Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[JohnM]

Hello, I'm new to the Oneworld family and planning a RTW award booking next year travel dates 20/03/22-20/07/22 approx.

I've been doing everything I can to read up to understand but its a lot!

I'm trying to get my head around obtaining award availability. As the only way I can see to book is waiting until 26/07/21 to book the entire trip in 1 go. But I fear by then award availability for the earlier parts of the trip will be difficult to come by.

Previously for reward bookings id just book each leg 1 at a time approx 360 days out. But doesn't look like I can do that with a RTW booking?

Is there a strategy I'm missing or do I just have to wait until July and hope for the best?

Just to be clear: there is no requirement on these OneWorld Award bookings to go RTW. They are primarily distance-limited.

RTW, such as OneWorld Explorer, are paid fares and a completely separate matter.

 

[Captain Halliday]

This thread is about the Qantas Oneworld Classic flight reward. There is no requirement to go RTW.*

Oneworld’s round-the-world product is very different. It’s called the Oneworld Explorer. Details of can be found here.

If it is the Oneworld Award you are after, @MEL_Traveller’s advice has you covered - you can build the trip segment by segment.

EDIT: Beaten by @JohnM

 

[DC3]

...I'm trying to get my head around obtaining award availability. As the only way I can see to book is waiting until 26/07/21 to book the entire trip in 1 go. But I fear by then award availability for the earlier parts of the trip will be difficult to come by.

Previously for reward bookings id just book each leg 1 at a time approx 360 days out. But doesn't look like I can do that with a RTW booking?

Is there a strategy I'm missing or do I just have to wait until July and hope for the best?

I have flown/planned several oneworld award trips.

Waiting for availability for all flights has risks. You may loose seats while waiting for others to open. Book as availability opens up, for me. I do the initial flight bookings online and get the Booking Reference. Then, all other new flights/changes are via the Call Centre.

Also, this is not RTW as such, although you may choose to go around the world if you wish. You can go anywhere, as long as keeping within the rules.

 

[11sjw]

Hello, I'm new to the Oneworld family and planning a RTW award booking next year travel dates 20/03/22-20/07/22 approx.

I've been doing everything I can to read up to understand but its a lot!

I'm trying to get my head around obtaining award availability. As the only way I can see to book is waiting until 26/07/21 to book the entire trip in 1 go. But I fear by then award availability for the earlier parts of the trip will be difficult to come by.

Previously for reward bookings id just book each leg 1 at a time approx 360 days out. But doesn't look like I can do that with a RTW booking?

Is there a strategy I'm missing or do I just have to wait until July and hope for the best?

Book your first leg as soon as it's available on line. After that you ring up and add to the booking each time yournext leg becomes available, paying the change fee each time.

 

[Spacetravel]

Oh it does look like I was confused, however this seems much better! Looks like I'll do as you have said to start booking and adding legs as they come online.

Thanks guys!

 

[vetrade]

Oh it does look like I was confused, however this seems much better! Looks like I'll do as you have said to start booking and adding legs as they come online.

Thanks guys!

Remember that the various OW airlines have different award seat release dates (and QF even have different international award release dates for different status levels). That means it's likely that award seats won't be released in the chronological order of your proposed itinerary so I suggest you set up a spreadsheet or similar to readily see the order in which you likely need to book. I find having a spreadsheet in front of me when talking to the call centre makes it easier to quickly reference flight nos. etc of alternative flights if my first preference isn't available for some reason. Plus, you can readily see if a flight the agent suggests works for you.

Based on release dates, you may also find you can add two or more flights during a single call to the call centre, which will reduce the number of change fees you end up paying.

 

[Spacetravel]

Remember that the various OW airlines have different award seat release dates (and QF even have different international award release dates for different status levels).

Oh gee this is going to get complicated! Thanks for the heads up. Is there an easy place that lists the different release date times maybe a thread on aff?

 

[Matt_01]

Oh gee this is going to get complicated! Thanks for the heads up. Is there an easy place that lists the different release date times maybe a thread on aff?

There used to be a wiki however I cannot find the link so I will take a stab based on what I know and have booked with in the past. I may be out a day or 2:

QF - D-353 for P1 and WP, not sure about SG, then it drops to around 320-330 for PS and NB.
QR - D-360 +/- this is about when I see the flights not sure for other status levels
CX - D-360 +/- this is about when I see the flights not sure for other status levels
JL - D-360 +/- this is about when I see the flights not sure for other status levels
MH - D-360 +/- this is about when I see the flights not sure for other status levels
IB - D-360 +/- this is about when I see the flights not sure for other status levels
BA - D-354 this is about when I see the flights not sure for other status levels

 

[vetrade]

Oh gee this is going to get complicated! Thanks for the heads up. Is there an easy place that lists the different release date times maybe a thread on aff?

It can take a while to get your head around it but all the info you need is already in this thread.
Here's a start for you:

AA	330 days
CX	360 days
BA	354 days
QR	361 days
QF	353 days for Y Internat. & Dom (Y & J) - 297 Bronze; 330 Silver
JL	360 days
RJ	362 days
UL - Sri Lank	361 days
MH	330 days
AY	361 for Y but J not released till 60 days now
IB	361 days

 

[Matt_01]

@vetrade have MH changed something I can currently see out to around 357 days, a random search SIN to ADL.

 

[DC3]

Release dates can be a bit hypothetical. The published released timeframe tends to be the maximum. An airline is not obliged to release seats on all flights. On some, it may release none.

Also, AA have some seasonal routes, where the schedule may not be released until a few months out.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Oh gee this is going to get complicated! Thanks for the heads up. Is there an easy place that lists the different release date times maybe a thread on aff?

This AFF summary of the Qantas Oneworld Classic Flight award may help.

