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

[Shanye2233]

Sorry I forgot to add I'm on the new 777-/300er aircraft on one leg . That's good , right?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I now have on hold again SYD -BKK - nar(stopover) -Zurich -Milan . Return Milan BKK SYD .

Again with the taxes for infant $2,119. The CSR said for me to go to the airline and get a separate price for the infant will be a lot cheaper.

Is the possible for me to book for award flights and then go up to flight centre and book a ticket for infant alone wont that ask to buy a ticket for adult so she not flying alone?

Also the agent told me they have a current promotion running the flight is 120k I can go into us DM buy 40k get 40k free log out then go back in buy another 20k get 20k for free and should costs me about $1,600 before taxes. I asked CSR if I could record this information because I'm not quiet following she approved and I did record it. Probably worthless but if it works I save buying 30k miles.

you're starting to lose me on this one...

in the time taken for you to write the question about the infant ticket you could have called flight centre and asked them and provided the information here for the rest of us

clearly at $2116 it would be cheaper to buy an award ticket for the infant, and give them their own seat. That would cost you about $1600 as you say.

The current promotion seems to be (upto) 50K bonus miles for both BUY and GIFT.

You have already seen the extensive discussion over on FT about this.

Some people are reporting that they are buying 50K and getting 50K vonus, then someone if GIFTING them 10K and getting another 10K bonus. So all up that is how you would get your 120K per account.

If you have three family account, both A, B and C all buy 50K, then: A gifts B 10k, B gifts C 10K and C will gift A 10K. Note gifting is not sharing... it's basically just an account holder buying the miles for someone else as a gift.

Whether or not this works...the promo a couple back did not allow multiple bonus miles... you can try. you have nothing to lose... as you would have to buy the miles anyway. But just try gifting 10K and see if the bonus comes through.

 

[auriga]

Also the agent told me they have a current promotion running the flight is 120k I can go into us DM buy 40k get 40k free log out then go back in buy another 20k get 20k for free ...

I really really doubt this one.

Do you really want a protracted fight on your hands, even with your recording?

 

[travelislife]

Some people are reporting that they are buying 50K and getting 50K vonus, then someone if GIFTING them 10K and getting another 10K bonus. So all up that is how you would get your 120K per account.

If you have three family account, both A, B and C all buy 50K, then: A gifts B 10k, B gifts C 10K and C will gift A 10K. Note gifting is not sharing... it's basically just an account holder buying the miles for someone else as a gift.

If people are going to try this extra gifting of miles I would be doing it with a different credit card (name, number and address) than the one that has been used to buy the miles in the first place. Make the person doing the 'gifting' (aka buying miles for someone else) have no association to the 'buyer'.

Still a gamble though considering the stated maximum 50000 bonus miles.

 

[Shanye2233]

I called Flight centre and they told me they can not book an infant ticket without having a adult ticket on paper so I called the individual airlines, firstly TG . TG I'm flying SYD-BKK ,BKK-NAR out bound and returning all on TG . WIthout the LH and ANA leg He quoted me $1500 odd. He also told me to call a flight centre it would be easier and they can price all the legs. I did tell him that I have already tried but they can't give me a price and he said to tell them to book a adult and a child and then just pay the child fare. S I called again and waiting for a response.

The new issue I'm having is TG told me as long as she is 2 before I depart she is an infant so I could fly out a day before her birthday and still pay infant fares. But US DM told me I must complete all flights before she is 2 . So if I'm on holidays on her birthday I can't fly with her being an infant anymore.

Also if you call after 10pm I'm finding I'm going thru to the US call centre and then as soon as I mention infant they transferring me to the rates desk. From my reading people are saying to try to Avoid the rate desk so better to call during the day .

 

[Flashback]

I called Flight centre and they told me they can not book an infant ticket without having a adult ticket on paper so I called the individual airlines, firstly TG . TG I'm flying SYD-BKK ,BKK-NAR out bound and returning all on TG . WIthout the LH and ANA leg He quoted me $1500 odd. He also told me to call a flight centre it would be easier and they can price all the legs. I did tell him that I have already tried but they can't give me a price and he said to tell them to book a adult and a child and then just pay the child fare. S I called again and waiting for a response.

The new issue I'm having is TG told me as long as she is 2 before I depart she is an infant so I could fly out a day before her birthday and still pay infant fares. But US DM told me I must complete all flights before she is 2 . So if I'm on holidays on her birthday I can't fly with her being an infant anymore.

