M&M Flight Award Booking - FAQ and Help Thread

Old Jan 29, 2019, 3:09 pm
  #766  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Montreux CH
Programs: FB Platinum, M&M FTL, BA Blue
Posts: 11,526
So if you book it as a round trip, starting in Europe, the taxes are a lot lower? That was certainly the case with Air Berlin and Topbonus. Not quite sure why this is, given that there are almost no surcharges on domestic flights in the US. For a place that is expert in bogus charges and sucking money out of people (e.g. resort fees at chain hotels in New York and elsewhere) this continually surprises me.
Concerto is online now  
Old Jan 29, 2019, 3:35 pm
  #767  
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Programs: Miles&More
Posts: 2
Lightbulb 3-region award: how exactly does it work?

Hello!
I am planning a 3-4 month trip, and while checking the recently updated awards chart I found out about the 3-region award.

Anyone know exactly how it works? I got some hints from calling M&M, but the person I spoke with did not share all the tricks and I would like to juice up those miles

If I'm based in Europe - could I do Southern Africa for say 6 weeks and later head out to Australia - and then return back to Europe from New Zealand? Would that be considered a 3-region award?
* The guy on the phone said that the middle region could be Southeast Asia (better flights), but I'm wondering if that's mandatory or if I get to choose the region I want to stopover in.
* He also said that arriving in AUS and departing from NZL would be ok since I can have an open jaw on the turn-around point. But, could I add the connecting flight from another airport in AUS to NZL or would I have to book that separately?
* Could I manage to do a stopover on the way back from NZL in Singapore for a couple of days?

To be more specific, this is what I'm thinking:
GVA - NBO (open jaw) CPT - PER but I may be pushing this one too much so I'd be happy with GVA - CPT (stopover) CPT - PER
SYD - AKL
AKL - SIN (stopover) - GVA I think SIN is another region and I may not be able to do a stopover, but that would be ok, I guess

Any thoughts or better recommendations?

Thanks!
pcostaa is offline  
Old Jan 29, 2019, 3:35 pm
  #768  
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: ZRH
Programs: M&M SEN (*G), HH Diamond
Posts: 2,416
Originally Posted by Concerto
So if you book it as a round trip, starting in Europe, the taxes are a lot lower?
No, it is not the taxes, it is the "international surcharge" (YQ) charged by LH Group that makes the difference.
goliath is offline  
Old Jan 29, 2019, 3:50 pm
  #769  
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: ZRH
Programs: M&M SEN (*G), HH Diamond
Posts: 2,416
Originally Posted by pcostaa
If I'm based in Europe - could I do Southern Africa for say 6 weeks and later head out to Australia - and then return back to Europe from New Zealand? Would that be considered a 3-region award?
* The guy on the phone said that the middle region could be Southeast Asia (better flights), but I'm wondering if that's mandatory or if I get to choose the region I want to stopover in.
* He also said that arriving in AUS and departing from NZL would be ok since I can have an open jaw on the turn-around point. But, could I add the connecting flight from another airport in AUS to NZL or would I have to book that separately?
* Could I manage to do a stopover on the way back from NZL in Singapore for a couple of days?

To be more specific, this is what I'm thinking:
GVA - NBO (open jaw) CPT - PER but I may be pushing this one too much so I'd be happy with GVA - CPT (stopover) CPT - PER
SYD - AKL
AKL - SIN (stopover) - GVA I think SIN is another region and I may not be able to do a stopover, but that would be ok, I guess
GVA - NBO (open jaw) CPT - PER:
What you call an "open jaw" is a "surface sector" between NBO and CPT which is not allowed. An "open jaw" is only allowed at the origin or destination of your award.
Also consider that there are no direct flights between GVA and NBO.

GVA - CPT (stopover) CPT - PER
SYD - AKL:

You would be missing a flight between PER and SYD. This route is not (feasibly) operated by *A, so you would have a "surface sector" again - which is not allowed.
Also consider that there are no direct flights between GVA and CPT.

AKL - SIN (stopover) - GVA:
That part is fine and you can have a stopover in SIN. Consider there are no direct flights between SIN and GVA.

