US Dividend Miles - Award Booking Questions and General Discussion

[baggyred]

Reading through this forum and another - I'm still a little confused about Fuel Surcharges on BA flights within a USDM Booking.

I've read that the fuel surcharges only apply to the BA segments and others are saying that once you choose a BA segment, the fuel surcharges apply to all segments, including those by other carriers such as CX.

I can't seem to gain clarity from T&C's either. I understand I can just HUCA when I do make a booking, but if i've managed to bed down an itinerary - I don't really want to run the risk and have a segment disappear.

Has anyone had the experience where they have attempted to charge the surcharges for other segments and had it overturned?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Reading through this forum and another - I'm still a little confused about Fuel Surcharges on BA flights within a USDM Booking.

I've read that the fuel surcharges only apply to the BA segments and others are saying that once you choose a BA segment, the fuel surcharges apply to all segments, including those by other carriers such as CX.

I can't seem to gain clarity from T&C's either. I understand I can just HUCA when I do make a booking, but if i've managed to bed down an itinerary - I don't really want to run the risk and have a segment disappear.

Has anyone had the experience where they have attempted to charge the surcharges for other segments and had it overturned?

BA segments attract a fuel surcharge.

In some cases, the inclusion of a BA segment has incorrectly meant a fuel surcharge has been applied to the whole booking, not just the BA segment.

You can have an incorrect fuel surcharge removed (as you can with an incorrect tax). Just ask USDM to reassess the price of the fuel surcharges. This won't affect your existing booking in any way.

but sometimes the UK luxury departure tax and correct fuel surcharge on BA sectors are so high it makes it look like fuel surcharges have been applied on the whole booking... so use a tool like ITA matrix to look for YQ or YR to add up the fuel component.

 

[baggyred]

BA segments attract a fuel surcharge.

In some cases, the inclusion of a BA segment has incorrectly meant a fuel surcharge has been applied to the whole booking, not just the BA segment.

You can have an incorrect fuel surcharge removed (as you can with an incorrect tax). Just ask USDM to reassess the price of the fuel surcharges. This won't affect your existing booking in any way.

but sometimes the UK luxury departure tax and correct fuel surcharge on BA sectors are so high it makes it look like fuel surcharges have been applied on the whole booking... so use a tool like ITA matrix to look for YQ or YR to add up the fuel component.

I'm all over ITA Matrix - they also have a great ipad app which is easy to use as well.

And yep the APD out of the UK is horrendous - however i'm looking at the outbound flight being internal to europe so as to limit the damage.

The issue I see is the intra-europe flights on BA seem to be on a budget a320 which has low rent premium economy seats tarted up as "Business"

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I'm all over ITA Matrix - they also have a great ipad app which is easy to use as well.

And yep the APD out of the UK is horrendous - however i'm looking at the outbound flight being internal to europe so as to limit the damage.

The issue I see is the intra-europe flights on BA seem to be on a budget a320 which has low rent premium economy seats tarted up as "Business"

3+3 seating for intra-Europe business class, with a spare middle, is pretty much standard. (There are some exceptions.)

however - it does the job. Priority check-in, lounge, separate cabin, enhanced meal, enhanced beverages, side-ways space.

 

[bcworld]

And yep the APD out of the UK is horrendous - however i'm looking at the outbound flight being internal to europe so as to limit the damage.

The issue I see is the intra-europe flights on BA seem to be on a budget a320 which has low rent premium economy seats tarted up as "Business"

Your plan will work so long as your stopover after that short euro segment is >24 hours.

 

[baggyred]

Your plan will work so long as your stopover after that short euro segment is >24 hours.

Yep - will be about 10 days.

If I can't cajole the USDM staff to treat my stopovers/destinations the right way (LHR?BUD) - I'll just open-jaw and get a cheap flight out of London!

Be stuffed if I'll pay $740 for the pleasure of leaving the UK.

 

[diningdecadence]

I would imagine that contacting TG would be the best bet... maybe say something like, "I only just checked and there is an error with my F award booking, one of the segments is booked in J. Can you please correct it by booking it in F on (insert date and flight details)".

