Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[pye1201]

Hoping more experienced minds than mine can advise me here - I've done a couple of Business class Oneworld Classic Flight Reward itineraries for my husband and I over the past few years and am under the gun to plan another starting March 2025 as there will be another new grandchild arriving. We have one child in London and another in New York. I'm hoping to split the itinerary into two separate trips as follows:

AKL-NAN(X)-LAXo-SYDo-DOH{X}-ISTo-DOHo-CMBo-SYD

I'm planning to finish in SYD but the mileage to AKL will have to be added to the total I understand? To get to the states and to Europe, the closest I can get is SFO (domestic flights to JFK - husband is AA platinum pro and hopeful we might snag upgrades) and then Istanbul in the second half of the itinerary (short flight to London) to keep under the 35k mileage cap. The above itinerary comes in at 34486 on Great Circle Mapper.

My previous trips have circled the globe however, on my reading of the rules, I don't have to circumnavigate - backtracking isn't specifically forbidden?

What's wrong the above itinerary? Apologies in advance if it's comething really stupid....

 

[Mwenenzi]

Hoping more experienced minds than mine can advise me here - I've done a couple of Business class Oneworld Classic Flight Reward itineraries for my husband and I over the past few years and am under the gun to plan another starting March 2025 as there will be another new grandchild arriving. We have one child in London and another in New York. I'm hoping to split the itinerary into two separate trips as follows:
AKL-NAN(X)-LAXo-SYDo-DOH{X}-ISTo-DOHo-CMBo-SYD

I'm planning to finish in SYD but the mileage to AKL will have to be added to the total I understand? To get to the states and to Europe, the closest I can get is SFO (domestic flights to JFK - husband is AA platinum pro and hopeful we might snag upgrades) and then Istanbul in the second half of the itinerary (short flight to London) to keep under the 35k mileage cap. The above itinerary comes in at 34486 on Great Circle Mapper.

My previous trips have circled the globe however, on my reading of the rules, I don't have to circumnavigate - backtracking isn't specifically forbidden?

What's wrong the above itinerary? Apologies in advance if it's something really stupid....

AKL-NAN-LAX on FJ? Given QF AA do not fly that route. FJ are not yet a full OW member so currently not an eligible airline. Date when FJ become a full OW member yet to published. But hopefully by March 2025. HA brand to a full OW member, if that happens, may also offer other NZ-AU <--->USA routes/flights.
Getting 2 off QF business awards on QR Qatar is very hard. Suggest you look at other OW airlines/routes.

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/use-points/classic-flight-rewards/tables.html#oneworld

The oneworld Classic Flight Reward table is based on return flights, unlike the Qantas Classic Flight Reward table.

The oneworld Classic Flight Reward table only applies when your Reward Itinerary includes travel on at least two oneworld Member Airlines other than Qantas, and does not include any travel on any airline that is not a oneworld Member Airline. Qantas flights operated by Jetstar Airlines (JQ, 3K or GK)^^ cannot be included in oneworld Classic Flight Rewards.

 

[RedSMS]

Hi all,

Am QFF Bronze. I was a Gold QFF at the end of my last anniversary, and I managed to book 2 business class reward flights for last month --》MEL-LAX & LAX-SYD for ~108,000 points , plus ~$150-$200 in fees (each).

I thought that the price (both in points, and cash was reasonable), if younwere lucky enough to find a seat.

No big deal, I thought.

Big deal for future plans as it turns out.

So, I'm going to say a few things here in order to gain an understanding into how the rewards system at QF operates, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

I would be looking to travel in J to the east coast USA in June/July 2026 to attend a conference --》but am happy flying economy from west-east and vice versa.

Qantas has this new 'classic plus' system, where it appears that you can book reward flights on nearly every flight, but at enormously inflated prices (in points and cash).

I realise that finding reward availability was always extremely tricky at the best of times, but ~700,000 points (and over $600) for a 1 way business class reward fare MEL-LAX?!

Where do they get off?! (Pardon the pun).

So, I have a few questions and observations:

I've noticed that on most fares they have a 'classic plus' reward option, but barely any 'classic' rewards. The 'classic plus' rewards are obnoxious in price.

Am I seeing less classic rewards in J because I've been bumped down to bronze?

How do I best go about setting myself up to book MEL-LAX & LAX-MEL on a 'classic' reward in june/July 2026?

I realise these are the busiest times with the highest demands, but when I was Gold, I was able to make it work, (for example), by choosing Fiji airways instead of QF on the MEL-LAX, then flying indirect (LAX-SYD) instead of LAX-MEL on the return.

