Please post your M&M award booking experience
Sep 21, 2019, 8:18 am
#691
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MAA
Programs: EK Gold, BA Silver
Posts: 130
This should probably go in the IT thread but I can't find it.
Made a business class award booking yesterday through my own M&M account for myself as I've done many times before.
Only after booking did I realise there's a part of my first name missing on the ticket.
Name on my passport: Steven George (first) Gerrard (last)
And my M&M account also shows as Steven George Gerrard
But the ticket is issued as Steven Gerrard
Is this a case of the system treating 'George' as a middle name and omitting it?
Called the India hotline who denied any possibility to amend name or to waive the €50 cancellation fee so that I make a new booking.
Called Germany who asked me to email copy of my passport and said they cannot waive the €25 charge for name change.
Anyone seen something like this?
Made a business class award booking yesterday through my own M&M account for myself as I've done many times before.
Only after booking did I realise there's a part of my first name missing on the ticket.
Name on my passport: Steven George (first) Gerrard (last)
And my M&M account also shows as Steven George Gerrard
But the ticket is issued as Steven Gerrard
Is this a case of the system treating 'George' as a middle name and omitting it?
Called the India hotline who denied any possibility to amend name or to waive the €50 cancellation fee so that I make a new booking.
Called Germany who asked me to email copy of my passport and said they cannot waive the €25 charge for name change.
Anyone seen something like this?
Last edited by MosquesAndKebabs; Sep 21, 2019 at 9:02 am
Sep 21, 2019, 8:42 am
#693
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: BOS
Programs: AA EXP, DL PM, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 2,028
This should probably go in the IT thread but I can't find it.
Made a business class award booking yesterday through my own M&M account for myself as I've done many times before.
Only after booking did I realise there's a part of my first name missing on the ticket.
Name on my passport: Steven George (first) Gerrard (last)
And my M&M account also shows as Steven George Gerrard
But the ticket is issued as Steven Gerrard
Is this a case of 'the system treating 'George' as a middle name and omitting it?
Called the India hotline who denied any possibility to amend name or to waive the €50 cancellation fee so that I make a new booking.
Called Germany who asked me to email copy of my passport and said they cannot waive the €25 charge for name change.
Anyone seen something like this?
Made a business class award booking yesterday through my own M&M account for myself as I've done many times before.
Only after booking did I realise there's a part of my first name missing on the ticket.
Name on my passport: Steven George (first) Gerrard (last)
And my M&M account also shows as Steven George Gerrard
But the ticket is issued as Steven Gerrard
Is this a case of 'the system treating 'George' as a middle name and omitting it?
Called the India hotline who denied any possibility to amend name or to waive the €50 cancellation fee so that I make a new booking.
Called Germany who asked me to email copy of my passport and said they cannot waive the €25 charge for name change.
Anyone seen something like this?
Sep 21, 2019, 9:01 am
#694
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: MAA
Programs: EK Gold, BA Silver
Posts: 130
Sep 21, 2019, 9:02 am
#695
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Colorado, US
Programs: LH Senator BA Silver
Posts: 162
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
LAX-FRA-BRU F (2 seats on LH A388)
FRA-ORD F (2 seats on LH B748)
Both over the Christmas/New Years holiday season.
How many pax and how many award miles?
2 pax. 91,000 Award miles per pax
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
3 month in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
Just one check to M&M site and booked online. No need to call SEN hotline!
LAX-FRA-BRU F (2 seats on LH A388)
FRA-ORD F (2 seats on LH B748)
Both over the Christmas/New Years holiday season.
How many pax and how many award miles?
2 pax. 91,000 Award miles per pax
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
3 month in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
Just one check to M&M site and booked online. No need to call SEN hotline!
Last edited by wfiring12; Sep 21, 2019 at 9:09 am
Sep 21, 2019, 9:13 am
#696
Join Date: Oct 2004
Programs: LH HON
Posts: 3,421
Sep 21, 2019, 10:48 am
#697
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Montreux CH
Programs: FB Platinum, M&M FTL, BA Blue
Posts: 11,623
I never put my middle names in, just my first and last names. Is that likely to be an issue, do you think?
Sep 22, 2019, 2:35 am
#699
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: ZRH
Programs: LX M&M
Posts: 318
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
ITM-HND NH Y
HND-FRA LH F
FRA-ZRH LX C
How many pax and how many award miles?
2 pax. 111,000 miles and ~ CHF 190 in fees/taxes each
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
4 month in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Monday instead of Sunday but just one day from our preferred date apart
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
checked it online and had to call once to book
ITM-HND NH Y
HND-FRA LH F
FRA-ZRH LX C
How many pax and how many award miles?
