Since my family lives in Belarus, we go to Europe every two to three years. Until last year, our main stop was Belarus, but that all changed after the start of war in Ukraine. Due to sanctions, closure of US embassy and “do not travel” notice, my husband and I simply don’t feel safe going there anymore, and especially taking our two young kids.
As a result, we’ve decided for the time being to pay for my family to meet us somewhere in Europe. Last year it was Montenegro. And next year? Who knows. It depends on several factors, like getting approved for a Schengen visa. If Belarus border gets sealed by the current regime, they may not be able to leave at all. Of course, my biggest fear is my home turning into a war zone.
I miss Belarus. My sister has recently sent me a photo of a river where my family used to go during summers (we couldn’t afford to travel). My dad and late grandfather would fish, and my sister and I would play in the grass and pick berries in the forest. It was a simpler time. Here is a photo of my grandfather (on the right) on one of his fishing trips with his best friend, a Belarus writer. The screenshot is from a book he wrote.
Anyway, my goal is to see my family. Where that happens is of secondary importance, as long as we are all together. I also promised my son a stop in London, so had to keep my word.
Dealing with Lifemiles “dumpster fire” program
Last week, I’ve published a post on challenges of booking awards via Lifemiles website. As written in my update, a solution was found by one of the members of Flyertalk community. It appears that searching via Firefox browser on your desktop (not phone) works. For how long? That’s anyone’s guess.
Originally, I was planning to book an award flight from JFK to Geneva, a bargain at only 16,500 miles per person, plus $50 in total fees. In economy, naturally. I figured we would spend two to three nights in nearby Lausanne, and maybe do a day trip to Interlaken.
My daughter actually asked me if we could go to NYC for a day or two, to see the statue of Liberty and visit the Nintendo store. My husband agreed, and I proposed we do it as part of our flight to Europe. Basically, kill two birds with one stone. It was settled, so I just had to wait for Swiss award flights to be loaded into Lifemiles system. Unfortunately, they tend to get released rather late, 300 days before the flight.
But then this whole debacle happened, and I started having second thoughts about waiting another five weeks. Since a workaround was found, I figured maybe it’s best to get something booked with Lifemiles while I still can. Plus, for various reasons, we were planning to fly in July, the peak tourist season in Europe.
Another rather silly reason appeared when I looked at the calendar. The Swiss award flight to Geneva would be loaded (maybe) while we are on vacation, where I would have no access to a desktop. In ideal world, it would make sense to wait until I got home to deal with booking this flight. But I know myself, and I would be checking the website and trying to call Lifemiles to book it over the phone. It would lead to potential aggravation and maybe even spoil my long-awaited trip. It doesn’t help that our dates are kind of set.
Anyway, I’ve decided to grab a flight from JFK to Brussels for 22k miles per person instead. It’s not that I’m dying to go to Belgium, but it’s where there was plenty of availability at a reasonable rate. This same flight costs 44k United and 35k Aeroplan miles.
So yes, there are bargains to be had when it comes to Lifemiles program. As long as you are willing to tinker with various browsers and pray each time you try to reserve an award, it’s worth a shot. But definitely do your homework.
Some potential issues to be aware of:
- If you book a connecting itinerary and there is a significant schedule change, Lifemiles may cancel your reservation without telling you. My advice is to stick to nonstop flights if possible.
- Going along with the first point, Lifemiles will not let you know about schedule change.
- Some partnerships are particularly dicey. I’ve seen many reports of folks redeeming Lifemiles on Turkish, only to show up and discover that their flight wasn’t ticketed.
- Booking and browser issues, obviously. The call center can also be hit or miss.
- Possibility of Lifemiles program going under, which is not zero. If they go bankrupt, your award tickets will likely get cancelled as well, since an airline gets paid only after the flight takes place. It has happened before, just Google “Air Berlin.”
- Steep cancellation fees, at $200 per person on long-haul flights.
Et cetera, et cetera. That being said, if you live near a major east coast city (like NYC or Chicago) and travel often, then yes, Lifemiles is worth considering. When it works as intended, it’s a beautiful thing. But all things being equal, I would go with Virgin Atlantic or Flying Blue every day of the week, and twice on Sunday.