I kinda knew that QF were switching things up , making claims that it would be easier to book reward flights, but at 6-7X the price of a regular 'classic' reward?

I spent over a decade collecting enough points to fly to LA and back in J. Took God knows how many flights, and I'm looking at needing ~1.5 million points in order to do the same thing in just under 2 years time?

Is there a way to only search for the 'classic' awards?

Has the availability of 'classic' rewards diminished, in favour of these exorbitant new classic plus rewards? As in, are there less of them?


Do they increase 'classic' reward visibility for silver, gold, plat, Platinum 1 QFF's?

If so, is it done exponentially? IE silver can see a few, Gold can see more, Platinum a whole heap etc.

I'm in shock. My points are worthless...

 

[flyguy77]

I'm in shock. My points are worthless...

Not completely worthless but i'd say the value is going down by the day.

Also not overly useful now for anyone wanting to plan ahead and book on routes like that.

I'm a Gold and there's zero Business Reward seats on Qantas to/from the US for basically anytime in 2025 - so status won't help unless you're Platinum and can request (which still might not help)

 

[Captain Halliday]

so please correct me if I'm wrong.

Okay, if you insist.

Qantas has this new 'classic plus' system, where it appears that you can book reward flights on nearly every flight, but at enormously inflated prices (in points and cash).

I've noticed that on most fares they have a 'classic plus' reward option, but barely any 'classic' rewards. The 'classic plus' rewards are obnoxious in price.

Classic Plus flights are not eligible for inclusion in a One World Classic Flight Award.

Am I seeing less fewer classic rewards in J because I've been bumped down to bronze?

You asked to be corrected.

by choosing Fiji airways instead of QF on the MEL-LAX,

FJ is not eligible for inclusion in a One World Classic Flight Award.

Is there a way to only search for the 'classic' awards?

Not on the QF site directly. Likely by design.

However, third party sites like Expertflyer and Seatsaero can do this, but require a subscription.

Has the availability of 'classic' rewards diminished, in favour of these exorbitant new classic plus rewards? As in, are there less fewer of them?

This one is contested and only QF knows.

What certainly has changed is the seat release pattern.

Awards are no longer released when inventory first becomes available.

They’ll sometimes appear seemingly randomly, and often in big releases for publicity purposes.

Do they increase 'classic' reward visibility for silver, gold, plat, Platinum 1 QFF's?

If so, is it done exponentially? IE silver can see a few, Gold can see more, Platinum a whole heap etc.

Not visibility specifically. However, high status members get earlier access.

As you’d expect some get snapped up and so as you are no longer gold, you likely see fewer classic award seats.

This doesn’t necessarily mean fewer were released.

It could just be that they have been taken by the time they become visible to silver and bronze members.

 

[ctcuzz]

Question for a oneworld award ticket booking…
Once the itinerary has started, I know we cannot change segments etc anymore, but can I change the fare class of a flight?
E.g if I booked economy for 1 leg of my itinerary and business class becomes available, can they make that change for me for 5k points?

 

[FlyingFiona]

Question for a oneworld award ticket booking…
Once the itinerary has started, I know we cannot change segments etc anymore, but can I change the fare class of a flight?
E.g if I booked economy for 1 leg of my itinerary and business class becomes available, can they make that change for me for 5k points?

No. Selecting a mixture of classes is available at the time of initial booking but the highest class booked will determine the entire fare at that level. (E.g. if you only have one J class and the rest are Y then the whole ticket is priced as J.)

 

[WilsonM]

Not on the QF site directly. Likely by design.

However, third party sites like Expertflyer and Seatsaero can do this, but require a subscription.

If you're searching for only Classic Rewards (i.e. don't want Classic+), use the multi-city search option. This doesn't show any Classic+ options

Not visibility specifically. However, high status members get earlier access.

As you’d expect some get snapped up and so as you are no longer gold, you likely see fewer classic award seats.

Qantas does sometimes release extra availability for only SG/WP members - more common on Asia routes such as CGK or MNL (as US routes have no availability anyway).

 

[pye1201]

AKL-NAN-LAX on FJ? Given QF AA do not fly that route. FJ are not yet a full OW member so currently not an eligible airline. Date when FJ become a full OW member yet to published. But hopefully by March 2025. HA brand to a full OW member, if that happens, may also offer other NZ-AU <--->USA routes/flights.
Getting 2 off QF business awards on QR Qatar is very hard. Suggest you look at other OW airlines/routes.

