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

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isaacchew
post Feb 28 2019, 02:26 AM

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Hi guys,

I've been playing and accumulating credit card points for some time already, but just discovered this thread. Is there any good guide that gives a good overview of the best frequent flyer program / airline / redemption method / tips & tricks for someone based in KL?

Ive been scrolling back all the previous pages, just wondering if there's a single article / post that summarizes everything.

So far Ive been using Enrich only, however MH flight routes are pretty limited, and whenerer I manually call up to ask bout flights other One World partners the answer is that it's always not available.

How's Asia / Kris Flyer miles? I've shyed away from them previously coz I wasn't sure how that wait list system works, plus it adds another transit point.
isaacchew
post Mar 25 2019, 08:02 PM

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QUOTE(charlesj @ Mar 25 2019, 12:53 PM)
Will not waste miles on Y
Any good trick to get good value for J class (with Enrich)?
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On Enrich, just from observation, KL-Tokyo Business Class flights seem to require a lot less miles (100-130k return) than to other similar distance routes.
isaacchew
post Apr 6 2019, 02:42 PM

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QUOTE(charlesj @ Apr 2 2019, 12:54 PM)
Of course still not as good as mbb, at least we start seeing CC improve on our benefits (rather than all time devaluation).

Amb was my main overseas card, and thanks for its devaluation, I had switched into m2p and my miles are double in no time biggrin.gif
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Same here. I've been relying on AMB WMC for the past few years for overseas spend. So disappointed they suddenly devalued points 20%.
AMB WMC is still the best card for forex though - 1% markup (apart from BP which is 0%). Though if you rely on M2P to BP, that's capped at RM10k/month for overseas spend, so anything extra I'll still use the AMB WMC.
isaacchew
post Apr 7 2019, 12:35 AM

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QUOTE(charlesj @ Apr 6 2019, 04:42 PM)
It was devalued at 40%! Not 20%
From 5k to 7k
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Bad math.. you're right. 40%! And i still have so many points stuck in there not yet redeemed. sad.gif

QUOTE(kaiserreich @ Apr 6 2019, 03:56 PM)
are there any cc that allows the conversion of CC points to airmiles accounts that has a different name i.e., not same as principal card holder?
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I know for one, the AMB WMC allows redemption to supplementary holder name.
Though it doesn't make too much difference. If redeem to principal name, that person can make bookings for anyone else.
isaacchew
post Apr 8 2019, 01:09 AM

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QUOTE(charlesj @ Apr 7 2019, 05:08 PM)
Not too sure.
Bank can allow any name to go through, but they will be questioned by FFP during audit.
To keep their hand clean, best way is to tally both names.
When study from overseas forum, some mentioned that FFP will checked your redeemed miles while you make your booking.
Don't know how true it is.

Btw, you can transfer your miles between family members for some FFP, of course it is not free.
Enrich and AM are possible, but not for KF.
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To transfer miles, Enrich charges 4 cents / mile + RM40
If you assume the value of 1 mile is 4 cents, you're basically throwing away your earned miles.
Makes much more sense for the person who has the sufficient miles to book for your family / friend.

This post has been edited by isaacchew: Apr 8 2019, 01:10 AM
isaacchew
post May 2 2019, 08:51 PM

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Anyone knows if there's a card similar to BigPay in Australia?
Tried finding but couldn't find. A lot of things they don't have, don't even have e-wallets
isaacchew
post May 14 2019, 06:17 PM

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I'm tabulating a comparison of different FFP redemption amounts and destinations here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1woO...Loc0/edit#gid=0
It's editable for now, if anyone wants to help populate the data. tongue.gif

I know amount varies by date, and availability is always uncertain. But I've taken the lowest miles required such as Saver on KF, to get a benchmark.

This post has been edited by isaacchew: May 14 2019, 07:50 PM
isaacchew
post May 14 2019, 07:50 PM

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QUOTE(fuzzy @ May 14 2019, 06:53 PM)
link got shortened, so can't be found.
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Fixed
isaacchew
post May 14 2019, 09:17 PM

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QUOTE(peigeng @ May 14 2019, 08:16 PM)
The miles needed is return trip?And it is interesting to see enrich need more miles than kf with surcharges about the same
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Yes return.
Apparently everyone says no point bothering with Enrich. I'm just trying to compare between KF & AM, as I want to redeem MBB TP before it devalues this month.
The only benefit of Enrich is the convenience of not having a transit. But it's generally more costly & more miles required (though there can be exceptions) especially for business class

