View Full Version : Booking on SAA using Voyager miles
ZERO3L
29th Oct 2008, 13:51
Has anybody tried to book a local flight on SAA using accrued Voyager miles?
I tried in vain today.
Sign in, click on make a booking option and get redirected to the booking page. Fill in your details and then process. How to pay? Credit card or pay later. No "spend miles"option.
Tried another option and got told I had generated a certicate which will expires in 1 year-miles deducted from my account.
Ok. Maybe I am being dumb. So call the helpline and go through all the rediculous voice prompts. Eventually-my call is being diverted to an operator. Wonderful-an American voice answers. I am now speaking to SAA in Fort Lauderdale to sort out my domestic travel problems!
She couldnt hear me so I rang up.
What have I achieved? NOTHING!!!
Am I missing something??
Give me 1Time or Kulula's website ANYDAY!!! They are logical.
Cannot believe that this so called national airline can be so time consuming.
Deanw
30th Oct 2008, 09:30
I booked a flight using my Voyager points not too long ago.
After signing in and choosing the flight, the payment option referred to was for the so-called taxes.
How much was the total cost? It could have been for the airport taxes and other surcharges airlines like to charge extra for.
ZERO3L
30th Oct 2008, 09:52
Thanks Dean. Thats a point. I will re-check. But wouldn't it be nice if the web page offered you the option of using your miles, confirmed how many miles you would be using and then asked "Payment method for taxes'?
Its archaic and so user unfriendly. Other websites like Virgin are so simple to follow when using miles.
RobinB
30th Oct 2008, 18:19
I have been booking flights via BA's voyager program on a number of occasions - all very "lekker" and easy to do - until a week ago. Booked JNB/GLA return (via LHR) all went OK as usual - until I saw how much I had to pay for airport tax. Something did not compute - R7.6k on tax alone. So, I rebooked without BA miles. Same flights, same days, and lo and behold tax at R 5.2k. So I call BA and ask if tax would be the same for "normal" bookings and airmiles use booking - "Yes" they say, "no difference at all". So I quizz them on the R2k difference. "Impossible" they cry. So I proved it. Shock and horror. So I say, "So how many people have booked such flights and paid the wrong tax because they did not think to question what they see on the net" ? No answer. Anyway, BA local send my "proof e-mail" BA UK "for investigation and fixing". Got a note from BA UK saying "thank you for your query etc etc, we'll get back to you" - still waiting....... :=
evanb
31st Oct 2008, 00:11
There is an explanation ... taxes include four compenents: airport taxes (fees chraged by airports ... not a tax at all but they call it one), airline surcharges and levies (like fuel levies which are dependent on external or benchmarked factors like oil prices), departure taxes (government taxes levied specifically on air travel) and finally sales taxes (like VAT which are levied on all new goods and services - not specific to air travel). There is no VAT on international travel (as per international agreements) but there is VAT on domestic flights and on airport taxes.
The difference between the two prices is the VAT - on a free ticket there is no VAT, but there is VAT on the domestic portion and the airport taxes if you purchase the ticket - hence the difference in price. Unfortunately the BA staff don't understand what "taxes" mean in the prices they quote. The airlines intentionally want this since they want the staff to convince customers that "taxes" are not levied by the airlines when in fact a large portion often is!
RobinB
31st Oct 2008, 05:17
Evan, both flights booked were international flights, so VAT was not the difference between the taxes.
RB
three eighty
31st Oct 2008, 05:26
The LHR - GLA sector might be considered as domestic
evanb
31st Oct 2008, 16:28
LHR-GLA is a domestic flight. There is also VAT charged on airport taxes - even on international flights! The only portion that doesn't attract VAT on international flights is the actual ticket price which in the case of a non-revenue booking is zero!
unstable load
31st Oct 2008, 16:50
The times I have used my miles to fly I have got my travel agent to book for me. She charges a fee for it, but for the headaches of the SAA site, I think it's money well spent.
RobinB
1st Nov 2008, 10:12
If you read carefully what I did when booking via BA - I booked a flight WITHOUT BA Miles JNB/GLA and the EXACT SAME FLIGHT with BA Miles and got a R2k difference in airtax - go figure
Book without miles: pay VAT
Book with miles: don't pay VAT
Difference = R2000
VAFFPAX
3rd Nov 2008, 01:42
No Evan, read Robin's original post again: Robin booked with BA miles and the flight was 2K more in taxes, i.e. WITH miles 2K more, WITHOUT miles 2K less.
That said, booking with BA.com for a multi-stop flight ex-JNB-WDH-CPT-JNB costs the same as a rtn JNB-WDH plus rtn JNB-CPT (perhaps understandable since Comair only does JNB-WDH, not CPT-WDH)... whereas when I link up with SAA for a multi-city, it's nearly R1K cheaper, ditto for two singles with BA (JNB-WDH, CPT-JNB) plus a single with Air Namibia (WDH-CPT). A shame that AN doesn't link up with LH or BA/SAA for FF miles...
VS does make it easier booking with miles, yes. They check availability and then point out how many miles you need, plus any charges (for a PE rtn ticket that's £346.80 for APD, BAA's mafia fee, fuel surcharges).
I have found SAA's site to be utterly crap. For me to book a flight ex-SA (i.e. Namibia, Moçambique etc), I have to select South Africa as my 'home location'. I am NOT IN SOUTH AFRICA, so don't make me select that!! *ARGH* BA is retarded sometimes, but at least they allow me to choose JNB as an origin and go from there.
S.
My apologies ... that is pretty bizarre!