US Dividend Miles - Award Booking Questions and General Discussion

[alieninperth]

I'd recon 80% of our friends now have Apple gear of some sort, the largest selling computers world wide, yet KVS can't make or don't want to make it Mac friendly, beats me too.

Apple don't even get into the top 5 selling computers worldwide. From Wikipedia (Market share of personal computer vendors - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

[TABLE="class: wikitable, width: 30%"]

[TR]
[TH="colspan: 3"]Top 5 Vendors, Worldwide PC Shipments, 2014[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TH]Rank[/TH]
[TH]Manufacturer[/TH]
[TH]Gartner[SUP][1][/SUP][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]1[/TD]
[TD]Lenovo[/TD]
[TD]19.4%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]2[/TD]
[TD]HP[/TD]
[TD]18.8%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]3[/TD]
[TD]Dell[/TD]
[TD]12.7%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]4[/TD]
[TD]Acer Inc.[/TD]
[TD]8.1%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]5[/TD]
[TD]Asus[/TD]
[TD]7.5%[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD][/TD]
[TD]Others[/TD]
[TD]33.5%[/TD]
[/TR]

[/TABLE]



Quite a lot of my friends have fallen for the marketing, I mean IT, company's products, all phones or tablets. I dont know of anyone of my friends (aside from graphical designers) who have chosen a mac over a PC, for their general home computing.

The most recent figures that I have been able to find for Australia specific sales in 2009 and then Apple had about 7% of the total market.

Smart phones are different again, here apple are getting their a***s handed to them by android in terms of operating systems and Samsung in terms of brands. Apple has 11.7% of the market of operating systems (compared to 84.4% for android) and 12.7% of the market for phones (compared to 24.4% for Samsung). Tablet reverses the trend in that Apple have just under 30% of the market and Samsung have just over 22%.

If KVS are going to branch out into niche systems, it would appear that Android would be the way to go rather than iOS.

 

[sergeyvzn]

it's all really irrelevant
The point Limewood was making is that KVS isn't the Bible. If you like it and use it - good on you. Others may use AwardNexus, ExpertFlyer or airlines (QF, BA, JL, CX) website. None is 100% accurate anyway. KVS may show seats available but you call US Airways and agents can't see them; the same applies to other search sources.
The whole discussions started with the KVS rep implying that one needs to have KVS in order to enjoy first class flights. That's not the way things are
and don't even get me started on Apple vs PC. I've just looked around my office of 60 or so people - iPhones galore

 

[Limewood]

Yep zillions of Apple "niche" users

I've used Award Nexus and Expert Flyer, these days just search the usual BA, Jl, AA sites etc.

 

[anat0l]

Yep zillions of Apple "niche" users

Let's not try and delude ourselves. Apple users are good at that.


Mind, if it wasn't for a slew of specialist engineering applications that sometimes pop up here and there, I might go to a Mac OS system myself. Of course, Macs are on average more expensive for spec on spec, and yes I am aware of the other factors both tangible and non-tangible.

There are free virtualisation products for those that want to run KVS on a Mac; the fly in the soup is that one technically needs a valid licence of the virtualised OS anyway (e.g. Windows), although suffice to say Apple users don't exactly hold back with the judgement when they run software which is only runnable on Mac OS and not Windows.

My guess is that KVS was mainly developed using code which is not platform independent, so porting the software to Mac OS would require significant rewrite of the code with new libraries, new widgets, memory management and so on. For a specialised program (i.e. not something in extended common use, like, say, Office or equivalent products), that may not be worth the time for the KVS developers, especially if the codebase has not been configured in such a way to be easily modularised and portable.


In any case - and to get back on topic (a bit) - KVS is only one way to look up this availability. It's likely more efficient than others, but so there. Why don't I use it? I don't want to pay the subscription. Call me cheap, but having already an ExpertFlyer subscription I can't afford to purchase another subscription for something which will significantly overlap with EF but provides one (in this case, there may be others) more functionality than I need. Maybe when my EF subscription comes up to its next renewal, I might consider switching tools. But until then I content myself with the free yet coughbersome methods of looking up availability.

 

[Limewood]

Calling Apple a "niche" market is simply ridiculous.

So game over think we can go back to normal.

 

[smit0847]

So............................................................................. back to USDM!!

Whats your favourite way to be able to feed the agent the flights you want (rather than them waste time looking for their own)?

'I think I've found some flights that are available - could you please check these if I give you the flight details?' or

'I was just speaking to another agent who found available flights but the call cut out - I wrote them down - can I give them to you?' or

'I have some flights in mind that are available - can you please look up these?'

 

[sergeyvzn]

Hi, I'd like to book some flights in first/business from ... to....with a stopover in xx_, I've got some flights that I think have seats available, can you please put us on...etc

 

[hummel]

So............................................................................. back to USDM!!

Whats your favourite way to be able to feed the agent the flights you want (rather than them waste time looking for their own)?

'I think I've found some flights that are available - could you please check these if I give you the flight details?' or

'I was just speaking to another agent who found available flights but the call cut out - I wrote them down - can I give them to you?' or

'I have some flights in mind that are available - can you please look up these?'

That's my 'go-to'. Some agents love it... some seem put off but at the end of the day I'm making their job easier.