Please let us know if you end up doing it! Nothing to lose I guess, the worst they can say is no. Unless you have "illegal" stopovers or something and you don't want to raise any red flags.

Is it likely they would push me back to us airways at some point? To get the ticket reissued or something? I'm definitely considering it.

 

[Kangol]

Is it likely they would push me back to us airways at some point? To get the ticket reissued or something? I'm definitely considering it.

The only experience I have is with my booking and after speaking with TG, they contacted USDM to reissue the ticket. I can't imagine that it would be your responsibility to follow them up separately.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Is it likely they would push me back to us airways at some point? To get the ticket reissued or something? I'm definitely considering it.

for a change of class that was not available at the time of booking, The operating airline will refer you back to USDM. And I doubt USDM will assist.


if there has been a change to the booking because of a flight cancellation or schedule change, and you are unable to sort it with USDM, it may be a case of discussing with airline directly, having them create space on a more appropriate flight, and then getting USDM to reissue the ticket.


You would call USDM to notify them that the other airline has made the change and to go ahead and reissue.

Simple change of class? I don't hold out any hopes for that.

 

[bismarck]

I would appreciate the advice of forum members for a booking challenge I've had with USDM. I'm not sure whether to be concerned or not???

In February, I booked flights for SWMBO and I to Europe flying over with Thai and returning from LHR to SYD via ICN on Asiana.

All looked well when I checked the booking earlier in the year, I was able to get the PNR and ticket number from Thai so thought everything was fine for a couple of months.

Recently, I checked the booking on the USDM website and I've noticed that the LHR-ICN segment for SWMBO has disappeared? When checking on checkmytrip - the whole return leg is gone (i.e. LHR-xICN-SYD).

I have called USDM and the agent didn't really understand my problem as she said she could see the LHR-ICN flight (even read me the flight number). I got her to resend the itinerary (I asked for the e-ticket, but only the itinerary showed up) and it is still missing the LHR-ICN segment.

I would think this was just a technology problem, but the fact that amadeus can't see it is a little worrying. Ultimately, I'll find out when I rock up at the airport in London but would rather try to resolve it now.

Any insights or thoughts from those more experienced would be welcome.


TL;DR - should I be concerned that the itinerary is no longer showing a flight as originally booked?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I would appreciate the advice of forum members for a booking challenge I've had with USDM. I'm not sure whether to be concerned or not???

In February, I booked flights for SWMBO and I to Europe flying over with Thai and returning from LHR to SYD via ICN on Asiana.

All looked well when I checked the booking earlier in the year, I was able to get the PNR and ticket number from Thai so thought everything was fine for a couple of months.

Recently, I checked the booking on the USDM website and I've noticed that the LHR-ICN segment for SWMBO has disappeared? When checking on checkmytrip - the whole return leg is gone (i.e. LHR-xICN-SYD).

I have called USDM and the agent didn't really understand my problem as she said she could see the LHR-ICN flight (even read me the flight number). I got her to resend the itinerary (I asked for the e-ticket, but only the itinerary showed up) and it is still missing the LHR-ICN segment.

I would think this was just a technology problem, but the fact that amadeus can't see it is a little worrying. Ultimately, I'll find out when I rock up at the airport in London but would rather try to resolve it now.

Any insights or thoughts from those more experienced would be welcome.


TL;DR - should I be concerned that the itinerary is no longer showing a flight as originally booked?

call Asiana, see what they can see in their system, and ask them to confirm they have a ticket number.

 

[bismarck]

call Asiana, see what they can see in their system, and ask them to confirm they have a ticket number.

Looks like they don't. They did earlier in the year when I checked with them, which is why I hadn't called again. It looks like US Airways never confirmed the ticket when they had a (10 minute) schedule change earlier in the year.

Anyway, on hold with USDM now (finally have an agent who recognises there is a problem....third time's the charm) so we will see what they can do to fix it.

EDIT: They're now saying because Asiana had a schedule change, there's nothing they can do and all they're offering is to redeposit the miles. Surely if I had a confirmed reservation and ticket number with them, they are responsible for providing a seat - regardless of whether there is award availability?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Looks like they don't. They did earlier in the year when I checked with them, which is why I hadn't called again. It looks like US Airways never confirmed the ticket when they had a (10 minute) schedule change earlier in the year.