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/use-points/classic-flight-rewards/tables.html#oneworld

Thank you - I should have seen that in the previous thread. I'm having the same problem as RedSMS - it seems that since Qantas introduced the ClassicPlus awards, there is next to no availability for Classic Business Class seats on any major route. I've given up on trying to put together a Oneworld Classic Flight reward itinerary in business class. We booked classic reward business class seats from DPS-LHR instead to get to see the new Grandchild in March, and we'll use up some more points to do a positioning flight to get us there. Feels like such a waste. I'll be Qantas Platinum by end October (finishing the second half of a Done5 then) and perhaps I might see business class availability earlier..

 

[DC3]

… I'll be Qantas Platinum by end October (finishing the second half of a Done5 then) and perhaps I might see business class availability earlier.

What is your current QFF status? I don’t see it in your AFF profile?

I’ve dropped to Gold and see almost no Classic award availability for places/routes that I’m interested in doing.

 

[ctcuzz]

No. Selecting a mixture of classes is available at the time of initial booking but the highest class booked will determine the entire fare at that level. (E.g. if you only have one J class and the rest are Y then the whole ticket is priced as J.)

Sorry, I think my question may have been unclear.

For example, if I have the following flights booked under 1 itinerary:
1. Business class on 5 Aug 24
2. Business class on 5 Oct 24
3. Business class on 7 Oct 24
4. Economy class on 12 Oct 24
5. Business class on 15 Oct 24

As it is now 13 Aug 24 and I have already flown the 1st flight, is it still possible to call up and change the economy flight (#4) to business class (same day and flight)?

 

[cjd600]

Sorry, I think my question may have been unclear.

For example, if I have the following flights booked under 1 itinerary:
1. Business class on 5 Aug 24
2. Business class on 5 Oct 24
3. Business class on 7 Oct 24
4. Economy class on 12 Oct 24
5. Business class on 15 Oct 24

As it is now 13 Aug 24 and I have already flown the 1st flight, is it still possible to call up and change the economy flight (#4) to business class (same day and flight)?

No. Can change travel class, for any flight, up to 24hrs before the first flight.

After first departure:

After commencement of travel on an Itinerary and up to 24 hours prior to commencement of any subsequent Flight Segment

15.2.9 Subject to this clause 15.2, the following changes are permitted and a Change Fee per passenger will apply (see the Fee Schedule):

(a) change to flight number; and
(b) change to date of travel.

 

[pye1201]

What is your current QFF status? I don’t see it in your AFF profile?

I’ve dropped to Gold and see almost no Classic award availability for places/routes that I’m interested in doing.

I'm currently gold. We'll finish our 70,000 mile Done5 in October and thus gain platinum. I'm getting more and more disillusioned with the qantas program. I wanted status next year because I thought imight see more award availability and it might make it easier to get hold of qantas staff who knew what they were doing to get my next OW classic flight itinerary booked but I don't think it's going to happen. First world problems I know......

 

[Thomas088]

Thank you - I should have seen that in the previous thread. I'm having the same problem as RedSMS - it seems that since Qantas introduced the ClassicPlus awards, there is next to no availability for Classic Business Class seats on any major route. I've given up on trying to put together a Oneworld Classic Flight reward itinerary in business class. We booked classic reward business class seats from DPS-LHR instead to get to see the new Grandchild in March, and we'll use up some more points to do a positioning flight to get us there. Feels like such a waste. I'll be Qantas Platinum by end October (finishing the second half of a Done5 then) and perhaps I might see business class availability earlier..

Yes we found the same issue with next to no business availability for classic rewards on QF operated flights (as a silver member), luckily we ended up getting seats on JAL in/out of Australia.

It may be too late for your current trip, and I don’t have firsthand experience of the success rate - but once you/a family member reaches platinum remember you can also request the release of classic award seats

 

[pye1201]

Yes we found the same issue with next to no business availability for classic rewards on QF operated flights (as a silver member), luckily we ended up getting seats on JAL in/out of Australia.

It may be too late for your current trip, and I don’t have firsthand experience of the success rate - but once you/a family member reaches platinum remember you can also request the release of classic award seats

I had no idea members with status could do this!! Thanks so much for drawing my attention to it - I'll have to give it a go! I think It's too late for the trip to see the next grandchild in March but it might make a 2025 family Christmas in the UK possible!! I'll have status through to November 2025 so might be able to book it!!
Cheers!

 

[pye1201]

As usual, I'm looking for input from more knowledgeable minds than mine. Apologies in advance for my longwinded plea for assistance.