 

[vetrade]

@vetrade have MH changed something I can currently see out to around 357 days, a random search SIN to ADL.

You may be right, Matt_01. MH is an airline I haven't flown with for about 25 years and they have never come into my planning for a OW award, so their listing may be out of date. Perhaps I should have added E&OE at the bottom.

As DC3 correctly pointed out, airlines can, and do, elect to occasionally depart from their standard award release dates at their own discretion. My list was a starting point for banana0692. As always with this thread if you post something contentious there's someone sure to put you right.

 

[Matt_01]

@banana0692 if you are looking to commence travel between 20 Mar 22 - 20 Jul 22 there may be no better time to start booking. For some carriers their reward bookings will open within the next couple of days and at present J and F availability across most OW carriers seem to be wide open. Also if book the QF classic rewards prior to 30 Apr 21 you can change the booking as many times as you want without incurring the points per pax change or cancelation fee through to 31 Jan 22, it is a win-win situation. Just be mindful that depending on your status the QF CC waiting times can be long and when building out your trip a call to QF is often required.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

@banana0692 if you are looking to commence travel between 20 Mar 22 - 20 Jul 22 there may be no better time to start booking. For some carriers their reward bookings will open within the next couple of days and at present J and F availability across most OW carriers seem to be wide open. Also if book the QF classic rewards prior to 30 Apr 21 you can change the booking as many times as you want without incurring the points per pax change or cancelation fee through to 31 Jan 22, it is a win-win situation. Just be mindful that depending on your status the QF CC waiting times can be long and when building out your trip a call to QF is often required.

A closer reading of the Qantas change policy states that 'date changes' are free of charge, not changes to any other aspects of the booking. While it might be that QF are waiving the full change fees at the moment, it's possible they could revert to the exact wording of the policy at any time. Adding several sectors could mean considerable points. (You could cancel for free and rebook, but of course risk losing any flights that were released.)

 

[ozflier]

I have been a bit confused about this issue but it seems that it is not just changes to dates that count but all kinds of changes if you can believe the QFF FAQ below

Flexible Classic Flight Rewards | Qantas Frequent Flyer

Book an eligible Classic Flight Reward using your points, we’ll waive any change or cancellation fees until 31 October 2020.

www.qantas.com

Frequently Asked Questions

I had originally booked an international Classic Flight Reward seat, but now I’d like to change to a domestic booking, will the point fee waiver apply to me?
Yes, with the new point fee waiver policy you can now change or cancel your existing Classic Flight Reward booking for free, until 28 February 2022, providing the booking contains Classic Flight Reward seats only, and not a commercial fare

 

[Matt_01]

I posted up thread that I have a booking that I have been changing to satisfy my own curiosity. Since making the original booking I have changed the date, the route, added in sectors both domestic and international without any issues. I noticed that QF has extended the change period from 31 Jan 22 to 28 Feb 22

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I have been a bit confused about this issue but it seems that it is not just changes to dates that count but all kinds of changes if you can believe the QFF FAQ below

Flexible Classic Flight Rewards | Qantas Frequent Flyer

Book an eligible Classic Flight Reward using your points, we’ll waive any change or cancellation fees until 31 October 2020.

www.qantas.com

Frequently Asked Questions

I had originally booked an international Classic Flight Reward seat, but now I’d like to change to a domestic booking, will the point fee waiver apply to me?
Yes, with the new point fee waiver policy you can now change or cancel your existing Classic Flight Reward booking for free, until 28 February 2022, providing the booking contains Classic Flight Reward seats only, and not a commercial fare

Technically that makes sense, ‘changing’ an international booking to domestic is essentially a cancellation... the international flights are gone, and you’re rebooking a domestic one. Fees are waived.

I accept Matt_01’s experience, but the letter of the change policy refers to dates only (or cancellation)... so this afternoon they could decide to enforce that. Still not so much of a biggie... but just to be aware that several changes *could* attract 10-15k or more in fees.

 

[DC3]

Notwithstanding free changes at the moment, I’ve found the 5,000 points per change to be insignificant in the big picture. Book as availability appears works best for me.

 

[Matt_01]

For all those planning trips in early to mid 2022 do you have any confidence that the flights will occur or you just taking the punt, see what happens and cancel if required.

By my last calculation I am about 2 weeks away from pulling the trigger for an Apr 22 OW trip the main destination is NYC, CA both sides, SEA and SFO. As there is no OW options in CA my focus is on all the long haul sectors in either J or F. F may prove difficult or not economical as JL, QR and QF are no longer options from AU. JL, BA, and to a limited extent AA still have reasonable F options, although I like CX F I am not trusting of CX as looking at FR24 CX are currently using the a350 on a number of sectors that pre Covid were 777 routes. Looking at the J options QR, CX, IB and AA (flag ship) seem to be the contenders.

The current plan (prefered) is AU-JP-EU/UK-US (east coast), on the way back US (west coast) UK-SG-AU. Mileage is proving tight on this itinerary but should work. Not knowing what countries may be off limits or if transiting through will result in quarantine requirements I am booking a couple of backup options to get me to/from the US either via Asia or the Middle East. Last time I checked it seems to be a similar amount of points to go AU-HK(JP)-US return or AU-DXB(DOH)-US (east coast) return as the capped OW reward and I get this is not quite as good value, but no more and maybe a few less points required. Like many others I have a large number of 2020 returned points and with no points change penalties I am not to concerned about usage. Also not fussed about paying for flights NYC to either YUL or YYZ as these are cheap, I accept that I will have to pay for internal CA flights and getting from Vancouver to SEA will most likely be by train or ferry.

My main goal is to start the official trip on any OW carrier other than QF and I am will pay for the domestic flights to get me on my way. If things are not looking up by around Aug 21 I will just cancel and restart again for Sep 22.