Also if you call after 10pm I'm finding I'm going thru to the US call centre and then as soon as I mention infant they transferring me to the rates desk. From my reading people are saying to try to Avoid the rate desk so better to call during the day .

The agent you spoke to is right, the child must be under 2 for the duration of the trip.

 

[Alanslegal]

If people are going to try this extra gifting of miles I would be doing it with a different credit card (name, number and address) than the one that has been used to buy the miles in the first place. Make the person doing the 'gifting' (aka buying miles for someone else) have no association to the 'buyer'.

Still a gamble though considering the stated maximum 50000 bonus miles.

I agree with this process, and this is what I would do if I was the one who wanted the points:-

I would self purchase 50K and receive 50K.

I would get someone unrelated to me, using a different credit card and billing address, and get them to gift me 10K. Now assuming the website allows this and at the Gift screen shows "10K + 10K bonus = $275USD: would you like to confirm?". I would proceed. If the program recognises the recipient and adjusts the gift screen to show now only 10K = $275USD, I would not proceed. Assuming it is the former and you proceed, and then the recipient (ie. Me) does not receive the bonus 10K ... I would ask the person that gifted to either 1) request US to honour the bonus (as you relied that the screen said the bonus still applied) and 2) in the worse case, do a charge back. Given the dispute is with the gifting person and USDM, there should be no issue with the original purchase / account.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I agree with this process, and this is what I would do if I was the one who wanted the points:-

I would self purchase 50K and receive 50K.

I would get someone unrelated to me, using a different credit card and billing address, and get them to gift me 10K. Now assuming the website allows this and at the Gift screen shows "10K + 10K bonus = $275USD: would you like to confirm?". I would proceed. If the program recognises the recipient and adjusts the gift screen to show now only 10K = $275USD, I would not proceed. Assuming it is the former and you proceed, and then the recipient (ie. Me) does not receive the bonus 10K ... I would ask the person that gifted to either 1) request US to honour the bonus (as you relied that the screen said the bonus still applied) and 2) in the worse case, do a charge back. Given the dispute is with the gifting person and USDM, there should be no issue with the original purchase / account.

There is quite a discussion of this over on FT in the US airways forum. For shanye it will be difficult to set up another three account and have another three credit cards at the ready.

At the end of the day shanye needs to get the miles now as he has the tickets on hold, so whether it comes back with or without bonus doesn't really matter (he can't wait until the next bonus round).

If he does get the extra miles for gift - and no reason why the family can't gift to each other with one credit card, i have done it plenty of times - then that is a bonus. If he doesn't get them then he is paying no more in the long run than trying this.

 

[travelislife]

Very true, if you are going to be buying the extra 20k miles anyway (like Shayne needs to do) you may as well give it a crack, you can't lose out either way.

 

[Alanslegal]

At the end of the day shanye needs to get the miles now as he has the tickets on hold, so whether it comes back with or without bonus doesn't really matter (he can't wait until the next bonus round).

I agree and the safest or should I say the most simplest way is that each flyer buys 50K and earns the maximum bonus and then purchases an additional 20K at normal rates. Sure it slightly costs more but there will be no headaches esp. for Shayne who I am guessing is quite new at this.

I'm just saying for myself, that's what I would do in my example if I needed points. I currently don't have any intentions to get some points this round unless I can snag some SIN-MLE-SIN C flights for the dates I'm locked in (and cancelling my current KF redemption).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I agree and the safest or should I say the most simplest way is that each flyer buys 50K and earns the maximum bonus and then purchases an additional 20K at normal rates. Sure it slightly costs more but there will be no headaches esp. for Shayne who I am guessing is quite new at this.

At first instance he should try gifting 10k A-B, B-C, C-A. If that doesn't work then top up the accounts. It is no more difficult to gift than to buy 20K for each account. And there are significant cost savings to gifting if he can get the bonus miles.

I agree - everyone else if you don't need the miles no hurry this time around.

 

[Shanye2233]

I have two seats booked J for 90k each the agent to me . I rang back to confirm the next seat which I put on hold again and was told it's 110k. Taxes are $191 per person and and infant is $1,300.

 

[Shanye2233]

I have 5 accounts open ready to accept miles. 3 of the passengers are traveling me wife and child . Infant has account ready to use and mother account.

