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

[laffer]

Have you booked something oneworld? I will have to check the other thread to see where you might be off too!

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Yeah, got a ripper. It's in the other thread.

It's only my first, there are plenty of members on here who have been living the dream with this fantastic deal for a while now.

 

[laffer]

Points posted today!

Some about 3 working days all up. Fine in the end

Hey, I know the bonus does not apply to gift/share points but could a family member buy in the bonus period, hold the points to the end of the bonus period, and then transfer them across to me?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Points posted today!

Some about 3 working days all up. Fine in the end

Hey, I know the bonus does not apply to gift/share points but could a family member buy in the bonus period, hold the points to the end of the bonus period, and then transfer them across to me?

yes they can (provided they are already a member otherwise they'll run up against the 12 day new member rule).

the cost to transfer miles across would be 1c per mile. if you are buying them the full allocation of 50k then it would be cheaper for them to buy the ticket for you rather than transfer (to avaoid any audit issues they should preferably have the same surname as you)

 

[laffer]

A question for those of you who have flown first. Is it worth going for it in terms of the extra cost? Is the product that much superior to J?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

A question for those of you who have flown first. Is it worth going for it in terms of the extra cost? Is the product that much superior to J?

yes. in every respect. full flat beds. private, tailored service. far superior ground handling (including dedicated lounges), better quality food and range of beverages (including top vintage champagnes~~^^^#), PJs, some quite good amenity kits.

and being able to sleep comfortably when everyone else is sliding down their angled lie-flats? priceless.

in other words... it's exactly as the advertising says, the world really does revolve around you (instead of the matron in charge of the dormitory that is business class)


~~^^^# excludes lufthansa who serves very average champagne in First. some brand I'd never even heard of...

 

[bcworld]

A question for those of you who have flown first. Is it worth going for it in terms of the extra cost? Is the product that much superior to J?

To some extent it will depend on the operating airline, often we're talking about TG and the answer is yes, it's absolutely worth it.

 

[Stephen65]

I agree about F being worthwhile for the extra points cost over J but one thing to take into account is that you may not be able to get F seats on every flight, either because no award seats are available in F or because there is no F cabin on a particular flight. So you have to judge whether its worth the extra cost of an F award for a journey that is partly in F and partly in J. If the trip was say 3 flights in F and one in J then I think it's worth paying F. But if it were 3 in J and one in F then I personally would just take the J award and do it entirely in J.

 

[burmans]

A question for those of you who have flown first. Is it worth going for it in terms of the extra cost? Is the product that much superior to J?

Always a subjective question this really, MEL_Traveller has laid out the extra benefits well, the question all of us need to ask is really of we were paying in cold hard cash would we pay. So at just under 2pts the cost on flights to US/Europe would be be slightly under $600 pp.

Question of value for money is hard for someone else to make as everyone values those benefits differently. If you like good champagne probably highly but I suspect a teetoller values somewhat less.

 

[trooper]

Depends on the F... depends on the J.

I am more than happy with the truly flat J seats I have tried (NZ,OZ,SQ,TK) and wouldn't see the benefit..probably.. even if those airlines generally had F as well! Of that group only SQ has it, and looking at F on SQ's 777 it doesn't seem to me that the hard product at least is a significant jump in quality.. YMMV of course!

So when I booked with my US miles I made sure the overnight flights were on FLAT beds... I am only doing day flights on angled....

Will report on CA's new flat beds on return.....assuming no a/c change!

 

[laffer]

Thanks for the feedback on the J v F issue. Appreciate it.

I have started the fun of using the various tools to try to work out flight options. One option is to fly into Seoul and then onto Europe from there. This involves an overnight stop. How far is it into the City from the Airport? It is a fairly lengthy stop so I guess it would not be too much of a hassle to get into the city to a Hotel if need be (Airport is another option).

Also, based on experience, if you had a choice between LH or OZ in J to Europe which would you take.

I am looking to get into LHR (fly out from anywhere but LHR) and OZ and LH are offering different flights to FRA and then onto London. I wonder what the better product is?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks for the feedback on the J v F issue. Appreciate it.

I have started the fun of using the various tools to try to work out flight options. One option is to fly into Seoul and then onto Europe from there. This involves an overnight stop. How far is it into the City from the Airport? It is a fairly lengthy stop so I guess it would not be too much of a hassle to get into the city to a Hotel if need be (Airport is another option).

Also, based on experience, if you had a choice between LH or OZ in J to Europe which would you take.

I am looking to get into LHR (fly out from anywhere but LHR) and OZ and LH are offering different flights to FRA and then onto London. I wonder what the better product is?

the airport in Seoul is not close, but there is a high speed train (I can't remember exactly how long but it came up on a google search - I was looking to use it between ICN and GMP which I think was about 30 minutes).

OZ wins out over LH. Unless you score a newly configured LH aircraft (I think the 330s are the first).

 

[Hubbins]

Book at Flight to HNL from SYD via AKL withAir New Zealand in Oct as no availability in Aug and just my luck two businessseat have become available now ANNOYING !!!!
Flight have now opened up with Air NewZealand for 24 July Return 3 August AKL to HNL
Very easy to get flights from AKL to SYD inBusiness with Air New Zealand
NOTE: on outbound flight you will need todo an overnight in AKL


PS I booked mine on Virgin Atlantic costingme 240,000 points return business (185,000 with AMEX recent 1:1.3 bonus promotion)
Had I transferred my points to Thai Airways itwould have cost me 150,000 points return business (136,000 points with AMEXrecent 1:1.1 bonus promotion)

PS Expertflyer is giving away free (PRO) full membership for5 day to trial
www.expertflyer.com

Hope this is helpful to someone

If you book the trip to Hawaii let me know how it goes as I will be travelling later in the year

 

[JohnK]

I really do not believe some of the expectations of FF programs and I can understand why some of them go under.