This post has been edited by isaacchew: May 14 2019, 09:22 PM
isaacchew
post May 15 2019, 09:03 PM

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Okay, I completed the Comparison table between EM/KF/AM for some popular destinations:
Frequent Flyer Comparison

All amounts are for return flights, based on the cheapest redemption ticket (Basic on EM, Saver on KF, Standard on AM). No doubt these miles required might not be available when you book due to availability / wishlist issues, but it serves as a good benchmark.
(p.s. I don't have sufficient miles in my AM account that's why I'm unable to check the taxes required for J class redemption)

My conclusions are:
1. EM is good for Economy Class if you want direct flights out from KUL, but only to the rather limited routes it flies to. EM is poor value if you're redeeming Business Class
2. KF & AM is good in that you can fly to many other cities, but the downside (or maybe an upside?) is that there's an additional transit.
3. AM has way higher taxes. (Some of you have mentioned that AM requires less miles than KF, but I don't see too much of a difference, unless perhaps it's because I'm comparing the baseline cheapest redemption amounts?).
4. KF there's potential to redeem their impressive Suites Class & AM you can get Qatar QSuites or JAL Suites.

This post has been edited by isaacchew: May 15 2019, 09:03 PM
isaacchew
post May 16 2019, 05:57 PM

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QUOTE(kit615 @ May 16 2019, 10:31 AM)
I will give some sample tax/charges on AM for the rest of your comparisons:

1. Tokyo - RM720
2. New York / LA - RM1347
3. Milan - RM1210
4. Paris - RM1517
5. London - RM2086
6. Sydney - RM1433

I would say this comparison is the absolute basic usage for the Frequent Flyer program, as you can get even better value when you look at other aspects of the programs, such as partner redemption etc, for example:

1. you can use KF miles to fly to Dubai at 49k, then spend another 29k on star alliance flights to europe, it is cheaper than outright redemption on SQ to europe, with a stopover (currently there is promotion flying to dubai for only 34k) but with a bit more taxes.

2. For AM, you would not redeem CX to fly to Australia as that is taking the long way. You could just outright redeem MH or even QF flights with less miles and shorter travel time.

3. If you look at Multi carrier award redemption for Asiamiles, you may get some seriously outsized value. for example flying to NYC cost 170k miles, if you use MCA, it will cost 165k miles, and you can take some extra flights up to 20000 miles total travel distance, eg you can go via hong kong with cx and return with AA + JL with a stop at Hawaii and Tokyo

So my conclusion is use KF miles if you want to fly SQ, because redeeming on other partners (with the exception on some routes) will cost you as much taxes as they did on AM. I find AM generally gives better value and flexibility, unless Im fixated on flying SQ suites.
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Those taxes are for business class? Okay i'll fill in my table. Thanks.

1. The figures I searched is slightly different. I see 50k to Dubai, then 35k to Europe on Star Alliance = 85k. Outright redemption on SQ Saver is 76k miles?

2. Yes of course that doesn't make sense. Was just filling in the table for completeness sake.

3. Okay will look at MCA.

If you had to choose, do you prefer KF or AM?

This post has been edited by isaacchew: May 16 2019, 05:59 PM
isaacchew
post May 26 2019, 02:42 AM

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QUOTE(peigeng @ May 25 2019, 06:53 AM)
Can anyone please add in a column for new Zealand?I don't have enough miles in my account and I can't see the surcharge for a comparison.
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Updated as requested
isaacchew
post Jun 6 2019, 05:22 PM

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QUOTE(Ladszy @ Jun 6 2019, 11:44 AM)
Hi, would like to ask a few questions here, sorry if it's a repeat question  sweat.gif

1. Is it easier to get upgraded from economy to business instead of redeeming a business class ticket directly?

2. Do I need to have sufficient miles in my account to be put in the wait-list? Asking this because I'll mostly be transferring miles from my CC to the FF account.
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https://milelion.com/2019/02/21/the-ultimat...risflyer-miles/
Explanation why it's generally not worth it to go the paid ticket & upgrade route.
isaacchew
post Jun 6 2019, 07:39 PM

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QUOTE(ju146 @ Jun 6 2019, 07:12 PM)
Can anyone here share on their though of warning Asia Miles on the ground? Went through their websites and also credit cards rewards programe, was thinking if there is anything else that allow us to earn it?
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https://www.pointhacks.com.au/asia-miles-award-booking-tips/

 

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