US Dividend Miles - Award Booking Questions and General Discussion

[anat0l]

Perhaps the initial text is just a teaser and remaining info will end up 'pay per view'?

I would not have thought to be that cynical.

But my view on this is to be upfront with people. If you're going to tell them you can fly to Europe return in Business Class for around $2500, you have to be ready to break the hard facts to them. If that scares them off, so be it, because they won't be ready to roll with the punches.

 

[bcworld]

If you're going to tell them you can fly to Europe return in Business Class for around $2500

Well if I'm reading it correctly it actually says F class for $2000!

As for being cynical...it is openly stated that content can be contributed on a paid basis. It's an interesting situation. There is the amazing thread on how to find OW award availability...perhaps content like that would no longer be contributed to the forum.

 

[smit0847]

Well if I'm reading it correctly it actually says F class for $2000!

I think this was the incorrect 'one-way' concept. $4k return in F seems a lot more realistic.

Availability is by far the biggest omission from this article. Call up USDM and see how many F seats to Europe they have for the next 330 days!

 

[anat0l]

Well if I'm reading it correctly it actually says F class for $2000!

I think this was the incorrect 'one-way' concept. $4k return in F seems a lot more realistic.

Availability is by far the biggest omission from this article. Call up USDM and see how many F seats to Europe they have for the next 330 days!

$2k F Europe return under USDM is possible but only in very specific circumstances. Certainly for someone absolutely new to the game with no other help, it is impossible.

I can see quite a few F seats to Europe, though obviously not as many as under *A, but rumour has it TG F isn't open slather any more. With USDM of course your options open up considerably if you consider BA F but then you also need to mention the extra charges (fuel surcharges). That adds a considerable amount to the ticket, though in the guise of a F ticket in cash (without using other tricks), it is still very good value!

F availability is always tough especially for two or more passengers. Broadly, though, availability of award seats is something that newcomers need to be aware of when they get into this "game"; basically that is the biggest thing that will change how they plan compared to simply buying a cash ticket.

 

[boomy]

$2k F Europe return under USDM is possible but only in very specific circumstances. Certainly for someone absolutely new to the game with no other help, it is impossible.

2K F return to EUR based on 100% share and avoiding LHR, maybe. I would say 3K is probably a more realistic figure that anyone in the game can achieve.

 

[anat0l]

2K F return to EUR based on 100% share and avoiding LHR, maybe. I would say 3K is probably a more realistic figure that anyone in the game can achieve.

Also based on "old" Share Miles promotional rates (which would have been correct at the time the AFF KC article was likely prepared).

 

[burmans]

Also based on "old" Share Miles promotional rates (which would have been correct at the time the AFF KC article was likely prepared).

Actually the share rates on USDM remain what they were at 1c despite the last promo being different, its just that the last promo changed this (temporarily) and we havent had any promo since then. Given the share rates have reverted to the old 1c it is in my opinion premature to make ANY conclusion as to what a future share promo will look like! Hard to put that in a FAQ!

 

[Kangol]

Ok great! That opens up a lot of availability from perth should i have a simple route from Per to LHR via Doha. Another option (and more points) was to go via the US

I know it's hard to get routing - however I need to go to the UK next year and thought the following route might be permissible (including one stopover). Obviously there has the be availability.

Per->Doh->LHR (S/O) -> JFK (Dest) ->Syd->Per or Per->HK->LHR (S/O) -> JFK (Dest) ->Syd->Per - are these permissible if can be found?

Also I know this is a US AIrways forum but most seem to be across AA as well. I can buy 55,000 AA Miles today and get 16500 bonus taking me to 71,500 miles which I think is enough for two J flights to Melbourne return. The cost is about $1600AUD which makes each flight about $800 return. Have I understood this right. Are their massive fuel fines or taxes?

I appreciate US Airways may be slightly cheaper however AA seems to have a better online booking engine which allows me to do such a flight online and as such I don't have to call the US and can just do it online. Plus I can keep my US AIrways points for int'l travel.

I note AA has 80,000 point purchase cap (excl bonus points) - does US Airways have a cap?

Lastly (sorry) if I was to buy another 70,000 miles for my wife, could she simply by more flights for me? Or do flights have to be in the name of the account holder?

The one stopover is for the whole itinerary, not for each journey to and from the destination. Basically you can pick a total of two cities where you can have >24 hours between flight segments.

USDM does not have an annual limit to purchasing miles. However, there is a limit to the number of bonus miles any one member can receive during that promotion. It just so happens that these promotions occur more frequently than once a year.
Flights do not have to be in the name of the account holder.

Read this for more info:
US Airways | Dividend Miles membership guide

 

[anat0l]

Actually the share rates on USDM remain what they were at 1c despite the last promo being different, its just that the last promo changed this (temporarily) and we havent had any promo since then. Given the share rates have reverted to the old 1c it is in my opinion premature to make ANY conclusion as to what a future share promo will look like! Hard to put that in a FAQ!

That's fair enough.

