Avianca "Lifemiles" - Questions and Discussion

[Aussie_flyer]

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

2 things...first, the bands are in miles, not kilometres (they don't measure in km in the UK)...second, the distance is based on the capital city of the country of the destination, not the actual destination.

Scroll to the bottom of your own link and you will find the US in band B.

You certainly know your APD rules. nice job

 

[bcworld]

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

You certainly know your APD rules. nice job

Wow...looks like I was talking to myself now!

 

[serfty]

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

2 things...first, the bands are in miles, not kilometres (they don't measure in km in the UK)...second, the distance is based on the capital city of the country of the destination, not the actual destination.

Scroll to the bottom of your own link and you will find the US in band B.

Fair enough - I had forgotten that - not sure how the KMs came into it.

In any case, the APD is still onerous -whether to WAS or YOW

 

[Aussie_flyer]

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

Wow...looks like I was talking to myself now!

it's the first sign of going crazy.

 

[JohnK]

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

Yes it definitely sounds promising, especially I was flying J regularly using BMI *A awards when BMI was still in *A.

Unfortunately I still have quite a lot of points in US DM and also not travelling anytime soon. So have to give this one a miss.

I am in the same boat. I haven't joined Avianca Life Miles yet as I am taking a wait and see approach.

I have miles with US Dividend miles not used, 2 x business returns to Asia with AA not used and a whisker short of a squillion QFF points not used.

Following this thread and I get the impression that this has potential to be too difficult if there are any issues.

Not sure it is worth it. Best to sit back and wait.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

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

I am in the same boat. I haven't joined Avianca Life Miles yet as I am taking a wait and see approach.

I have miles with US Dividend miles not used, 2 x business returns to Asia with AA not used and a whisker short of a squillion QFF points not used.

Following this thread and I get the impression that this has potential to be too difficult if there are any issues.

Not sure it is worth it. Best to sit back and wait.

I admit I'm with you on this one. It's a good offer IFF I needed the points urgently to complete an itinerary. But having miles with a number of programs sufficient for forward travel all of 2013 the problems seem to outweigh the benefits. The only real tempting thing with Lifemiles is the potential availability of LH/LX F

 

[gizzard]

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

Well I think gizzard is wrong...simple LHR-MEL is showing up with taxes appropriate for a Y class booking...yes the tax is still high, but half (the APD bit anyway) that of a J/F fare.

Apologies, yes, the taxes ARE different depending on class.

What still stands out though is that the flexibility of LifeMiles offering you the chance to buy 2 one-way tickets for half the cost of a return. That allows you to choose cheaper options from the rest of Europe rather than the UK for the return trip and reduce the price of the overall journey.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

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

I think it's great but if I was hoarding 1,000,000 QF points I think I'd be using those first. Seems a much more dangerous thing than having say 100,000 paid for Avianca miles at the moment.

 

[JohnK]

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

I think it's great but if I was hoarding 1,000,000 QF points I think I'd be using those first. Seems a much more dangerous thing than having say 100,000 paid for Avianca miles at the moment.

Yes you are quite right dazz81. I have my heart set on 7 economy Oneworld awards. I just hope that Qantas does not go belly up too soon....

 

[canne]

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

Does anyone know the number of miles/points that you would lose if you make an award booking and later cancel it? I don't see any mention of this an Lifemiles Terms and Conditions? Thanks.

 

[bcworld]

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

Does anyone know the number of miles/points that you would lose if you make an award booking and later cancel it? I don't see any mention of this an Lifemiles Terms and Conditions? Thanks.

They have an interesting way of doing things.

Say I booked an Aus to Europe one way for miles + cash. Miles only would be 85k.

So I book for 34k miles + cash + taxes. On my LM account activity it actually shows that I bought the additional 51k miles to make 85k.

When you cancel you pay USD50 canx fee (rather than losing any miles)...and only taxes and miles are refunded...I.e taxes + 85k miles. I don't think you can refund any cash component of the ticket as it was effectively a discounted miles purchase.

 

[canne]

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

They have an interesting way of doing things.

Say I booked an Aus to Europe one way for miles + cash. Miles only would be 85k.

So I book for 34k miles + cash + taxes. On my LM account activity it actually shows that I bought the additional 51k miles to make 85k.

When you cancel you pay USD50 canx fee (rather than losing any miles)...and only taxes and miles are refunded...I.e taxes + 85k miles. I don't think you can refund any cash component of the ticket as it was effectively a discounted miles purchase.

Certainly interesting. Is this actually what happened when you cancelled a booking?

USD50 as cancellation fee is not too onerous to fret about. Are there any such charges for changing the date(s) of the booking?

 

[bcworld]

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

Certainly interesting. Is this actually what happened when you cancelled a booking?

USD50 as cancellation fee is not too onerous to fret about. Are there any such charges for changing the date(s) of the booking?

If you actually have a look at making a booking you will see the cancel / change fees.

 

[anat0l]

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

They have an interesting way of doing things.

Say I booked an Aus to Europe one way for miles + cash. Miles only would be 85k.

So I book for 34k miles + cash + taxes. On my LM account activity it actually shows that I bought the additional 51k miles to make 85k.

When you cancel you pay USD50 canx fee (rather than losing any miles)...and only taxes and miles are refunded...I.e taxes + 85k miles. I don't think you can refund any cash component of the ticket as it was effectively a discounted miles purchase.

