Avianca LifeMiles – Bookings and Discussion

[MEL_Traveller]

I was thinking of booking some flights with Avianca for intra Sth America travel for Feb / March next year. When you book, you need to enter your passport details. Will there be an issue if I book with my cutrent passport details but by the time I fly, I will have a new passport and number? Do i need to change the details in the reservation prior or can I just turn up at checkin with my new passport? ( can bring old one if it is needed)

No issues.

Just bring the new passport with you to check-in, or update the passport details as part of on-line check-in (if available).

The most current passenger information is transmitted to the other country when your passport is swiped at check-in.

 

[boomy]

I was thinking of booking some flights with Avianca for intra Sth America travel for Feb / March next year. When you book, you need to enter your passport details. Will there be an issue if I book with my cutrent passport details but by the time I fly, I will have a new passport and number? Do i need to change the details in the reservation prior or can I just turn up at checkin with my new passport? ( can bring old one if it is needed)

I would say no issues based on a similar experience I had with KF. Booked flights using my old passport details and checked in with my new one with no issues at all.

 

[jgm]

I had a transit in DEL on 2 separate tickets with AI, purchased with LM points. The 2nd flight departure was bought forward so that I wouldn't be able to collect luggage and re-check in time. LifeMiles "mytrip" hadn't registered this as a carrier change, but fortunately they had the first flight registered as it had had a 10 minute change. So I was able to change the first flight to the previous day for free. This leaves me with a 25 hour layover in DEL, but airport hotels are really cheap.

The biggest hassle was getting through to the right dept. It seems to involve at least 2 phone transfers. You need to select English and then lifemiles (2 then 3). That agent will take all your details and the transfer to another bot where you have to select 2 then 3 then 2 to get to an English speaking lifemiles agent for a ticket purchased with points. Once again you go through all the details, and then you are transferred to the "manual processing dept" to make the change and issue the tickets. I think it took me around 6 attempts to finally get everything sorted. On the 1st call I had trouble hearing the agent, and then they couldn't hear me. A few other times the line went dead during the transfer. There were another 2 times transferring to the manual dept where the agent kept speaking Spanish after I tried to tell him English ONLY please. Thankfully I've signed up to Yadaphone to replace Skype.

 

[RB]

I had a transit in DEL on 2 separate tickets with AI, purchased with LM points. The 2nd flight departure was bought forward so that I wouldn't be able to collect luggage and re-check in time. LifeMiles "mytrip" hadn't registered this as a carrier change, but fortunately they had the first flight registered as it had had a 10 minute change. So I was able to change the first flight to the previous day for free. This leaves me with a 25 hour layover in DEL, but airport hotels are really cheap.

The biggest hassle was getting through to the right dept. It seems to involve at least 2 phone transfers. You need to select English and then lifemiles (2 then 3). That agent will take all your details and the transfer to another bot where you have to select 2 then 3 then 2 to get to an English speaking lifemiles agent for a ticket purchased with points. Once again you go through all the details, and then you are transferred to the "manual processing dept" to make the change and issue the tickets. I think it took me around 6 attempts to finally get everything sorted. On the 1st call I had trouble hearing the agent, and then they couldn't hear me. A few other times the line went dead during the transfer. There were another 2 times transferring to the manual dept where the agent kept speaking Spanish after I tried to tell him English ONLY please. Thankfully I've signed up to Yadaphone to replace Skype.

Bit off-topic but thanks for the tip of being aable to call landlines with Yadaphone-useful for calling my mother (who is in aged care) while I am overseas

 

[kpc]

After years of using Lifemiles to book its Star Alliance partners, I have finally used them to book some Avianca flights for the 2 of us for early next year!

1) Asu-Bog (J)-Med (Y): 33340 miles +US$86.60 per pax
2) Med-Bog (Y): 3050 miles + US$9.92 per pax
3) Bog- Cuz-Lpb (Y): 16620 miles + US$92.82 per pax