We were stuck with 107k Lifemiles, so it was a sunk cost at this point. I’m glad to finally liquidate 88k miles towards a flight we needed anyway. It wasn’t my first choice, but Brussels will do. From there I should be able to inexpensively add the second piece of a puzzle (flight-wise) once I know where my family can travel to.
As to how we will be getting to NYC, I’ve decided to burn Delta miles. After my 15% cardholder discount, the cost ended up being 15k miles per person. I could have reserved a flight for 11k miles arriving in the evening, but I wanted to maximize our short stay in NYC and get there earlier in the day. If something better comes up, I’ll cancel and rebook.
Award flight from London to Tampa on BA
This one was super simple. I already had 125k Avios, acquired via 40% Amex transfer bonus a few years ago. The cost for London-Tampa flight for my chosen dates was 35k miles+$150 in fees per person. Avios program has quietly devalued some economy redemptions on BA not too long ago, but it kind of worked out for my family. Holding miles long-term is a risky proposition, but YMMV
It’s not a dirt-cheap price, but once again, it was a sunk cost. Plus, I don’t have any plans for my Avios balance for the next few years. Last but not least, I needed a nonstop flight from London to Tampa, and there aren’t many choices in my neck of the woods. Virgin Atlantic is another option on this route, but the rate is comparable depending on how you value miles.
It does cost 12,500 miles during off-season, which is a better deal. Either way, I had Avios, so that’s what I used. I was short 15k miles, so transferred my small stash of Amex MR points via 30% bonus, as well as 2k Capital One points. Done. No browser issues here, though BA.com does weird things at times as well.
Right now I have 3k flexible points left, plus 72k Ultimate Rewards parked in my Chase Freedom. And that’s ok by me, as my travel plans are completely taken care of for the next two years.
My plans for Belgium stopover
So, originally, I was thinking about taking a bus from Brussels airport to Amsterdam and staying there a few days. But my husband has no desire to go. He thinks the entire city is one giant Red Light district, which obviously isn’t the case. But I just don’t feel like poking that bear. My husband rarely voices his opinions when it comes to travel. I almost fell off my chair when he asked me to add a stopover in Iceland last year. Done and done!
Anyway, I’m thinking about staying in Brugge for few days, a medieval city located within an hour drive from Brussels airport. My husband will approve. I think?
No points options here aside from Crowne Plaza (too expensive since we would need two rooms). So, I’ll check out local hotels, and if you have any suggestions, let me know.
I also was looking at the map of where Brugge is located, and noticed that Dunkirk (a site of a pivotal WWII event, called operation Dynamo) is not that far away. I think we will have to add a day trip there. It won’t be easy due to lack of direct train/bus options, but there is always Uber. When else will we be that close to Dunkirk? I’d rather go and be disappointed than have regrets.
When I mentioned it to my husband, he got all perked up. He is a major WWII history buff. We watched the movie Dunkirk together, and it’s one of the best films I’ve ever seen, from historic perspective. And those Tom Hardy airplane scenes, wow.
I’m sure the kids will lose their minds in Dunkirk, but that’s the tradeoff for making me go to Nintendo store in NYC. We shall fight on the beaches…
Author: Leana
Leana is the founder of Miles For Family. She enjoys beach vacations and visiting her family in Europe. Originally from Belarus, Leana resides in central Florida with her husband and two children.
Tammie says
Nice job getting those flights booked.
We stayed in Antwerp 4 years ago and really liked it. We went to Brugge one day, and it’s very pretty! Never been to Brussels so can’t speak to that. We stayed at the Hilton in Antwerp. Very nice hotel and awesome location. We paid cash for 4 of us to stay in a “double king guest room” (premium) last minute so it was a bit pricey, but we had access to the executive lounge for free food. Not sure if that was due to diamond status or the room we booked (but I think it was status). Ended up feeling like a decent deal in the end. Anyway my husband still talks about that hotel. One of his favorites actually. I just dream of the chocolate. It’s amazing!
Leana says
@Tammie Thanks for your feedback! We will probably end up staying in Brugge because of its proximity to Dunkirk. I think my husband is counting on it. 🙂 I probably should have kept my mouth shut.
I’m a little sad about giving up Geneva flights, but it is what it is. I would love to meet my family in Switzerland, and might try to pull it off if they can get visas. Maybe even rent that house in Wengen where Nancy stayed with her family. Keeping my fingers crossed.