US Dividend Miles Buy/Gift Miles 100% bonus - Cheap way for F/J *A Awards

[MEL_Traveller]

On the phone to us airways for 1 hour 40 mins and connection lost after finding flights .

That is frustrating!

In future - have a pen handy and write down the flights as they are booked. That way when you ring back you can say you got disconnected but you have the following flights available from their colleague. It will save a lot of time.

You may wish to also invest in something like GoTalk - they have like a pre-paid calling service - you dial a special number from your home phone. I use them as skype can be patchy.

GoTalk (and there are others) costs about 12c a minute to the USA. When you dial US airways you dial the GoTalk access code, then 0011 1 800 xx_ xx_ 9same number you dial on skype - but make sure you put the 1 in front exactly as I have written).

you will get a short message saying the number you are calling is not toll free from outside the united states and will be charged at standard rates. Don;t worry about that... the standard rate is about 1c a minute

 

[Shanye2233]

I have two flights ticketed SYD-BKK-FRA-LIN. Stop over BKK for two nights. Infant price was $511US .

Taxes per person $270.63 per passenger.

If another flight opens up for my wife il probably buy it.

I know everyone says wait a few weeks but I have to leave and be back before 8th nov before infant 3rd birthday.

Il check everyday see if another award seat opens.

 

[burmans]

definitely great value to eur.

What about to US itself. Have has a few friends go to New York recently and Y price about $2500 plus, admittedly in school holidays, so 110K for business sounds great value. But looking through ANA for flights SYF - JFK apppears to be extremely little available. Anyone else used this for US flights and can offer some tricks.
Am wondering if I should be looking via Melbourne or Auckland or maybe just lloking for flights to SFO or LAX. Any ideas?

 

[sr81]

I have two flights ticketed SYD-BKK-FRA-LIN. Stop over BKK for two nights. Infant price was $511US .

Taxes per person $270.63 per passenger.

If another flight opens up for my wife il probably buy it.

I know everyone says wait a few weeks but I have to leave and be back before 8th nov before infant 3rd birthday.

Il check everyday see if another award seat opens.

Ok, now do you have a few things.
1. A six digit alpha-numeric that is your booking reference?
2. A seperate alpha-numeric for each traveller? As you are taking miles for different accounts then you will need a different booking reference for each traveller. If you don't then you will need to get back on the phone and have them seperate the bookings.

If so then,
3. Have a look at the USAirways site and under 'manage reservation' you can look up your itin. Don't use your Dividend Miles number but look via your booking reference. Check the reservation.

Hope that another seat opens up pretty quickly.

 

[travelislife]

2. A seperate alpha-numeric for each traveller? As you are taking miles for different accounts then you will need a different booking reference for each traveller. If you don't then you will need to get back on the phone and have them seperate the bookings.

This isn't necesarrily true. I booked my recent trip under the one for two tickets. Had the tickets on hold for three days and then it wasn't until I called back to pay and issue the tickets that they split the booking in to the two seperate PNR's and from the 2 seperate DM accounts. No need to do it now, wait until ticketing.

 

[sr81]

2. A seperate alpha-numeric for each traveller? As you are taking miles for different accounts then you will need a different booking reference for each traveller. If you don't then you will need to get back on the phone and have them seperate the bookings.

This isn't necesarrily true. I booked my recent trip under the one for two tickets. Had the tickets on hold for three days and then it wasn't until I called back to pay and issue the tickets that they split the booking in to the two seperate PNR's and from the 2 seperate DM accounts. No need to do it now, wait until ticketing.

This, I believe, is bad advice. Getting a reservation spilt involves a fair amount of work for an agent and if you get one that is inept they will try splitting it by cancelling one seat then rebooking it. This, obviously, is fraught with danger.

When booking ask to have to seperate itins. It avoids issues and the last time I had a booking spilt it took 45 minutes on hold. Obviously you want to avoid that as well.

 

[k3nnis]

Hi All,

Is this 100% bonus promotion with UD dividend finished?

 

[travelislife]

Hi All,

Is this 100% bonus promotion with UD dividend finished?

You know it would have been quicker for you to go to the US airways website and find this out than taking the time to post here. Very happy to answer questions on here, but when people don't use a simple thing like google it is very hard to take them seriously.

No, it runs until 15th of September.

 

[k3nnis]

Thanks for that. Apologies for my laziness...

 

[Alanslegal]

What about to US itself. Have has a few friends go to New York recently and Y price about $2500 plus, admittedly in school holidays, so 110K for business sounds great value. But looking through ANA for flights SYF - JFK apppears to be extremely little available. Anyone else used this for US flights and can offer some tricks.
Am wondering if I should be looking via Melbourne or Auckland or maybe just lloking for flights to SFO or LAX. Any ideas?

Try searching TG via BKK,LAX and US onto NYC, or OZ via ICN then onto JFK. As per the guide, if you enter SYD and NYC in the search then the results might come back with nought. So break up the search segments, like SYD-BKK, BKK-LAX, LAX-NYC. It is reported with NZ that they release awards exactly 4 months out from the flight, so that's probably why it is difficult to find availablity.

Ecnomy redemptions are extremely poor with SYD-Sth East Asia costing 70,000 miles.

With taxes it is closer to AUD1,500 and then add on taxes and surcharges for the award and the actual cost is closer to AUD2000. I can get AUD1,500 or less for business class to Asia with BMI so I do not think AUD2,000 business class to Asia is good value.