Anyway, on hold with USDM now (finally have an agent who recognises there is a problem....third time's the charm) so we will see what they can do to fix it.

unfortunate for you - but a timely reminder for others to regularly check their bookings for any changes. It is always best to call USDM and accept changes rather than click 'accept changes' electronically via the USDM site.

Those with existing bookings should check USDM as well as airlineroute at least once a fortnight to get a heads-up on any changes.

 

[bcworld]

Looks like they don't. They did earlier in the year when I checked with them, which is why I hadn't called again. It looks like US Airways never confirmed the ticket when they had a (10 minute) schedule change earlier in the year.

So when this happened were you notified and did accept the changes either online or over the phone?

I had a similar situation with OZ once. 20 minute schedule change with no connection / MCT issues. But it meant the segment status was set to confirmed, timechange (TK). It's a confusing status, but from what I read, until the timechange was formally accepted the segment would be liable to cancellation by the operating carrier...regardless of the word 'confirmed'. It was an Avianca ticket and they reissued it for me.

 

[bismarck]

So when this happened were you notified and did accept the changes either online or over the phone?

I had a similar situation with OZ once. 20 minute schedule change with no connection / MCT issues. But it meant the segment status was set to confirmed, timechange (TK). It's a confusing status, but from what I read, until the timechange was formally accepted the segment would be liable to cancellation by the operating carrier...regardless of the word 'confirmed'. It was an Avianca ticket and they reissued it for me.

No, I was never notified so never took any action. From some reading I've done while on hold it looks like Asiana has been susceptible to this problem in the past (I had been more focused on checking on Thai and hadn't thought about Asiana as much based on the advice here).

Was on hold for over an hour and no solution so far. They looked for OneWorld availability, but obviously there is none this far out so they just tried to fob me off by trying to refund the miles. I have persisted as my ticket still seems confirmed so I just need a way to get SWMBO home. Escalated up to a Manager and they're going to try and work with Asiana to get a seat released when the Asiana reservations office reopens tomorrow.

Fingers crossed.

 

[travelislife]

Looks like they don't. They did earlier in the year when I checked with them, which is why I hadn't called again. It looks like US Airways never confirmed the ticket when they had a (10 minute) schedule change earlier in the year.

Anyway, on hold with USDM now (finally have an agent who recognises there is a problem....third time's the charm) so we will see what they can do to fix it.

EDIT: They're now saying because Asiana had a schedule change, there's nothing they can do and all they're offering is to redeposit the miles. Surely if I had a confirmed reservation and ticket number with them, they are responsible for providing a seat - regardless of whether there is award availability?

This seems really unlucky. Especially as it seems that you and your wife have identical tickets and it has only happened to one? This is not going to be fun but I would be pestering US and Asiana as well to reinstate the leg, using your confirmed ticket as 'evidence'. I don't like your chance though but I wouldn't give up the fight easily.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

(I had been more focused on checking on Thai and hadn't thought about Asiana as much based on the advice here).

Was on hold for over an hour and no solution so far. They looked for OneWorld availability, but obviously there is none this far out so they just tried to fob me off by trying to refund the miles. I have persisted as my ticket still seems confirmed so I just need a way to get SWMBO home. Escalated up to a Manager and they're going to try and work with Asiana to get a seat released when the Asiana reservations office reopens tomorrow.

Fingers crossed.

working with Asiana will be the best way to solve this. But if Asiana is unwilling, you may have to look for an alternative. I'm pretty sure there must have been a notification in your USDM booking of the schedule change at some stage?

 

[casanovawa]

I put on here a while ago, or somewhere else, that I had booked a Oz-US-Africa-Oz itinerary in March just before the transition of USDM to OW... Anyway about a month or so ago i noticed that my PER-BKK-HKG first two legs on Thai, that originally had a stop over in BKK of about 3 hours had been changed by a Thai rescheduling so that the transit time was now only 45 minutes and that was the last TG flight of the day up to HKG... Anyway people suggested I get onto USDM...

