Thanks for sharing. Never thought I would like EVA as I normally detest all Taiwanese cutesy things but like you, I found the experience of flying with them quite nice.

I managed to pay a substantial portion on CC, just nego with the dealer.

How far in advance can you book? Destinations MEL/SYD? For how many pax? I managed 4 saver level award tickets (J & F) for my family SIN-MEL//SYD-SIN in August next year. I have also managed to book a few weeks/months out travelling to China/India.

The fact that there are "almost always confirmed seats available" on MH should tell you something. Hate to be a party pooper but I've tried the refurbished J seats. One word: tight. Cannot compare to their excellent J product on the A380. Better than the sloping seats of old but still, a far cry from SQ, QR or CX J. The recent removal of the 15% online booking discount is the proverbial straw that broke this camel's back: I'm burning my remaining Enrich miles redeeming on partner airlines, the inevitable nightmare of an experience with MH call centre notwithstanding. End rant.

I plugged in 14 December and could get 2 saver level awards on the A380 to Melbourne. Could also get 2 seats but on Standard level for the trip back after 1 or 2 weeks' stay. Total miles: 246,500 or 123,250 KF miles per person. For December I think you need to be realistic and book way in advance.

As for partner airlines, what about Emirates???

It's 93,500 KF miles on saver for return. I plugged in SIN-MEL.

Looking even one year ahead is not enough for popular routes like SIN-JFK. The miles and points game is much more nuanced than simply accumulating miles. Finding award space is an art form. There are many ways to actually get the dream flights/seats you want. You can lock-in 12 months' out then pay the change fee to get the actual dates/flights you want.

My point is this: nothing of value comes easy. I found out that accumulating the miles was just the first (and easiest) step. Sure, it's easy if you are satisfied with MH J and the timing works. But for me, the extra effort is worth it, especially crafting out a complex multi-carrier award redemption using AsiaMiles.

My avoidance of MH has absolutely nothing to do with the recent twin tragedies or superstition etc. I just find their redemption really poor value for my hard earned miles.

Option 1: Enrich
Routing: KUL-NRT-KUL
Enrich Miles required: 110,000
Tax + Fees: MYR 170
GST: MYR3.90

Option 2: Krisflyer
Routing : KUL-SIN-NRT-SIN-KUL
Krisflyer Miles required: 68,000
Taxes & surcharges: MYR 901.90

Option 3: Krisflyer
Routing : SIN-NRT-SIN (get your own LCC positioning flight to SIN)
Krisflyer Miles required: 68,000
Taxes & surcharges: SGD 157.70



This post has been edited by dctravels: Nov 10 2016, 12:39 PM


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I will argue Enrich comes out worse even for Japan flights. 110k miles vs 68k miles. Those miles are worth a lot more than RM200++ which is how much more your cash outlay would cost you if you redeem SIN-NRT return (Option 3 above). Yes, you need to pay for the LCC positioning flight but let's face it. SQ J is a world class product. MH J?

On Asia Miles it cost 80k miles + HKD816.

Back on topic, where have you guys managed to use your AMEX for large transactions locally?

No, CX using Asia Miles. No experience using Enrich miles to redeem for partner airlines.

It all depends...

What is the amount involved? Do you already have a destination/redemption in mind? Are you just short of x amount of miles that this transaction would cover? Don't want to go too much into this for fear of being accused of going out of topic (go to the frequent flyer thread).

Nothing beats the AMEX for local spend. Period. I would use it whenever I can, even paying surcharge sometimes.

Are you sure you quoted the correct AsiaMiles membership number? Have you called Asia Miles to check whether your conversion had indeed been requested by Maybank?