Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[adelee]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Hi all. Just wanted to share our final, locked in 280k itinerary FOR 2 X pax and one lap infant now that we have booked our last legs for June 2016. While we incurred a few set of change fees building this itinerary, and it differs a bit from the initial plan, I'm pretty happy with the final mix we've achieved (most of the flights we wanted, minimal taxes and the ability to tack on a second trip next June in the Top End, all before my daughter turns 2 on July 2). After 50 plus hours clocked up to the booking process, I'm now finally ready to leave it alone and to focus on the upcoming trip

Something else I wanted to share - we are ending our journey in Adelaide, and I'd assumed that we would be able to do this, as long as we left enough miles for the return trip to Melbourne (the originating city for this booking), without a need to actually book that as a leg. However, the system wouldn't allow us to end in ADL - we had to book the last leg back from ADL-MEL.

Dec 2015 - Jan 2016
((ADL - MEL (separate booking, cost))
MEL-HKG-JFK (CX, STOPOVER)
JFK-MAD-BCN (IB, STOPOVER)
((BCN - FRA (SURFACE SECTOR))
FRA-HKG-AKL (CX, STOPOVER)
AKL-BNE-ADL (QF, STOPOVER)

June 2016
ADL-DRW (STOPOVER)
DRW-ADL-MEL.

Total miles: 34,998
Total combined taxes (2 x adults, 1 lap infant): $1,340.71
Total number of calls to QF call centre: 18
All sectors in J

Thanks to all who provided assistance as I navigated through the research and booking process, the advice has been invaluable!

 

[flychrisfly]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Not sure if this has been asked before, but how do the stopover and transfer rules apply to surface segments?



eg. I want to go:
DEN-xLAX-SYD [stop] (AA F, QF F)
SYD-xDFW-xPHX-SAN [stop] (QF F, US F)
SAN-xLAX-MEL [stop] (AA Y, QF F)

Now here is my query. I want to go to SYD straight after arriving into MEL (yes I will need to buy a separate ticket because I can't stop in SYD twice), then a few months later take another F flight to LAX. (QF 11 or 93 doesn't matter).
Is it possible to have a surface segment MEL-SYD, then book:
SYD-LAX [stop]
LAX-DEN?
Or will the fact that I'm departing a surface segment from SYD mean that the stop is not in MEL, but in SYD (breaking the one stopover rule per port)? Can't see anything in the T&Cs about this.

I have two transfers and one stop in LAX which to me sounds legal (going through a port is either a transfer or a stopover and not both).
Total is 34,967 miles too. That way I can make the most of 4x transpac F flights which are normally 144k each (168k for DFW).

Interested if anyone has done something similar regarding surface segments.

Pretty sure what you want to do all okay. The stopping city is the one that counts as the stopover. Good luck getting all those transpacs in F!

 

[Kangol]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Pretty sure what you want to do all okay. The stopping city is the one that counts as the stopover. Good luck getting all those transpacs in F!

Awesome, thanks. Good to know the arrival city is the stopover. Yeah getting the F seats released is what I'm planning - one of the most valuable benefits of WP..

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Total miles: 34,998

That must be some kind of record to get to within only 2 miles of the total distance allowed. Well done!

 

[adelee]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

That must be some kind of record to get to within only 2 miles of the total distance allowed. Well done!

Thanks vetrade. The QF call centre operator was quite amused. DRW was literally the only suitable northern Australian destination we could get to within the mileage we had, when factoring in the requirement for the last leg back to MEL. Ideally, with a lap infant, we would have preferred to cut the mileage down by initially heading to JFK via DFW, and back to ADL from AKL via SYD, however after months of daily checking for new award availability to check up, I'm calling it a day and locking in. Should be an amazing trip!

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

DBO-SYD (QantasLink) - HGK- CDG ( CX)- stop.
ORLY- MAD-DKR (Ib)- stop.
DKR - MAD(Ib)- stop.
San sebastian (EAS) isn't searchable on the Qantas website so could I just call QF in regards to this segment after searching on the IB website? Also, if I went DKR-MAD-EAS with the stopover in EAS, that would then mean I'd have 2 transfers through MAD and one stopover (the land section they'd add on from EAS -MAD). Am I on the right track??
Then heading home could be MAD - LHR - HGK - SYD (CX) - DBO (QANTASLINK). Think I should have one stopover left so that could be HGK if need be.

Really grateful for your help evtrade, I never would have found Air Nostrum!!

Air Nostrum is a OW affiliate but I don't have any personal experience I can relate to you regarding award seats, LizM. They are a subsidiary of IB though (which I have flown quite a few times). My experience has been that getting award J seats on IB is a lot easier than other OW airlines (notably AA and BA across the Atlantic), so maybe (hopefully) Air Nostrum is similar. To check for availability I reckon the best option might be to join "Iberia Plus" online so that you can search for award seats to EAS using Avios points/miles. BA uses Avios too but I don't know if you can search for Air Nostrum awards if you signed up for their Executive Club, but that may be another option. Like you mentioned, I guess you could always ring QF first and ask them if they can "see" Air Nostrum awards on their system since their website doesn't show them.

