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Loyalty Cards Frequent Flyer and Traveler Loyalty Card, Air Miles and Hotel Discussion

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anwa
post Dec 22 2015, 07:50 PM

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QUOTE(minthiam @ Dec 22 2015, 12:54 PM)
You need to go through the standard qualifying nights in order to maintain your HHonors Gold and SPG Gold, it's stated in the T&C.
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So looks like I have to register a new account and try to get the promo again with World Mastercard and Visa Infinite. Only managed 4-5 stays over the year.
minthiam
post Dec 22 2015, 07:50 PM

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QUOTE(tishaban @ Dec 22 2015, 07:32 PM)
Thanks JC_jun for starting this.

I'm not a frequent flyer (anymore), now down to maybe 2-3 medium/long haul flights a year but still enjoy the occasional J and F flights on revenue or miles. My target in general have been long haul J for the whole family, which unfortunately limits me to CX and QR mostly, but can't compain.

I am fortunate enough to have US based credit cards which is where I've earned most of my miles. I am happy to answer questions on AAdvantage and UA Mileageplus programs, and also about US based UR/MR points although there are lot more experienced people on flyertalk biggrin.gif
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I heard that AAdvantage elite members are not granted access to all domestic lounges in the states if you are not flying international. Is it true?

Additionally, AAdvantage redemption chart seems too good to be true. You seriously only need 55,000 miles (business class) or 65,000 miles (first class) one way to the States? Also, if we are based locally, we can't redeem online like CX redemption, right? The only option would be to contact call center?
Yippie123
post Dec 22 2015, 07:59 PM

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QUOTE(minthiam @ Dec 22 2015, 07:50 PM)
I heard that AAdvantage elite members are not granted access to all domestic lounges in the states if you are not flying international. Is it true?

Additionally, AAdvantage redemption chart seems too good to be true. You seriously only need 55,000 miles (business class) or 65,000 miles (first class) one way to the States? Also, if we are based locally, we can't redeem online like CX redemption, right? The only option would be to contact call center?
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Yes previously but this going to end soon.. Finally !!!
Yippie123
post Dec 22 2015, 08:00 PM

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QUOTE(minthiam @ Dec 22 2015, 07:35 PM)
Any good benefits with this Accor Plus? I tried to search through their website but everything seems very vague? Is it something similar to Hilton Premium Club?
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10% extra discount and discount on dining. Free 1 night voucher, and many more. But only apply to ASEAN, else Le club benefits apply
tishaban
post Dec 22 2015, 08:02 PM

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QUOTE(minthiam @ Dec 22 2015, 07:50 PM)
I heard that AAdvantage elite members are not granted access to all domestic lounges in the states if you are not flying international. Is it true?
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You get access to the domestic lounges via the following:

1. membership, typically $450 per year
2. pay a day use fee around $50 per day
3. elite status of you fly enough
4. some credit cards grant access, typically those with very high annual fees of $300-450 per year

Flying first class cross country in domestic which might cost you $2-3k will not get you access to the lounge if you don't have any of the above. There are a lot of elites around, so many lounges will be crowded during certain times of the day. I typically go to the domestic lounges to take a shower and grab a drink only.


QUOTE(minthiam @ Dec 22 2015, 07:50 PM)
Additionally, AAdvantage redemption chart seems too good to be true. You seriously only need 55,000 miles (business class) or 65,000 miles (first class) one way to the States? Also, if we are based locally, we can't redeem online like CX redemption, right? The only option would be to contact call center?
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Yes that is still the case until March 2016 when it goes up in line with the rest of OW. Imagine flying Etihad Residence from SYD to AUH which is 14+ hours for only 60k miles. I've had my fun booking QR, JL, EY and CX J and F, although F on CX only so far. Even had the whole family in CX J last year too. Still, all good things come to an end.

