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Lifemiles serious booking problems - Beware (from January 2022 onwards)

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Old Jan 17, 2022, 5:12 pm
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: italdesign
Please do your homework before buying Lifemiles. It is what it is... for some that's useful, for others it's not.

Biggest complaints are about
- mixed class bookings are available but now many of the suitable connections dont show
- not being able to book anything that isn't available online (there are work-arounds, see screenshot method below)
- the quality of the call center (English speaking agents are scarce, you might get thrown in a loop with call transfers within their call center)
- no stopovers (>24H) or open jaws, but you can book one way awards
- no reservations on Certain subsidiaries of Star Alliance carriers (Lufthansa Cityline, Germanwings)
- no availability showing at all on the website (try logging out and logging back in)

Problems with ticketing / lack of confirmation screen or email
- write down the confirmation number shown on the screen after confirming your purchase.
check here: http://serviciosenlinea.avianca.com/...doReserva.aspx

Sometimes, even if you cannot see the PNR, the record may have been created, so better to call them and give them flight details you were trying to book. They can find the PNR from those details.
- ticketing usually takes place within 10-15 min of booking
- but it may also take up to 2 days
- if miles have been deducted from your account and a temporary authorization has been placed on your CC, you're probably fine even if you did not see a confirmation screen
- if no e-ticket number is visible on checkmytrip.com after two days, you should contact LifeMiles. You can expedite the ticketing by emailing with your booking reference to: [email protected] after you have booked, especially if you have booked last minute flights, and need ticketing straight away

Screenshot method.
So, on a date you are looking for in the future, there is availability for LAX-NRT and NRT-BKK. But not LAX-NRT-BKK.
It may be a case of the LM system not offering the through connection.

Take three screen shots - two 'available' screen shots for LAX-NRT and NRT-BKK and the 'not available' screen for LAX-BKK.
Send them all off with a scan of your passport page (PDF) and LM will make the booking manually for you.

You need to have 40% of the miles in your account for them to make the booking. On some occasions, credit card points do not transfer over immediately. In such cases also send screenshots of the points being debited from your credit card. In some cases the LM account will immediately show the points transferred in the account activity section. Send a screenshot of that as well.

After a day or two, you will get a reply via email saying the matter has been escalated to an internal area. The next day someone will call you from 305 447 2819 and will process the payment over the phone. You will need to set a PIN which you can do in your online LM account (under the account access section of your online profile).

Send to these two email addresses, and CC yourself (just for your records)
[email protected] (invalid as of July 2022)
[email protected]

Sample email:
====
Email topic: Urgent request for booking Lifemiles Award
====
Dear Sirs,

I have tried several times, over several days, but the following itinerary does not show on the website.
Please see the attached screenshots I took just now.
Please do the manual booking First Class/Business class for xx,000 miles. (*Know how many miles the whole award should cost-here, to avoid surprises once ticketed)

The availability is only 1 seat for this date, so please process this request urgently before it is gone.

Los Angeles (LAX) - Bangkok (BKK)
Saturday August 11th 2018
NH 175 connecting to NH 807
(*Provide the specific flight numbers you want, to avoid surprises once ticketed)

My passport copy (Number xxxx, expiry 20xx/xx/xx, Nationality xxx) is attached in this email.

LifeMiles Number: xxx
First Name: xxx
Last name: xxx
Date of Birth: Month, date, year
Gender: Male/Female
Email: xxxx
Phone Number: +1-xxxx

Regards,
XXX
========



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Lifemiles serious booking problems - Beware (from January 2022 onwards)

