Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[snabbu]

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

Hi all, i have had some issues trying to get the reward to price out at 280K online. Ive used GCMapper and even at the most extreme itinerary it comes in under 35,000 miles. Im basically trying to do the following

1. MEL-DOH-VIE (QR) 1st stop
2. MAD-EZE (IB)
3. EZE-JFK (AA)
4. JFK-YVR (CX)
5. LAX-NRT (JL)* 5th Stop
6. NRT-SYD-MEL (JL)*

*for these im using AA and Qantas just to price it up online.

Issue, when i get to the LAX-NRT leg it goes from 280K to 400K even though these legs havent passed the 35,000 mark, and i havent done more than 5 stops or two open jaws etc. Im pretty sure ive moved in one direction the whole time so i cant really think whatelse it could be. Is there something obvious that im missing or should i just give the Qantas people a call?

Ive even tried dropping to MEL - DOH and replacing it with BKK-DOH or just DOH-VIE to try and save some miles, which brought it down to <31,000. I still have the issue of it going over 280K on the NRT - MEL leg. I was also hoping that if i starting in BKK i could add another MEL - BKK a few months later for another trip, again it prices out as above.

It would be good to hear some feedback before i call Qantas just make sure i dont need to go back fully and change everything.

Thanks in advance

You are at 36890 or there abouts including surface sectors so you will need to trim that down to under 35k for this award to work.

 

[uiopui]

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

You are at 36890 or there abouts including surface sectors so you will need to trim that down to under 35k for this award to work.

Thanks snabbu, Of course - i read that on the first page of this thread but overlooked it now that i come to book re the surface sectors counting to miles.

Unfortunately i still cant figure out why i cant book the much shorter version that starts in DOH.

 

[Meggsy]

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

Thanks snabbu, Of course - i read that on the first page of this thread but overlooked it now that i come to book re the surface sectors counting to miles.

Unfortunately i still cant figure out why i cant book the much shorter version that starts in DOH.

If you start in DOH and finish in MEL the system will calculate the distance back to DOH and add it on to the total. I.e. You need to calculate and include the distance back to DOH if you cease the trip at another port.

 

[snabbu]

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

Thanks snabbu, Of course - i read that on the first page of this thread but overlooked it now that i come to book re the surface sectors counting to miles.

Unfortunately i still cant figure out why i cant book the much shorter version that starts in DOH.

No worries. It's certainly not easy to remember all the different constraints/requirements. It would be great to have some sort of wiki specifically for these 140/280/420 awards.

 

[Canada]

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

Hi everyone,

May I please have some advice on this? Or, if I should be on the page where I pay for advice - please also let me know.

I would like to go to LA and New York (in any order, from Perth) in July this year.

Any dates between 4th July 2016 and must be back in Perth on/before 17 July 2016.
4 adults (youngest will be 15 years old).
I have 269,109 qantas points.
I would like to spend 5 days in Las Vegas (is that enough?)
and about 6 days in New York.
I realize this is not enough points for all 4 so wondering if it's best to get 4 ppl to Perth - HK on Cathay, then pay HK to New York x 4, then points again for New York - LA, or LA to New York, whichever works out cheaper.
I'm confused by where people find all their flights.
Perth is tricky - the only direct flight is via HK however I heard Japan Airlines may add some new options.
Anyway, is anyone wiling to give me a suggested itinerary or help me find the best way to use the points please?
I would prefer we all travel together so could get 2x Perth - NY return, then pay for 2. And sort out internal NY - Las Vegas flights.
I have to give a ballpark figure to hubby so need to make it look as attractive (i.e. cheap) as possible!
Once before I think someone suggested a BA flight in there but I don't understand how people find all these alternative airlines. I've been trying to use Qantas for searching but I don't think I'm finding all the options.
Economy
Thank you.

 

[Danger]

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

Hi everyone,

May I please have some advice on this? Or, if I should be on the page where I pay for advice - please also let me know.

I would like to go to LA and New York (in any order, from Perth) in July this year.

Any dates between 4th July 2016 and must be back in Perth on/before 17 July 2016.
4 adults (youngest will be 15 years old).
I have 269,109 qantas points.
I would like to spend 5 days in Las Vegas (is that enough?)
and about 6 days in New York.
I realize this is not enough points for all 4 so wondering if it's best to get 4 ppl to Perth - HK on Cathay, then pay HK to New York x 4, then points again for New York - LA, or LA to New York, whichever works out cheaper.
I'm confused by where people find all their flights.
Perth is tricky - the only direct flight is via HK however I heard Japan Airlines may add some new options.
Anyway, is anyone wiling to give me a suggested itinerary or help me find the best way to use the points please?
I would prefer we all travel together so could get 2x Perth - NY return, then pay for 2. And sort out internal NY - Las Vegas flights.
I have to give a ballpark figure to hubby so need to make it look as attractive (i.e. cheap) as possible!
Once before I think someone suggested a BA flight in there but I don't understand how people find all these alternative airlines. I've been trying to use Qantas for searching but I don't think I'm finding all the options.
Economy
Thank you.

