Avianca "Lifemiles" - Questions and Discussion

[wafliron]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

I had a similar issue with CC usage during the US Grand Slam last year, and had a few CC's stopped temporarily until I rang, they ALL told me that if you tell them advance you will be making a number of overseas transactions they will make a note on your CC file and this is less likely to occur.

All CC companies also release this stop quickly when you ring them and explain (with appropriate ID so they know its really you), they just think these are potentially fraudulent and are trying to protect you. For that I think we actually should be thankful.

Completely agree (about being thankful) - I would have thought five transactions in a row, from Columbia, with amount increasing each time, at 1am Australian time, was fraudulent too

I probably should have rung to forewarn them but I didn't because it was 1am and I figured I had multiple cards available as backup in case something went wrong. Of course at that stage I didn't know the final CC payment failing would cause such a big issue - I think it was 2.30am before I finally had the booking finalised!

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

Completely agree (about being thankful) - I would have thought five transactions in a row, from Columbia, with amount increasing each time, at 1am Australian time, was fraudulent too

I probably should have rung to forewarn them but I didn't because it was 1am and I figured I had multiple cards available as backup in case something went wrong. Of course at that stage I didn't know the final CC payment failing would cause such a big issue - I think it was 2.30am before I finally had the booking finalised!

my transactions were from TACA in Panama

 

[Logan^]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

Decided to "jump in the deep end" as well: just booked SYD-xBKK-CDG on TG in F for mid-August. 747 SYD-xBKK, 8 hour stopover in BKK to thoroughly enjoy the Thai F Lounge and Spa, followed by 777 suites xBKK-CDG. I assume the 747's TG use on SYD-BKK have the "newer" non-suites F cabin - i.e. not brand-new-suites, but not all-series?

I bought 2,000 miles and did the back-and-forth transfers up to 48,000 (total cost $765 USD), and then paid the rest in cash ($709.78 USD + $84.49 USD taxes) - total cost $1,559.27 USD. Probably could have done it a bit cheaper by optimising the number of miles I used (40k was the minimum) and how I acquired them, but I was in a rush.

A question here: how do I know that the ticket has actually been issued? I was given a reservation number (PNR) (and sent a confirmation e-mail) instantly, and when checking the booking via Thai's website this morning it says "Document 202-246081xx_x" under "e-ticket numbers". Does this mean the ticket has been issued?


Finally, a couple of issues I ran into that others booking through LifeMiles should be aware of:

1) Like some other posters, I had my CC (Citi Select) blocked after buying / transferring LifeMiles. I managed to get through all five transactions required to get the 48,000 miles, but when I tried to use the CC 10 minutes later to pay the cash component of the booking it was declined.

2) The fact my CC was declined when trying to make the booking actually turned into quite an issue: when it failed I ended up with a reservation number (and the award seats I wanted being held in that reservation), but no miles withdrawn from my account and no info on how to complete the booking - you don't get a second opportunity to enter CC details.

I tried live chat to get the issue fixed, but they simply told me I had to call. Called the US Avianca number (+1 (1) 800 284 2622, for reference) and after a bit of stuffing around was advised that the only option was for them to cancel the existing reservation, hope the award seats were added back to available inventory, and then re-book - they had no ability to process payment from a different CC and complete the original booking. This made me a bit nervous, but luckily as soon as the original reservation was cancelled the seats reappeared online and I was able to complete a new booking (using a different CC!).

So, my advice to anyone who is buying LifeMiles and making a booking at the same time would be to ensure you have a couple of CCs handy, and use a different CC to complete the booking then you used to buy the miles as it's a major PITA if your card gets declined during the booking process for any reason.

And finally, for the record, when I called Avianca's USA number I didn't have any issues with being passed from agent-to-agent, and the agent I spoke to was fairly competent and spoke to spoke good English - he could well have been a native (American) English speaker. The only issue was the very poor quality of the phone line, which did make the conversation a bit challenging at times - if Avianca invested in some decent telecoms then I'd have absolutely no issue calling them.

I am considering this at the moment, I have a Paid booking on SQ in Y from LHR to SYD, I could cancel that, I would get close to $1000AUD back and then with a bit of shuffling of miles back and forth I could fly in F on Thai back to SYD instead. My only concern is that I am due to fly out in 5 days to the UK and back in 14 days.

Almost seems worth it for the extra $500, the only issue is that I would have to leave a day later from the UK.

Does anyone know if I have only signed up to Life-Miles within the last couple of days whether the transfer offer is still applicable. I know the 100% free bonus' you have to be a member prior?

Edit: Just read I missed the promo by 2 days. Oh well. I will know for next time.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

the offer ended July 31

 

[Stephen65]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

I assume the 747's TG use on SYD-BKK have the "newer" non-suites F cabin - i.e. not brand-new-suites, but not all-series?

