Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

Hello, I have been reading the classic flight rewards T&C on changes and my understanding is that routes and times can be changed up to 24 hours before a booked segment after ticketing and after the first flight of the itinerary has been taken. If no segment exists then flights can be added up to the 35,000 miles limit. Is that correct? I have a confirmed itinerary starting in March 2026 and have only used up around 20,000 miles. I am tossing up between booking a sub-optimal flight now for Feb 2027 or waiting to this time next year when I expect a lot more availability to come online, judging on what's available now for Feb 2026. Is this rational?

No., the opportunity to make changes once the first flight has been taken are very limited.
From the rules:

Changes within 24 hours of departure of a Flight Segment
14.5.12 The following changes are permitted to Qantas Flight Segments. A Change Fee will apply (see the Fee Schedule):
(a) change to flight number; and
(b) change to date of travel.

 

[flyguy77]

I’ve been trying to plan a Oneworld award to get rid of the last of my Qantas Points and honestly, Business Class availability feels absolutely terrible right now.

I’ve been checking manually almost daily and have had alerts running via tools like seats.aero for over six months on routes to Africa and the US, and it’s achieved basically nothing. There are just zero Business seats available over the next 12 months.

Is this the general trend others are seeing as well?
And if so, how are people actually managing to book these oneworld Business awards at the moment?

I know Business seats are rare but I don't remember it always being this bad?

 

[WilsonM]

I’ve been trying to plan a Oneworld award to get rid of the last of my Qantas Points and honestly, Business Class availability feels absolutely terrible right now.

I’ve been checking manually almost daily and have had alerts running via tools like seats.aero for over six months on routes to Africa and the US, and it’s achieved basically nothing. There are just zero Business seats available over the next 12 months.

Is this the general trend others are seeing as well?
And if so, how are people actually managing to book these oneworld Business awards at the moment?

I know Business seats are rare but I don't remember it always being this bad?

It's not great, but obviously depends on when/where you're going and how many seats you're looking for.

For me (and I fully acknowledge that this works for me and may not work for you/anyone else), I find the key is just get out of Australia by any means, then I can usually find something to go onwards to where I want to go (often Europe). Places like Jakarta, Manila, Kuala Lumpur and Hong Kong are not too bad right now - also, post 26 October, MEL-BKK on AY is good for availability. A couple of days stopover might be necessary as well, but that's the game.

T-PAC is hot garbage now though, and without QR on a OWCR connectivity in Africa (except North Africa) is also pretty bad - can't see this improving.