That sounds a bit like how PC do points+pay hotel redemptions (e.g. with PC if you book a room which is normally 25k, but you opt for the 15k + USD 60 option, the latter actually 'purchases' 10k points for USD 60, then redeems your points balance (now 10k points larger) for 25k. If you cancel, you get 25k points back).

That brings up an interesting tack as then you need to compare whether it's cheaper to outright buy points (even with the bonus promo) or make a dummy booking with cash+miles and then refunding it (even in spite of the USD 50 cancel fee).

(It should be noted that some people in PC have "farmed" points using this kind of technique - it is cheaper to "buy" points with points+pay redemptions than to outright buy points, by a lot. It should be noted that this practice is not necessarily in the spirit of the program and may be grounds for blacklisting etc.)

 

[bcworld]

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

That brings up an interesting tack as then you need to compare whether it's cheaper to outright buy points (even with the bonus promo) or make a dummy booking with cash+miles and then refunding it (even in spite of the USD 50 cancel fee).

(It should be noted that some people in PC have "farmed" points using this kind of technique - it is cheaper to "buy" points with points+pay redemptions than to outright buy points, by a lot. It should be noted that this practice is not necessarily in the spirit of the program and may be grounds for blacklisting etc.)

I think that tack has already been discussed here. You probably also have to weigh up any potential hassles...on the FT thread some report their refunds being processed fairly easily...others are having traumas getting it done...come into the nearest TACA office etc!!

 

[joeborgo]

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

Hi All

Just thought I would share my experience with my bookings for my kids using Lifemiles.

Last night I booked 4 x Per - Lhr J class tickets and 3 x BCN - PER and 1 x BCN - JFK - SFO. I booked all the legs as 1 way tickets and used my ANZ Qantas Amex card to pay all taxes and charges. I rang the bank and told them there would be multiple transactions coming through from Columbia and a note was left on the card file so had no problems with the transactions going through (thanks to the poster for that tip).

With the 4 x PER - LHR leg I had to book 2 at a time as there was no availability for 4 when I tried to book 4, but as soon as the first 2 were booked I did another search and found that there were 2 more seats available again.

All bookings confirmed through checkmytrip and was really an easy hassel free experience. Total cost < $10000 for 4 J return tickets. The kids are happy

 

[burmans]

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

It should be noted that this practice is not necessarily in the spirit of the program and may be grounds for blacklisting etc.)

Must admit I am always bemused to read talk of the "spirit" of the program being breached. This "loophole" exists purely because the relevant partner chooses NOT to pay the person back in cash but rather in miles/points so is not only done to the Terms and Conditions but specifically how PC/Avianca have chosen for the program to work in those instances. I for one don't think this is incidental, I do realise that all programs do put in their T&C's all sort of conditions that they can close down peoples accounts for just about anything but really am unsure how much these have been tested. My understanding is that when courts have previously found that when people are acting within T&C's but then the seller essentially decides they don't like what this means in practice these sort of T&C's (cancelling accounts because we want to) are found to be unreasonable and the courts set them aside. Of course, speaking of AUS/US/UK laws here where there are Trade Practices and Consumer protection laws, unsure what jurisdiction Avianca would come under and if they afford the same!

In the case of PC the current practice is well known and has been in place for at least 18 months as far as I know, I doubt PC are unaware of it and hence would have great difficulty showing that something they have known and allowed for some time is an abuse.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

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

ITs about $12.75 per 1000 miles when you max out the cash in a miles plus cash booking. Its USD15 per 1000 miles with a straight purchase during the current promo, the $2.25 per 1000 miles discount may well be wiped out by the USD50 cancel charge, plus the forex conversion fees you may have lost depending on the card used, plus the hassle involved. It's not worth it during the promo.... however if there was no promo on and you were desperate it may be worthwhile. however who knows how long it might take to get your refund etc, reports on this are quite varied.

 

[canne]

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

Hi All

Just thought I would share my experience with my bookings for my kids using Lifemiles.

Last night I booked 4 x Per - Lhr J class tickets and 3 x BCN - PER and 1 x BCN - JFK - SFO. I booked all the legs as 1 way tickets and used my ANZ Qantas Amex card to pay all taxes and charges. I rang the bank and told them there would be multiple transactions coming through from Columbia and a note was left on the card file so had no problems with the transactions going through (thanks to the poster for that tip).

With the 4 x PER - LHR leg I had to book 2 at a time as there was no availability for 4 when I tried to book 4, but as soon as the first 2 were booked I did another search and found that there were 2 more seats available again.

All bookings confirmed through checkmytrip and was really an easy hassel free experience. Total cost < $10000 for 4 J return tickets. The kids are happy

joeborgo - may I ask what is FX transaction fee charged on ANZ Amex? Is the fee dependent on the amount? I am trying to decide if it is worth paying these fees on ANZ AMEX (ANZ fx conversion rates are usually OK) or just use my 28degrees MC for buying the Lifemiles. Thanks.

 

[kkl]

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

Tried a dummy booking on LM. PER-BKK-FRA-LHR. Cant seem to be able to find a F award, only J. On AwardTravelr, there is PER-BKK (J). BKK-FRA (F), FRA-LHR (J).

End of June 13