Advice for Enrich Booking

[moffat39]

I have not had an Enrich Booking since 2009 so need some advice on a few things as I am aware that things have changed . I am looking at BNE to BKK return in October 2013. There are seats available in J on my preferred dates.

Last time I booked it had to be over the phone. From a dummy booking I see that you can now book on line. If I still book over the phone do I pay more points like with Singapore Airlines?

The reason for booking over the phone is that Enrich is showing there is only one flight available for the BKK to KL return. It leaves BKK at 7.40pm and arrives KL at 10.50pm. I appreciate that I will need to overnight at the airport for my flight to BNE the next morning but would prefer an earlier flight from Bangkok. If I do a booking for a one way flight BKK to KL for that day it shows earlier flights are available at 11.05, 2.15 and 5.05. In a perfect world I would like to take the 11.05 flight and then have an afternoon and dinner in Kl before returning to a hotel at KLIA.

Would the call centre allow me to do this? Or would it be classed as a stopover if I take an earlier flight on the same day. My understanding from an earlier post is that I can do a stopover at a cost of US$20.

Finally any idea of the likely taxes and surcharges?. I will need to transfer points prior to booking so at the moment can not see the cost with a dummy booking.

Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MH_fan]

I would suggest booking what is available online at the moment and then changing the BKK-KUL sector to give you that stop-over that you want. Redeeming online will be cheaper than redeeming over the phone. The change fee is only USD20 and it won't cost you any extra points to have the stop-over because the ticket is under one PNR. Taxes/surcharges are likely to be in the AUD300-400 range.

 

[prozac]

I made a booking today over the phone. I would have saved 15% booking online but could not do so as the process does not allow for a KUL stopover to be factored on return. Booking the sectors individually on the return actually ends up about 5% more than the telephone booking. Someone is certain to tell me how to overcome this but for now I am sticking with the phone booking which at 120k SYD-AMS J return is still less than half the price of any of the other carriers.
You asked about taxes? I am told KUL airport tax is $23.
To answer your first question, you save 15% booking online.

 

[auriga]

Wasn't the idea that you just book it online (without stopover), and then phone up to add the stopover (eg, by moving the second flight back a few days)?

 

[prozac]

Wasn't the idea that you just book it online (without stopover), and then phone up to add the stopover (eg, by moving the second flight back a few days)?

I only came on this thread after my booking and I still have time to go that route as haven't transferred the points yet. Sounds a great option which I intend to phone about now.
Thanks for reminder.

 

[moffat39]

Thanks for all the replies. My questions have answered.

If I do the booking over the phone the cost will be an extra 19,200 points for two J tickets (being 19,200 amex points or 38,400 altitude points) so a no brainer to pay the US$20 each for doing the stopover over the phone.

I could not find any details on the enrich website about a stopover and google searches came up with a suggestion of posting a question on the MH Facebook page. i had sent an email enquiry to the link within the enrich website but that was last week and no response.

 

[prozac]

I think that is the go moffat.

I have yet to transfer points to pay. My dilema is bookings on all airlines for my destination over my chosen period of travel are thin on the ground. I cannot make the online booking until the points credit to Enrich, yet once the points arrive in Enrich they will be allocated to the phone booking. If I cancel the booking and wait for points to credit I may loose the booking on those dates. I may have to chalk this one up to experience.

 

[moffat39]

An update to my earlier posts. I tried to post a question on MH facebook page but it seems they disabled posts on their wall late last year. You can send them a pm through facebook and did that on Tuesday and no reply to date. I have also sent email enquiries without a response.

This afternoon I phoned MH on the enquiry number given on the Enrich website. Took about 90 seconds to go through all the prompts and entering in of membership number and my call was answered almost straight away. I was advised that I if I wanted a stopover in KL on the way back from Bangkok to Brisbane that I will need to do it as two seperate bookings. I mentioned that I had heard that you could do a stopover on the phone and pay US$20 which I could not find any details of that in the t&c. The response was that I will need to do it as two seperate booikngs on the net. However the operator did say I could do the booking over the phone but it would cost more in points.

I then asked if I could do a booking over the phone which allowed for a stopover in KL but could not get a clear response. If you can then the additional points for doing the phone booking to be 19,200 for the two of us with seperate BKK to KL and KL to BNE bookings to be an extra 31,500 points for two.

Any comments?

