US Dividend Miles - post your SUCCESSFUL award bookings here.

Just want to send a quick note to thank everyone :)

We recently just finished
SYD-BKK(F)-HKG(F)-TPE(J)-GUM(J -Hello Kitty!!!!!)-NRT(J)//KIX-ICN(J)-BKK(J)-SYD(F) and it was great!! Also collected 4 Rimowa kits :D
 
That's great! I also want to go to Japan over the Xmas holidays on miles. Am looking for availability presently. Can I ask if you used Skype to call US Air? My understanding is that it is free if both parties are using Skype? Is this the case when you called? Or is it because the number is a 1800 number? Any help appreciated.
 
hikooki said:
That's great! I also want to go to Japan over the Xmas holidays on miles. Am looking for availability presently. Can I ask if you used Skype to call US Air? My understanding is that it is free if both parties are using Skype? Is this the case when you called? Or is it because the number is a 1800 number? Any help appreciated.
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it's a free call on Skype if you are dialling a toll-free number. (so for the usa that is the 800- USDM number)

skype is is one way to call, but can sometimes drop out... a potential problem if you've been working on something for 40 minutes.

a cheap calling card is another option. mine is .5 cents a minute or something and never had a call fall.
 
MEL_Traveller said:
it's a free call on Skype if you are dialling a toll-free number. (so for the usa that is the 800- USDM number)

skype is is one way to call, but can sometimes drop out... a potential problem if you've been working on something for 40 minutes.

a cheap calling card is another option. mine is .5 cents a minute or something and never had a call fall.
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Thanks guys. Good to know about Skype! Yes I gather from my reading on AFF, I will be in for a long call! Did either of you do much research for available flights (I am on KVS) before you rang? I haven't bought the miles yet but thought I would ring first, see if anything is available, put the flights on hold, buy miles then ring back. Or would it be better to just buy the miles and have them ready to go? Sorry it's my 1st time.
 
hikooki said:
Thanks guys. Good to know about Skype! Yes I gather from my reading on AFF, I will be in for a long call! Did either of you do much research for available flights (I am on KVS) before you rang? I haven't bought the miles yet but thought I would ring first, see if anything is available, put the flights on hold, buy miles then ring back. Or would it be better to just buy the miles and have them ready to go? Sorry it's my 1st time.
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provided the airlines in oneworld still have a 72 hour hold, there shouldn't be any issues with booking first, buying miles later. AA generally has pretty good holds so I think it should be ok.
 
Just wanted to let others know that with a "clear wind and a smooth sail" Guam is still alive an kicking. Just booked SYD-NRT (8 day stopover) - GUM (5 days) - NRT-SYD on JL - all for 30,000 miles pp in business class. (one agent quoted 120,000 miles pp but by putting booking on hold so "I could think it over" - called back the next day and just asked to ticket - got it for 30,000 pp). No issues at all for the agent finding JL availability.
 
luxury-lizard said:
Just wanted to let others know that with a "clear wind and a smooth sail" Guam is still alive an kicking. Just booked SYD-NRT (8 day stopover) - GUM (5 days) - NRT-SYD on JL - all for 30,000 miles pp in business class. (one agent quoted 120,000 miles pp but by putting booking on hold so "I could think it over" - called back the next day and just asked to ticket - got it for 30,000 pp). No issues at all for the agent finding JL availability.
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Excellent, are the SYD-NRT-SYD legs on JL as well?
 
luxury-lizard said:
Just wanted to let others know that with a "clear wind and a smooth sail" Guam is still alive an kicking. Just booked SYD-NRT (8 day stopover) - GUM (5 days) - NRT-SYD on JL - all for 30,000 miles pp in business class. (one agent quoted 120,000 miles pp but by putting booking on hold so "I could think it over" - called back the next day and just asked to ticket - got it for 30,000 pp). No issues at all for the agent finding JL availability.
Click to expand...

Whoa ... nice!!! Anyone else here managed to get the same or similar deal? :)
 
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luxury-lizard said:
Just wanted to let others know that with a "clear wind and a smooth sail" Guam is still alive an kicking. Just booked SYD-NRT (8 day stopover) - GUM (5 days) - NRT-SYD on JL - all for 30,000 miles pp in business class. (one agent quoted 120,000 miles pp but by putting booking on hold so "I could think it over" - called back the next day and just asked to ticket - got it for 30,000 pp). No issues at all for the agent finding JL availability.
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great work! How far in advance did you book that? Did I get that right, it was about 330 days?
 