TSJC_jun
post Dec 22 2015, 08:02 PM

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QUOTE(minthiam @ Dec 22 2015, 07:35 PM)
Any good benefits with this Accor Plus? I tried to search through their website but everything seems very vague? Is it something similar to Hilton Premium Club?
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Signing up will give you
# 1 night free stay at any Accor hotels in asia (i read online some other countries get more nights, but their member fee is higher)
# up your status to silver member
# discount for dining
dctravels
post Dec 22 2015, 08:17 PM

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QUOTE(JC_jun @ Dec 22 2015, 06:41 PM)
you redeemed flights in J and F, purely from the miles you earned by CC?
roughly how much miles you earned per year.

i earned about 140k miles this year, via flight and CC spending (including the bonus miles from enrich promo), but still not enough to redeem 2 seat in J for anyplace above Zone 3.
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Both my wife and I usually earn around the same as you but that's not including purchases made on behalf of our businesses, friends and relatives (who are supportive of my obsession with miles and points). Although there is a wealth of information on travel hacking online, few are directly relevant to us in Bolehland. That is what compelled me to share more on this forum. With 140k miles you can fly up to 20,000 miles in business class under AM oneworld Multi-Carrier award (AMOMC). If you want two seats, you can fly up to 4,000 miles at 70k miles each. Wait and earn more miles or just take a shorter trip. Either way, you are flying business class for peanuts! Enjoy it! Sometimes when I am short of miles, I will "purchase" miles by charging certain transactions with merchants and paying the 1.x% on their behalf. At our current exchange rate and based on my research on flyertalk, this is the cheapest way to "purchase" miles. Malaysia Boleh!

QUOTE(Yippie123 @ Dec 22 2015, 06:47 PM)
Lol. We all know your travel glories through the threads... Are you in travel agent business? smile.gif
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My aim was not to impress but to distinguish myself from true-blue elite status frequent flyers like yourself based on your recent posts in other threads. Hence the introduction here. A few years ago I was wasting away valuable treatpoints on stupid Parkson vouchers for crying out loud! Just amazed at the stupendous value by converting to business and first class tickets, especially F. Am here to learn and share, but my knowledge is limited to miles & points strategies mainly.

QUOTE(tishaban @ Dec 22 2015, 07:32 PM)
Thanks JC_jun for starting this.

I'm not a frequent flyer (anymore), now down to maybe 2-3 medium/long haul flights a year but still enjoy the occasional J and F flights on revenue or miles. My target in general have been long haul J for the whole family, which unfortunately limits me to CX and QR mostly, but can't compain.

I am fortunate enough to have US based credit cards which is where I've earned most of my miles. I am happy to answer questions on AAdvantage and UA Mileageplus programs, and also about US based UR/MR points although there are lot more experienced people on flyertalk biggrin.gif
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Sifu tishaban, I would be grateful if you can share strategies for J redemption for the whole family (I have four kids, like bro Gen-X but slightly younger lol). Also, any chance of me getting a US based CC while based here?
Yippie123
post Dec 22 2015, 09:34 PM

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QUOTE(dctravels @ Dec 22 2015, 08:17 PM)
Both my wife and I usually earn around the same as you but that's not including purchases made on behalf of our businesses, friends and relatives (who are supportive of my obsession with miles and points). Although there is a wealth of information on travel hacking online, few are directly relevant to us in Bolehland. That is what compelled me to share more on this forum. With 140k miles you can fly up to 20,000 miles in business class under AM oneworld Multi-Carrier award (AMOMC). If you want two seats, you can fly up to 4,000 miles at 70k miles each. Wait and earn more miles or just take a shorter trip. Either way, you are flying business class for peanuts! Enjoy it! Sometimes when I am short of miles, I will "purchase" miles by charging certain transactions with merchants and paying the 1.x% on their behalf. At our current exchange rate and based on my research on flyertalk, this is the cheapest way to "purchase" miles. Malaysia Boleh!
My aim was not to impress but to distinguish myself from true-blue elite status frequent flyers like yourself based on your recent posts in other threads. Hence the introduction here. A few years ago I was wasting away valuable treatpoints on stupid Parkson vouchers for crying out loud! Just amazed at the stupendous value by converting to business and first class tickets, especially F. Am here to learn and share, but my knowledge is limited to miles & points strategies mainly.
Sifu tishaban, I would be grateful if you can share strategies for J redemption for the whole family (I have four kids, like bro Gen-X but slightly younger lol). Also, any chance of me getting a US based CC while based here?
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And finally we have Malaysian style of flyertalk ! Lets share and discuss
TSJC_jun
post Dec 22 2015, 10:40 PM

