US Dividend Miles - post your SUCCESSFUL award bookings here.

[Spizz]

Yeah, it's 'officially' blocked now

Thanks. The best I can hope for I guess is a Glitch (ref. SQ R Suites).

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Thanks. The best I can hope for I guess is a Glitch (ref. SQ R Suites).

Unlikely, but it can happen.

 

[*A Flyer]

Just booked the following AUS-EUR-NAM return on behalf of my parents.

SYD-BKK TG F 744
BKK-BRU TG F 77W
BRU-ORD UA F 777 (20 hour stop in ORD)
ORD-BOS UA J 320 (Destination)
BOS-ORD UA J 319
ORD-BRU UA F 777 (Stopover)
BRU-BKK TG F 773 (14 hour stop)
BKK-SYD TG F 744

140000 miles and $248 per person.

Setting up the booking was quick and easy with the agent handling it in less than 10 minutes. Ticketing was the standard US hoopla with agent one refusing to ticket saying it exceeded "the miles allowed" and had too many stops. A supervisor quickly ticketed it. Biggest concern though was that when ticketing they simply assumed I was my dad and did not identity verification and they allowed me to use my credit card without thinking twice about the names being different.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Just booked the following AUS-EUR-NAM return on behalf of my parents.

SYD-BKK TG F 744
BKK-BRU TG F 77W
BRU-ORD UA F 777 (20 hour stop in ORD)
ORD-BOS UA J 320 (Destination)
BOS-ORD UA J 319
ORD-BRU UA F 777 (Stopover)
BRU-BKK TG F 773 (14 hour stop)
BKK-SYD TG F 744

140000 miles and $248 per person.

Nice one

I still don't understand how I did SYD-BKK-FRA-BUD & return in F, and it cost me 160k.

 

[Flashback]

Nice one

I still don't understand how I did SYD-BKK-FRA-BUD & return in F, and it cost me 160k.

Odd, yours should have been 150. The only reason the itin above is 140 is because of the USA "scam".

 

[*A Flyer]

Nice one

I still don't understand how I did SYD-BKK-FRA-BUD & return in F, and it cost me 160k.

Sounds like a stuff up. Alternatively, BUD could be coded as Africa in the US system which opens up some interesting trick-its.

 

[anat0l]

Just booked the following AUS-EUR-NAM return on behalf of my parents.

SYD-BKK TG F 744
BKK-BRU TG F 77W
BRU-ORD UA F 777 (20 hour stop in ORD)
ORD-BOS UA J 320 (Destination)
BOS-ORD UA J 319
ORD-BRU UA F 777 (Stopover)
BRU-BKK TG F 773 (14 hour stop)
BKK-SYD TG F 744

140000 miles and $248 per person.

Setting up the booking was quick and easy with the agent handling it in less than 10 minutes. Ticketing was the standard US hoopla with agent one refusing to ticket saying it exceeded "the miles allowed" and had too many stops. A supervisor quickly ticketed it. Biggest concern though was that when ticketing they simply assumed I was my dad and did not identity verification and they allowed me to use my credit card without thinking twice about the names being different.

Fantastic itinerary.

I'm trying to seek to book a similar itinerary for my folks later this year. Probably going to involve the same airlines (I'd like to fit in OZ F but unlikely since it requires a re-route via ICN which my folks aren't going to like).

I'm not liking my chances having to push an agent who brings up the MPM. Can you give a bit more detail as to how you got the supervisor to have a check? Or did the agent mention that they will consult with them first and then come back to you.

 

[YosemiteP]

This is about the 10th USDM award I have booked but the first non basic return so I thought I would post it. All in business class
BNE-SIN SQ A333
SIN-HND SQ 772 retrofit
3 days stop in Tokyo
NRT-SEA ANA 787
Destination
SEA-NRT ANA 787
NRT-BKK TG A380
BKK-BNE TG SOMETHING coughPY
Total cost 110,000 miles plus 230 in taxes and fees.
Very happy as the first time I've flown on the 787 and also first time on TG a380

 

[*A Flyer]

This is about the 10th USDM award I have booked but the first non basic return so I thought I would post it. All in business class
BNE-SIN SQ A333
SIN-HND SQ 772 retrofit
3 days stop in Tokyo
NRT-SEA ANA 787
Destination
SEA-NRT ANA 787
NRT-BKK TG A380
BKK-BNE TG SOMETHING coughPY
Total cost 110,000 miles plus 230 in taxes and fees.
Very happy as the first time I've flown on the 787 and also first time on TG a380

Nice.

Fantastic itinerary.

I'm trying to seek to book a similar itinerary for my folks later this year. Probably going to involve the same airlines (I'd like to fit in OZ F but unlikely since it requires a re-route via ICN which my folks aren't going to like).

I'm not liking my chances having to push an agent who brings up the MPM. Can you give a bit more detail as to how you got the supervisor to have a check? Or did the agent mention that they will consult with them first and then come back to you.

My situation was not clearly MPM as the agent wasn't clear. I simply asked to speak to a supervisor and she confirmed that her system priced it out and her training was to issue it if the system autopriced.

