Please post your M&M award booking experience
Sep 21, 2022, 12:39 pm
#736
Join Date: Nov 2018
Location: BRU
Programs: LH HON**
Posts: 379
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
Upgraded LX ZRH-MIA from Business D to First
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax, 2 eVouchers
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked 8 weeks in advance and immediately called HON line but could not get waitlisted (flight selling F5). Called again on D-7 and got waitlisted (F2). Waitlist cleared on D-3
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Not applicable since my base booking was a revenue ticket
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Okay-ish given my low expectations. Not a very friendly agent first time calling who said there was absolutely nothing she could do; very friendly agent second time
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
As per above. I didn’t bother calling between D-8 weeks and D-1 week as I assumed they wouldn’t do anything until a week before departure anyway
Upgraded LX ZRH-MIA from Business D to First
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax, 2 eVouchers
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked 8 weeks in advance and immediately called HON line but could not get waitlisted (flight selling F5). Called again on D-7 and got waitlisted (F2). Waitlist cleared on D-3
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Not applicable since my base booking was a revenue ticket
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Okay-ish given my low expectations. Not a very friendly agent first time calling who said there was absolutely nothing she could do; very friendly agent second time
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
As per above. I didn’t bother calling between D-8 weeks and D-1 week as I assumed they wouldn’t do anything until a week before departure anyway
Sep 26, 2022, 6:39 am
#737
Moderator: Lufthansa Miles & More, India based airlines, India, External Miles & Points Resources
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: MUC
Programs: LH SEN
Posts: 48,132
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
MUC BOM vv LH Business (I) and Premium Eco (R)
How many pax and how many award miles?
7 adults: 3 (R out / I in) 96k plus 489€ fees; 4 I both ways 112k plus 529€ fees minus 50% companion
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
60-110 days
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
yes, amazed I got seats in the peak winter migration (US-India VFR)
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
All good.
1.Called German SEN line, 5 min wait, requested WL for PE/C and got the booking done for the outbound instantly (Z and E available). Inbound was more complex, couldn't get anything in PE or Y for the 3 travelling with us. After trying various things just tried if 7 (!) seats would be released under the SEN WL (Business was J9C9D9). To the agents and my amazement, the 7 seats (in the small ex PR A359 that only has 30 C seats) were given instantly. Put the reservation on hold to cross check with everyone. For some reason the system put my name in multiple times, everything had to be rebuild from scratch, leading to a total call time of 52 min.
2.. Called SEN line during my lunch break, 35 min on hold. Agent issued the tickets quickly and assigned seating in 18 mins.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
First call for the seats.
MUC BOM vv LH Business (I) and Premium Eco (R)
How many pax and how many award miles?
7 adults: 3 (R out / I in) 96k plus 489€ fees; 4 I both ways 112k plus 529€ fees minus 50% companion
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
60-110 days
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
yes, amazed I got seats in the peak winter migration (US-India VFR)
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
All good.
1.Called German SEN line, 5 min wait, requested WL for PE/C and got the booking done for the outbound instantly (Z and E available). Inbound was more complex, couldn't get anything in PE or Y for the 3 travelling with us. After trying various things just tried if 7 (!) seats would be released under the SEN WL (Business was J9C9D9). To the agents and my amazement, the 7 seats (in the small ex PR A359 that only has 30 C seats) were given instantly. Put the reservation on hold to cross check with everyone. For some reason the system put my name in multiple times, everything had to be rebuild from scratch, leading to a total call time of 52 min.
2.. Called SEN line during my lunch break, 35 min on hold. Agent issued the tickets quickly and assigned seating in 18 mins.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
First call for the seats.