The rest of your latest itinerary looks "do-able" to me so even if it did eventuate that you had to buy a return ticket from MAD to EAS or BIQ it's only a short trip (short enough to fly Y) so shouldn't be too expensive. Maybe there's a train option too - would probably be a cheap and picturesque option - and probably no more time consuming by the time you consider airport time.

 

[Jordan613]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Total miles: 34,998

Very impressive! Well done

 

[madrooster]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Total miles: 34,998
Total combined taxes (2 x adults, 1 lap infant): $1,340.71
Total number of calls to QF call centre: 18
All sectors in J

I'd be surprised if 34998 made the cut when Amadeus calculates the ticketed mileage... milecalc.com says it's 34698?

 

[adelee]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I'd be surprised if 34998 made the cut when Amadeus calculates the ticketed mileage... milecalc.com says it's 34698?

I use mile calc to come up with my figure. However just noticed it has 34698 in brackets next to 34998. Is it then actually the figure in brackets that is correct? [TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TH="colspan: 3"]Mileage Summary
[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Flight Miles
[/TD]
[TD]34998 (34698)
[/TD]
[TD]69996 (69396)
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Booking Class Bonus
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Elite Status Bonus
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Promotion Bonus
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Credit Card Miles
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Trip Total
[/TD]
[TD]34998
[/TD]
[TD]69996
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cents per Mile (cpm)
[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[madrooster]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I use mile calc to come up with my figure. However just noticed it has 34698 in brackets next to 34998. Is it then actually the figure in brackets that is correct? [TABLE="width: 100%"]
[TR]
[TH="colspan: 3"]Mileage Summary[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Flight Miles[/TD]
[TD]34998 (34698)[/TD]
[TD]69996 (69396)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Booking Class Bonus[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Elite Status Bonus[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Promotion Bonus[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Credit Card Miles[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Trip Total[/TD]
[TD]34998[/TD]
[TD]69996[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Cents per Mile (cpm)[/TD]
[TD][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

milecalc.com defaults to a minimum 500 miles earned per sector (as that's what say earning to AA would be). If you look at the breakdown of each segment you'll find the shorter sectors are less than 500 miles but are being counted as 500 towards your total.

 

[ellen10]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Hi all. Just wanted to share our final, locked in 280k itinerary FOR 2 X pax and one lap infant now that we have booked our last legs for June 2016. While we incurred a few set of change fees building this itinerary, and it differs a bit from the initial plan, I'm pretty happy with the final mix we've achieved (most of the flights we wanted, minimal taxes and the ability to tack on a second trip next June in the Top End, all before my daughter turns 2 on July 2). After 50 plus hours clocked up to the booking process, I'm now finally ready to leave it alone and to focus on the upcoming trip

Total miles: 34,998
Total combined taxes (2 x adults, 1 lap infant): $1,340.71
Total number of calls to QF call centre: 18
All sectors in J

Well done adelee!!

 

[coles525]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Just wondering if my future OW Business class seems achievable as is, or if any changes should happen (ie: ditch a segment, or go in through a different country).

QFF website is telling me I'm 1 segment over my limit. Sorry for not knowing all the airport codes.

1: MEL - Honolulu
2: Honolulu - LAX
3: LAX - Chicago
4: Chicago - Ottawa, Canada
5: Canada - Miami
6: Miami - Reykjavik
7: Reykjavik - Dublin
8: Dublin - London
9: LHR - Oslo
10: Oslo - Stockholm
11: Stockholm - Delhi
12: Delhi - Kathmandu
13: Kathmandu - Shanghai
14: Shanghai - Seoul
15: Seoul - Tokyo
16: Tokyo - Home (Syd, Bri, Mel: easiest available)

Some if not most flights have connections, what could be the best choices (surface sector, Change a sector to a country not listed?

Sorry if this has double posted, (using tapatalk) previous attempt said I wasnt logged in, not permitted; so had to re type everything (not exactly!).

We already have enough points for 2 people (560k), with another 100k transferring over rhe next few months.

PS: new android app is really annoying me now! When error fixing, "blue arrow" goes anywhere. No curser to even show me where I'm actually typing my words even...

 

[madrooster]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

1: MEL - Honolulu
2: Honolulu - LAX
3: LAX - Chicago
4: Chicago - Ottawa, Canada
5: Canada - Miami
6: Miami - Reykjavik
7: Reykjavik - Dublin
8: Dublin - London
9: LHR - Oslo
10: Oslo - Stockholm
11: Stockholm - Delhi
12: Delhi - Kathmandu
13: Kathmandu - Shanghai
14: Shanghai - Seoul
15: Seoul - Tokyo
16: Tokyo - Home (Syd, Bri, Mel: easiest available)

You're well over your sector count. You are also only permitted to have 5 stops. The minimum sectors to achieve what you are looking for:

