Trying to use points London to Melbourne?

[pottsy]

I would like to use points to book London to Melbourne mid July this year, assuming there are seats. I don't seem to be able to book online (msg saying I will be directed to Qantas UK site but then nothing happens)? Be most appreciative if someone/anyone can tell me if I should be able to do this. Or am I missing something??
(I intend to pay for a discount economy fare Melb to London next week.)

 

[junbugging]

(I intend to pay for a discount economy fare Melb to London next week.)

Won't that be expensive one way?

It might be worth just getting a return economy ticket once you factor everything in.

But yes, what you're trying to do should be possible, the "directed to (origin) site" bit is normal.

 

[mannej]

What dates are you looking at?

This may help to see if there is any classic availability on the date you want for LHR-MEL.

 

[blackcat20]

You're very unlikely to find much reward availability this close in. And a one way cash fare is usually similar in price to a return...

 

[ozbeachbabe]

What dates are you looking at and how many points do you have to use?

 

[Mattg]

I agree with what the others have said. I would be shocked if you were able to find a business class reward seat on such short notice.

I think your best option is to book an economy return ticket (make sure you book at least "Saver" as sale fares cannot be upgraded) and request a points upgrade on the return (and/or outbound) flights. A return ticket is probably going to be only a few hundred dollars more than a one-way ticket from Melbourne to London.

If you let us know your dates then perhaps we can help you out further, even if this means advising which flight/s look like having more free Business class seats, so that your upgrade has a higher chance of coming through.

 

[Dr Ralph]

If you provide exact dates it would be helpful, but you've left it very late. I'd think about a non traditional route/non direct route. This may be your best bet.

 

[pottsy]

Thankyou everyone. Sorry didn't provide more accurate info! Here it is.
Hoping to depart Melb-London around 19,20 June and need to return so I am back on 22nd July.
I know I have left it late but as I have nearly a million points was hoping to use some....but not 'misuse' if you get my drift.
Very grateful for any insights you can give me as I really don't have time at the moment to study it.
Thanking you in advance.
Regards,
Jane

 

[Mattg]

If you do decide to book a paid economy ticket on the outbound and use points for the return, I have found one possible option for you. There is one First class award seat available on Malaysia Airlines flight MH1 from London to Kuala Lumpur on 22 July. There is also a Business seat available on MH149 from KUL to MEL on 23 July. You would need to call up Qantas to book this as it cannot be booked online.

Alternatively, if you'd prefer to play the upgrade game...
-QF9 on 20 June is almost completely full in Business and Premium economy. 19 June has slightly more availability, but it's still not likely that you would get an upgrade.
-QF10 departing London on 22 July has a bit of availability left in Business, but if you can depart on 19 July there are currently many more free seats on this flight. 20 July's QF10 is also looking reasonably empty, but has more seats sold than 19 July departure.
-Your upgrade is generally more likely to clear on QF9/10 (MEL-LHR) than QF1/2 (SYD-LHR).

 

[pottsy]

Thankyou that's amazing. How do you research that sort of info (number of seats sold and reward seat availability on MH etc?)

 

[Mattg]

Thankyou that's amazing. How do you research that sort of info (number of seats sold and reward seat availability on MH etc?)

To find the MH award seats, I ran a few award availability searches on the British Airways website. (You can use the Qantas website for this but it misses several oneworld airlines, including Malaysia Airlines.)

For information about the loads, I did a flight availability search on Expert Flyer (a paid subscription service).

There are a bunch of other useful resources for frequent flyers, many of which are free, but this is what I used in this case.