Congratulations, that's a steal. Do you know what type of JL planes the long sectors are?
luxury-lizard said:
Just wanted to let others know that with a "clear wind and a smooth sail" Guam is still alive an kicking. Just booked SYD-NRT (8 day stopover) - GUM (5 days) - NRT-SYD on JL - all for 30,000 miles pp in business class. (one agent quoted 120,000 miles pp but by putting booking on hold so "I could think it over" - called back the next day and just asked to ticket - got it for 30,000 pp). No issues at all for the agent finding JL availability.
Click to expand...
 
get me outta here said:
Congratulations, that's a steal. Do you know what type of JL planes the long sectors are?
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Yes - I booked at exactly 330 days (on return leg) - JL seems to release seats around 9AM local Japan time. From my itinerary JL fly 787 SYD<->NRT so beats QF seat-wise - also the flight to NRT is a day flight which I prefer. It's over Easter (2015) so released seats were being grabbed quickly.
 
BoomTime said:
Whoa ... nice!!! Anyone else here managed to get the same or similar deal? :)
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There doesnt seem to be much consistency with what can and cant be done. I've been watching this very, very closely across multiple forums and I know of only 3 itineraries that have been booked:

1. SYD-HKG-NRT-GUM-NRT-HKG-SYD (no stopover)
2. PER-HKG-NRT-GUM-NRT-HKG-PER (no stopover)
3. SYD-NRT(stop)-GUM-NRT-SYD

I think No. 2 from PER may have been within MPM? I think No 3, though technically outside MPM went through because it looks like a very simple itinerary and regardless of availability is by FAR the most direct route (only 4 flights). When you try and be creative to have multiple carriers/transits (or have to because of limited availability) and suddenly have 7+ flights I think thats when it will get shot down. I have been trying to book something creative due to having very limited availability during the only timeframe I can travel (not 330 days out) and have had at least 10 agents tell me its either invalid routing or exceeds MPM (I'm pretty close to giving up). From my experience almost every itinerary now goes through an MPM/valid routing check whereas they hardly ever used to.

I think realistically you should be thinking about this as 'if there are direct flights available and I can keep it to 6 flights or less I might be lucky to get a stopover in HKG or NRT' (I dont think there are realistically many other stopover options), rather than thinking how we used to in *A that 'I can jaunt all over Asia however I want'.

YMMV.
 
smit0847 said:
There doesnt seem to be much consistency with what can and cant be done. I've been watching this very, very closely across multiple forums and I know of only 3 itineraries that have been booked:

1. SYD-HKG-NRT-GUM-NRT-HKG-SYD (no stopover)
2. PER-HKG-NRT-GUM-NRT-HKG-PER (no stopover)
3. SYD-NRT(stop)-GUM-NRT-SYD

I think No. 2 from PER may have been within MPM? I think No 3, though technically outside MPM went through because it looks like a very simple itinerary and regardless of availability is by FAR the most direct route (only 4 flights). When you try and be creative to have multiple carriers/transits (or have to because of limited availability) and suddenly have 7+ flights I think thats when it will get shot down. I have been trying to book something creative due to having very limited availability during the only timeframe I can travel (not 330 days out) and have had at least 10 agents tell me its either invalid routing or exceeds MPM (I'm pretty close to giving up). From my experience almost every itinerary now goes through an MPM/valid routing check whereas they hardly ever used to.

I think realistically you should be thinking about this as 'if there are direct flights available and I can keep it to 6 flights or less I might be lucky to get a stopover in HKG or NRT' (I dont think there are realistically many other stopover options), rather than thinking how we used to in *A that 'I can jaunt all over Asia however I want'.

YMMV.
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Cant understand why any of those 3 would fail. IIRC MPM on SYD-GUM was 9599 miles. Unless thats changed now with Oneworld?
 
pmdg7444 said:
Cant understand why any of those 3 would fail. IIRC MPM on SYD-GUM was 9599 miles. Unless thats changed now with Oneworld?
Click to expand...

Well, it was said that those three itineraries were booked, so they didn't "fail".

How did you find out the MPM? I used EF's MPM tool and just plugged in SYD-GUM only with no airline or date, and I got an MPM value about 1/3 of what you have. If I try the "highest published fare" method to find the MPM, none of the published fares give their MPM (only the allowed routings). I have to say, 9599 miles for the MPM between SYD and GUM sounds really, really generous.
 
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