2 pax. 111,000 miles and ~ CHF 190 in fees/taxes each
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
4 month in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Monday instead of Sunday but just one day from our preferred date apart
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
checked it online and had to call once to book
Oct 2, 2019, 3:11 pm
#700
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: between DM464 and DM463 on the NAPSA26 RNAV TRANS in EDDM
Programs: this and that
Posts: 1,731
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
MUC LH (I) YYZ AC (I) YHZ [stopover]
YHZ AC (X) YDF [destination / open jaw]
YYT AC (I) YYZ [stopover]
YYZ LH (I) FRA LH (I) MUC
How many pax and how many award miles?
3 pax (2 adult, 1 child), 112k miles, €603 p.P. (no companion award and child discount possible because it's a mixed LH & AC award)
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
11 months
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes, except for the following two segments:
YHZ-YDF: there are two flights per day. I would have preferred the daytime departure, but there was/is no award availability, therefore I had to settle for the evening flight.
YYT-YYZ: I had to pick a flight 3 days earlier than originally planned in order to avoid a 5 a.m. departure in economy. This way we can depart at 4:30 p.m. and in business class with the positive side effect of getting a 3 day stopover in YYZ on the way back.
Since we are tied to very specific dates I am extremly happy that I could get this itin booked.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)? How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
I did research all the flights using the M&M homepage (which is a big PITA) and Expertflyer. I did call in to make the reservation.
1st call (Canada call center) - the connection got dropped while booking the last flight of the itin.
2nd call (Canada call center) - agent was able to reserve all the flights and put the reservation on hold.
3rd call (South Africa call center) - agent was able to change YYT-YYZ from X to I, but was struggling to finalize the reservation (I was on hold for approx. 30 mins). Agent offered to finalize everything and call me back. Which she did.
4th call (South Africa call center) - same agent called back as promised and she got the reservation ticketed.
5th call (South Africa call center) - same agent called back again (voluntarily) to offer to make seat reservations.
Overall the agents in Canada and South Africa have been really helpful and great, given the rather complex nature of this redemption and the fact that I needed an award for 3 pax. As stated above the M&M homepage is a disgrace and the fact you can't really book open jaw / stop over / mixed class itins online is really frustrating.
The agent of the 2nd call had to use the SEN waitlist to get seats for the YYZ-MUC portion of the itin, despite the fact that I could see availability for the same flights online. Given the fact that I made the reservation 11 months out, the WL cleared instantaneously.
MUC LH (I) YYZ AC (I) YHZ [stopover]
YHZ AC (X) YDF [destination / open jaw]
YYT AC (I) YYZ [stopover]
YYZ LH (I) FRA LH (I) MUC
How many pax and how many award miles?
3 pax (2 adult, 1 child), 112k miles, €603 p.P. (no companion award and child discount possible because it's a mixed LH & AC award)
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
11 months
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes, except for the following two segments:
YHZ-YDF: there are two flights per day. I would have preferred the daytime departure, but there was/is no award availability, therefore I had to settle for the evening flight.
YYT-YYZ: I had to pick a flight 3 days earlier than originally planned in order to avoid a 5 a.m. departure in economy. This way we can depart at 4:30 p.m. and in business class with the positive side effect of getting a 3 day stopover in YYZ on the way back.
Since we are tied to very specific dates I am extremly happy that I could get this itin booked.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)? How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
I did research all the flights using the M&M homepage (which is a big PITA) and Expertflyer. I did call in to make the reservation.
1st call (Canada call center) - the connection got dropped while booking the last flight of the itin.
2nd call (Canada call center) - agent was able to reserve all the flights and put the reservation on hold.
3rd call (South Africa call center) - agent was able to change YYT-YYZ from X to I, but was struggling to finalize the reservation (I was on hold for approx. 30 mins). Agent offered to finalize everything and call me back. Which she did.
4th call (South Africa call center) - same agent called back as promised and she got the reservation ticketed.
5th call (South Africa call center) - same agent called back again (voluntarily) to offer to make seat reservations.
Overall the agents in Canada and South Africa have been really helpful and great, given the rather complex nature of this redemption and the fact that I needed an award for 3 pax. As stated above the M&M homepage is a disgrace and the fact you can't really book open jaw / stop over / mixed class itins online is really frustrating.
The agent of the 2nd call had to use the SEN waitlist to get seats for the YYZ-MUC portion of the itin, despite the fact that I could see availability for the same flights online. Given the fact that I made the reservation 11 months out, the WL cleared instantaneously.
Oct 3, 2019, 3:06 am
#701
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 286
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
XXX-ZRH-NBO F (2 seats)
NBO-FRA-XXX C (2 seats)
How many pax and how many award miles?
2 pax. in total 150,000 award miles
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
10 month in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes by phone
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
Not checked.
XXX-ZRH-NBO F (2 seats)
NBO-FRA-XXX C (2 seats)
How many pax and how many award miles?
