I just tried to login to their website , and it could not be complete? Website is very wonky. Then logged in successfully with Google, but could not search for flights. I put on Dep then Des, then let dates blank, updated number of passenger to 1, hit finalize and it goes back to search page.
Very informative video !! Just wanted to check for my points transfer options. LM vs AA, what would you prefer? Also would you prefer transferring Marriot to AA/LM as they are difficult to earn?
I like LM for award redemptions. But, if you're looking to fly to Asia in J class then it'll be 90k points, typically. I've never seen a J class redemption under 90k miles, honestly. But, the itineraries are very flexible and still worth it, in my opinion. If you get a transfer bonus, even better.
Great stuff! Can you do more flights based from your homebase of San Diego? You can include repositioning flights. Just good to see the process. Also, what is the best search website in your opinion?
I haven't had to *change flights*, but I've had to *modify* an existing award booking and while it was a little convoluted at first, when the ball got rolling it wasn't too bad at all. Way easier than Turkish Airlines award booking. Their CS is like, a coin flip: Either pretty good or endless variations of resolutions. I'd take Avianca CS all day over TK. My experience was about 1.5 years ago, so not sure it's still the same, but I remember it being a fairly pleasant experience. I would take an Avianca award flight booking again without hesitation.
Pretty bad overall. The award bookings, when they work, are normally priced well. But oh boy, their search tool is nothing short of terrible. This video is kind of funny, because it simply ignores that most of the times that calendar is wrong and you need to pick the specific airline you want it to search on to see something.
@@ryanshannon6963 I second this, I had to call to clarify and modify a minor thing over the phone a year ago. It was a bit long to get a hold of someone to help me, but once I did, it was uneventful and they got me what I needed and the flight took place without a hitch.
United has more details and more filtering options, but it can sometimes be a lot to look at. Lifemiles is much simpler but lacks some of filtering options and not enough details. I prefer the United calendar but appreciate the Lifemiles calendar exist especially if I'm booking by transferring credit card points to Lifemiles
In most cases yes, but in some cases no. Star Alliance partners are suppose to share the same award availability but sometimes airlines don't like to work together or their systems don't work well together so sometimes you might find award availability on Lifemiles but not on Air Canada or vice versa. So it varies.
In most cases yes, but in some cases no. Star Alliance partners are suppose to share the same award availability but sometimes airlines don't like to work together or their systems don't work well together so sometimes you might find award availability on Lifemiles but not on Air Canada or vice versa. So it varies.
I compare these two a lot in terms of availability. They have *some overlap*, but it's not always like that. There will be some exclusive availability on Aeroplan and some exclusive availability on LM. Also, there may be award itineraries that simply don't exist in google flights, making cash value comparisons difficult. My order of redemption preference is: M&S, LM, then Aeroplan. Miles and Smiles is a great redemption option, but you can't do non-redeeming passenger bookings unless you're the equivalent of Star Alliance Gold, which super sucks. With LM and Aeroplan there's no such restriction. I like LM over Aeroplan since LM can actually stretch your miles a bit more by sometimes being able to book your positioning flight into your award booking itinerary, which can be more difficult with Aeroplan. I think LM is generally cheaper points wise than Aeroplan as well. But it's worth checking both, for sure.
Great video! I just did a search for Business class flights from MXP to LAX at the end of June 2025, there were 4 or so dates that showed up with the BLUE on them but when you open the date from the calendar, it's showing no availability. What does this mean? Only availability is Coach?
I booked an economy seat through lifemiles because there wasn't any available business class. Do you know if I can cancel my original ticket to get a business class seat when available?
you can but it can be a tough process. Having to cancel original flight, then get the points refunded and then booking the new flight. It's not an easy swap.
I would see if you can do an upgrade. They've revamped their LM program a lot this past year, trying to make things more flexible (think "upsell"), so you may inquire about upgrade options, even if it cost more points.
Thanks Max, you have been the most instrumental content creator for my transition to award travel. Appreciate all you do.
Glad I could help!
Very Informative videos Max! Lifemiles is great and I've had excellent award booking thru them.
I just tried to login to their website , and it could not be complete? Website is very wonky. Then logged in successfully with Google, but could not search for flights. I put on Dep then Des, then let dates blank, updated number of passenger to 1, hit finalize and it goes back to search page.
Very informative video !!
Just wanted to check for my points transfer options. LM vs AA, what would you prefer? Also would you prefer transferring Marriot to AA/LM as they are difficult to earn?
I like LM for award redemptions. But, if you're looking to fly to Asia in J class then it'll be 90k points, typically. I've never seen a J class redemption under 90k miles, honestly. But, the itineraries are very flexible and still worth it, in my opinion. If you get a transfer bonus, even better.