I think the first thing to note is you'll be travelling during school holidays and at this late stage you will likely find it very difficult to frequent flyer seats. Therefore my suggestion would be to find what seats you can get on points, from wherever to wherever, first. For example, see if you can find any seats between Perth and Hong Kong on points; Hong Kong and Los Angeles/New York JFK/New York Newark/Boston/Dallas; Beijing and New York JFK/Dallas/Chicago; Shanghai and Los Angeles/Dallas/New York JFK/Chicago; Tokyo Narita or Haneda and Boston/Miami/New York JFK/Chicago/Washington . . . In fact, I would phone Qantas and say "I'd like to go from Perth to New York or Los Angeles, can you please help?" It will be easier for them to do the searches. AA is launching service from Auckland in July at some point so that may also be an option (although at the moment all I can see are multiple seats LAX-AKL on 12 July).

But, I should have checked availability first before entering into the above verbal diarrhoea as trusty Cathay does indeed have great availability between Hong Kong and New York. (Thank God for Cathay!) For example, there are at least two seats between Hong Kong and New York JFK and New York Newark on the evening of 5 July and at least two seats from Newark to Hong Kong in the early hours of 15 July (arriving 16 July). Then there's at least two seats Hong Kong to LA on 5 July so you could fly HKG-LAX (or onto Vegas for the same number of points using AA), make your own way to New York then fly EWR (New York Newark)-HKG on 15 July for 112k points per person return. The taxes? A ridiculously cheap $160 total for two (based on one way HKG-LAX). Have I thanked God for Cathay?

To get to Hong Kong obviously Cathay is the best option but consider other choices like Malaysia Airlines via KL or flying with Jetstar or Qantas to Singapore then Cathay onwards.

Yes, five days in Vegas is enough. Four in my opinion is plenty unless you love gambling. I would be more inclined to make it four in Vegas and seven in New York. It also may pay to have a night up your sleeve to give you more flexibility for flights.

I would pay for the US internal flights rather than use points, particularly if you're not concerned about who you fly with.

Qantas's search engine will show QF, BA, AA, QR (most of the time although there appears to be some issues) and EK flights and, I think, JL. Avoid BA flights if at all possible unless you have a desire to take out a second mortgage to pay their taxes.

Please report back and let us know how you progress.

 

[Canada]

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

I think the first thing to note is you'll be travelling during school holidays and at this late stage you will likely find it very difficult to frequent flyer seats. Therefore my suggestion would be to find what seats you can get on points, from wherever to wherever, first. For example, see if you can find any seats between Perth and Hong Kong on points; Hong Kong and Los Angeles/New York JFK/New York Newark/Boston/Dallas; Beijing and New York JFK/Dallas/Chicago; Shanghai and Los Angeles/Dallas/New York JFK/Chicago; Tokyo Narita or Haneda and Boston/Miami/New York JFK/Chicago/Washington . . . In fact, I would phone Qantas and say "I'd like to go from Perth to New York or Los Angeles, can you please help?" It will be easier for them to do the searches. AA is launching service from Auckland in July at some point so that may also be an option (although at the moment all I can see are multiple seats LAX-AKL on 12 July).

But, I should have checked availability first before entering into the above verbal diarrhoea as trusty Cathay does indeed have great availability between Hong Kong and New York. (Thank God for Cathay!) For example, there are at least two seats between Hong Kong and New York JFK and New York Newark on the evening of 5 July and at least two seats from Newark to Hong Kong in the early hours of 15 July (arriving 16 July). Then there's at least two seats Hong Kong to LA on 5 July so you could fly HKG-LAX (or onto Vegas for the same number of points using AA), make your own way to New York then fly EWR (New York Newark)-HKG on 15 July for 112k points per person return. The taxes? A ridiculously cheap $160 total for two (based on one way HKG-LAX). Have I thanked God for Cathay?

To get to Hong Kong obviously Cathay is the best option but consider other choices like Malaysia Airlines via KL or flying with Jetstar or Qantas to Singapore then Cathay onwards.

Yes, five days in Vegas is enough. Four in my opinion is plenty unless you love gambling. I would be more inclined to make it four in Vegas and seven in New York. It also may pay to have a night up your sleeve to give you more flexibility for flights.

I would pay for the US internal flights rather than use points, particularly if you're not concerned about who you fly with.