 

[Boeta]

After saving up >300k US miles, I've finally made a redemption and I'm pretty happy with the first attempt!

Cost - 150,000 miles + US$234.88 (inc booking fee)

 

[joelyong]

I will be in Melbourne starting Feb 2013 for my PhD. My best guy friend dropped me a bombshell saying that he was getting married... in July 2013. Cue searches for flights back from MEL to SIN. Now MEL to North Asia or Southeast Asia (SIN) is a whopping 90k roundtrip in J (I say whopping because I only have 36k). But hey! What about somewhere obscure like GUM? GUM is considered as "South Pacific", hence only 30k is required Time to plan. Though that means I can only spend <24h in SIN because award travel within the same region cannot have any stopovers GRRRR. So I end up booking this gem:

19 Jul NZ124 MEL-AKL 1145-1715
19 Jul SQ282 AKL-SIN 2350-0640+1 (if I'm lucky I get the reconfigured SQ 777s with the new J seats!)
Run off for the wedding on the 20th upon landing. Good thing they're holding a wedding lunch, not a wedding dinner.
21 Jul SQ618 SIN-KIX 0125-0900 (Trying to max out the 24h!)
21 Jul UA176 KIX-GUM 1115-1600 (finally I reach)
Now GUM doesn't seem to have much to see, which is why I don't plan to spend more than a day, but in the end I spend less time in GUM than in SIN, and GUM is my final destination Should be able to use a Hyatt free night at the Hyatt Regency Guam though.
22 Jul UA828 GUM-NRT 0655-0940
22 Jul NH921 NRT-PVG 1810-2015
overnight in Shanghai to eat some xiao long bao, perhaps?
23 Jul NZ288 PVG-AKL 1415-0545+1
24 Jul NZ123 AKL-MEL 0820-1020

Total butt-in-seat miles: 21594, all in J. In comparison, ORD-HKG-SIN-HKG-ORD is a less respectable 18763 miles I fly that much at 1/3 the miles required! Total taxes & fees: USD229.30.

 

[hummel]

Well played sir.

I am currently trying to work out best use of miles to get to PPT, could do it simple MEL-AKL-PPT but seeing if there is another way that I can stop over somewhere else.

 

[joelyong]

Well played sir.

I am currently trying to work out best use of miles to get to PPT, could do it simple MEL-AKL-PPT but seeing if there is another way that I can stop over somewhere else.

They don't allow stopovers for flights within the same region though...

 

[seritonin]

Just booked Europe summer trip

MEL-BKK -VIE-SKG-JMK (destination)
JMK-ATH-CPH (stopover)
CPH-SIN-MEL

All in J apart from Agean flights, took 25 mins to book, very easy. I had a little chuckle when the call centre staff asked me which continent Greece is in...

 

[kamchatsky]

They don't allow stopovers for flights within the same region though...

If that is the case (I am not sure myself), then better to use Krisflyer miles as they allow 1 stopover even in the same region.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I will be in Melbourne starting Feb 2013 for my PhD. My best guy friend dropped me a bombshell saying that he was getting married... in July 2013. Cue searches for flights back from MEL to SIN. Now MEL to North Asia or Southeast Asia (SIN) is a whopping 90k roundtrip in J (I say whopping because I only have 36k). But hey! What about somewhere obscure like GUM? GUM is considered as "South Pacific", hence only 30k is required Time to plan. Though that means I can only spend <24h in SIN because award travel within the same region cannot have any stopovers GRRRR. So I end up booking this gem:

19 Jul NZ124 MEL-AKL 1145-1715
19 Jul SQ282 AKL-SIN 2350-0640+1 (if I'm lucky I get the reconfigured SQ 777s with the new J seats!)
Run off for the wedding on the 20th upon landing. Good thing they're holding a wedding lunch, not a wedding dinner.
21 Jul SQ618 SIN-KIX 0125-0900 (Trying to max out the 24h!)
21 Jul UA176 KIX-GUM 1115-1600 (finally I reach)
Now GUM doesn't seem to have much to see, which is why I don't plan to spend more than a day, but in the end I spend less time in GUM than in SIN, and GUM is my final destination Should be able to use a Hyatt free night at the Hyatt Regency Guam though.
22 Jul UA828 GUM-NRT 0655-0940
22 Jul NH921 NRT-PVG 1810-2015
overnight in Shanghai to eat some xiao long bao, perhaps?
23 Jul NZ288 PVG-AKL 1415-0545+1
24 Jul NZ123 AKL-MEL 0820-1020

Total butt-in-seat miles: 21594, all in J. In comparison, ORD-HKG-SIN-HKG-ORD is a less respectable 18763 miles I fly that much at 1/3 the miles required! Total taxes & fees: USD229.30.

how does that compare to the MPM I wonder? Direct line distance is a mere 7000 miles and change, and you got 21594!

I will likely be in Shanghai on 22 July. Maybe see you there!

 

[anat0l]

how does that compare to the MPM I wonder? Direct line distance is a mere 7000 miles and change, and you got 21594!

