US Dividend Miles - Oneworld Award Booking Questions and General Discussion

[Alanslegal]

Dub as in Dublin and I would prefer the A380 suites... but DOH-LHR is okay but BKK-DOH is a big no no. Any other OW carriers that fly from North Asia to DOH that have F suites?

HKG-LON with BA F 380, then short hop to DUB. BA taxes are as high as the stratosphere though.

 

[_TheTraveller_]

HKG-LON with BA F 380, then short hop to DUB. BA taxes are as high as the stratosphere though.

Sure is.. If that was the case I would take CX over BA. Has anyone ever upgraded from J to F if it was an F award but 1 segment was in J and an F seat opens up? Would US ask you to pay a change fee?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Sure is.. If that was the case I would take CX over BA. Has anyone ever upgraded from J to F if it was an F award but 1 segment was in J and an F seat opens up? Would US ask you to pay a change fee?

USDM is extremely reluctant to make such a change without cancelling the whole ticket and starting again (which is a risky strategy unless you can guarantee a fresh set of seats will be available). This applies even if you have paid F for the whole award, but accepted J at the time of booking.

Used to be easy - just call and pay the change fee. But now days almost impossible (but worth trying just in case you find an agent willing to do so.)

 

[Swan]

Experienced USA fliers, I am looking for info. If this is the wrong place Mods please move.
All my previous visits to the USA have been straight forward in and outs with ESTA visa, however this time I have three separate awards and I am using the US to connect them, I will only be transiting through the US. The US section of these trips is as follows:
The first trip is LHR-IDA-CTL The second trip connects CLT-MIA -GRU.
The return from SA is GRU-MIA-CLT and this connects to the third trip CLT-YYZ. The return is YYZ connecting to first trip at CLT and the on to LHR. All the flights in the US are on US Air. The third trip is an award flight from YYZ, therefore CLT-YYZ-CLT is a purchased ticket all the rest of the itinerary is award.

From memory the US does not have in transit like other countries so at point of entry and exist we will need to go through immigration.
Does that mean in IDA we will have to collect our check-in baggage and the re check it for the flight to CLT?
Because I have a separate ticket in and out of CLT does that mean I will have to collect baggage and then recheck it or will US Air handle this?
As I am then exiting the US in MIA will I need to collect check-in baggage and re check after immigration?

Does anyone know if these ticket could be linked so the whole journey was one itinerary. I have enquired with US Air re this but did not get much help, though that may have been the particular person I spoke to.

I am unsure what type of visa I will need. Whilst I am only passing through the US, I will be making multiple entries all of which are within the 90 day period.

Any advice so as I can make this as painless as possible would be very much appreciated.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Experienced USA fliers, I am looking for info. If this is the wrong place Mods please move.
All my previous visits to the USA have been straight forward in and outs with ESTA visa, however this time I have three separate awards and I am using the US to connect them, I will only be transiting through the US. The US section of these trips is as follows:
The first trip is LHR-IDA-CTL The second trip connects CLT-MIA -GRU.
The return from SA is GRU-MIA-CLT and this connects to the third trip CLT-YYZ. The return is YYZ connecting to first trip at CLT and the on to LHR. All the flights in the US are on US Air. The third trip is an award flight from YYZ, therefore CLT-YYZ-CLT is a purchased ticket all the rest of the itinerary is award.

From memory the US does not have in transit like other countries so at point of entry and exist we will need to go through immigration.
Does that mean in IDA we will have to collect our check-in baggage and the re check it for the flight to CLT?
Because I have a separate ticket in and out of CLT does that mean I will have to collect baggage and then recheck it or will US Air handle this?
As I am then exiting the US in MIA will I need to collect check-in baggage and re check after immigration?

Does anyone know if these ticket could be linked so the whole journey was one itinerary. I have enquired with US Air re this but did not get much help, though that may have been the particular person I spoke to.

I am unsure what type of visa I will need. Whilst I am only passing through the US, I will be making multiple entries all of which are within the 90 day period.

Any advice so as I can make this as painless as possible would be very much appreciated.

IDA is Idaho Falls Regional airport!

But anyway - yes you will need to collect your bags at each entry point to the USA.

You can in some circumstances have your bags tagged all the way through to your final destination, but they will still need to be collected at each entry point, and then dropped at the connecting airline's bag drop for the next sector (if they have one). (Tagging through will thus save you a bit of time, but not necessarily much.) If you are flying a domestic sector before an international one, your bags can be tagged the whole way and you will not need to collect them. If your connecting flights are on separate tickets, just show those tickets.

In any event, if you are unsure, ask at the check-in counter and they will advise you.

For a visa, if you are eligible, you may not need one and can apply for an ESTA. When you land, you will advise you are 'in transit' in the fields where it asks for accommodation.