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Old May 11, 2024, 7:52 am
  #871  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 42
Now it seems that nothing works on lifemiles website. Have tried booking some dummy Turkish, UA, ANA, and Avianca and every time I select the passenger and move to the next section it gives me an error just occurred message. Cant imagine that every single one of the bookings was phantom space but new to lifemiles so cant be certain
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Old May 11, 2024, 10:36 am
  #872  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,406
Originally Posted by sxc7885
Now it seems that nothing works on lifemiles website. Have tried booking some dummy Turkish, UA, ANA, and Avianca and every time I select the passenger and move to the next section it gives me an error just occurred message. Cant imagine that every single one of the bookings was phantom space but new to lifemiles so cant be certain
The website definitely worked for me today, an hour or so after your post, to book an EVA flight. The problem for me was their agent system is broken. I needed to change the date on a ticket but even though it had availability on their website the agent could not confirm it and said it was phantom. Tried a different agent - same thing. Booked a new ticket myself online for the new date - guess what? Not phantom, I was able to book it just fine online. As a result it ended up costing me an extra $75 to "change" the ticket (instead of $150 change it cost $200 cancel fee plus $25 booking fee not refunded). I filed a DOT complaint. Probably nothing will come of it, but I tried.

Last edited by skimthetrees; May 11, 2024 at 10:42 am
skimthetrees is offline  
Old May 16, 2024, 3:09 am
  #873  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 21
Same thing happened to me. Calling them did not help. Was your issue resolved after your post?
cw22288 is offline  
Old May 16, 2024, 3:10 am
  #874  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 21
Originally Posted by sxc7885
Now it seems that nothing works on lifemiles website. Have tried booking some dummy Turkish, UA, ANA, and Avianca and every time I select the passenger and move to the next section it gives me an error just occurred message. Cant imagine that every single one of the bookings was phantom space but new to lifemiles so cant be certain
Same thing happened to me. Calling them did not help. Was your issue resolved after your post?
cw22288 is offline  
Old May 16, 2024, 4:09 pm
  #875  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,406
Originally Posted by sxc7885
Now it seems that nothing works on lifemiles website. Have tried booking some dummy Turkish, UA, ANA, and Avianca and every time I select the passenger and move to the next section it gives me an error just occurred message. Cant imagine that every single one of the bookings was phantom space but new to lifemiles so cant be certain
Originally Posted by cw22288
Same thing happened to me. Calling them did not help. Was your issue resolved after your post?
Have you tried a different browser? Is Lifemiles website set to USA/English? Not that others are a problem, that's just what I use. Sometimes adblockers can cause problems. Do you have one? Is it disabled on Lifemiles.com and any intermediate site that gets triggered during the payment process? Popups enabled? I seem to recall some folks having issues in the past because of something in their profile. I cant remember exactly, maybe the name, FF #, or CC? Check back through the thread since no one else seems to remember either. Have you set a payment PIN?
skimthetrees is offline  
Old May 16, 2024, 8:06 pm
  #876  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 21
Originally Posted by skimthetrees
Have you tried a different browser? Is Lifemiles website set to USA/English? Not that others are a problem, that's just what I use. Sometimes adblockers can cause problems. Do you have one? Is it disabled on Lifemiles.com and any intermediate site that gets triggered during the payment process? Popups enabled? I seem to recall some folks having issues in the past because of something in their profile. I cant remember exactly, maybe the name, FF #, or CC? Check back through the thread since no one else seems to remember either. Have you set a payment PIN?
Yes, I have tried different browsers and devices including the mobile app. None of them worked. I have tried both English and Spanish, but still same error. And yes I have enabled everything.
I have also tried deleting all CC#s on my profile but no use. I have been using Lifemiles for more than 7 years and have redeemed dozens of tickets. It's my first time encountered this kind of error. I have called CS but they could not see any restrictions on my account...
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Old May 17, 2024, 7:26 am
  #877  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,406
Originally Posted by cw22288
Yes, I have tried different browsers and devices including the mobile app. None of them worked. I have tried both English and Spanish, but still same error. And yes I have enabled everything.
I have also tried deleting all CC#s on my profile but no use. I have been using Lifemiles for more than 7 years and have redeemed dozens of tickets. It's my first time encountered this kind of error. I have called CS but they could not see any restrictions on my account...
Since it is happening on multiple browsers and platforms it points to something wrong with either your profile or payment. I searched through the thread. One issue folks have had is not completely filling out their emergency contact in their profile. Is this complete in your profile?
skimthetrees is offline  
Old May 17, 2024, 6:29 pm
  #878  
 