 

[laffer]

I have had a bit of a rough run and began dreaming of a trip to Europe. I have some free time and started looking for flights with USDM with short notice. Aa.com is showing availability on BA. This means two things both fuel fines and the
UK APD. Does anyone know what these are generally coming in at on a straight BA redemption?

 

[anat0l]

I have had a bit of a rough run and began dreaming of a trip to Europe. I have some free time and started looking for flights with USDM with short notice. Aa.com is showing availability on BA. This means two things both fuel fines and the
UK APD. Does anyone know what these are generally coming in at on a straight BA redemption?

Note: This is a huge misconception. You need to leave a UK airport after a stopover in order to be charged the APD. If you are on an international transit (e.g. fly in to London from another country, then within 24 hours or so, leave the UK to a third country), you do not have to pay the APD.

Otherwise, the APD is levied based on distance. This article from Wikipedia does fine to explain the levels: Air Passenger Duty - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Note that if you are flying after 1 April 2015, Bands C and D will be obsolete, i.e. the highest band will be Band B.

What you cannot escape when flying into London Heathrow is the UK Passenger Service Charge, something like about GBP 40 from memory.

Fuel surcharges for BA flights will also vary and depend on distance. Just as a sample, the fuel surcharge for BA flying Business from LHR to HKG will cost GBP 164.50.

 

[laffer]

Anat0l- thanks so much for pointing this out to me. Much appreciated.

What seems to be coming up is Syd-sin-Frankfurt on BA. As it transited through the UK I thought I was going to be hit. But thanks for pointing it out. The BA fines are a bit of a concern. I had thought that HKG limited the amount that could be charged by way of fuel fines so was trying to get up to HKG and out of there but availability seems impossible. I am looking to go reasonably soon and was hoping for some last minute availability.

 

[laffer]

I have managed to find the following possible routing:

SYD-SIN - BA J

SIN-FRA- BA F (the Euro sector in J)

FRA- HKG - CX J

HKG-SYD QF Y

As it is a mixed bag of travel classes I was wondering if I would be charged at the F or J rate? I was hoping the Y sector would cancel out the F sector and the price would be J ha! Wishful thinking? Really hard getting any J availability home from either HKG, Sin, BKk or Kul so will suck it up and fly Y home.

 

[hummel]

I have managed to find the following possible routing:

SYD-SIN - BA J

SIN-FRA- BA F (the Euro sector in J)

FRA- HKG - CX J

HKG-SYD QF Y

As it is a mixed bag of travel classes I was wondering if I would be charged at the F or J rate? I was hoping the Y sector would cancel out the F sector and the price would be J ha! Wishful thinking? Really hard getting any J availability home from either HKG, Sin, BKk or Kul so will suck it up and fly Y home.

You'll be charged the highest class of travel so F in this case.

 

[bcworld]

You'll be charged the highest class of travel so F in this case.

Actually, based on the examples of average pricing they started doing this itin would likely qualify to be charged at 50% of the F award rate + 50% of the J award rate.

 

[hummel]

Actually, based on the examples of average pricing they started doing this itin would likely qualify to be charged at 50% of the F award rate + 50% of the J award rate.

While true and there has been examples of this in the past... we all know with USDM that expect the unexpected.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Actually, based on the examples of average pricing they started doing this itin would likely qualify to be charged at 50% of the F award rate + 50% of the J award rate.

i was thinking along these lines too, but was not sure whether the 50/50 split would work where there are different carriers on the return journey.

 

[alieninperth]

has anyone any experience of doing an open jaw within a 3 zone trip. In my case, I am planning Aus-EU//ME-Aus. I suppose there are 2 questions:

Firstly, is this possible, and secondly is the cost of this 1/2 SWP-EU plus 1/2 ME-SWP?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

has anyone any experience of doing an open jaw within a 3 zone trip. In my case, I am planning Aus-EU//ME-Aus. I suppose there are 2 questions:

Firstly, is this possible, and secondly is the cost of this 1/2 SWP-EU plus 1/2 ME-SWP?

the open jaw is legal.

I dunno about the pricing. one would think it would be half-half. but I can't remember how it was costed the last time I read someone had done it (must have been recent, cause in the old days it would have been charged at the highest zone).

 

[smit0847]

Hi Team
Hoping for some quick advice. Trying to book a QR flight that leaves at 00:50 on a Friday. BA.com shows availability on the friday am but not the Saturday am. US say there's availability on the Thursday but not the Friday. I know there's issues with flights departing just after midnight. Do I book the 'thurs' am flight which will actually leave Fri am?
Thanks

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi Team
Hoping for some quick advice. Trying to book a QR flight that leaves at 00:50 on a Friday. BA.com shows availability on the friday am but not the Saturday am. US say there's availability on the Thursday but not the Friday. I know there's issues with flights departing just after midnight. Do I book the 'thurs' am flight which will actually leave Fri am?
Thanks

they should *look* the day before, but your flight will actually be on the day you intend to travel. (that is, if you want the flight on Friday at 00:50 ask them to check flights on Thursday. in doing that, they'll see the friday flight. or so the theory goes)

easy way to check is to confirm the arrival time (although US often gets those confused!).