Sep 26, 2022, 6:56 am
#738
Join Date: Dec 2005
Programs: OW Emerald, *A Gold
Posts: 6,911
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
YVR - FRA on LH in business
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax, 35k Aeroplan points and about 100 CAD
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
4 days
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, worked super easy but obviously not with M&M but Aeroplan
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
3 days
YVR - FRA on LH in business
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax, 35k Aeroplan points and about 100 CAD
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
4 days
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, worked super easy but obviously not with M&M but Aeroplan
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
3 days
Sep 26, 2022, 7:18 am
#739
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: BOM-SIN-EWR
Programs: UA*G (1K again), Sixt Plat, *was*: SQ QPP01 & SK EBS/EBG, LH SEN, AA EXP, 9wPlat
Posts: 8,606
Sep 26, 2022, 7:31 am
#740
Join Date: Dec 2005
Programs: OW Emerald, *A Gold
Posts: 6,911
Sep 26, 2022, 10:03 pm
#741
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: 7,726
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
TG CGK-BKK-MUC in Biz
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax, 71k mls and something like 343 € tax and (atrocious) YQ
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked online ~7 weeks in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Had to be somewhat flexible with dates and route (especially starting point). I was looking to start from SIN, but that is close to impossible in premium cabin unless you do say SIN-BKK in Eco which one cannot do online and I wasn't keen on hearing the LH M&M CC in Philippines telling me again that they don't see the same availability as LH M&M online (different POS). Hence, this was the one choice "morsel" of availability at an acceptable date that I could find for any Biz award between SE Asia and Europe. Starting in CGK fit into another trip so not terrible.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Manageable because I stayed online, but even online can be a pain.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
I had been checking daily for over a week and went through many, many possible combos to try to establish where some pockets of Biz availability were. Overall it was bleak, so basically I searched across date ranges with start points in SE Asia (SIN, BKK, KUL, CGK) and arriving into various European destinations (FRA, MUC, VIE, AMS, ZRH) to find the booked flight.
One key learning, the calendar feature that shows when Biz is available for an entered city pair is nice, but entirely unreliable. It showed me flights as available on certain dates and when I searched that date there was nothing. Also why does LH M&M search have to throw one back to the start of the search screen when it finds no availability even forgetting the searched city pair, date, cabin etc.? Mightily annoying. Crappy in my book.
Even miserable LM site let's you browse through a searched city pair availability (or lack thereof
) with one search only.
TG CGK-BKK-MUC in Biz
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax, 71k mls and something like 343 € tax and (atrocious) YQ
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked online ~7 weeks in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Had to be somewhat flexible with dates and route (especially starting point). I was looking to start from SIN, but that is close to impossible in premium cabin unless you do say SIN-BKK in Eco which one cannot do online and I wasn't keen on hearing the LH M&M CC in Philippines telling me again that they don't see the same availability as LH M&M online (different POS). Hence, this was the one choice "morsel" of availability at an acceptable date that I could find for any Biz award between SE Asia and Europe. Starting in CGK fit into another trip so not terrible.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Manageable because I stayed online, but even online can be a pain.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
I had been checking daily for over a week and went through many, many possible combos to try to establish where some pockets of Biz availability were. Overall it was bleak, so basically I searched across date ranges with start points in SE Asia (SIN, BKK, KUL, CGK) and arriving into various European destinations (FRA, MUC, VIE, AMS, ZRH) to find the booked flight.
One key learning, the calendar feature that shows when Biz is available for an entered city pair is nice, but entirely unreliable. It showed me flights as available on certain dates and when I searched that date there was nothing. Also why does LH M&M search have to throw one back to the start of the search screen when it finds no availability even forgetting the searched city pair, date, cabin etc.? Mightily annoying. Crappy in my book.
Even miserable LM site let's you browse through a searched city pair availability (or lack thereof
) with one search only.
Last edited by demue; Sep 28, 2022 at 9:54 pm
Sep 26, 2022, 10:22 pm
#742
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: 7,726
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
TK LEJ-IST-HKT in Biz
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax, 71k mls and something like 370ish € tax and (atrocious) YQ
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked online ~8 weeks in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Same as reported above for my other booking, I had to be somewhat flexible with dates and route (in this case final arrival point). I was looking to have SIN as final destination, but got nothing as one itinerary. The best (closest) I could manage for now was getting to HKT (Phuket) on a soon restarting TK flight that had like one seat here or there available and I could start from my preferred airport of LEJ.
Hence, I secured this itinerary first and will keep monitoring for something better to come along. If nothing materializes, I'll just have to buy a one-way Eco HKT-SIN (e.g. on SQ). I had again attempted to call and ended up in PH CC as per usual and they could not see IST-HKT in C (only Y) and nothing on SQ (not even Eco) for HKT-SIN so I reverted to online again.