That's correct. It's the 10 seat F cabin. Very pleasant.

 

[hummel]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

That's correct. It's the 10 seat F cabin. Very pleasant.

Having returned from this cabin less than a week ago I can confirm it is very pleasant Funny thing though, we flew SYD-BKK in "newer" F and BKK-CDG in F Suites... and my partner told me she preferred the "newer" F.


And I somewhat agree with her, particularly if travelling as a pair. Just remember F is F after all

 

[wafliron]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

That's correct. It's the 10 seat F cabin. Very pleasant.

Thanks for confirming, appreciate it.

Having returned from this cabin less than a week ago I can confirm it is very pleasant Funny thing though, we flew SYD-BKK in "newer" F and BKK-CDG in F Suites... and my partner told me she preferred the "newer" F.

Exact same routing and plane / cabin variants I'm flying... will be interesting to see if I concur. Definitely my style of "market research"

 

[wafliron]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

Decided to "jump in the deep end" as well: just booked SYD-xBKK-CDG on TG in F for mid-August. 747 SYD-xBKK, 8 hour stopover in BKK to thoroughly enjoy the Thai F Lounge and Spa, followed by 777 suites xBKK-CDG.

I thought that perhaps I would keep updating this thread with progress reports on my booking / flights, given that LifeMiles redemptions are so "new" to all of us and I'll be one of the first (the first?) AFFer to actually fly a LifeMiles redemption (my flight is less than 2 weeks from now).

So...

- after making the booking online I received a confirmation e-mail from Avianca almost instantly

- within 12 hours an e-ticket number appeared against the booking (checked with CheckMyTrip / Thai's website)

- I wanted to double-check everything was fine with the booking, it was definitely ticketed, etc, so I called Thai yesterday. Agent confirmed everything looked good and and finalised from their end, read back the same e-Ticket number that I could see online, etc. She did say, however, that I should have received an e-Ticket receipt via e-mail from Avianca and I needed this at check-in. I'm not sure that's accurate (needing this at checkin), but I didn't want to chance it, so I then...

- called Avianca and reconfirmed with them that everything was finalised / ticketed / etc, which they also confirmed. I asked about the e-Ticket receipt and the agent sent it to me via e-mail. For the record, again I had a competent agent who spoke excellent English, but the call was almost impossible due to the awful quality of the phone line.

So, all is looking good - I'm still going to hold on to the SQ award flight this TG fare is replacing for as long as possible though, just in case Next step is to see if they actually let me check-in and fly... will report back on that later!

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

I thought that perhaps I would keep updating this thread with progress reports on my booking / flights, given that LifeMiles redemptions are so "new" to all of us and I'll be one of the first (the first?) AFFer to actually fly a LifeMiles redemption (my flight is less than 2 weeks from now).

So...

- after making the booking online I received a confirmation e-mail from Avianca almost instantly

- within 12 hours an e-ticket number appeared against the booking (checked with CheckMyTrip / Thai's website)

- I wanted to double-check everything was fine with the booking, it was definitely ticketed, etc, so I called Thai yesterday. Agent confirmed everything looked good and and finalised from their end, read back the same e-Ticket number that I could see online, etc. She did say, however, that I should have received an e-Ticket receipt via e-mail from Avianca and I needed this at check-in. I'm not sure that's accurate (needing this at checkin), but I didn't want to chance it, so I then...

- called Avianca and reconfirmed with them that everything was finalised / ticketed / etc, which they also confirmed. I asked about the e-Ticket receipt and the agent sent it to me via e-mail. For the record, again I had a competent agent who spoke excellent English, but the call was almost impossible due to the awful quality of the phone line.

So, all is looking good - I'm still going to hold on to the SQ award flight this TG fare is replacing for as long as possible though, just in case Next step is to see if they actually let me check-in and fly... will report back on that later!

no you will not need an e-ticket receipt, the printout from checkymytrip is sufficient (in fact just telling the check-in staff your name is enough!).

You can always get an e-ticket receipt from http://eitr.amadeusasia.com/ if you wish

 

[smit0847]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

I thought that perhaps I would keep updating this thread with progress reports on my booking / flights, given that LifeMiles redemptions are so "new" to all of us and I'll be one of the first (the first?) AFFer to actually fly a LifeMiles redemption (my flight is less than 2 weeks from now).

Thanks - please keep us updated. I believe you will be the first AFFer to fly.

I am most interested to hear anyones experience trying to book through the call centre because they're wanting to add a stopover or have a tricky itinerary!!

 

[juddles]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

.... I'll be one of the first (the first?) AFFer to actually fly a LifeMiles redemption....

Sorry wafliron - I pipped you there. But mine was only a sh_tty domestic flight in Colombia. Have first first internattional flights booked for late August. These again are relatively simple (J to Cuba with Avianca), but I am very interested in your longer sectors on other carriers. Please let us know!

