commonwealth

which mileage programs dont charge fuel surcharge? i was planning to transfer my amex points to one of these;

Air New Zealand
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Etihad
Malaysia
Singapore
Emirates
Thai
Virgin Velocity

bcworld

Velocity don't...and Etihad redemptions are quite easy to get. I have a J class booking MEL-AUH-LHR...125k Velocity points plus $77 of genuine taxes.

commonwealth

yay thanks

spouse of scouse

Has anyone used dividend miles yet for domestic Qantas flights? KVS shows good availability but I know that doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to book.

jamesflorraine

I am looking to go to the UK first class, in July/Aug next year, i have offers on both US airways and life miles for 100% bonus, any suggestions on which is the best way to go thanks

twitch1979

Hi bc

I have not posted for a while but glad to see this thread ticking over !

I did a F trip to Europe last July on Thai and now starting to plan for my next long haul trip for European summer 2015 (aware those dates are not bookable).

With US airways part of one world the million dollar question is when will we have seen the last 100% bonus buy, gift or share promo ? If only I had my crystal ball....

Lifemiles can be painful as I find their website really buggy at times and I have not heard any reports of anyone successfully booking via the call centre . Given the PR blow up when they last changed their award chart overnight off the back of a 100% promo I am reserved about buying any miles if I am not ready to book straightway.

With that in mind I have been looking at some other options such as the Alaska Airlines promotions now they take Australia credit cards again and Amex sign up bonuses and maximising membership rewards.

Anything else you are across I should look into ?

A question I am having some issues successfully searching Finnair business inventory. Using BA, Qantas and AA (I also tried JAL ) but seems to get very different results. I had mastered the ANA tool for Star bookings but seem to be falling short for One world options.

Are you aware of any issues with Finnair inventory showing ?

Cheers and keep up the good work.

bcworld

I would say not until the programs are fully integrated into a single AA/US program. Then there will still be offers, they just won't be as flexible / frequent / generous...i.e. there will be annual purchase limits etc. Or in fact, they might stick with the US model!

I find the social media angst about what LifeMiles did a bit overdone to be honest. Most people were affected to a very, very, minor degree. They did seem to target some specific areas where abuses were happening. I also don't believe that they deliberately sought to devalue after selling miles...it was an unfortunate coincidence they didn't even think about. I've had many great LM redemptions and will continue to top up in that program - you just have to understand its strengths and limitations before buying.

AA and US have both recently made no notice changes to their programs - they all do it.

AS is a very good option now that it seems to be back on the table.

I doubt that you're falling short...just that there are various bugs in the various systems that cause different results. These are the 4 options, there's nothing else you can check. Most people consider JAL the most authoritative. However I'm surprised that AA and JL offer dramatically different results. You also face the problem that US agents still find some of this challenging...hang up and call again may be necessary.

twitch1979

Thanks for your thoughts and great insight's as always .

withnail

This great info, thanks once again BC World.

k974

Sorry for a very basic question but my KVS has expired which i used for finding star alliance flights. Looking at KVS there is One Worls Availability and Updgrade tool, if i renew my subsription to platinum is this the easiest way to check availability.

Sorry for the basic question i have read all the posts.

thanks again guys

jamesflorraine

I am looking at Flights F/S to the UK April 2014 we can get availability, on KVS tool with Star Alliance, but with One World it is very poor unless. i am doing something wrong.
The problem is after i check with KVS tool and get all times and dates selected, i then go on the Life Miles web site, and enter all of the details, and they say sold out, anybody got any ideas or can you help me thanks

bcworld

KVS will show options that LifeMiles won't allow you to book due to the length of the connections. LifeMiles enforces a limit of about 8 hours max. So for example if you searched SYD-LHR with a 10 hour connection at BKK, it would come up on KVS but LifeMiles would say no...nothing you can do about that.

Your only option is to book as a multicity e.g SYD-BKK, BKK-LHR, LHR-SYD however it will cost more as each one way trip is charged separately.

LifeMiles also has some particular issues with some carriers, e.g. Austrian Airlines (OS) never shows up.

jamesflorraine

I am just about to buy my life miles, there is a 100% offer on and i can purchase 75,000 miles giving me a total of 150,000 their rules says you can only purchase 150,000 per year, does this mean that as i have purchased 75000 and got the 100% bonus i cannot purchase again this calender year thank you

bcworld

Yes, that's what it means.

Rick C

Hi guys

Sorry if I am asking questions that have been asked previously but I have signed up for dividend miles and am able to purchase the miles offer.
With us now being. In one world is it still 120k miles for business return to the uk?
What is the best way to search for flight availability around Xmas?
Thanks in advance.