The general sweet spot for these redemptions are AUS-USA or AUS-EUR routes, and surchages etc are very low. You can search the entire the thread and see actual examples of the surcharges applied at booking, for eg. in one of my bookings ams-fra-icn-bkk-syd-bkk-icn-fra-ams the total fuel,surcharges etc came out to approx. us$252.

Looks like I might jump on this now, need to redeem 3x J from PER-Europe for an event that's happening next year and considering the cost in whY revenue is the same as points in J, it's a no brainer.

No brainer indeed.

I'm thinking about flying in J with TG to europe how you finding their services is there a
big difference on the plane between F and J . I know you don't get access to the F lounges are the seats in J the lie flat ?

If you had to choose between LH SQ and TG which would you fly.

I wouldn't be too fussed with who is better at this stage, but rather what is available for what the dates I need. SQ might be great esp. their A380's, 77W's but there's really no chance of getting on. If you have never been in J before, then trust me, any of the long haul products will be very impressive.

 

[Shanye2233]

I do have two separate codes 6 digits each. They have screwed ne over with the infant costs going from $511 to $2300 apparently I was given the wrong information . No other seats have opened up as yet I will try to call later tonight .
My question is if the fare of $511 is in fact 10% of the fare then really we only getting less than half price . If the fare is charged at $23,000 well for 4 passengers I can buy my own plan .

I think when it comes to infants it's a matter of who you get on the other end of the phone

 

[sr81]

I do have two separate codes 6 digits each. They have screwed ne over with the infant costs going from $511 to $2300 apparently I was given the wrong information . No other seats have opened up as yet I will try to call later tonight .
My question is if the fare of $511 is in fact 10% of the fare then really we only getting less than half price . If the fare is charged at $23,000 well for 4 passengers I can buy my own plan .

I think when it comes to infants it's a matter of who you get on the other end of the phone

Yep, just keep trying. USAirways are bloody random. If you do a expedia.com search for the flights you have you will be able to get the normal available price. This should give you some back when talking to the next person.

A seat will come available. Just be ready to move when it does. Think positive!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

A seat will come available. Just be ready to move when it does. Think positive!

But what if doesn't? The poster is then left with a bunch of purchased miles and may not travel without the whole family. And cannot use them later because that requires 4 tickets.

On the third day I would be booking the third ticket in First!

 

[k3nnis]

When do the buy miles expire?

 

[bcworld]

When do the buy miles expire?

Dividend Miles T&Cs on the website will tell you.

 

[sr81]

But what if doesn't? The poster is then left with a bunch of purchased miles and may not travel without the whole family. And cannot use them later because that requires 4 tickets.

On the third day I would be booking the third ticket in First!

That's not a bad idea but in the past I have seen Thai open up seats a day or so after my booking.

The poster hasn't bought any miles as yet just spent some internet time so the sky isn't quite falling in yet.

The OP could also think about splitting up the family by a day but this could be tough.

 

[Shanye2233]

Guys I don't know if you know but my infant is sick she needs 24 hour care tube feed the works so splitting up is out of the question all business or all first . F is too expensive and I doubt il find the seats . Sr81 is right I hvent purchased nothing yet and won't until Everything is booked. I don't think the flights with TG is an issue but the infant is . Say im able to get 3 J on the one flight and I'm quoted $500 appro for infant then after purchasing the miles I call back , they again go find the infant fare and come back with $2.5k then I'm stuck. I have already purchased the miles and now have no choice but to pay for her seat .

I wouldn't resort to going in C I would rather not go at all. I have another flight ticketed

SYD-BKK-Japan(stop over)-Zurich-Milan and return Milan-BKK-SYD. Yesterday I was told can't stop over only hub city but I'm stopping in Japan this time with Thai airways and then LH from Japan onwards.

Weird ?

 

[sr81]

Guys I don't know if you know but my infant is sick she needs 24 hour care tube feed the works so splitting up is out of the question all business or all first . F is too expensive and I doubt il find the seats . Sr81 is right I hvent purchased nothing yet and won't until Everything is booked. I don't think the flights with TG is an issue but the infant is . Say im able to get 3 J on the one flight and I'm quoted $500 appro for infant then after purchasing the miles I call back , they again go find the infant fare and come back with $2.5k then I'm stuck. I have already purchased the miles and now have no choice but to pay for her seat .

I wouldn't resort to going in C I would rather not go at all. I have another flight ticketed

SYD-BKK-Japan(stop over)-Zurich-Milan and return Milan-BKK-SYD. Yesterday I was told can't stop over only hub city but I'm stopping in Japan this time with Thai airways and then LH from Japan onwards.

Weird ?

Sorry to hear about your child. I think (and fingers are crossed) that a seat will open up.

As for Tokyo - it is a hub for ANA. A Star Alliance carrier. Shame you can't stop as it is an awesome city.

 

[Mrmaxwell]

Still ok to use the ANA tool? Seems the aeroplan tool is the one being recommended now.

 

[sr81]

Still ok to use the ANA tool? Seems the aeroplan tool is the one being recommended now.

ANA still works and is great if you can use it. Aeroplan is easier.

Shayne - what dates do you want to travel. If you post them people around here will have a dig and see if we can't turn up some more interesting routes.