1: MEL - Honolulu - 2 sectors (need to route via SYD)
2: Honolulu - LAX - 1 sector
3: LAX - Chicago - 1 sector
4: Chicago - Ottawa, Canada - 2 sectors (need to route via PHL)
5: Canada - Miami - 1 sector, possible 2
6: Miami - Reykjavik - 2 sectors
7: Reykjavik - Dublin - 2 sectors
8: Dublin - London - 1 sector
9: LHR - Oslo - 1 sector
10: Oslo - Stockholm - 2 sectors
11: Stockholm - Delhi - 2 sectors
12: Delhi - Kathmandu - 2 sectors
13: Kathmandu - Shanghai - 2 sectors
14: Shanghai - Seoul - 2 sectors
15: Seoul - Tokyo - 1 sector
16: Tokyo - Home (Syd, Bri, Mel: easiest available) - 2 sectors

Total of 26 sectors at least.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Coles525, your plans miss the mark on nearly every level for OW award bookings so it's apparent that you need to start from scratch and familiarise yourself with the basic T&Cs for OW awards and at least the most recent 10-20 pages of this thread. The awards T&Cs are section 14 of the T&Cs on QF's website.

The basics are:
No more than 16 sectors (individual flights)
No more than 2 transits through any one city
No more than 5 stopovers (stays of more than 24 hrs)
No more than 35,000 miles travelled in total (including "point to point" land legs)

First up, you should forget about HNL - if you can get award seats into or out of there (on any airline) you will be doing better than everyone else on AFF.........they are as "rare as hens teeth".

 

[coles525]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Glad nothings planned till lave next year. Will read up on section 14 T&C.

Thanks for all the info

 

[adelee]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

milecalc.com defaults to a minimum 500 miles earned per sector (as that's what say earning to AA would be). If you look at the breakdown of each segment you'll find the shorter sectors are less than 500 miles but are being counted as 500 towards your total.

On, the irony! Thanks for confirming. Should have queried this with the forum awhile back.

 

[Inuniform]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I am accumulating points for two ATW tickets in J and am getting to the stage where I am starting to think about strategising a booking. One question that I can't seem to find the answer to is, how can I book an ATW ticket a year out when all of the legs of that trip won't be released at the same time? It seems that if I booked each leg as it became available it would be at a far greater cost. Alternatively, if I tried to book each leg of the ATW ticket at the same time I there would be a lack of availability. I'm hope there's an easy answer, but if there is I can't seem to find it.

Thanks in advance.

 

[hutch]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I am accumulating points for two ATW tickets in J and am getting to the stage where I am starting to think about strategising a booking. One question that I can't seem to find the answer to is, how can I book an ATW ticket a year out when all of the legs of that trip won't be released at the same time? It seems that if I booked each leg as it became available it would be at a far greater cost. Alternatively, if I tried to book each leg of the ATW ticket at the same time I there would be a lack of availability. I'm hope there's an easy answer, but if there is I can't seem to find it.

Thanks in advance.

As you've mentioned, unfortunately you either have to
- wait for all the legs to be available and book online in one hit (wouldn't recommend); or,
- book the first leg online and then call qf to add additional legs at 3,500pts per person

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I am accumulating points for two ATW tickets in J and am getting to the stage where I am starting to think about strategising a booking. One question that I can't seem to find the answer to is, how can I book an ATW ticket a year out when all of the legs of that trip won't be released at the same time? It seems that if I booked each leg as it became available it would be at a far greater cost. Alternatively, if I tried to book each leg of the ATW ticket at the same time I there would be a lack of availability. I'm hope there's an easy answer, but if there is I can't seem to find it.

Thanks in advance.

Pweekes, unfortunately the problems you have mentioned are all true. Very few people manage to get all their ducks to line up to book a whole RTW award trip in one try. There is often a short window of opportunity to grab J seats which means you can't afford to wait until all flights are released before you start booking. It doesn't help that the various OW airlines release their flights at variable times in advance - e.g. QF release theirs at 353 days out but for AA it's supposed to be 330days.

To save on change fees it pays to do some research well in advance of when you intend to book and you will often hear AFFers say that you need to be flexible. On some high demand routes (e.g SYD - LAX) award seats might be snapped up within minutes of release whereas for others (I'm thinking trans Atlantic IB flights here) might be regularly available for 6 weeks or so after release. As a general comment, CX are also known to have quite good availability. My point is that sometimes it can be safe to hold off booking a sector where you know availability is good so that you can couple it with another flight before you ring QF to add to your itinerary. I have done this quite a few times but researching and preparation did take up a lot of time, which may not be a luxury you have yourself.

So unfortunately there is no easy answer.

 

[Inuniform]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

As you've mentioned, unfortunately you either have to
- wait for all the legs to be available and book online in one hit (wouldn't recommend); or,
- book the first leg online and then call qf to add additional legs at 3,500pts per person

Is the 3500 pts/person a one off charge? If I am calling up qf to book the first leg of an ATW trip how am I charged? Do I have to have the full amount of points required (280k) plus the 3500 pts/person prior to booking my first leg?