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Glad that we have so many sifu here to share all the tips and hacks.
dctravels
post Dec 22 2015, 10:42 PM

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-del

This post has been edited by dctravels: Feb 4 2016, 10:24 PM
CP88
post Dec 22 2015, 10:43 PM

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Hi,

Glad to see this thread. I am SQ elite gold member and in April 16 I have around 8k points to be xpired. Any better suggestions on this?

Thanks.
tishaban
post Dec 22 2015, 10:46 PM

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QUOTE(dctravels @ Dec 22 2015, 08:17 PM)
Sifu tishaban, I would be grateful if you can share strategies for J redemption for the whole family (I have four kids, like bro Gen-X but slightly younger lol). Also, any chance of me getting a US based CC while based here?
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First, strategies change with time as airlines adapt, so as usual YMMV.

You have to choose the correct airline. For OW I primarily look at CX and to a lesser extent QR or JL. If the schedule fits, MH works too. For *A I used to check primarily TK but it's far harder to get premium seats now.

Next decide on where you want to go. There are 5 daily HKG-NYC CX flights for example, but far fewer flights to EU cities.

Airlines release different numbers of premium seats. CX will release up to 5 J and 2 F up to a year out, JL and QR will release 4 J and 2 F a year out too, but I've booked 5 seats on JL J before. Read up flyertalk and you'll get some details on the other airlines.

Closer to departure date, between 3 weeks to the day of departure, some airlines eg. LH or CX will release most of their unsold seats so you can easily get all 6 seats in J. I've even seen 5 CX F seats open once upon a time. For example, Dec 24th shows CX J wide open on HKG-JFK/EWR and JFK/EWR-HKG is wide open in CX J on Dec 25th.

There are other things that you learn from experience, eg. JL J SAN-NRT used to be wide open, KUL-DOH is really hard to get but SIN-DOH and BKK-DOH are typically much easier. You can technically get BKK-AUH-CDG on the QR A380 with 2 in F and 4 in J.

FWIW I'm planning for another trip to the US east coast probably towards the end of 2016, I'm targeting potentially QR J KUL-AUH-BCN then BCN-NYC-xxx on AA Y returning on CX or JL J NYC-HKG/NRT-KUL.

QUOTE(dctravels @ Dec 22 2015, 08:17 PM)
Also, any chance of me getting a US based CC while based here?
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There are options, but none are easy or quick. To just earn miles through credit card spend, I can easily give you a card as an "employee" but the earning rates on the Maybank Premiere cards are significantly better.

To earn miles via sign up bonuses means you need to have a credit history. You need to have a US Social Security number or Tax ID number to have a credit history, so even though you can get a Tax ID number through various ways, it'll take a year or so of spending and paying your card to build up credit history. A typical sign up bonus is 50k miles after $3k spend in 3 months. Exceptional ones go up to 100k or more. So again you'll have to decide if it makes sense or not.

QUOTE(dctravels @ Dec 22 2015, 08:17 PM)
Sometimes when I am short of miles, I will "purchase" miles by charging certain transactions with merchants and paying the 1.x% on their behalf. At our current exchange rate and based on my research on flyertalk, this is the cheapest way to "purchase" miles. Malaysia Boleh!
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I should ask you where you're doing this, but offline of course biggrin.gif I haven't had the need to do it recently, have done it before but the avenues have closed for me recently.