Infant is paying cash so can use her account to get /gift miles if needed

Now I need 90 in two accounts and 110 in the other

 

[travelislife]

I'd be careful. You know from the redemption table that it is 120k points for a return J ticket to Europe.

Other than that, with three tickets booked in I would go for it. Once you have a ticket issued you could take that to flight centre and ask about an infant ticket maybe. I really have no experience with infant tickets though.

 

[Shanye2233]

FLight centre gave me a quote adult $18k infant 1,8k. 10% . I'm thinking of doing this account A buying 50k + 50k now has 100k. Account B buy 50k + 50k now 100k. My account C buy 40k plus 40k bonus.

Now : Account A 100k
Account B 100k
Account C 80k

Now account A gift 10k to account C with bonus(therodically) + 10k . Then account B gifts account C 10k + bonus 10k. Resulting in account a and b with 90k and account c with now 120k .

Each account now has more than enough miles if the quoted rate sticks of 90k and 110k . Costs from typing in $1500 for 100k each plus $1200 for account c . Then gifting another 20k $600.

 

[travelislife]

When you gift miles they dont leave any account. Gifting is just a silly word they use for buying miles other than for your own account. So your calcs there don't quite add up. The two accounts with 100k will still have 100k even after gifting using that membership number.

 

[Alanslegal]

Sorry to nitpick your route (SYD-BKK-NRT-ZRH-MXP-BKK-SYD) Shanye2233 but gosh US is up the creek when they quote two incorrect mileage costs being 90K and 110K when neither is correct.

However the lack of consistency or even ACCURRACY is mindboggling. Just some other bookings I've made in the past six months which I have reported here:-

SYD-xBKK-IST//FCO-xBKK-SYD in F which US caluclated at 120K
SYD-xBKK-LHR-xZRH-BOM-xBKK-SYD in F which again US said was 120K. Checked by rates desk at least twice and declared it was a Sydney to Mumbai return with a stopover in London .... good one US *thumbs up* !

 

[MEL_Traveller]

FLight centre gave me a quote adult $18k infant 1,8k. 10% . I'm thinking of doing this account A buying 50k + 50k now has 100k. Account B buy 50k + 50k now 100k. My account C buy 40k plus 40k bonus.

Now : Account A 100k
Account B 100k
Account C 80k

Now account A gift 10k to account C with bonus(therodically) + 10k . Then account B gifts account C 10k + bonus 10k. Resulting in account a and b with 90k and account c with now 120k .

Each account now has more than enough miles if the quoted rate sticks of 90k and 110k . Costs from typing in $1500 for 100k each plus $1200 for account c . Then gifting another 20k $600.

Shanye... please do tthe following:

A, B and C all buy 50 and get 50K bonus = 100 in each account.

Go to the 'gift miles' page.

Person A gifts 10K to B - that should be 10K plus 10 bonus. Person A still has 100K because they are not sharig their miles, buy buy new miles as a present.

Do the same for Account B gifts to C and C to A.

Each time buy 10K and hopefully you get 10K bonus.

If you don't get 10K bonus A-B then use the other two spare accounts to gift miles to those that need it.

You will need 120K per ticket. There is no way the 90 and 110 will stick. Unless you have managed to book yourself into economy class.

That is a good price for the infant it seems.

make sure you ring thai airways immediately the booking is completed and paid for to reserve the bassinet seats.

All the best

 

[bcworld]

Shanye... please do tthe following:

A, B and C all buy 50 and get 50K bonus = 100 in each account.

Go to the 'gift miles' page.

Person A gifts 10K to B - that should be 10K plus 10 bonus. Person A still has 100K because they are not sharig their miles, buy buy new miles as a present.

Do the same for Account B gifts to C and C to A.

Each time buy 10K and hopefully you get 10K bonus.

If you don't get 10K bonus A-B then use the other two spare accounts to gift miles to those that need it.

You will need 120K per ticket. There is no way the 90 and 110 will stick. Unless you have managed to book yourself into economy class.

That is a good price for the infant it seems.

make sure you ring thai airways immediately the booking is completed and paid for to reserve the bassinet seats.

All the best

I'm sure points.com will spit the dummy before 6 transactions can be completed so 2 credit cards will probably be needed.

And yes, it IS 120k per ticket.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I'm sure points.com will spit the dummy before 6 transactions can be completed so 2 credit cards will probably be needed.

And yes, it IS 120k per ticket.

If you don't pay the 120 per ticket then US may cancel the tickets if they ever audit the account. it's not worth the risk.