The basic rules (there are more, but I won't get into all the details):
  • You can touch more than 3 regions with a 3+-region award
  • You can touch different regions on the outbound and on the inbound
  • You can have a stopover on the outbound as well as the outbound (but not in the originating region, here: in Europe)
  • You can have a maximum of 4 segments each on the outbound and on the inbound
With this in mind, you could do something like:
  • GVA-ZRH-CPT(Stopover)-PER // AKL-SIN(Stopover)-ZRH-GVA as a 3+-region award
  • and then buy PER-SYD-AKL separately
If you find availability on all sectors, that is!
Welcome to FT!

Last edited by goliath; Jan 29, 2019 at 4:00 pm
goliath is offline  
Old Jan 29, 2019, 4:47 pm
  #770  
 
Join Date: Jan 2019
Programs: Miles&More
Posts: 2
Originally Posted by goliath
GVA - NBO (open jaw) CPT - PER:
What you call an "open jaw" is a "surface sector" between NBO and CPT which is not allowed. An "open jaw" is only allowed at the origin or destination of your award.
Also consider that there are no direct flights between GVA and NBO.

GVA - CPT (stopover) CPT - PER
SYD - AKL:

You would be missing a flight between PER and SYD. This route is not (feasibly) operated by *A, so you would have a "surface sector" again - which is not allowed.
Also consider that there are no direct flights between GVA and CPT.

AKL - SIN (stopover) - GVA:
That part is fine and you can have a stopover in SIN. Consider there are no direct flights between SIN and GVA.

The basic rules (there are more, but I won't get into all the details):
  • You can touch more than 3 regions with a 3+-region award
  • You can touch different regions on the outbound and on the inbound
  • You can have a stopover on the outbound as well as the outbound (but not in the originating region, here: in Europe)
  • You can have a maximum of 4 segments each on the outbound and on the inbound
With this in mind, you could do something like:
  • GVA-ZRH-CPT(Stopover)-PER // AKL-SIN(Stopover)-ZRH-GVA as a 3+-region award
  • and then buy PER-SYD-AKL separately
If you find availability on all sectors, that is!
Welcome to FT!
Thanks! So - I think I'd be best if I start in ZRH rather than GVA, and therefore will have more flexibility with the segments. Do they have a maximum number of stopovers I could do? Could I actually pull off doing a stopover between each segment? say... AKL-NAN(stopover)-SIN(stopover)-HND(stopover)-ZHR
I've been going crazy trying to find if the rules are written somewhere and I actually think I may be pushing the planning too far away from what I could actually do.
pcostaa is offline  
Old Jan 29, 2019, 4:56 pm
  #771  
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: ZRH
Programs: M&M SEN (*G), HH Diamond
Posts: 2,416
Only one stopover on the outbound and one stopover on the inbound - if booked as a return ticket.

If booked as two oneway tickets: zero stopovers allowed.
goliath is offline  
Old Jan 29, 2019, 4:57 pm
  #772  
 
Join Date: Sep 2013
Posts: 2,186
Originally Posted by goliath
If you find availability on all sectors, that is!
Quite the if. Good luck, pcostaa!
mmff is offline  
Old Jan 29, 2019, 6:45 pm
  #773  
 
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: 7,665
Doable - if using Eco award
demue is offline  
Old Jan 30, 2019, 12:33 pm
  #774  
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: BRU
Programs: LH Sen, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 155
Two one-way awards (but no stopover allowed) can be quite a saving on YQ charges.
I could not find savings on the outward legs to Asia, only on the inward.
Back in 2017 in J on TG BKK-BRU non-stop the charges were only €20 (!!) compared to over €200 on LH. It's gone up since then but still a saving.
Similarly, the charges in J on LX HKG-ZRH-BRU last October were €105.
Ex ICN however, the charges seemed to be similar to ex-Europe.
tem123 is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2019, 8:10 am
  #775  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Dundee
Programs: BA Plastic. HH Diamond. Speedwell Bar Lifetime Platinum.
Posts: 1,418
Having issues booking a one way Glasgow to Malta via Munich using miles.
Flight from Glasgow to Munich is Lufthansa, Munich to Malta is Air Malta.

I've tried 3 different browsers, in incognito mode, and I still get an error
  • We are not able to confirm your selected flights. Please resubmit your request. (15012 - 421)
I called the M&M call centre, and they say I cannot use miles on the Munich to Malta segment as they don't have an agreement with that airline...