I want to go to Asia next month in May. Do you think I can get there via the USA and Europe?

No different to asking if one is able to get to to the USA and back via Asia and Europe in a few weeks? Is it?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I really do not believe some of the expectations of FF programs and I can understand why some of them go under.

I want to go to Asia next month in May. Do you think I can get there via the USA and Europe?

No different to asking if one is able to get to to the USA and back via Asia and Europe in a few weeks? Is it?

yes, because there are no recognised routings via Europe or the USA to Asia whereas the other ones are legitimate routings (within MPM)

 

[Pumbaa]

Hi guys, I've been reading through this thread and the flyertalk thread for the better part of a few months, and think I've finally understood enough to attempt to make a booking. Before I call the service centre, can anyone please look thru my itinerary and see if it is valid?

Option 1
PER - BKK (TG J) - ZRH (TG F) - FRA (LH J) stopover -
JFK (LH - J) destination -
FRA (LH J) - ICN (OZ F) - BKK (OZ J) - PER (TG J)

I'm guessing this will cost 150k points + taxes (anyone know roughly how much the taxes would be?)

Option 2
PER - BKK (TG J) - ZRH (TG F) - GVA (LX J) stopover -
JFK (LX J) destination -
FRA (LH J) - ZRH (LH J) - PEK (LX F) - SIN (SQ J) - PER (SQ J)

Will I be able access to the First Class Terminal and Lounge in Frankfurt with option 2?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi guys, I've been reading through this thread and the flyertalk thread for the better part of a few months, and think I've finally understood enough to attempt to make a booking. Before I call the service centre, can anyone please look thru my itinerary and see if it is valid?

Option 1
PER - BKK (TG J) - ZRH (TG F) - FRA (LH J) stopover -
JFK (LH - J) destination -
FRA (LH J) - ICN (OZ F) - BKK (OZ J) - PER (TG J)

I'm guessing this will cost 150k points + taxes (anyone know roughly how much the taxes would be?)

Option 2
PER - BKK (TG J) - ZRH (TG F) - GVA (LX J) stopover -
JFK (LX J) destination -
FRA (LH J) - ZRH (LH J) - PEK (LX F) - SIN (SQ J) - PER (SQ J)

Will I be able access to the First Class Terminal and Lounge in Frankfurt with option 2?

it will most likely come in at 140k which is the SWP to USA award. is is what is usually charged, but as always, YMMV and you particular agent may want to charge you for the stopover in the higher zone.

unfortunately it might be too late once the agent has booked and priced the itinerary for you, especially for one so complex, to simply hang up and call again. and they might note the PNR to say the cost is 150k.

anyways - that is the worst case scenario, and really no biggie given the 100% promo means it's all of 5k miles and about $175 extra.

the taxes will be a coule hundred dollars, plus the booking fee of $50. so look anywhere between $250-300 I would think.

itinerary 2 will give you access to the first class lounge in FRA and ZRH since you are connecting same day to LX f. a more tricky question is whether they would also give you access to any first class lounge facilities in JFK.

 

[Pumbaa]

Hi mate,
Thanks for your quick and informative reply! I'm glad the itineraries are valid. I've got 230k points currently, so I need to purchase another 70k points worst case scenario. I believe I can put the itinerary on hold for 72 hours while I purchase the remaining points I need? If I need to cancel the itinerary, will the taxes and points be redeposited after paying a small fee?
Thanks!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi mate,
Thanks for your quick and informative reply! I'm glad the itineraries are valid. I've got 230k points currently, so I need to purchase another 70k points worst case scenario. I believe I can put the itinerary on hold for 72 hours while I purchase the remaining points I need? If I need to cancel the itinerary, will the taxes and points be redeposited after paying a small fee?
Thanks!

yes, both itineraries are fine to be put on hold. SQ used to require immediate ticketing, but not anymore (CA is now the only one requiring instant ticketing).

if you need to cancel there are two options. option 1, they cancel the flights but hold the itinerary until you want to reactivate it... so they hold the miles, taxes and fees etc and then you pay $150 change fee when you know your new dates (and it will be subject to new availability etc). they can hold this in limbo for 12 months I think. I'm not really sure how all that works but it's outlined in the membership guide.

option 2, you cancel and they get rid of the whole booking. you pay $150 fee to redeposit the miles back into your account. you lose the $50 assisted booking fee, but get the taxes and fees back. then you have the miles back to rebook what you want when you want.

to double check the validity of your itineraries, you can use the star alliance booking tool. the only one I'm concerned about is FRA-Bkk via icn. I know you can do that routing if you have a stopover in ICN, but just double check for the day that you want to fly that it's listed in the star booking tool results. (the star alliance tool is not an absolute ruling of what US will allow, but it does explain a lot of their decisions as to valid routings)

edit... OPTION 2 IS NOT VALID as it exceeds the allowed 4 segments per one way journey. (it was confusing the way your itinerary appeared on screen and I missed one sector)

 

[MEL_Traveller]

sorry... also check the fra-PEK-sin routing against the star alliance tool.

if the route is not listed in the star tool, US may still allow it, or they may allow it but break it into segments, so FRA-PEK then PEK-sin and they might treat PEK as a stopover, regardless of how long you are there (even if it's just a couple of hours). that would mean giving up a stopover elsewhere on your itinerary.