re: Avianca "Life Miles" - New FF program in *A
I find it very alarming that so many people what to scam the system and the rest of the mob be happy with it. Quiet funny actually because in the past when I have done it its like I'm pure evil .
The advice I was given is LM is a gem of a program and should only be used correctly without gaming the system . Yet today I didn't read one post anyone against these tricked hidden cities . I wonder why .
i have no doubt you would like us all to treat Lifemiles as a gem. it's probably the only cheap miles option you have left in star alliance and you don't want to see the loopholes closed down
I think the difference in attitude today comes down to the execution.
you adopt a slash and burn approach.
four seats that went empty BRU-ABJ on your last trip.
four seats that went empty from NRT-GUM. not one seat, but four.
booking
seven(?) corner harbour view suite rooms in sydney under the IHG best rate guarantee (for those who aren't familiar with the program it gives the entire night free if you can find a lower price elsewhere).
those are actions guaranteed to draw attention.
but... loopholes get closed anyway. can't usually attribute that closure to any one individual. so let's move on from that to the next issue.
one of the benefits of bulletin boards such as AFF and Flyer Talk has been to share any tricks so as many members as possible can take advantage of them before they get withdrawn. 'don't call the airline!' or 'don't call the hotel!' are common pleas whenever a mistake is identified.
but in the last couple of years a new breed of bulletin board member has arrived. those that want to take everything they can, but don't want to share in return. or if they do share it has to be via PM and they want something back. thankfully those people are quite rare, but you can see it kind of goes against part of the community spirit? personally, I saved one of your trips by finding last minute award seats from bangkok to Paris via Cairo when you couldn't fly Thai.
you were stressed at the time. I found a solution. and happily so. happy to help out a fellow AFFer.
but come one year later, I asked you for some lifemiles tips and tricks and you refused! you said you didn't think I was a suitable person to have that information!
so now perhaps you can now see the difference in today's discussion?
when you (shanye) take advantage of any loophole you appear to do so for your gain, and your gain only. with this new spreadsheet, everyone who wants to take part presumably can! it seems several people are working on it and it's a community effort.
each of us on AFF have different skills. while one person may be saving your holiday, or advising which credit card to get, another might be working on lifemiles.
and at the end of the day... so what if we get a loophole closed? everyone will have had the chance to share in that.
not just one person.
so while I hear your request to treat lifemiles as a gem, i don't believe that request was aimed at the interests of us all. rather I see it as an attempt to give some members more time to slash and burn for their personal gain only.
why? because the award charts are printed. that's what we should expect to pay. everything is already there in black and white. the only 'gems' you are asking us to preserve are the loopholes... some of which you know and have refused to share. why should we preserve those loopholes for one or two people only?
so anyway... from my point of view, that's the answer to your question