This post has been edited by tishaban: Dec 22 2015, 10:49 PM
dctravels
post Dec 22 2015, 11:28 PM

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QUOTE(tishaban @ Dec 22 2015, 10:46 PM)
First, strategies change with time as airlines adapt, so as usual YMMV.
....
I should ask you where you're doing this, but offline of course biggrin.gif I haven't had the need to do it recently, have done it before but the avenues have closed for me recently.
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notworthy.gif Thank you so much. Had a look and you're right, CX J and even F showing up to 4 seats for Dec 23rd. Being the A380 junkie that I am, was already eyeing BKK-AUH-CDG for the wife and I but if 2F +4J is possible, that would be the coolest way to bring the kids to Disneyland Paris, say 2017.

Thanks also for the info on US credit cards. Only interested to book Etihad Apartments to be honest and you've rightly pointed out the earning rates of MBB Amex Reserve/VI are hard to beat.

Most of the miles purchase transactions are legitimate monthly transactions with a few vendors. Just need to cover the merchant fees for the towkays to allow me to swipe with my credit card. I have a KL-based friend in interior design who racks up RM200-350k per month on behalf of his clients. He only flies in F. flex.gif
TSJC_jun
post Dec 23 2015, 12:45 AM

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QUOTE(dctravels @ Dec 22 2015, 10:42 PM)
Key thoughts for now: Pledge children's education/emergency migration funds for Diamanté. Hope Sarawak doesn't go to the dogs like in Semenanjung (sorry guys, but you all are really losing the plot. Migrate to Sarawak!!) so I can enjoy using a 5XTP local spend Visa for at least a few years. Most of my local business transactions are on the Visa because Amex is just not as widely accepted (higher fees).
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this only offer to sarawak people?
dctravels
post Dec 23 2015, 07:06 AM

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QUOTE(JC_jun @ Dec 23 2015, 12:45 AM)
this only offer to sarawak people?
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I think MBB just wants money, regardless of whether it's from Sarawakians or otherwise smile.gif
onlinepaycheck
post Dec 23 2015, 08:29 AM

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QUOTE(Yippie123 @ Dec 22 2015, 09:34 PM)
And finally we have Malaysian style of flyertalk ! Lets share and discuss
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this has somehow sparked the little travel dream of mine. Now to get the miles......

TSJC_jun
post Dec 23 2015, 01:08 PM

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Attached Image

how this MH multi carrier award works? The zone mileage is the total of multiple trips?

this required much lesser miles than redeem MH own F class..
Yippie123
post Dec 23 2015, 03:10 PM

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QUOTE(dctravels @ Dec 22 2015, 10:42 PM)
Key thoughts for now: Pledge children's education/emergency migration funds for Diamanté. Hope Sarawak doesn't go to the dogs like in Semenanjung (sorry guys, but you all are really losing the plot. Migrate to Sarawak!!) so I can enjoy using a 5XTP local spend Visa for at least a few years. Most of my local business transactions are on the Visa because Amex is just not as widely accepted (higher fees).
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I just couldnt justify to pledge 1M for the card...
minthiam
post Dec 23 2015, 03:18 PM

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QUOTE(JC_jun @ Dec 23 2015, 01:08 PM)
Attached Image

how this MH multi carrier award works? The zone mileage is the total of multiple trips?

this required much lesser miles than redeem MH own F class..
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This is the thing that I hate about MH, anything on OW flight redemption need to call in and ask. Few months ago, I tried to call in and ask about trip to North America for few times, always telling me that all OW flight not open for redemption yet. How to redeem?
TSJC_jun
post Dec 23 2015, 03:35 PM

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QUOTE(minthiam @ Dec 23 2015, 03:18 PM)
This is the thing that I hate about MH, anything on OW flight redemption need to call in and ask. Few months ago, I tried to call in and ask about trip to North America for few times, always telling me that all OW flight not open for redemption yet. How to redeem?
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Did you checked the award availability via other website first?


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