This is a hard one. 4 or 5 seats is difficult.
What is your capacity to spend cash to make up missing seats or internal flights?
If you take the 4 classic awards via hong kong, is that return? Are you proposing to pay cash for a fifth business class seat?
Do you what to get the internal flights on the same booking or are you happy to purchase those separately?
Having done this twice for 4 and 5 people, my approach is to get the international awards (return) and pay cash for the internal flights. I'd probably call Qantas to start to see if you can get 5 classic awards on the flight to/from USA.
Otherwise, take the 4 classic awards, assuming they are return awards, and then pay cash for the 5th seat to/from USA. But it would be better to put yourself (or the most frequent flyer) on the paid business class seat, not the kid, to earn the status credits. Absolutely make sure you have the return awards locked in before buying a paid airfare. One way international airfares are much more expensive.
I don't thing you have enough points for 5 oneworld circle awards, but there is a maximum cap for awards where you might be able to get all your flights on the one award. just not sure how that could work for 5 people. I forgot the name of this award
Thanks Vic, I'll do my best to answer your questions.
I can see on the CX website one way child in J is $4.5k, that's probably the most we would want to spend, using points for internal flights. As we are travelling across the US, we really don't want to backtrack and leave the US from NYC as our final destination is Hawaii and I see we can get award bookings in Y to most of our destinations if we book far enough in advance.
So, no, not return from Hong Kong, one way in J to NYC is our goal, Y the rest of the way across the USA and back to Australia. Does it matter if internal flights are not on the same booking? Is this so our baggage allowance is carried the whole journey?
We are both lowly Bronze and status is not important to us, we have QP for domestic flights and don't travel for work, just the odd OS junket for our business.
I've booked 4/5 J award seats multiply times over the past 12 years.... FWIW, I do have status with QFF, so that probably makes a difference.
CX will most likely be your best bet, but I would also look at using BNE as your departure/arrival point. BNE-LAX-BNE has a track record for availability for multi award seats.
A couple of random examples....
5 x J seats late July
View attachment 135701
4 x J seats late Aug
View attachment 135702
Securing the award seats (return) and then booking revenue is wise advice. Have the agent link the revenue / award booking.
Wow, you have so may more flights available than lowly Bronze here! Thanks for your reply amaroo, I hadn't considered BNE so I will research some more.
I ended up having to specify each leg including connections separately. From then I worked it down to be domestic connections with cash and international on rewards. Seemed to work out ok but was 11 months in advance too. The number of hops to get right is hard to find the given availabilty but persevere.
Oh and getting rewards from PER was a nightmare. Best starting on east coast. BNE was the best. But now with the 744s disappearing the available seats are way less and you will also end up on the coughpy Y 787s.
Thanks Mark, seems there is not much from Perth. Would you know when Emirates awards are added please?
Thanks again everyone, I've booked trips before but usually only for my partner and I, not with 3 kids added on, and with multiple stops, definitely a learning curve. I will call Qantas to see what other routes/airlines are available to us.