There may have been one or two options via TPE on BR from LHR or so, but I wasn't keen on paying for a 3-Region award and Taiwan hadn't yet announced that they are getting rid of the entry restrictions (due to COVID). To make a connection in TPE would have meant an overnight in TPE (and there is no transit hotel for now, so you need to enter the country or overnight in the lounge) as the TPE-SIN availability was sporadic as well at that point in time and didn't line up perfectly with the inbound to TPE.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Call was a bust, online was fine, just lots of research work and many, many repeated search entries due to the crappy LH M&M search function.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
Again, I had been checking daily for about two weeks and went through many, many possible combos to try to establish where some pockets of Biz availability were. Overall it was equally bleak like SE Asia to Europe, so basically I searched across date ranges with varying start and end points to find the booked flight. Same observation that the calendar feature that shows when Biz is available for an entered city pair is nice, but entirely unreliable.
TK LEJ-IST-HKT in Biz
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax, 71k mls and something like 370ish € tax and (atrocious) YQ
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked online ~8 weeks in advance
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Same as reported above for my other booking, I had to be somewhat flexible with dates and route (in this case final arrival point). I was looking to have SIN as final destination, but got nothing as one itinerary. The best (closest) I could manage for now was getting to HKT (Phuket) on a soon restarting TK flight that had like one seat here or there available and I could start from my preferred airport of LEJ.
Hence, I secured this itinerary first and will keep monitoring for something better to come along. If nothing materializes, I'll just have to buy a one-way Eco HKT-SIN (e.g. on SQ). I had again attempted to call and ended up in PH CC as per usual and they could not see IST-HKT in C (only Y) and nothing on SQ (not even Eco) for HKT-SIN so I reverted to online again.
There may have been one or two options via TPE on BR from LHR or so, but I wasn't keen on paying for a 3-Region award and Taiwan hadn't yet announced that they are getting rid of the entry restrictions (due to COVID). To make a connection in TPE would have meant an overnight in TPE (and there is no transit hotel for now, so you need to enter the country or overnight in the lounge) as the TPE-SIN availability was sporadic as well at that point in time and didn't line up perfectly with the inbound to TPE.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Call was a bust, online was fine, just lots of research work and many, many repeated search entries due to the crappy LH M&M search function.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
Again, I had been checking daily for about two weeks and went through many, many possible combos to try to establish where some pockets of Biz availability were. Overall it was equally bleak like SE Asia to Europe, so basically I searched across date ranges with varying start and end points to find the booked flight. Same observation that the calendar feature that shows when Biz is available for an entered city pair is nice, but entirely unreliable.
Last edited by demue; Sep 28, 2022 at 10:02 pm
Sep 28, 2022, 9:43 pm
#743
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: 7,726
I had the same situation and you can call LH M&M to provide the TK PNR Ref, they do have it, just it doesn't show on the booking confirmation you receive. I did that for my LH M&M one-way Biz award where both flights are operated by TK and I was able to assign seats using the TK App (Android) for both Europe- IST and IST-SE Asia segments. Now I'm just hoping the TK aircraft roulette doesn't strike too badly and my Europe-IST flight remains on an a/c with the recliner Biz seat. Fingers crossed. YMMV.
Last edited by demue; Sep 28, 2022 at 10:00 pm
Sep 29, 2022, 8:17 am
#744
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: DUS
Programs: LH HON
Posts: 764
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
DUS-ZRH-GVA-JFK, JFK-GVA-ZRH-DUS (return flight on day of dep. changed to JFK-MUC-DUS) in F
How many pax and how many award miles?
2 pax, 150% of M&M mileage, companion award
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
4 weeks
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, LX core customer service was perfect by phone. On the direct flight ZRH-JFK was no availability in O, but yes via GVA. I tried several times to change to the ZRH direct flight, but not possible. On the day of the return flight I could change finally to JFK-MUC-DUS with only one connection.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats
Once.
DUS-ZRH-GVA-JFK, JFK-GVA-ZRH-DUS (return flight on day of dep. changed to JFK-MUC-DUS) in F
How many pax and how many award miles?