Join Date: Jan 2017
Posts: 21
Originally Posted by skimthetrees
Since it is happening on multiple browsers and platforms it points to something wrong with either your profile or payment. I searched through the thread. One issue folks have had is not completely filling out their emergency contact in their profile. Is this complete in your profile?
Yes, already filled out.
cw22288 is offline  
Old May 18, 2024, 7:08 pm
  #879  
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,243
OK, three different browsers. Looking for a North America to Europe redemption in business. Each search reverts back to economy. New issue?
lamphs is offline  
Old May 19, 2024, 10:52 am
  #880  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,406
Originally Posted by lamphs
OK, three different browsers. Looking for a North America to Europe redemption in business. Each search reverts back to economy. New issue?
Probably means no business awards available. Have you confirmed whether other *A partners show business space on the days you are searching?
skimthetrees is offline  
Old May 19, 2024, 5:34 pm
  #881  
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,243
Originally Posted by skimthetrees
Probably means no business awards available. Have you confirmed whether other *A partners show business space on the days you are searching?
Yes, both AC, LH (via AC and UA), and UA all have availability. I noticed this morning that the searches did not revert back to economy, but trying a 10 day period of time in October using a variety of routes, all were 0 business class. The site seems to be down at the moment.
lamphs is offline  
Old May 20, 2024, 12:28 am
  #882  
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: SIN (LEJ once a year)
Programs: SQ, LH, BA, IHG Diamond AMB, HH Gold, SLH Indulged, Accor Gold, Hyatt Discoverist
Posts: 7,798
I couldn't even log in, the sign in returns some error when trying to load the account overview. LM at its best.

Last edited by demue; May 20, 2024 at 8:25 pm
demue is offline  
Old May 20, 2024, 8:58 am
  #883  
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Programs: UA, AS
Posts: 2,406
Originally Posted by lamphs
Yes, both AC, LH (via AC and UA), and UA all have availability. I noticed this morning that the searches did not revert back to economy, but trying a 10 day period of time in October using a variety of routes, all were 0 business class. The site seems to be down at the moment.
Direct flights or connections? Lifemiles seems to have some issues with connections. Lifemiles also seems to have problems with AC regional carriers (non-mainline). There are a few direct flights that do show on Lifemiles. JFK-GVA 10/6-9,22,28-30. IAD-BRU 10/21,26, BOS-ZRH 10/14, IAD-FRA 10/21, a few more.
skimthetrees is offline  
Old May 20, 2024, 11:24 am
  #884  
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: NJ-EWR
Programs: UA 1K, SPG Plat, IHG Plat, Marriott Plat, HH Gold, Avis First
Posts: 78
Curious on others recent experience. I spoke to multiple agents and they informed me that lifemiles has change their policy to a max layover being 12 hours. Last fall I was able to manual book under 24 layovers but this no longer seems to be the case.

Anyone else find similar or still able to book longer layovers?
warehouse341 is offline  
Old May 21, 2024, 6:43 am
  #885  
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 42
Originally Posted by cw22288
Same thing happened to me. Calling them did not help. Was your issue resolved after your post?
Nope still having issues even booking Avianca flights. Tried JFK to SJP and get as far as selecting the passengers and get a generic message that I am also getting on every partner flight both in Business and in economy. I even get the error on ones that the phone agent says available. Phone agent found JFK to LHR for thanksgiving but in econ except it was $200 USD more than what site wanted so I refused to book cause she wanted more in taxes


Have also went round and round with their useless social media team on IG and they are just as incompetent as the phone people
sxc7885 is offline  


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