2 pax. in total 150,000 award miles
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
10 month in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes by phone
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
Not checked.
Oct 3, 2019, 10:49 am
#702
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: BRU
Programs: LH Sen, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 159
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
BRU-FRA-AUS return mileage bargain in LH C
How many pax and how many award miles?
4 pax: 2 adults for 55000 miles, 2 children for 41250 miles and 599 EUR !!! fees each
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
3 months in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes, for Xmas and New Year
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
found online and booked
BRU-FRA-AUS return mileage bargain in LH C
How many pax and how many award miles?
4 pax: 2 adults for 55000 miles, 2 children for 41250 miles and 599 EUR !!! fees each
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
3 months in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes, for Xmas and New Year
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
found online and booked
Oct 5, 2019, 8:13 am
#703
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Montreux CH
Programs: FB Platinum, M&M FTL, BA Blue
Posts: 11,623
Really enjoyed my trip on Singapore Airlines in.business class yesterday. As a reminder, the routing was BKK-SIN-KIX, with about 40 minutes to change in SIN. It was quite a walk up to A16, even with the help of the Skytrain. Somehow the baggage made the connection, which really impressed me.
Flights were good and I like the seats on the 787 aircraft. Food service was ok but didn't blow me away. I chose the Japanese menu but wished I had taken the Ramen special.
After less than 24 hours in Osaka and crossing the bay to Kobe, I tacked on a flight from Kobe (UKB) to Sapporo (CTS) at no extra cost of miles or taxes. As a reminder, I paid 35,000 miles and €29 taxes. The last flight was operated by Air Do (or AIRDO), the airline of Hokkaido, but with a NH flight number (as well as the usual HD one). Amazing that you can use Miles & More miles to book.flights on these obscure airlines as codeshares.
ETA - Kobe airport is lovely and calm with some decent food outlets and cafes. But it also has an easily accessible rooftop for plane spotting which is really pleasant.
Flights were good and I like the seats on the 787 aircraft. Food service was ok but didn't blow me away. I chose the Japanese menu but wished I had taken the Ramen special.
After less than 24 hours in Osaka and crossing the bay to Kobe, I tacked on a flight from Kobe (UKB) to Sapporo (CTS) at no extra cost of miles or taxes. As a reminder, I paid 35,000 miles and €29 taxes. The last flight was operated by Air Do (or AIRDO), the airline of Hokkaido, but with a NH flight number (as well as the usual HD one). Amazing that you can use Miles & More miles to book.flights on these obscure airlines as codeshares.
ETA - Kobe airport is lovely and calm with some decent food outlets and cafes. But it also has an easily accessible rooftop for plane spotting which is really pleasant.
Feb 9, 2020, 6:09 am
#704
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: FRA
Programs: LH SEN**, IHG Diamond Ambassador
Posts: 669
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
FRA-LAX-FRA return in LH F
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax: 182000 miles and 609 EUR fees
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
6 months in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes, wide open availability for 2 seats each +/- 7 days for at least one of the daily LH non-stop flights; also FRA-SFO was/is still wide open for the same week.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
online
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
called SEN hotline 2 times end of Dec and mid-Jan with zero availability in C and F (in line with online availability), in addition checked every couple of days on M&M homepage. Important to note that Expertflyer shows zero availability.
FRA-LAX-FRA return in LH F
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax: 182000 miles and 609 EUR fees
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
6 months in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes, wide open availability for 2 seats each +/- 7 days for at least one of the daily LH non-stop flights; also FRA-SFO was/is still wide open for the same week.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
online
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
called SEN hotline 2 times end of Dec and mid-Jan with zero availability in C and F (in line with online availability), in addition checked every couple of days on M&M homepage. Important to note that Expertflyer shows zero availability.
Feb 10, 2020, 4:50 pm
#705
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Edinburgh
Posts: 514
Is this a new? Using SEN WL-qualifications for non-status MM basics.
If not, very happy to share.
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
JNB - FRA, oneway, 2x LH F
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
3 months in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes. But looked at general F availability first.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Calling in.
First: Non-Status passengers travelling and paying with their own miles. Not to our surprise there was no F availability for them, though flight showed F6 A5.
Then called-in again with be-friended SEN account to request F waitlist. Within the night, WL confirmation came in.
Called again and had the reservation paid with non-status member miles..
No questions asked.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
3x
If not, very happy to share.
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
JNB - FRA, oneway, 2x LH F
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
3 months in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes. But looked at general F availability first.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Calling in.
First: Non-Status passengers travelling and paying with their own miles. Not to our surprise there was no F availability for them, though flight showed F6 A5.
Then called-in again with be-friended SEN account to request F waitlist. Within the night, WL confirmation came in.
Called again and had the reservation paid with non-status member miles..
No questions asked.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
3x