Philippine Airlines' Mabuhay Miles Rewards is No Longer Rewarding
In June 2008, more than 2 years ago, Tutubi took the Manila - Cebu - Manila via PAL earned him 349 miles earned for each way. His recent Manila - Cebu - Manila only earned him 87 miles i.e. one fourth of the 349 miles for the same trip two years ago.
There are missing flights here, one's the Manila - KL (malaysia) flight he took in 2004, "sayang" but he forgot to claim and redeem his miles back then, plus his first airplane ride in 2002PAL must really be in hard times, Tutubi used to think PAL means Plane Always Late, replaced by Pilots Already Left then the most recent notice of strike of flight attendants that can ground PAL's operations to a halt, sending another very bad signal to the international tourism and business community.
Anyway, Tutubi's just monitoring his Mabuhay Miles earned but does not have the intention to redeem them due to the simple fact that buying promo tickets is way much cheaper than paying taxes in redeeming free flights. He wanted to get the Mabuhay Miles card just so he can use the Mabuhay lounge at NAIA Terminal 2 (The Centennial Terminal used exclusively by PAL. There's also free wifi Internet at NAIA Terminal 2 that he doesn't need due to his preference for Sun Broadband and/or Globe Tattoo)
Tutubi has some expiring miles, but not enought to merit the attention of people buying airline miles in exchange for cash.
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Labels: Airlines, Mabuhay Miles, Philippine Airlines, Rewards
posted by GingGoy @ 9:43 PM,
10 Comments:
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At Sep 20, 2010, 3:24:00 PM,
Jasper said...
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true! because of their "promos" either you earn 1 mile or 25% if you're lucky on your flights with them. it's almost hard to get to the next status level also because of these.
i also remember taking at least two flights 1-2 years back (to Vancouver) that didn't earn anything because of the same reason.
i've tried a number of times the past year to redeem but even with 6 months lead time, i'm having a hard time getting a schedule available for redemption, and if you're lucky to redeem, you will have to pay hefty tax. -
At Sep 20, 2010, 4:36:00 PM,
witsandnuts said...
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I was able to use my earned miles only for one local trip many years ago.
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At Sep 20, 2010, 10:16:00 PM,
nina said...
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That's sad. I'm flying with them pa naman this weekend :( Could the fare class be a factor? Like if it's a promo fare, you can still earn miles, but just a fraction of the miles you get if you bought a full fare ticket? It's really disappointing if you paid full fare and just got 87 miles!
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At Sep 23, 2010, 5:33:00 PM,
GingGoy said...
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jasper, so instead of redeeming their rewards, i'd rather not hehe
witsandnuts, good for you, ako wala as in NADA
nina, probably fare class but i got the actual miles credited to me two years ago on economy, unlike now they credited only a one-fourth of the actual miles traveled :( the worst thing is if your flight got canceled/delayed inca se the strike of the flight attendants occur -
At Sep 26, 2010, 10:23:00 PM,
The Nomadic Pinoy said...
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Earning miles is always on top of my head whenever I buy a ticket so I make sure that the particular sub-class is eligible (by checking an airline's website or calling directly).
Many airlines these days are quite stingy when you buy deeply discounted tickets, giving you only half, quarter or even no air miles at all.
I'm happy that my Marco Polo membership with Cathay Pacific has been rewarding - free tickets and that occasional free upgrade. -
At Sep 28, 2010, 9:28:00 PM,
nina said...
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Your miles for the Manila - Cebu flight before was 349 miles. My flight for my Manila - Bangkok flight last Friday was 342 miles. Yup, they're cutting down the miles nga :(
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At Sep 29, 2010, 2:03:00 PM,
GingGoy said...
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nina, you actually re-visited this page to post your own experience hehe now you know. At least you got free flights from PAL in the past due to your earned miles.
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At Oct 3, 2010, 12:49:00 AM,
Rais Nur Arief said...
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Never been to philippines though, but this is a very good info.
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At Oct 11, 2010, 3:33:00 AM,
Matt Wilkie said...
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Generally I find most reward cards here in the Philippines a waste of time and money. I had a reward card for SM last year with a fair few points on it but I couldn't even find where to redeem them. Like in the UK I just don't use any of them and that's what I have done here from now on its just clutter in the wallet.
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At Oct 11, 2010, 2:45:00 PM,
GingGoy said...
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matt, on SM advantage, you can immediately redeem your points at the cashier when paying for your purchanse. I think it's P1 for every 200 points, you can also inquire your balance from the cashier :P
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