Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Muppet501st]

On the face of it you could probably extract much more value from your OWA booking than what you have at present. As Mr H said you seem to have unused stopovers and you are well short of the maximum 16 flights permissable.
Suggest you clarify your stopover cities and other itinerary details. Also, can you confirm you are flying to Dublin (DUB) and you are not mistaking the airport code for Dubai which is DXB? Why the cash fares to FCO & LHR and CVG - LAX?

Originally had 2x J rewards just from BNE- LAX return, and had paid for some internal flights, ( CVG-PHL-BDL, BOS-CVG, CVG-LAX ) All this in November returning to BNE on Thanksgiving, So we wanted to change flight to stay there for the day with friends. Couldnt find any dates suitable for the return, so cancelled this and booked the following- with the only dates i could find.
Kept the CVG-BDL , BOS- CVG flights, but cancelled and used this for the new dates as below.


BNE-DUB via DOH 90 min connection with QR - Oct 23
LHR-CVG via PHL 2.5hr connection, BA and AA - Nov 3rd
LAX-BNE , QF Dec 6th

I then went and booked reward flights DUB-LHR-FCO. Oct 28th, FCO-LHR 1st Nov , all on BA with QF points.

Am new to Oneworld and these rewards flights- If
Cheers
Ken

 

[gilldo]

Can someone please provide me with some clarity of what happens when you can't make a sector within a specific RTW ticket.

In my case we're booked in J as follows later this year:

1. ADL-MEL-LAX-SFO-ANC (stop 1 - QF/AS)
2. ANC-SEA-YYC (stop 2 - AS)
3. YYC-ORD-BOS (stop 3 - AA)
4. BOS-CLT-SEA (stop 4 - AA)
5. SEA-PHX (stop 5 - AA)
6. LAX-HND-SYD-ADL (end - JL/QF)

5 stops, 15 sectors (9 J class, 5 Y class (mainly Alaska), 1 surface)

If we were to miss any of the above sectors (particularly due to illness), what happens to the rest of our trip?

My understanding is all subsequent bookings are canned - is this true? Has anyone had to deal with this before overseas?

 

[Mr H]

If we were to miss any of the above sectors (particularly due to illness), what happens to the rest of our trip?

My understanding is all subsequent bookings are canned - is this true? Has anyone had to deal with this before overseas?

The rules are that changes are no permissible once the first sector is flown, and a missed sector causes the rest of the itinerary to be cancelled. Travel in a Covid-normal world is a big unknown and you might get lucky if an agent could cancel a sector if you call up before the flight leaves. I am guessing this would be pot luck, and you might have more luck just cancelling a sector and catching up with the itinerary later rather then trying to get anything rescheduled. But we need data points and I hope you are not going to become one.

 

[gilldo]

But we need data points and I hope you are not going to become one.

Me too.

Post automatically merged: Apr 21, 2022

and a missed sector causes the rest of the itinerary to be cancelled.

Can you point me to anywhere this is written down?

 

[Lynda2475]

What happens if you miss a flight connection due to delays on an earlier flight on a OWA? My first leg is QF 1 SYD-SIN-LHR + LHR-EDI; if for what ever reason QF1 is late and I miss my LHR-EDI, I would expect BA to put me on a later flight.

I had assumed that because checked in all the way through to EDI and I would actually be flying, a missed connection would not cancel remainder of the OWA ticket - is this correct?

 

[Guvner]

Me too.

Post automatically merged: Apr 21, 2022

Can you point me to anywhere this is written down?

14.9.5 here: https://www.qantas.com/au/en/freque...join/terms-and-conditions.html#reward-flights

 

[Mr H]

14.9.5 here: https://www.qantas.com/au/en/freque...join/terms-and-conditions.html#reward-flights

But this section of the terms of carriage may offer a glimmer of hope if you notify QF in advance...

4.6 If You Are Late or Do Not Show Up for Your Flight​

Refer to the fare rules of the fare you have purchased.
If you notify us in advance, in accordance with any timeframes set out in your fare rules, that you will not show up for the flight, we will not cancel any subsequent flight reservations on your Ticket.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Can someone please provide me with some clarity of what happens when you can't make a sector within a specific RTW ticket.

Best to ask the question in the Oneworld Explorer thread here: Oneworld Explorer ticketing

This thread is about the Qantas Oneworld Classic Flight Award which has NO requirement to circle the globe, so best not to confuse the two.

 

[vetrade]

What happens if you miss a flight connection due to delays on an earlier flight on a OWA? My first leg is QF 1 SYD-SIN-LHR + LHR-EDI; if for what ever reason QF1 is late and I miss my LHR-EDI, I would expect BA to put me on a later flight.

I had assumed that because checked in all the way through to EDI and I would actually be flying, a missed connection would not cancel remainder of the OWA ticket - is this correct?