Last night i finally called them, up after looking on ANA to confirm that the Thai flight out of PER was availabe the day before in J, as the easiest work around, so keep all the rest of the itinerary just leave a day earlier which would mean 3 x stopovers of more than 24 hours... Long story short USDM phone agent said they couldn't do anything as no longer in *A and would have to cancel the award and re-book using OW airlines, but that I could call up Thai...

Called Thai up today and got a helpful lady on the reservation line, after explaining the situation she said that they could put me on the day before flight but that I would need to call up US to reissue the ticket, she then put me on hold and went to talk to a supervisor and after a bit came back and she said that calling US to reissue wouldn't work as they had left *A and what they had done was call the airport (assume Perth) and the workaround would be that they would leave the itinerary as it was showing a flight on the 20 Oct, but that i would turn up to the airport on the 19th and hop on the plane...

I guess that will have a bit of anxiety that when I arrive at the airport the day before the left hand will know what the right hand said, I guess at its absolute worst if its a screw up I can turn up the next day and deal with the situation, but will call up Thai to make sure that they have me in a seat on the flight on the 19th....

On this itinerary I also got worried because when i put the confirmation code into checkmytrip it came up as an error, when i called up to confirm ticket with Thai they gave me their conf. code and when I put that into CMT it showed that my flight from IAD-ABB (which was still showing on US's website) had disappeared from the itin... I called up US and a couple of times they confirmed that they had rechecked and the flight was still booked, i eventually contacted Ethiopian Airlines and they also confirmed that I was booked on the flight, so not sure why on US's website it still shows on the itin. but on CMT it doesn't...

But anyway, would be happy for no more changes and for this redemption to just go smoothly from now on.... Don't know if any of this can help anyone else in a similar situation...

 

[travelislife]

I put on here a while ago, or somewhere else, that I had booked a Oz-US-Africa-Oz itinerary in March just before the transition of USDM to OW... Anyway about a month or so ago i noticed that my PER-BKK-HKG first two legs on Thai, that originally had a stop over in BKK of about 3 hours had been changed by a Thai rescheduling so that the transit time was now only 45 minutes and that was the last TG flight of the day up to HKG... Anyway people suggested I get onto USDM...

Last night i finally called them, up after looking on ANA to confirm that the Thai flight out of PER was availabe the day before in J, as the easiest work around, so keep all the rest of the itinerary just leave a day earlier which would mean 3 x stopovers of more than 24 hours... Long story short USDM phone agent said they couldn't do anything as no longer in *A and would have to cancel the award and re-book using OW airlines, but that I could call up Thai...

Called Thai up today and got a helpful lady on the reservation line, after explaining the situation she said that they could put me on the day before flight but that I would need to call up US to reissue the ticket, she then put me on hold and went to talk to a supervisor and after a bit came back and she said that calling US to reissue wouldn't work as they had left *A and what they had done was call the airport (assume Perth) and the workaround would be that they would leave the itinerary as it was showing a flight on the 20 Oct, but that i would turn up to the airport on the 19th and hop on the plane...

I guess that will have a bit of anxiety that when I arrive at the airport the day before the left hand will know what the right hand said, I guess at its absolute worst if its a screw up I can turn up the next day and deal with the situation, but will call up Thai to make sure that they have me in a seat on the flight on the 19th....

On this itinerary I also got worried because when i put the confirmation code into checkmytrip it came up as an error, when i called up to confirm ticket with Thai they gave me their conf. code and when I put that into CMT it showed that my flight from IAD-ABB (which was still showing on US's website) had disappeared from the itin... I called up US and a couple of times they confirmed that they had rechecked and the flight was still booked, i eventually contacted Ethiopian Airlines and they also confirmed that I was booked on the flight, so not sure why on US's website it still shows on the itin. but on CMT it doesn't...

But anyway, would be happy for no more changes and for this redemption to just go smoothly from now on.... Don't know if any of this can help anyone else in a similar situation...

US can most definitely revalidate the ticket if Thai just put the segment in there. I would be wanting to get that done!

 

[casanovawa]

Ok, maybe I will call them and see what they say...