 

[prozac]

I made my booking over the phone with a stopover in KL, so 120k points instead of 102k points. I had hoped after reading your post once the points had transferred to take advantage of an online booking and pay the US$20 to allow for the stopover. Now that does not seem possible from what you report. If I make 2 the return bookings seperately for the 2 sectors to allow for the stopover it will cost an additional number of points over the 120k charged by booking over the phone. Soooooo, long story short it is cheaper to payup and accept the extra points for phone booking. Of-course I am returning from AMS whereas you are only travelling from BKK so it might be cheaper for you. Check for yourself by making the dummy bookings for single flights BKK-KUL amd KUL-BNE.

 

[moffat39]

Prozac thanks for quick comments. I had done a dummy booking for BKK - KUL and KUL - BNE and it was an extra 31,500 points for the two of us. As most of my points are in Westpac Altitude that means 63,000 extra Altitude points.

When you made your booking over the phone did you use the number in Malaysia shown on the the Enrich website? Last time I made an Enrich reward booking was back in 2009 when the call centre was in Adelaide. You then had to pay about a month before you left by visiting the MH office when you paid and received your tickets. Did you get an Eticket by booking over the phone and pay at the same time?

 

[prozac]

Prozac thanks for quick comments. I had done a dummy booking for BKK - KUL and KUL - BNE and it was an extra 31,500 points for the two of us. As most of my points are in Westpac Altitude that means 63,000 extra Altitude points.

When you made your booking over the phone did you use the number in Malaysia shown on the the Enrich website? Last time I made an Enrich reward booking was back in 2009 when the call centre was in Adelaide. You then had to pay about a month before you left by visiting the MH office when you paid and received your tickets. Did you get an Eticket by booking over the phone and pay at the same time?

If you call the Malaysian number no-one ever answers it. I tried half a dozen times.
The Australian number for reservations is 132 627. I made the booking without points in the account. They provide around 5 days for points transfer. Enrich sent me an itinery when finished.

 

[moffat39]

Prozac thanks for that. I must have been lucky to get through first time. Will phone the Australian number you gave and post how I go.

In the meantime have seen from another post that Thai are having a promotion and BNE to BKK return in J is only 49,000 points. If I could book 2 J return tickets at those points would not bother with a stop over in KL and would be able to go direct for less points!

 

[prozac]

Then why not book BNE-BKK return and BKK-KUL-BKK as a side trip. Might be quite cheap esp. if booked from BKK.

 

[moffat39]

Prozac may yet do that. Idea of having stopover in KL is to catch up with adult son who will be on way home after two year stint in the UK. Thought it would be nice to spend a few days with him in either BKK or KL before he gets home.

Looking at flying him home on MH using points again but may have the same problem in him having a stop over. With the points I save on a Thai booking for wife and I would be able to do two seperate bookings from a point in Europe to KUL and then KUL to BNE. Is only around $125 for a Air Asia return flight from KUL to BKK.

Will see how my enquiries go with Enrich on the number you posted.

 

[prozac]

If all else fails read the instructions. I just had a look at the Enrich Flight Redemption Terms & Conditions which states;
9. Stopover, open-jaw is not permitted for Online Enrich Award.
So it is only possible to redeem for stopover via a phone-call booking.

 

[equus]

It was a few years back in 2009 when I booked, so may be out of date, and before online option was available, but call centers were hopeless - but over the counter at the Brisbane office done face to face was brilliant. Very happy to work out the best options, search, change etc.

If you have time, and can get into the city, I would consider doing the return online booking at the cheap rate, then physically go to the office to get the change done. It wouldn't surprise me that only the $20 change fee will apply. Worst case would be needing to pay the extra points.

 

[moffat39]

Have phoned the number today given by Prozac (132 627) in post 11 above. Firstly they were more helpful than the Enrich enquiry number (which was an overseas call). I would expect that the 132 627 number would have been transferrd to a call centre in Malaysia.

Secondly the US$20 fee for a stopover is a myth. I can do a booking on the phone for the Bangkok to Brisbane trip with a stopover in KL for 40,000 points each compared to an on line booking for 34,000 points each without a stopover.

Bottom line is that a stopover done by a phone booking costs an extra 12,000 points for the two of us. Waiting on Altitude points to transfer and will then do the booking on the phone.

 

[prozac]

Glad it worked out mofat. I have done the same for a KL stopover returning from AMS. Essentially booking online attracts the 15% discount which you loose when making the phone booking for the stopover. The 132 number goes straight through to KUL...I asked when I was doing my booking.

Now to find a nice but reasonably priced hotel in a good location.