I'm currently trying to do a trial run with dummy dates for a OWA Econ itinerary on the Qantas multi city tool to get a ballpark costing for my twin sister (who barely knows how to turn a computer on) to take a trip next year. She's finally amassed enought points for a OWA Economy itinerary. She wants to be in Tokyo for a cruise in September 2025, then I thought she could come back to Sydney for a long 'stopover', before using the second half of the itinerary to fly to Europe. I am hoping she could start the trip in say, AKL or HKG, fly to Tokyo, do the cruise and spend time in Japan, then fly back to Sydney for 6 months, then fly to LHR (or FCO depending on miles), coming back through DOH/DXB, stopping in CMB for a couple of weeks in Sri Lanka before finishing in Sydney (with the miles back to her origin point included in the 35K total). A couple of the itineraries I've tried are:

AKL-HKG (CX) TRANSIT
HKG-HND (CX) STOPOVER
HKG-SYD (pref JL or may QF if necessary) STOPOVER
SYD-DOH (QR) TRANSIT
DOH-FCO (BA) STOPOVER
FCO-DOH (QR) TRANSIT
DOH-CMB (QR) STOPOVER
CMB-SYD (QR) FINISH
The above miles on GCM (inc. the miles between SYD-HKG) are just over 34k.

Starting her in HKG gives her some extra miles to get to LHR for a stopover but will cost her more for the positioning flight. I also tried starting her in Manila - AA flies direct from there to HND.

Technically there is no rule against back-tracking I think? Is my problem that she's got a SYD stopover in the middle of the first itinerary and then coming back to SYD isn't allowed before the ticket technically closes out in HKG, even if she finishes in SYD?

Also tried the following:
SYD-HND (JL) STOPOVER
HND-HKG (CX OR JL) TRANSIT
HKG-AKL (CX) STOPOVER
(return AKL-SYD flght before resuming itinerary)
AKL-KUL (MH) TRANSIT
KUL-DOH (MH or QR) TRANSIT
DOH-FCO (MH or QR) STOPOVER
FCO-DOH (MH or QR) transit
DOH-CMB (QR) STOPOVER
CMB-SYD (QR of QF) FINISH
Mileage of 34,122k.
Thought she could just get a return flight AKL-SYD for the 6 month break in the itinerary.

I had planned to book the Tokyo part of the itinerary around December this year , then just book dummy dates for the european content until those flights become available. Classic Economy tickets aren't as difficult to find as Business Class so I thought this might work?

I just keep getting the same message on the multi-city tool: Change your departure or arrival city and try again. (#9207). I've checked flight availability on OW airlines on all the flights on expertflyer. I've checked availability on the Qantas website (even though it seems not to like transiting through DOH sometimes for some reason - DXB would do as well). I must have a flaw in the itinerary because I keep getting the same message.... I can't even make the itinerary work, let alone get a ballpark costing.... I had in mind that the fees/surcharges might probably come to around the $1k mark for this econ itinerary? Am I wildly out?

I must be making some really obvious stupid error that I'm going to be very embarrassed about..

 

[WilsonM]

As usual, I'm looking for input from more knowledgeable minds than mine. Apologies in advance for my longwinded plea for assistance.

I'm currently trying to do a trial run with dummy dates for a OWA Econ itinerary on the Qantas multi city tool to get a ballpark costing for my twin sister (who barely knows how to turn a computer on) to take a trip next year. She's finally amassed enought points for a OWA Economy itinerary. She wants to be in Tokyo for a cruise in September 2025, then I thought she could come back to Sydney for a long 'stopover', before using the second half of the itinerary to fly to Europe. I am hoping she could start the trip in say, AKL or HKG, fly to Tokyo, do the cruise and spend time in Japan, then fly back to Sydney for 6 months, then fly to LHR (or FCO depending on miles), coming back through DOH/DXB, stopping in CMB for a couple of weeks in Sri Lanka before finishing in Sydney (with the miles back to her origin point included in the 35K total). A couple of the itineraries I've tried are:

AKL-HKG (CX) TRANSIT
HKG-HND (CX) STOPOVER
HKG-SYD (pref JL or may QF if necessary) STOPOVER
SYD-DOH (QR) TRANSIT
DOH-FCO (BA) STOPOVER
FCO-DOH (QR) TRANSIT
DOH-CMB (QR) STOPOVER
CMB-SYD (QR) FINISH
The above miles on GCM (inc. the miles between SYD-HKG) are just over 34k.

