Need

If Asia Miles site let you select a an award flight with date/time/flight number, bu then said you don't have enough miles, does it mean that flight is available if you have enough miles? I can transfer miles in but I don't want to transfer if there isn't a flight available.

Another question is that if the flight is available as standard award, why do they list the flight as Priority 1 and Priority 2 award for more points? If someone paid for Priority 1 using more points do they get to take away someone's booked Standard award seat? Also when I select a date to check, it pops up a message saying you are likely to be waitlisted, but then the next screen will show there is a flight available. Do they just show that message everytime regardless whether there are seats or not?

garykung

Yes, as of the moment you searched it.

You will need to ask AM to hold the flight for you.

What I can say is it is a common practice among airlines, not just AM alone.

Once the ticket has issued, you are booked. No one can get your seat unless IDB.

No.

percysmith

I don't think they'd let holds for inadequate miles <70%.

They take the position you can always redeem something else http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/catha...l#post28436114

d00t

Considering >30% of revenue would come from on demand transfers, I find it difficult to believe they wouldn't allow for redemption holding. There is also evidence which shows direct links between redemptions and the next ticket the pax buys being a revenue fare where the pax is based in the home country of the host airline.

Award holding... waitlisting... segmented inventory...drip releasing seats... it's all part of a broader loyalty warfare strategy to know what you would be willing to pay, how much you have, and when you're most likely to buy what type of ticket or redemption.

percysmith

You better send the source of the 30% figure to Steve Rackstraw, cos that's certainly not how AM operates these days http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/catha...l#post27945926

Surprised. Given all the difficulty of getting seat availability recently https://forum.hongkongcard.com/forumSE/show/22044 #5 , enhanced security questions, misinterpretation of rules, plus generally pricing higher than outport airlines, I've been driven to buying outport tickets after CX redemptions were not available.

Well as of this year CX is playing cash is king strategy https://forum.hongkongcard.com/forum...w/9764?page=21 #205 . Segmentation by use of miles as limited currency has been reduced.

P.S. my 70% assertion is current as of this evening. I called Manila as my brother (who currently has <100 AM in his account right now), picked a SYD-HKG-SYD return that's cleared, and got recited the 70% rule

d00t

He's on the CX side. Cathay has really messed up their business by allowing Asia Miles to be totally seprated from Marco Polo. Asia miles is incentivized to always play the short term game of miles sales and actively avoid redemptions, while Marco Polo is a longer-term play designed to drive more revenue to the airline. Their interests are not aligned and this creates a position where someone like Steve might struggle to get Asia Miles onboard with the logic as the companies are very separated in long term strategies.

Most FFPs around the world operate as one unit with shared long term interests. I can only assume Asia Miles was, and is positioned in a way to be sold off.

I think it's safe to say you're an outlier in earn/burn habits and not typical of most pax

Need

Thanks all. I went ahead and did the transfer. Hopefully the points will get in this week sometime ...

percysmith

With alliances and partner redemptions I'm not so sure miles sales and redemptions can be controlled so closely.
CX revenue control decides how many seats to put up for miles and how many for cash
They can then filter a bit using own miles-only availability/Priority One/Priority Two, but currently they're restrained in how much they apply restrictions (perhaps they desire a certain amount of overseas FFP revenue)
AM is merely geared to pushing as many miles out the door as they can convince people to redeem iPads for them


AAdvantage and Alaskan (Alaskan Mileage Plan really puts Alaska on the Canto travel blogging map) seem to be nothing but a cheap conduit to acquire CX seats until recently (yes I know that is parochial and not objective but that's what it looks like from here)

Need

Just an update, first batch of transfer points got in today and got the outbound ticket. Now hope that the 2nd batch gets in before the return ticket is gone! Weird that it is less points to book them separately. 70000 + 105000 instead of roundtrip 180000.