Great stuff! Can you do more flights based from your homebase of San Diego? You can include repositioning flights. Just good to see the process. Also, what is the best search website in your opinion?
what's your experience regarding their customer service ie changing flight etc? i heard it's difficult
I haven't had to *change flights*, but I've had to *modify* an existing award booking and while it was a little convoluted at first, when the ball got rolling it wasn't too bad at all. Way easier than Turkish Airlines award booking. Their CS is like, a coin flip: Either pretty good or endless variations of resolutions. I'd take Avianca CS all day over TK. My experience was about 1.5 years ago, so not sure it's still the same, but I remember it being a fairly pleasant experience. I would take an Avianca award flight booking again without hesitation.
Pretty bad overall. The award bookings, when they work, are normally priced well. But oh boy, their search tool is nothing short of terrible.
This video is kind of funny, because it simply ignores that most of the times that calendar is wrong and you need to pick the specific airline you want it to search on to see something.
@@ryanshannon6963 I second this, I had to call to clarify and modify a minor thing over the phone a year ago. It was a bit long to get a hold of someone to help me, but once I did, it was uneventful and they got me what I needed and the flight took place without a hitch.
Any tips for getting the points calendar to appear it won’t search unless I enter a date.
Can you help me figure out what to use to book a flight to Colombia in December? I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks in advance 😊
If you were to compare the Lifemiles calendar with the United calendar which one would you prefer and why?
United has more details and more filtering options, but it can sometimes be a lot to look at. Lifemiles is much simpler but lacks some of filtering options and not enough details. I prefer the United calendar but appreciate the Lifemiles calendar exist especially if I'm booking by transferring credit card points to Lifemiles
Is lifemiles on the same partners as star alliance, which means if you find it on lifemiles you can find it on aeroplan? (mostly)???
I’d like to know as well.
In most cases yes, but in some cases no. Star Alliance partners are suppose to share the same award availability but sometimes airlines don't like to work together or their systems don't work well together so sometimes you might find award availability on Lifemiles but not on Air Canada or vice versa. So it varies.
In most cases yes, but in some cases no. Star Alliance partners are suppose to share the same award availability but sometimes airlines don't like to work together or their systems don't work well together so sometimes you might find award availability on Lifemiles but not on Air Canada or vice versa. So it varies.
I compare these two a lot in terms of availability. They have *some overlap*, but it's not always like that. There will be some exclusive availability on Aeroplan and some exclusive availability on LM. Also, there may be award itineraries that simply don't exist in google flights, making cash value comparisons difficult. My order of redemption preference is: M&S, LM, then Aeroplan. Miles and Smiles is a great redemption option, but you can't do non-redeeming passenger bookings unless you're the equivalent of Star Alliance Gold, which super sucks. With LM and Aeroplan there's no such restriction. I like LM over Aeroplan since LM can actually stretch your miles a bit more by sometimes being able to book your positioning flight into your award booking itinerary, which can be more difficult with Aeroplan. I think LM is generally cheaper points wise than Aeroplan as well. But it's worth checking both, for sure.
@@ryanshannon6963 Thank you for the details!
Great video! I just did a search for Business class flights from MXP to LAX at the end of June 2025, there were 4 or so dates that showed up with the BLUE on them but when you open the date from the calendar, it's showing no availability. What does this mean? Only availability is Coach?
I’ve seen that before for multiple routes. My assumption is that those dates are too far in the calendar for lifemiles to show the award availability.
@@MaxMilesPoints Thanks Max! I'll keep checking.
I booked an economy seat through lifemiles because there wasn't any available business class. Do you know if I can cancel my original ticket to get a business class seat when available?
you can but it can be a tough process. Having to cancel original flight, then get the points refunded and then booking the new flight. It's not an easy swap.
I would see if you can do an upgrade. They've revamped their LM program a lot this past year, trying to make things more flexible (think "upsell"), so you may inquire about upgrade options, even if it cost more points.
Life Miles credit card video coming soon?
Not planning on it. I think getting flexible points that transfers into Lifemiles makes the most sense
good video
👍🏼👍🏼
Which are some other airlines that have a Monthly Award Calendar?
American
United
Delta
Air France / KLM
Virgin Atlantic
Alaska airlines
when I logged into my amex account I don't see the trasnfer bonus though. When there is a transfer bonus, should it shown on my account?
Sometimes the transfer bonus is on the lifemiles end so lifemiles will give you the bonus after transferring. You won’t see it on Amex page
First
life miles, point me, seat.aero or seat spy. If you are paying for one which would you choose?
Seat aero + point me