US Dividend Miles - post your SUCCESSFUL award bookings here.

[kreuky]

October 2015

 

[whole-lotta-moxie]

Thanks. yes I thought it must have been a long time out

 

[kezzakawasaki]

We are getting our Dark mof_ on!! 14 minutes and 11 seconds for today's Skype call, a new record

19/6 SYD > MEL > HBA
22/6 HBA > SYD

30000 points for each pax return in business + AUD $92.73 in taxes and fees per pax. Slightly higher conversion of the taxes compared to the last booking due to lower value of the Aussie.

 

[Pele]

Gday

Made my first USDM award booking. Before i go on a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to this board. I have been combing it since mid way through last year gleaning knowledge along the way which has now paid me back big time.

SYD- NRT JL F
NRT- GUM JL J destination 9 days
GUM- NRT JL Y stopover 4 days
NRT- SYD JL F

Will probably pay to fly GUM- KIX return for the 9 day GUM bit. Am trying to work out if the best way to do this? ie paid ticket versus awards booking with purchased points etc. Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Other question- as JAL dont have lounge at Kingsford Smith can i get into the new QANTAS First class lounge??

Cost: 40k points plus $US147 tax plus $USD50 booking fee per person.

Departing March.

Thanks again.

Pele.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Gday

Made my first USDM award booking. Before i go on a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to this board. I have been combing it since mid way through last year gleaning knowledge along the way which has now paid me back big time.

SYD- NRT JL F
NRT- GUM JL J destination 9 days
GUM- NRT JL Y stopover 4 days
NRT- SYD JL F

Will probably pay to fly GUM- KIX return for the 9 day GUM bit. Am trying to work out if the best way to do this? ie paid ticket versus awards booking with purchased points etc. Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Other question- as JAL dont have lounge at Kingsford Smith can i get into the new QANTAS First class lounge??

Cost: 40k points plus $US147 tax plus $USD50 booking fee per person.

Departing March.

Thanks again.

Pele.

Yes! you will have access to the QF F lounge as per the rules of the OneWorld class of service agreement.

Did you have any troubles with the stopover in Tokyo on the way back? Did they say anything or just accept it?

 

[coolkid101]

Yes! you will have access to the QF F lounge as per the rules of the OneWorld class of service agreement.

Did you have any troubles with the stopover in Tokyo on the way back? Did they say anything or just accept it?

do you ask because there are limitations on the length of stopover? waiting to book this trip as well in dec 2015 so another week or so before the 330days comes up!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

do you ask because there are limitations on the length of stopover? waiting to book this trip as well in dec 2015 so another week or so before the 330days comes up!

I ask because a stopover is not permitted on an intra-zone award - so Tokyo is technically not allowed. Some have had to make many calls in order to achieve a tokyo stopover.

 

[coolkid101]

ah. i see. thanks for the heads up. looks like i better plan to have a fully charged phone and a few spare hours

I ask because a stopover is not permitted on an intra-zone award - so Tokyo is technically not allowed. Some have had to make many calls in order to achieve a tokyo stopover.

 

[Limewood]

ah. i see. thanks for the heads up. looks like i better plan to have a fully charged phone and a few spare hours

use Skype and call USDM toll free No. From computer or phone.

 

[coolkid101]

use Skype and call USDM toll free No. From computer or phone.

that's the plan! will write back hopefully with good news!

 

[Pele]

Yes! you will have access to the QF F lounge as per the rules of the OneWorld class of service agreement.

Did you have any troubles with the stopover in Tokyo on the way back? Did they say anything or just accept it?

Gday

First class lounge, sweet.

No issues at all with the stopover. Stopover duration/eligibility or MPM was never discussed. First call was Dorothy and she cut me down straight off the bat and said i couldnt go through Japan to get to Guam(different zone on the chart). That was the end of that. Next call 5 minutes later was Judy and she was a champ. All up about 45minutes but in the end time well spent. Told her the proposed sector by sector itinerary with dates and what carrier i wanted. ( It seems they look into a different system for JAL). I had already checked all availability on JAL's mileage bank website. It is a 1990's style website but availability was accurate which is the most important thing. Got to the end of the itinerary and she presses the button that comes up with the points cost, it took quite a while so i was sweating. 'Sorry for the delay, i had to double check that because it says 40k points per person, i cant beleive it is so little for first class'.

I didnt actually have any points in my account as i didnt want to buy them and not get what i wanted so she put it on hold for me. I immediately purchased enough points and waited for them to credit to my account. Took 30 hours which made me sweat even more. Once credited on the phone for a 3rd time- couldnt get through due to bad weather in the states. 4th time got through after being on hold for 20 minutes and processed the points payment and taxes etc. Done. Have logged onto JAL and selected all seats.

Now I have to sort the visa's for Guam with an Australian and Malaysian passport holders.

Thanks again.

Pele.

 

[hummel]

I did a 40k trip last year to GUM/SPN and seeing these sucessful bookings has piped my interest again for a trip away for the wife and I.

Wonder if we could take on a MEL-SYD leg for that? To save the cost of booking separate flights...