Starting her in HKG gives her some extra miles to get to LHR for a stopover but will cost her more for the positioning flight. I also tried starting her in Manila - AA flies direct from there to HND.

Technically there is no rule against back-tracking I think? Is my problem that she's got a SYD stopover in the middle of the first itinerary and then coming back to SYD isn't allowed before the ticket technically closes out in HKG, even if she finishes in SYD?

Also tried the following:
SYD-HND (JL) STOPOVER
HND-HKG (CX OR JL) TRANSIT
HKG-AKL (CX) STOPOVER
(return AKL-SYD flght before resuming itinerary)
AKL-KUL (MH) TRANSIT
KUL-DOH (MH or QR) TRANSIT
DOH-FCO (MH or QR) STOPOVER
FCO-DOH (MH or QR) transit
DOH-CMB (QR) STOPOVER
CMB-SYD (QR of QF) FINISH
Mileage of 34,122k.
Thought she could just get a return flight AKL-SYD for the 6 month break in the itinerary.

I had planned to book the Tokyo part of the itinerary around December this year , then just book dummy dates for the european content until those flights become available. Classic Economy tickets aren't as difficult to find as Business Class so I thought this might work?

I just keep getting the same message on the multi-city tool: Change your departure or arrival city and try again. (#9207). I've checked flight availability on OW airlines on all the flights on expertflyer. I've checked availability on the Qantas website (even though it seems not to like transiting through DOH sometimes for some reason - DXB would do as well). I must have a flaw in the itinerary because I keep getting the same message.... I can't even make the itinerary work, let alone get a ballpark costing.... I had in mind that the fees/surcharges might probably come to around the $1k mark for this econ itinerary? Am I wildly out?

I must be making some really obvious stupid error that I'm going to be very embarrassed about..

Qatar Airways doesn't allow access to any award via Qantas Frequent Flyer until 30 days prior to departure, and 3 days prior for Business. So that's why you're getting a #9207 error, as there's no flights available to QFF, despite the QR flights being made available through other OW programs. You can technically fly through Doha by using something like BA-MH, but the Qantas website really doesn't like Doha and Dubai.

 

[RPC]

G'day crew,
I'm hoping it appropriate in where I'm posting this query.
I have an iterinary planned for 2 weeks in the US over Christmas, only issue is repositioning ourselves back at LAX to fly home. Looking to get back from New York on the 27th of Dec 24, using Qantas points. Given the time of year options are quite limited, I wanted to know if any can think of any creative ways (pending an additional stop or two) in the US to get us from NY back to LAX by 27th or 28th of December. Have tried mutliple options NY to St Louis, St Louis to LAX, Dallas, Charlotte, etc. Would be amazing if there was a website that would spot all possible rewards routing options.

 

[pye1201]

Qatar Airways doesn't allow access to any award via Qantas Frequent Flyer until 30 days prior to departure, and 3 days prior for Business. So that's why you're getting a #9207 error, as there's no flights available to QFF, despite the QR flights being made available through other OW programs. You can technically fly through Doha by using something like BA-MH, but the Qantas website really doesn't like Doha and Dubai.

Thanks for that. That explains my problem.. I'll have to try and get creative I guess...

 

[SubRosa]

Hey there brains trust. I'm looking for tips regarding the Qantas hotline so I can finalise a oneworld classic reward flight booking.

What details should I be providing, to make it easier for Qantas to see oneworld availability - not just for Qantas, but also for partner airlines?
I can see plenty of availability when I look up the same flight on partner airlines such as British Airways, Finnair, Japan Airlines and Malaysian Airlines. Qantas just seems to say no.


Background
First leg is booked. Need to add segments. Hence I have to use the hotline. I'm Bronze and hubby is Silver.

Spent three hours practising HUACA already. Got lots of tips from here (ask to check availability, don't let them touch the existing booking; have my booking open, checking ticketing starts with '081' by using the Royal Jordanian website etc)

The dream is to fly Australia - Asia - Europe and then return (via Middle East or Asia) in mid-2025. Two adults, business class. We have the points - including to pay for fare changes etc. The first leg (SYD-HND-FRA) is booked. Just looking to add internal Europe flights and then the leg home. Plenty of rewards availability when I check British Airways, Finnair, Japan Airlines and Malaysian Airlines.

I'm pretty sure its equally frustrating for Qantas staff. So far I've spoken to a team in South Africa and a team in Fiji. One of them got pretty cranky with me and just kept telling me what they could and couldn't see on their screen. Not exactly helpful for someone on the phone. Apart from remaining calm and polite, not sure what else I can do. All suggestions gratefully received.