2 pax, 150% of M&M mileage, companion award
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
4 weeks
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, LX core customer service was perfect by phone. On the direct flight ZRH-JFK was no availability in O, but yes via GVA. I tried several times to change to the ZRH direct flight, but not possible. On the day of the return flight I could change finally to JFK-MUC-DUS with only one connection.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats
Once.
Oct 8, 2022, 3:13 am
#745
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Germany
Posts: 25
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
Eurowings Discover flight 4Y 312 form MUC to TFS oneway in C.
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax, 35.000 miles and 92,64 EUR
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked 8 weeks in advance online on the webpage
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, the booking process was very smooth
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
Only once
Eurowings Discover flight 4Y 312 form MUC to TFS oneway in C.
How many pax and how many award miles?
1 pax, 35.000 miles and 92,64 EUR
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked 8 weeks in advance online on the webpage
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, the booking process was very smooth
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
Only once
Nov 24, 2022, 8:39 am
#746
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Geneva
Programs: LX SEN, AFKL Platinum, BA Bronze,
Posts: 5,610
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
LH GVA-MUC-BKK and LX BKK-ZRH-GVA in business (I).
How many pax and how many award miles?
4 pax, 142.000 miles x 3.5 (one companion award at 50%) and CHF 650 x4 (which is about 10% of the price for the flights today).
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked about 10 weeks in advance.
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes, checked for flights with revenue seats available and booked the flights and dates I wanted.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes, absolutely. Took two short calls to the HON line: First to book LH flights and waitlist LX flights, second call the next day when the waitlist cleared due to HON guarantee to confirm and process payment.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
Twice.
LH GVA-MUC-BKK and LX BKK-ZRH-GVA in business (I).
How many pax and how many award miles?
4 pax, 142.000 miles x 3.5 (one companion award at 50%) and CHF 650 x4 (which is about 10% of the price for the flights today).
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked about 10 weeks in advance.
Have you been able to book your preferred dates of travel?
Yes, checked for flights with revenue seats available and booked the flights and dates I wanted.
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes, absolutely. Took two short calls to the HON line: First to book LH flights and waitlist LX flights, second call the next day when the waitlist cleared due to HON guarantee to confirm and process payment.
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
Twice.
Nov 24, 2022, 9:13 am
#747
Join Date: Feb 2013
Programs: LH M&M, BA EC, DL SM
Posts: 5,626
Were you happy with the award booking procedure (e.g. online/by phone)?
Yes, absolutely. Took two short calls to the HON line: First to book LH flights and waitlist LX flights, second call the next day when the waitlist cleared due to HON guarantee to confirm and process payment.
Yes, absolutely. Took two short calls to the HON line: First to book LH flights and waitlist LX flights, second call the next day when the waitlist cleared due to HON guarantee to confirm and process payment.
Nov 24, 2022, 8:31 pm
#748
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Stoke on Trent, UK (MAN ), BUE, BKK, DBV
Programs: LH HON***,UA,BA.EK Gold,AV.
Posts: 11,581
Dec 15, 2022, 2:52 pm
#749
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Stuttgart, Germany
Programs: Too many...and an Amanjunkie
Posts: 1,667
Which route/airline did you book and which class?
LH/Eurowings Discover (4Y) STR-FRA-MLE-FRA-STR in C.
How many pax and how many award miles?
3 pax, 308.000 miles
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked 48 weeks in advance online
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, online
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
One time
LH/Eurowings Discover (4Y) STR-FRA-MLE-FRA-STR in C.
How many pax and how many award miles?
3 pax, 308.000 miles
How many days/weeks/months did you book in advance?
Booked 48 weeks in advance online
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, online
How often did you have to check/call until you got the seats?
One time
Dec 15, 2022, 8:29 pm
#750
Join Date: Apr 2005
Programs: Hyatt Lifetime Globalist, SQ PPS Solitaire
Posts: 3,598
Waitlisted for O award SIN-FRA three months before departure (F7A0), waitlist was confirmed two weeks before departure (inventory changed to F6A4).
Didn't issue the ticket and opted to fly SQ instead.
Didn't issue the ticket and opted to fly SQ instead.