If you miss a flight through no fault of your own such as bad weather or a mechanical problem, the airlines will get you to your destination on a later flight or maybe re-route you to your destination. They may even get you there on a non OW flight if that is the best, or only, option (QR once initially booked us on a Lufthansa flight when our QR flight to MUC was cancelled due to mechanical problems). In cases where an airline only has one flight a day between 2 cities, if it is cancelled they may decide to put you on another carrier to save you a 24 hr delay.
Sometimes delays or cancellations can mean significant inconvenience to you, but the rest of your itinerary won't be cancelled. In some cases, even if you did miss a flight through your own fault, the airlines will still help you get to your destination without the risk of the rest of your award itinerary being cancelled. They may not be helpful if you just don't turn up for a flight though.

 

[vetrade]

Can someone please provide me with some clarity of what happens when you can't make a sector within a specific RTW ticket.

If we were to miss any of the above sectors (particularly due to illness), what happens to the rest of our trip?

Don't expect the airlines to help much in the case of illness or maybe having to isolate for a week or more due to Covid. That's what travel insurance is for.

 

[Mr H]

Don't expect the airlines to help much in the case of illness or maybe having to isolate for a week or more due to Covid. That's what travel insurance is for.

Unfortunately travel insurance is useless for wiped itineraries paid for through frequent flyer points. They may repatriate you directly (do not pass Go, do not collect $200) or they may give you a single ticket to recommence your journey, but they won't reinstate forfeited flights on a multi-sector award.

 

[vetrade]

Originally had 2x J rewards just from BNE- LAX return, and had paid for some internal flights, ( CVG-PHL-BDL, BOS-CVG, CVG-LAX ) All this in November returning to BNE on Thanksgiving, So we wanted to change flight to stay there for the day with friends. Couldnt find any dates suitable for the return, so cancelled this and booked the following- with the only dates i could find.
Kept the CVG-BDL , BOS- CVG flights, but cancelled and used this for the new dates as below.


BNE-DUB via DOH 90 min connection with QR - Oct 23
LHR-CVG via PHL 2.5hr connection, BA and AA - Nov 3rd
LAX-BNE , QF Dec 6th

I then went and booked reward flights DUB-LHR-FCO. Oct 28th, FCO-LHR 1st Nov , all on BA with QF points.

Am new to Oneworld and these rewards flights- If
Cheers
Ken

Your original post confused me because you wrote you had a paid sector DUB – FCO – LHR, which seemed a convoluted way of getting from DUB – LHR; but now I see that you are actually flying DUB – LHR – FCO (stop) and then FCO – LHR. Still, why book these legs separately with QF points rather than just adding them to your OWA itinerary, which would have saved you the extra points?

 

[vetrade]

Unfortunately travel insurance is useless for wiped itineraries paid for through frequent flyer points. They may repatriate you directly (do not pass Go, do not collect $200) or they may give you a single ticket to recommence your journey, but they won't reinstate forfeited flights on a multi-sector award.

Agree that travel insurance is not a panacea, but the point I was making is that travellers are on their own when it comes to delays caused by illness. It's not the airlines' problem and the only remedy is TI or dipping into your own pocket.

 

[straitman]

You know the post you replied to is 16 years old?

I am flattered that they found that old post as I had absolutely no recollection of it.

 

[Mr H]

I am flattered that they found that old post as I had absolutely no recollection of it.

And did you get your six J RTW award seats over the Christmas holidays all those years ago?

 

[Muppet501st]

Your original post confused me because you wrote you had a paid sector DUB – FCO – LHR, which seemed a convoluted way of getting from DUB – LHR; but now I see that you are actually flying DUB – LHR – FCO (stop) and then FCO – LHR. Still, why book these legs separately with QF points rather than just adding them to your OWA itinerary, which would have saved you the extra points?

I didn’t believe it would come under the fare rules for the points. Backtracking I thought.
So could I call up QF and add these flights ?and only have the taxes to pay ?

 

[Jacques Vert]

Backtraking is not relevant on a Oneworld Award; not an issue at all (unlike some paid RTW tickets and awards with some other airlines/alliances).

 

[vetrade]

I didn’t believe it would come under the fare rules for the points. Backtracking I thought.
So could I call up QF and add these flights ?and only have the taxes to pay ?

If award seats are available for those flights you can certainly add them to your OWA for the cost of the taxes etc. and cancel your existing booking for them. But be aware you cannot just call QF and ask them to combine the two bookings.

 

[JohnM]

Backtraking is not relevant on a Oneworld Award; not an issue at all (unlike paid RTW tickets and awards with some other airlines/alliances).

Backtracking within a continental zone is permitted on a OneWorld Explorer (ie. a true RTW paid fare) but not between continental zones (ie. across oceans).

 

[Jacques Vert]

Backtracking within a continental zone is permitted on a OneWorld Explorer (ie. a true RTW paid fare) but not between continental zones (ie. across oceans).

Agreed. Should have said "some" paid RTW fares.