Donkitravel

From reliable source:

- Rebooking fee increases from 1000 AM to 5000 AM per sector (via online)
- Rebooking fee increases from 4000 AM to 5500 AM per sector (via hotline)
- Refund dee increases from 12000 AM to 15000 AM per ticket

Effective 1 June 2020.

Hope this is not true but likely this will happen!

ernestnywang

Hope it is not true and, if it is true, won't be (and shouldn't be) applied to existing tickets (especially those just issued before 31MAR).

percysmith

I wonder will cash fees go up also:

Rebooking via hotline: 4,000 AM or US$40, so revised 5,500 AM or US$55 (charged as HK$429)
Refund: 12,000 AM or US$120, so revised 15,000 AM or US$150 (charged as HK$1,170)

Rebooking via online: 1,000 AM or US$25, so cash fee gets a smaller bump to US$50 (charged as HK$390)

percysmith

I think they'll grandfather old tix https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/21578438-post64.html

They don't have a fantastic sense of history though https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/32192111-post48.html. Might need prodding.

londonexpert

basically if you have credit card points - best to transfer to BAEC?

36902BRF

I wouldn't say that. I have points with both BAEC and AM and they both have their uses. Award charts, fees and the like will vary between programs and which one is best will vary based on a number of variables. YMMV

percysmith

I haven't been able to recommend this to anyone actually living in HK since 22 June 2018.

I still accumulate Avios, sure, but they're purely for non-HKG to non-HKG flights, such as my JL domestic, QF domestic and my TATLs.

I was able to bankroll a number of my classmates to Tokyo for RWC last year, but that was more an exception than a normal use for me.

JordanWalker

So basically, encourage more people to call into the hotline. Brilliant.

ny911

Normally do you guys pay the rebooking/reissue fee by miles or dollars?

percysmith

Bit perverse for me actually. Bear in mind miles have HK$0.078 value when used to pay fees:

For my nephew's end of HSC (DSE/A-Levels) trip in 2017 (i.e. pre-22 June 2018 changes), my brother's family burned 840,000 of my Asia Miles to do this 3-week trip in Europe starting in Italy and ending in Spain (starting in Australia, all Standard J). My miles cost was $0.06 back then https://www.hongkongcard.com/forum/show/22044 #5 so I effectively paid $50,400 out of pocket.
I was paying fees out of miles back then.

For my niece's end of HSC trip this year, I will burn 1,494,000 AM (still in Business, but I'm being shafted into almost redeeming exclusively in Choice J) for them to do 3 weeks in Canada and US. My miles cost has gone up from 0.06 to 0.08 (I poured 30,000 Rewardcash (each with $1 intrinsic value) into 375,000 Asia Miles via Moneyback conversion - i.e. $0.08 per AM out of lack of competing offers for cheap miles). If the trip goes ahead I'll be $125,120 worth of miles out of pocket - I did consider whether to scrap the redemptions and make them fly PE revenue to Europe.
But that'll give them the perfect excuse to evade Hong Kong and I will have the elders to answer for for this.
I paid all my fees in cash last year.

I think with these two large redemptions out of the way my need for miles has come down considerably. I guess I can stick to not more than $0.078 for paying for miles. But I will still pay my fees in cash.

percysmith

This trip blew out to A$7,800/pax for cash fares i.e.HK$185,328 for the family. Last year seems like a bargain now.