I guess one of the biggest problems is that there is no good *A way to get from MEL to GUM... I suppose you could "hop" MEL-AKL-CNS-GUM, but given that's only one route I can think of within the same zone, I suppose the staff were prepared to be flexible. Besides, they probably allow this because there aren't heaps of people lining up to take advantage of this little chestnut.

Well played joelyong! That's going to be one tiring wedding (arrive 0640h, get suited up etc.), but you should do OK.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I guess one of the biggest problems is that there is no good *A way to get from MEL to GUM... I suppose you could "hop" MEL-AKL-CNS-GUM, but given that's only one route I can think of within the same zone, I suppose the staff were prepared to be flexible. Besides, they probably allow this because there aren't heaps of people lining up to take advantage of this little chestnut.

Well played joelyong! That's going to be one tiring wedding (arrive 0640h, get suited up etc.), but you should do OK.

Yes - but my friend from NZ was specifically told (trying to get form AKL-LAX with no availability on NZ) that they would not be permitted to exceed MPM (via BKK) simply because there was no other way of getting to LAX on the day they wanted (in fact on any day over a whole week). It just seems odd that MPM cannot be exceeded by 300 miles in some cases, but in others USDM is willing to overlook it.

 

[joelyong]

how does that compare to the MPM I wonder? Direct line distance is a mere 7000 miles and change, and you got 21594!

I will likely be in Shanghai on 22 July. Maybe see you there!

Yup. I should be crashing in one of the cheap city Holiday Inn Express hotels, but I should be back in PVG for lunch at the Shanghai Airlines lounge

I guess one of the biggest problems is that there is no good *A way to get from MEL to GUM... I suppose you could "hop" MEL-AKL-CNS-GUM, but given that's only one route I can think of within the same zone, I suppose the staff were prepared to be flexible. Besides, they probably allow this because there aren't heaps of people lining up to take advantage of this little chestnut.

Well played joelyong! That's going to be one tiring wedding (arrive 0640h, get suited up etc.), but you should do OK.

Singaporean weddings are somewhat different. Once I land, my dad picks me up with the costume supplied by the groom for me to change into. I then head over to the bride's place, where the groom and his other best guy pals all are. The bride and her best lady pals are lying in wait, and to enter the house of the bride the guy pals have to do really weird things (think drinking weird concoctions like Tabasco + Coke + mustard with a dash of pepper, or doing weird dances like Gangnam style). I told the groom, I'm most probably too tired to think rationally by then, and I'd just end up drinking anything they give me...

Yup, the Dividend Miles call centre couldn't find anything. At least on UA, they are able to show options like MEL-BKK-NRT-GUM on TG/UA (BKK-NRT on the TG A380) and MEL-AKL-NRT-GUM on NZ/UA (AKL-NRT on the NZ 772 on certain days). That being said, UA miles are also pretty attractive for use. Think 90k roundtrip MEL-SIN in J for UA, but only 50k roundtrip if going MEL-GUM-SIN-MEL with a stopover in SIN, which represents a 40k savings in terms of miles...

Yes - but my friend from NZ was specifically told (trying to get form AKL-LAX with no availability on NZ) that they would not be permitted to exceed MPM (via BKK) simply because there was no other way of getting to LAX on the day they wanted (in fact on any day over a whole week). It just seems odd that MPM cannot be exceeded by 300 miles in some cases, but in others USDM is willing to overlook it.

The US DM call centre is pretty hopeless. When your agent can't book it, hang up and call again. The first agent I talked to actually said that I would have had to book 2 separate tickets (MEL-SIN) and (SIN-GUM), which was like :O

 

[anat0l]

Yes - but my friend from NZ was specifically told (trying to get form AKL-LAX with no availability on NZ) that they would not be permitted to exceed MPM (via BKK) simply because there was no other way of getting to LAX on the day they wanted (in fact on any day over a whole week). It just seems odd that MPM cannot be exceeded by 300 miles in some cases, but in others USDM is willing to overlook it.

I think as AKL-LAX is pretty much a "mainstream" route, especially since it's pretty much hub to hub flight. With so many closer options - e.g. AKL-HNL-LAX, AKL-SYD-LAX, AKL-SYD-SFO-LAX, AKL-SFO-LAX... if those closer options didn't work then it'd just be a case of "bad luck". (In fact, it is genuinely bad luck because almost any Transpac is near impossible to get premium seats for).

The more unusual routes tend to have a bit more freedom, as is the case with our flying friend going to GUM. People have been trying to get unusual routings for ages in order to force tricks in the zone system, or find an excuse to generally break the rules due to no other viable alternative.

I agree, it does require a slightly dumb agent (or just one willing to play along).

The US DM call centre is pretty hopeless. When your agent can't book it, hang up and call again. The first agent I talked to actually said that I would have had to book 2 separate tickets (MEL-SIN) and (SIN-GUM), which was like :O

Most people are familiar with HUACA...though it has to be done right, otherwise you get notes on your record which means getting what you want later may be a basketcase (either you have to start all over, or you're marked forever).

Hopeless? Maybe, but sometimes we need a bit of that hopeless element to get what we need, especially as some of the bolts are being tightened from the powers that be.