If you are not eligible for an ESTA you will need to apply at the American consulate. If you cannot obtain an ESTA because of a criminal conviction, you should note this can take months to process.

 

[sergeyvzn]

You don't need a visa, ESTA is good for multiple entries

 

[Swan]

IDA is Idaho Falls Regional airport!

QUOTE]

Sorry my bad, should read IAD.

Thanks for the prompt reply and info

 

[MEL_Traveller]

IDA is Idaho Falls Regional airport!

QUOTE]

Sorry my bad, should read IAD.

Thanks for the prompt reply and info

I had a brain freeze too! I was sitting there tyring to work out what you might have meant by IDA and for some reason IAD didn't even enter my mind!

 

[kreuky]

I have a JL F SYD NRT reservation in March and just checking the itinerary online, it looks fine on the JAL site and I can select my seats. However, on the US Airways site, it says JL 772 has been changed and to call them. What gives?? . (don't really want to call them and it seems OK on the JAL site.)

Anyways it was misleading, but I figured it out. Slight change to a CX flight by 5 minutes. Accepted changes and was OK. Lucky I checked since they didn't email me.

 

[boomy]

I have a JL F SYD NRT reservation in March and just checking the itinerary online, it looks fine on the JAL site and I can select my seats. However, on the US Airways site, it says JL 772 has been changed and to call them. What gives?? . (don't really want to call them and it seems OK on the JAL site.)

Anyways it was misleading, but I figured it out. Slight change to a CX flight by 5 minutes. Accepted changes and was OK. Lucky I checked since they didn't email me.

Had the same issue as well, didn't get an email to notify about the change. Also booked on JL and CX in March
It seems like on every itinerary I book with USDM there is 5 minutes change on one of the flights at some point

 

[legroom]

Has anyone cancelled an USDM issued * Alliance (TG, TK) flights after the program closure ?

Straightforward refund of points & $$ ?

What's the cancellation fee ?

? $150 per pax

Thanks

 

[Beta4Me]

Has anyone cancelled an USDM issued * Alliance (TG, TK) flights after the program closure ?

Straightforward refund of points & $$ ?

What's the cancellation fee ?

? $150 per pax

Thanks

Yes, yes and yes. No issue at all.

 

[Danger]

For the Guam experts, is it possible to do PER-xHKG-xNRT-GUM-xNRT-HKG-PER for 30k in J (GUM the destination and HKG the stopover)?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

For the Guam experts, is it possible to do PER-xHKG-xNRT-GUM-xNRT-HKG-PER for 30k in J (GUM the destination and HKG the stopover)?

technically no. Stopovers are not permitted.

however - worth giving it a shot. They can only say 'no'.

 

[smit0847]

For the Guam experts, is it possible to do PER-xHKG-xNRT-GUM-xNRT-HKG-PER for 30k in J (GUM the destination and HKG the stopover)?

I expect having 6 flights rather than 4 will cause the agent to run it through MPM and deny it but you can certainly try. All GUM itineraries now exceed MPM (even if there was a direct flight) so your only hope is to get an agent that doesn't think to run it through MPM.

I would be very interested in hearing the result.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Maybe it's easier to get a 'stopover' in NRT since the JL SYD-NRT misconnects with the GUM flight each way. Putting a stopover in HKG where there is not necessarily a forced stay might also raise questions.

 

[smit0847]

Maybe it's easier to get a 'stopover' in NRT since the JL SYD-NRT misconnects with the GUM flight each way. Putting a stopover in HKG where there is not necessarily a forced stay might also raise questions.

There's very little logic in booking a GUM itinerary considering how many rules it breaks. It all comes down to your luck in finding an agent naive enough to let you do what you want.

 

[legroom]

It must be my lucky day.

Calling up to cancel an USDM-issued *Alliance booking made before the program closure, I was prepared to cop the cancellation fees and the loss of the taxes etc....

But the CSR helpfully mentioned to me that there have been "a few scheduled changes" which if I say those words would allow him to waive the fees & fully refund the taxes, and of course the miles in full.

Obligingly, I repeated like a lemming ".... due to scheduled changes, I cannot take the trip anymore...."

Happy days !

Hope that anecdote helps someone else !!

Has anyone cancelled an USDM issued * Alliance (TG, TK) flights after the program closure ?

Straightforward refund of points & $$ ?

What's the cancellation fee ?

? $150 per pax

Thanks

 

[_TheTraveller_]

Is HKG-HND-DOH considered backtracking? I really wish QR would open up F space from BKK-DOH....

 

[anat0l]

Is HKG-HND-DOH considered backtracking? I really wish QR would open up F space from BKK-DOH....

It'd certainly look a bit obscure. Try your luck - I wouldn't rate it on success, but you never know. Methinks it'd push out the MPM.