All said and done, that also brings up two other important facets:
(1) The prices we quote are not only based on prices of Buy/Gift/Share Miles from USDM, they are based on promotional rates (and that is even when the applicable promotions actually come on, e.g. if it's a 50% Buy Miles promo, you won't get the same value from it, let alone targeted promotions).
(2) The prices can change at any time, with notice varying greatly from months to none at all.

That may not scare people who are still prepared to try and get a good deal, but it is important they are made well aware of this. If that scares them off, then so be it.

We're not exactly doing this for commission, and even then it would be even more important to make people aware of these kinds of caveats.

 

[baggyred]

The one stopover is for the whole itinerary, not for each journey to and from the destination. Basically you can pick a total of two cities where you can have >24 hours between flight segments.

USDM does not have an annual limit to purchasing miles. However, there is a limit to the number of bonus miles any one member can receive during that promotion. It just so happens that these promotions occur more frequently than once a year.
Flights do not have to be in the name of the account holder.

Read this for more info:
US Airways | Dividend Miles membership guide

Thank you very much - it is greatly appreciated.

The itinerary above only had a stopover in london and a destination of NYC. My understanding of the rules is you can't go to europe via the atlantic - so my destination is NYC and the stopover london.

Aside from those two cities I'm fairly agnostic as to which way I fly (ie east or west). Ideally I'd have a 20 hour transit in HK but that isn't an absolute must!

Again - thanks for you help! My understanding is that Itinerary would be 120,000 points !

 

[bismarck]

Thank you very much - it is greatly appreciated.

The itinerary above only had a stopover in london and a destination of NYC. My understanding of the rules is you can't go to europe via the atlantic - so my destination is NYC and the stopover london.

Aside from those two cities I'm fairly agnostic as to which way I fly (ie east or west). Ideally I'd have a 20 hour transit in HK but that isn't an absolute must!

Again - thanks for you help! My understanding is that Itinerary would be 120,000 points !

This will likely not work as your "destination" according to USDM will be LHR (as it is farther away from Sydney) and you cannot travel to/from Europe via the US. Try making your "stopover" something shorter like Berlin (check gcmap.com for the distances).

Your stopover and destination have no bearing on where you spend the most time. They're both stops >24hrs. Your destination is whichever of the two is farther from your origin.


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly

 

[bcworld]

This will likely not work as your "destination" according to USDM will be LHR (as it is farther away from Sydney) and you cannot travel to/from Europe via the US. Try making your "stopover" something shorter like Berlin (check gcmap.com for the distances).

Your stopover and destination have no bearing on where you spend the most time. They're both stops >24hrs. Your destination is whichever of the two is farther from your origin.

The proposed itinerary starts and finishes in PER not SYD...in which case LHR is a valid stopover en route to JFK.

 

[baggyred]

The proposed itinerary starts and finishes in PER not SYD...in which case LHR is a valid stopover en route to JFK.

Phew - wicked!!!

My flights aren't until Oct year so based on the 330 day rule I have until November to acquire the points and learn more!

 

[bcworld]

Phew - wicked!!!
My flights aren't until Oct year so based on the 330 day rule I have until November to acquire the points and learn more!

So you also need to be aware that the award chart could change at any time AND that at some point the US and AA programs will combine (hopefully not until next year). If that were to happen and AA routing rules were imposed neither of your proposed itineraries would be possible on a single ticket.

 

[baggyred]

So you also need to be aware that the award chart could change at any time AND that at some point the US and AA programs will combine (hopefully not until next year). If that were to happen and AA routing rules were imposed neither of your proposed itineraries would be possible on a single ticket.

Understood. Worst case scenario is I have a number of return J flights to Melbourne if I can't use the points any other way. Or alternatively I just do a straight return flight to LHR which is the only required destination.

I'm hoping that should I accumulate enough points by November - once I am ticketed they should honour it!

 

[bismarck]

The proposed itinerary starts and finishes in PER not SYD...in which case LHR is a valid stopover en route to JFK.

Ah, my apologies. Too much scrolling up and down on my phone.


Sent from my iPhone using AustFreqFly

 

[cove]

Two of our friends are now booked on Qatar using 120,000 US Dividend miles each plus $454.34USD going Perth Doha London.

 

[Flashback]

Well markis10 is right up there as one of the AFF contributors with the most broad based knowledge IMO, so I would be surprised at this. What appears to be happening is an attempt to ultimately commoditise the information that appears in threads like this one. However by omitting the list of things that smit mentions it certainly fails to constitute any sort of wiki or educational piece. Perhaps the initial text is just a teaser and remaining info will end up 'pay per view'?

That's the way it seems to me. The initial text shows up OK but to click any of the 'modules' below it specifically asks for payment

 

[get me outta here]

What's the expert opinions of adding some domestic QF connections on to my GUM ticket? The original tkt was booked before they joined OW.

 

[anat0l]

What's the expert opinions of adding some domestic QF connections on to my GUM ticket? The original tkt was booked before they joined OW.

If you mean you want to change the ticket and add some QF flights to it, then you can't do that.

I suspect you could cancel and rebook the ticket so you can include your QF flights, but naturally the new ticket will use the current partners with current inventory.