 

[Pele]

I did a 40k trip last year to GUM/SPN and seeing these sucessful bookings has piped my interest again for a trip away for the wife and I.

Wonder if we could take on a MEL-SYD leg for that? To save the cost of booking separate flights...

Gday

Do it soon because at this stage First class will only be offered on that route until 28th March 2015.

Pele.

 

[coolkid101]

i was going to try from ADL too. either ADL-SYD then onwards or even ADL-HKG-NRT-GUM but i think that might not be possible

I did a 40k trip last year to GUM/SPN and seeing these sucessful bookings has piped my interest again for a trip away for the wife and I.

Wonder if we could take on a MEL-SYD leg for that? To save the cost of booking separate flights...

 

[hummel]

Gday

Do it soon because at this stage First class will only be offered on that route until 28th March 2015.

Pele.

Yep just remembered that so don't think it will work! J later in the year might have to suffice...

 

[Glider_]

Already mentioned in a couple of other threads, but just booked a QF domestic redemption:
PER-SYD-CNS-stop-CNS-DRW-PER
2pax J for 3/4 sectors. 60k points + $148 taxes + $100 booking fee + $150 expedite fee because I booked them within a month of travel. Initially USDM said it could not be ticketed for exceeding MPM but another call the next day and it was no problem.

 

[smit0847]

Gday

Made my first USDM award booking. Before i go on a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to this board. I have been combing it since mid way through last year gleaning knowledge along the way which has now paid me back big time.

SYD- NRT JL F
NRT- GUM JL J destination 9 days
GUM- NRT JL Y stopover 4 days
NRT- SYD JL F

Will probably pay to fly GUM- KIX return for the 9 day GUM bit. Am trying to work out if the best way to do this? ie paid ticket versus awards booking with purchased points etc. Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Other question- as JAL dont have lounge at Kingsford Smith can i get into the new QANTAS First class lounge??

Cost: 40k points plus $US147 tax plus $USD50 booking fee per person.

Departing March.

Thanks again.

Pele.

Great work! Well done.

Why the long time in GUM if you don't want to be there? Was that all that was available?

Consider lifemiles for your other flights- UA hub there so have loads of flights (the exact opposite of JL!). I'm pretty sure lifemiles now zones gum north asia same as Japan

 

[travelislife]

Gday

First class lounge, sweet.

No issues at all with the stopover. Stopover duration/eligibility or MPM was never discussed. First call was Dorothy and she cut me down straight off the bat and said i couldnt go through Japan to get to Guam(different zone on the chart). That was the end of that. Next call 5 minutes later was Judy and she was a champ. All up about 45minutes but in the end time well spent. Told her the proposed sector by sector itinerary with dates and what carrier i wanted. ( It seems they look into a different system for JAL). I had already checked all availability on JAL's mileage bank website. It is a 1990's style website but availability was accurate which is the most important thing. Got to the end of the itinerary and she presses the button that comes up with the points cost, it took quite a while so i was sweating. 'Sorry for the delay, i had to double check that because it says 40k points per person, i cant beleive it is so little for first class'.

I didnt actually have any points in my account as i didnt want to buy them and not get what i wanted so she put it on hold for me. I immediately purchased enough points and waited for them to credit to my account. Took 30 hours which made me sweat even more. Once credited on the phone for a 3rd time- couldnt get through due to bad weather in the states. 4th time got through after being on hold for 20 minutes and processed the points payment and taxes etc. Done. Have logged onto JAL and selected all seats.

Now I have to sort the visa's for Guam with an Australian and Malaysian passport holders.

Thanks again.

Pele.

Great work! Lucky with the on hold and ticket on the 3rd call, I would have wanted to ticket straight away! But understand wasn't possible.

Visa for Australian passport holder is easy, just an ESTA. Not sure about Malaysian.

 

[Pele]

Great work! Well done.

Why the long time in GUM if you don't want to be there? Was that all that was available?

Consider lifemiles for your other flights- UA hub there so have loads of flights (the exact opposite of JL!). I'm pretty sure lifemiles now zones gum north asia same as Japan

Gday

I had the dream itinerary of a 36 hour Guam stop sorted but in the 3 days it took for my wife to get the all clear from her boss for the holiday those seats disappeared. The next best available was the what i booked. Not to worry.

Re lifemiles. I had checked their chart and Guam is South Asia and Japan North Asia.

Visa's- both Australia and Malaysia are on a list of 12 countries that only require two forms to be filled out and lodged on arrival.

Pele.

 

[exceladdict]

Gday

Made my first USDM award booking. Before i go on a big thank you to everyone who has contributed to this board. I have been combing it since mid way through last year gleaning knowledge along the way which has now paid me back big time.

SYD- NRT JL F
NRT- GUM JL J destination 9 days
GUM- NRT JL Y stopover 4 days
NRT- SYD JL F

Kudos again on that. Looks like an awesome trip.

I initially misread and thought "surely he's missed a "1" infront of that 40k before relearning that GUM sits in South Pacific.

With your successful stopover booking, I'm inclined to wonder whether an open jaw would be allowed on an intra-zone ticket...