Qantas's search engine will show QF, BA, AA, QR (most of the time although there appears to be some issues) and EK flights and, I think, JL. Avoid BA flights if at all possible unless you have a desire to take out a second mortgage to pay their taxes.

Please report back and let us know how you progress.

Brilliant! Thank you.

 

[Geta]

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

Hi all, just signed up here after lurking for a little while

I was hoping for some advice or a sanity check on our plans using the Oneworld Award.

We're either 12 or 18 months out from embarking on a trip, depending on finances. The plan is actually to travel slowly, long term, but seeing we have some QFF points sitting around I began investigating the best use for them and we're now looking at doing a year long RTW trip, then spending a few months in Aus before starting again with a one way fare to SE Asia.

There are four of us, looking at economy, so 560k points (plus possibly some for over the phone bookings/changes). We reckon we'll be able to get enough points by that time, if we take advantage of a few more credit card sign up bonuses.

At this stage, our plan is, very roughly, to fly to Europe, spend around 4 months there, then to Africa for a couple of months, then East Coast USA for a few months and road trip down to the South (Texas?), then South America for a few months. We would be pushing it to keep under 35k miles but I think it should be doable with some jiggling around - we are entirely flexible really, our main criteria is simply to spend two or three months on each continent over that year.

How hard is it likely to be to secure four reward seats for each flight? Bearing in mind that we wouldn't actually have enough points until fairly close to departure date, so couldn't book far ahead. Also, I gather seeing we're looking at doing this over a year, we would have to book the flights and then change some of the dates down the track. Would each change incur another 10k point fee? (4 x 2.5k points). If so, that would add up quite quickly.

Finally - and this might be more a matter of opinion - do you think it makes sense to try and use the points in this way, or is it likely to be too hard / inflexible and might we be better served to use those points down the road as we travel, and stick to our original plans to slow travel starting in SE Asia?

Thanks in advance for any advice. I realise our plans are a fair way down the track, but there's a lot to plan for so working out if we're going to try to start with a RTW trip or not is fairly important in our planning process!

 

[vetrade]

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

Save yourself a lot of trouble and just source the cheapest Y tickets you can, Geta. Your points can be used for some specific flights (I’d be targeting ones with low fees / taxes) but for what you're planning I think trying to fit together a OW reward itinerary will be more trouble than it's worth.

 

[Geta]

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

Thanks for the advice mate. I kind of suspected it might be too hard to do that for four on points. They don't make it easy do they...

On flights with low fees/taxes, is there a good resource to find these, or a collection of good candidates lurking in the forums somewhere? I know larger airports like Heathrow slug you with pretty high fees, and you can use ITA Matrix to see a break down of charges, but that's about the extent of my knowledge.

 

[Danger]

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

I agree with vetrade. There are a lot of hurdles, Geta. Four award seats on international flights would be tough and as you won't be booking the whole award (ie. all five stops) at once, you may well have to expend more than 140k per person initially, until you satisfy the other criteria of this award, such as two carriers other than Qantas. That's in addition to the change fee which you've highlighted which is actually 3.5k per person per change. Ridiculous, really. You would ultimately need well over 140k per person due to this as you'll be planning a lengthy trip where flights won't be available all at once. Also, there's a very good chance that the exorbitant taxes charged by some carriers (particularly QF and BA) will make a paid trip more appealing. And finally I believe the validity of the ticket is 12 months from the date of the initial ticketing which is another reason this type of award ticket is likely not suited to your plans.

 

[Geta]

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

Thanks Danger, that confirms what vetrade said, and my suspicions!

When the time comes we'll check out what is on offer with RTW tickets, and either jump on something paid, or stick to our original plans and go at a slower pace starting in SE Asia.

 

[vetrade]

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

CX and IB both have the advantage of generally good reward availability and much lower taxes. I have found IB very good for flights between US and Europe. AA also has much lower fees/taxes too - check them out for US domestic flights or US to Sth America.

 

[Geta]

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

That's good info, thanks!

I flew IB once from Madrid to Havana, I recall the service was shocking, but I'm all about the price and perhaps they were just having a bad day I'd fly them again in a heartbeat if the price is right.

 

[vetrade]

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

That's good info, thanks!

I flew IB once from Madrid to Havana, I recall the service was shocking, but I'm all about the price and perhaps they were just having a bad day I'd fly them again in a heartbeat if the price is right.

IB does tend to be mediocre on its short haul services, especially within Europe, but I've also flown them several times long haul between Madrid and the US east coast (NY & Miami) and they were so much better that you would think it was a different airline.

 

[Jacques Vert]

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

Unfortunately i still cant figure out why i cant book the much shorter version that starts in DOH.