The website is clear in saying I can use on Air Malta
You can book flight award tickets online at any time of the day on the entire route network of ... Air Malta ...
Any suggestions?
BlueThroughCrimp is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2019, 8:47 am
  #776  
Senior Moderator, Moderator: Community Buzz and Ambassador: Miles & More (Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and other partners)
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: 150km from MAN
Programs: LH SEN** HH Diamond
Posts: 29,501
Originally Posted by BlueThroughCrimp
Having issues booking a one way Glasgow to Malta via Munich using miles.
Flight from Glasgow to Munich is Lufthansa, Munich to Malta is Air Malta.

I've tried 3 different browsers, in incognito mode, and I still get an error

I called the M&M call centre, and they say I cannot use miles on the Munich to Malta segment as they don't have an agreement with that airline...

The website is clear in saying I can use on Air Malta

Any suggestions?
Can you find GLA-MUC and MUC-MLA awards separately? Economy or Business award? I have checked GLA-MUC-MLA on random dates in May and found awards but only in Business for 25k miles and 87.24.
Attached Images  
NewbieRunner is online now  
Old Feb 18, 2019, 9:18 am
  #777  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Dundee
Programs: BA Plastic. HH Diamond. Speedwell Bar Lifetime Platinum.
Posts: 1,418
Originally Posted by NewbieRunner
Can you find GLA-MUC and MUC-MLA awards separately? Economy or Business award? I have checked GLA-MUC-MLA on random dates in May and found awards but only in Business for 25k miles and 87.24.
I'm looking at booking for Sunday 10th March 2019.
Yes, I can find the individual legs.
For Business Flex GLA-MLA it's 25,000 and 87.24




Separately for GLA-MUC it's 25000 and 57.54, while MUC-MLA is 25000 and 52.14 EUR, again in Business Flex.




As I've only got 29625 miles, I can't book separately.

It prices up OK until I pay and get an error showing 15012 - 421

BlueThroughCrimp is offline  
Old Feb 18, 2019, 9:34 am
  #778  
Senior Moderator, Moderator: Community Buzz and Ambassador: Miles & More (Lufthansa, Austrian, Swiss, and other partners)
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: 150km from MAN
Programs: LH SEN** HH Diamond
Posts: 29,501
Originally Posted by BlueThroughCrimp
I'm looking at booking for Sunday 10th March 2019.
Yes, I can find the individual legs.
For Business Flex GLA-MLA it's 25,000 and 87.24


Separately for GLA-MUC it's 25000 and 57.54, while MUC-MLA is 25000 and 52.14 EUR, again in Business Flex.


As I've only got 29625 miles, I can't book separately.

It prices up OK until I pay and get an error showing 15012 - 421
Call M&M in Germany if the UK number does not help. You should not need to book two separate awards!
NewbieRunner is online now  
Old Feb 18, 2019, 11:55 am
  #779  
 
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Dundee
Programs: BA Plastic. HH Diamond. Speedwell Bar Lifetime Platinum.
Posts: 1,418
Originally Posted by NewbieRunner
Call M&M in Germany if the UK number does not help. You should not need to book two separate awards!
Thanks, I did try, but I've been told there's no availability on the MUC-MLA segment, and what is displayed is wrong.
I'll make other arrangements.
BlueThroughCrimp is offline  
Old Mar 17, 2019, 5:01 pm
  #780  
FlyerTalk Evangelist
 
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Montreux CH
Programs: FB Platinum, M&M FTL, BA Blue
Posts: 11,526
Interesting discovery while I was combing through awards intra Asia, which seem really reasonable given the hours of flying and distances involved. I see domestic Japan flights listed as "Economy Mileage Bargain" for only 12,000 miles per direction. I don't know if this is temporary, or an ongoing offer, but it's seems like an excellent deal. A lot of the flights I was looking at were almost 3 hours in length on a widebody. For example Okinawa to Tokyo is 2h30 and costs 12,000 miles plus about 4 Euros tax. Similarly for all Japanese domestic destinations, including some more distant places like Sapporo.

I noticed that some of the NH flights were operated by ANA Wings (EH), Ibex Airlines (FW) and Solaseed Air (6J) which is interesting for those who get excited by such things (such as myself). They must be franchise operations, but I am still surprised that you can spend M&M miles on them. I am also surprised at how few miles and taxes you need. You can even book 2 or 3 sector itineraries and have a real aviation freak's day out!

Thinking about it, you could get from Okinawa to Sapporo via Tokyo for just 12,000 miles, which is a huge distance.
Concerto is online now  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Manage Preferences - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

This site is owned, operated, and maintained by MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Designated trademarks are the property of their respective owners.