41k miles, I'm all ears. Line forms to the right.

freed0m

effecively you buy 47.15K for $615.

wpcoe

Yes, but who is just giving away (i.e. willing to transfer to me) the 41k? Or, are you saying I can transfer to myself?

PS: Sorry for the edits on my previous post that you quoted. I prematurely posted it before I had finished so needed to go back and finish it. You were too fast!

freed0m

yes. You can do A-B-A many times even.

wpcoe

I'm still stuck on the logistics. If I'm A and you're B, I transfer 41k miles to you. (Who gets the bonus, you or me?) But for me to get my original miles back from you, I'd need to pay the transfer fees a second time, for $1230 total, no?

I'm sorry to be so dense. I seem to be missing something basic about how it works.

freed0m

For simplicity, you have 20K miles now.

1. you transfer 20K miles to me and pay $300. I get 20K + 23K miles.
2. I transfer 43K(20 + 23) back to you and pay $645, you get 43K + 49.45K miles in the end.

The end result, $300 + $645 = 43 + 49.5 - 20 = 72.5K miles, 1.3 US cents per mile.

You can adjust based on what you want to end up with and keep in mind that max 75K transfer limit before bonus.

This way, you pay 1.3 US cents per mile without minimum purchase, that is, you can start with 1K transfer, but the price you pay per mile is the same.

wpcoe

Wow, thanks a bunch! That is very clear, so now I understand. I'm meeting up with a "Mileage Queen" friend of mine this weekend for drinks. We really have something to talk about now.

I've never followed these transfer promos (obviously...). Is 115% bonus the usual amount?

[edited later, after the process sunk in, to add:]

I guess the main advantage is, as you pointed out, that there is no minimum quantity of miles to use.

For my ticket where I needed 86.38k miles, the transfer process would have cost ~$1,125, whereas my purchase with 135% bonus cost $1213. So cost savings wouldn't have been that great, but if you don't want to transfer 51k+ to get the 135% bonus, it's a very good alternative.

Thanks for the discussion. I hope everyone else is not bored to tears...

Notyourbag

Just booked! Flying this Saturday (F availability showed 5 days prior to travel)

Thai First
LHR-BKK

Usually 102,000 miles
I booked: 63 % Miles + 37 % cash
LM 64,000 US$ 939.70

mysg2000

Just successfully booked SIN-IAD and IAD-NRT, both on F with ANA for travel in Oct 2020. Couldn't be happier.