Are you trying to book that on-line through QF? Remember that JL flights don't show on QF search engine; you would need to book over the phone and ask for the booking fee to be waived.

 

[kimnkk]

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

What can i do with 1 stopover and 800 miles left on my 280k RTW?



1. MEL-HKG-KIX (Stopover 1)
2. ICN-LHR (Openjaw from KIX-ICN, & Stopover 2 in LHR)
3. LHR-NYC (Stopover 3)
4. NYC-DOH-JRO (Stopover 4)
5. JRO-DOH-PER-MEL (End)
TOTAL: 34,218mi

So its already pretty close to the limit, but don't want to waste the 1 stopover!
Have already used one open jaw, so another left i think.

I will be in Europe for ~3 weeks, in and out from London (i prefer not having to go back to LHR to leave, but can't afford the mileage from another open jaw in europe?)
I would like to make it to Santorini (JTR), but its 1600mi from LHR & that's only 1 way.

Any ideas as to where i can go or make my trip more convenient with this 800mi?
Feel free to chop and change the segments, maybe some are better off bought seperately?

 

[madrooster]

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

I will be in Europe for ~3 weeks, in and out from London (i prefer not having to go back to LHR to leave, but can't afford the mileage from another open jaw in europe?)
I would like to make it to Santorini (JTR), but its 1600mi from LHR & that's only 1 way.

You have sufficient mileage to originate leg 3 from CDG routing CDG-LHR-NYC. It'd save you $300.

 

[kimnkk]

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

You have sufficient mileage to originate leg 3 from CDG routing CDG-LHR-NYC. It'd save you $300.

Thanks, that's a good idea madrooster!
I called up just then to try that and there was availability for CDG-LHR (then connect with my LHR-NYC). Both would be with BA.

However! Something must have made it invalid as my itinerary went from 280k to like 500k. He put my on hold to find out what was wrong and I was on hold for 25+ minutes before it got cut off, so no answer
He said mileage would be 34,500mi or so with CDG-LHR in. I would be at 4 stopovers, 1 open jaw (between KIX & ICN).

Can't think of anything that would throw it off! Any ideas?
Will that be a problem with BA if i booked two separate BA and connected them instead of their 'official' CDG-LHR-NYC? The operator didn't seem too sure, he said he would try put it through to find out!

 

[Coley]

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

What can i do with 1 stopover and 800 miles left on my 280k RTW?

1. MEL-HKG-KIX (Stopover 1)
2. ICN-LHR (Openjaw from KIX-ICN, & Stopover 2 in LHR)
3. LHR-NYC (Stopover 3)
4. NYC-DOH-JRO (Stopover 4)
5. JRO-DOH-PER-MEL (End)
TOTAL: 34,218mi

..............................

Feel free to chop and change the segments, maybe some are better off bought seperately?

Your mention of Santorini gave me some beach break ideas. Was a quick look so check for errors


A simple option would be an open jaw in JRO, take land/boat transport from JRO to Zanzibar (ZNZ) and fly back to DOH from there.

If you have spare QFF points, another option would be to have a stopover in DOH and fly using another QFF award flight on Emirates to Seychelles (SEZ) and back to DOH to continue on. Fairly low point cost from memory.

Not sure if you need to do your stopovers in that order but changing it up a little and coming home via the pacific will get you another 1000 miles spare. Just need to be on the ball to get the right award flight.
MEL-HKG-KIX-ICN-HKG-DOH-JRO-DOH-LHR-NYC-LAX-MEL - 33,366mi

You could then add in something like the Maldives (MLE).
MEL-HKG-KIX-ICN-HKG-MLE-DOH-JRO-DOH-LHR-NYC-LAX-MEL - 34,482 mi

If you are going during summer, BA have flights to Santorini (JTR). You could fly to ATH from DOH and get a ferry straight to Santorini, have a stopover and then fly out to London.
MEL-HKG-KIX-ICN-HKG-DOH-JRO-DOH-ATH-JTR-LHR-NYC-LAX-MEL - 33,723 mi

You could check out Miami (MIA). Or you could always buy separate flights to anywhere in the Caribbean for pretty cheap from MIA.
MEL-HKG-KIX-ICN-HKG-DOH-JRO-DOH-LHR-NYC-MIA-LAX-MEL - 34,338 mi

Or check out Cancun (CUN).
MEL-HKG-KIX-ICN-HKG-DOH-JRO-DOH-LHR-NYC-MIA-CUN-DFW-LAX-MEL - 34,790 mi

or fly home on an A380.
MEL-HKG-KIX-ICN-HKG-DOH-JRO-DOH-LHR-NYC-MIA-CUN-DFW-SYD-MEL - 34,650 mi