As for nitty gritty, I did quite a bit of transfering between family accounts, using a Colombian credit card, and I got a call from the bank due to ¨multiple international purchases¨- so clearly the actual billing is not Colombia. (Taca/Panama?) But apart from that went perfectly. I was lucky as I had quite a few points before the promotion.

One thing I do wish to say is that despite having signed up for Avianca promotions ages ago, I only heard of this promotion via AFF. Great stuff!!

 

[wafliron]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

Sorry wafliron - I pipped you there. But mine was only a sh_tty domestic flight in Colombia.

Damn, I liked the idea that I might be the first AFFer to actually fly!

Have first first internattional flights booked for late August. These again are relatively simple (J to Cuba with Avianca), but I am very interested in your longer sectors on other carriers. Please let us know!

Thanks - please keep us updated.

Will do guys - not long to wait now

I am most interested to hear anyones experience trying to book through the call centre because they're wanting to add a stopover or have a tricky itinerary!!

Based on my two calls to date I reckon you won't have much trouble if you can get a good quality phone line. If you get the same quality phone line I got then doing almost anything through the call centre will be nigh on impossible - I had to repeat almost every sentence 2-3 times before the agent understood me, purely due to phone line quality issues.

One thing I do wish to say is that despite having signed up for Avianca promotions ages ago, I only heard of this promotion via AFF. Great stuff!!

That is weird - I signed up a month ago and received the promo via e-mail. Maybe double-check your communication preferences?

And yes - props to the AFF community, as always!

 

[777]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

Just a quick Q but has anyone had any luck in getting more than 2 redemption tix in J or above via Avianca? We are now a family of 3 and so far all my searching seems to only find Y tickets if i want more than two. Anyone done it? Hints or tips?

Looking at Australia (ideally MEL) to Europe fares BTW.

 

[bcworld]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

Just a quick Q but has anyone had any luck in getting more than 2 redemption tix in J or above via Avianca? We are now a family of 3 and so far all my searching seems to only find Y tickets if i want more than two. Anyone done it? Hints or tips?

Looking at Australia (ideally MEL) to Europe fares BTW.

Have you checked availability elsewhere to see if 3 seats are available before trying on LifeMiles? 3 seats on 2 consecutive segments available at one time would be quite unusual. People often book 2+ seats by booking or putting on hold the first 2 then seeing if more are released...which sometimes happen pretty much immediately.

 

[777]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

Have you checked availability elsewhere to see if 3 seats are available before trying on LifeMiles? 3 seats on 2 consecutive segments available at one time would be quite unusual. People often book 2+ seats by booking or putting on hold the first 2 then seeing if more are released...which sometimes happen pretty much immediately.

That's the kind of tip i was after. Thanks.

 

[Stephen65]

Re: Avianca Transfer Miles promo (of course you need some miles to start with)

That's what we did when we needed 4 seats - booked two (one adult plus one child) taking the two J award seats available on each leg and then waited for more J award seats to become available and when they did booked another two J (ie the other adult plus the other child).

 

[Shanye2233]

Re: US Dividend Miles Buy/Gift Miles 100% bonus - Cheap way for F/J *A Awards

There is a chap on FT eluding to the fact that there is a destination which touches Europe but gets the cost even lower than Kazakhstan...I have studied the *A route map and haven't found anything yet.

My concern about doing that would be that you're leaving pretty obvious evidence of your intentions. I'd probably look at paid bookings onwards from IST...we're talking 3 hours ish to most European destinations...depending on the cost.

BRU is the city but don't know if it's still available I have no miles.

 

[burmans]

Re: US Dividend Miles Buy/Gift Miles 100% bonus - Cheap way for F/J *A Awards

BRU is the city but don't know if it's still available I have no miles.

You don't need miles to search?

 

[Shanye2233]

Re: US Dividend Miles Buy/Gift Miles 100% bonus - Cheap way for F/J *A Awards

No your right . I did join up a few accounts. Fingers crossed for a promo for these specials routing available. Many thanks.

Anyone have any good exchange options from hotel points or other airlines. I'm stacked with points I'm HH CC SPG but no lifemiles. Wish I could transfer some USDM to lifemiles at ratio1:1.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Re: US Dividend Miles Buy/Gift Miles 100% bonus - Cheap way for F/J *A Awards

No your right . I did join up a few accounts. Fingers crossed for a promo for these specials routing available. Many thanks.

Anyone have any good exchange options from hotel points or other airlines. I'm stacked with points I'm HH CC SPG but no lifemiles. Wish I could transfer some USDM to lifemiles at ratio1:1.

there just was a promo which was well publicised.

You can keep wishing re a transfer from USDM to Lifemiles.... not going to happen