Award Seat Release Time

[wandersen]

Hi Everyone - I realise this question is probably asked often but a simple search has not revealed my answer.

I haven't tried to book any reward seats for at least 3 years (mostly due to kids). I now am planning a trip for Feb '18 (for two) and would like to fly F to LAX (days/dates relatively flexible).

I recall in the past booking at right on 11am 353 days out to secure the seats and that F seats were only ever released for Tue / Wed / Thur. I was platinum then but LTG now (I barely fly at all these days, which is good thing!). Is this still the best strategy?

Thanks all.

 

[eric2011]

I would agree with your basic ideas but would suggest being very open to flexability. When I flew SYD-LAX return I booked and paid for J class and put in an upgrade request. J to F upgrade came through both times at T80. This may be an alternate if you cant book 2 F rewards at 353 days

 

[Damien00]

I was looking for flights to LAX for Feb 17 at the start of this year.

From what I could see at the time QF only seemed to release a single F seat on each flight to LAX - I stand to be corrected here and keep in mind I'm only Silver and your LTG might have access to more inventory than I could see. We ended up settling for J so that we could fly together although did consider flying on separate flights to both fly in F.

I would definitely do some test booking runs in the weeks before your flights are released so you know what to expect on the day.

 

[edwina86]

Hey guys, just jumping in here, i've been looking at flights from SYD > DFW/JFK/LAX (First, Bus, PE, one seat only) as soon as the dates come up on the award booking section (i.e. currently November 2017), but no seats available - would this be due to my lowly bronze status or is Qantas just reducing award availability for these routes? Thanks so much!

 

[Dr Ralph]

would this be due to my lowly bronze status

Likely.

Consider alternate routes and act without further delay is my advice.

 

[edwina86]

Thanks for the tip! Such a shame, i have so many points but can't get a seat!

 

[serfty]

The pattern appears to have changed somewhat in the last year or so.

Those with status are tending to still see these First seats at 353 days '10am/11am' but for those with no status they might show up a week or so later, but mainly not at all.

 

[BriarFlyer]

Hey guys, just jumping in here, i've been looking at flights from SYD > DFW/JFK/LAX (First, Bus, PE, one seat only) as soon as the dates come up on the award booking section (i.e. currently November 2017), but no seats available - would this be due to my lowly bronze status or is Qantas just reducing award availability for these routes? Thanks so much!

Edwina86, don't give up. You may see no availability on QF flights as a lowly bronze, but have you considered American Airlines? They are released later than QF -- not sure of the number of days but I did a quick random check of Nov 1 and there is both J and F availability on AA72 SYD-LAX.

 

[Spongbob]

There is always the option of SYD-JFK with CX (via HKG). Travel time is only slightly longer than with QF direct (either via LAX or DFW). While more QFF points are needed, the dollar cost is much lower than with QF flights. The availability of PE and J seats is much greater with CX than QF.

 

[wandersen]

The pattern appears to have changed somewhat in the last year or so.

Those with status are tending to still see these First seats at 353 days '10am/11am' but for those with no status they might show up a week or so later, but mainly not at all.

And which status helps? My wife is Silver and we were hoping to book one way with her points.

 

[serfty]

SG is generally better than PS, although I can't test.

Look up flights on your account, then hers and compare the results.

Note that you can transfer her points to your account - up to 600000 per year in as many transfers as it takes these days.

https://www.qantas.com/fflyer/dyn/program/usingPoints/familyTransfers

 

[mviy]

As serfty mentioned SG is considered a good level for booking award flights these days.

The key advantage of WP over SG when it comes to award seats is the unwritten benefit that you can ring up and ask if a seat can be released on QF marketed and operated flights (but the chances of being successful may be quite low. I've asked once and was flexible on dates and whether J or F and all my options were denied).

PS should still be better than NB.

With how easy it is to rack up points with credit card sign up bonuses etc. there's a lot of competition for award seats. Those that fail to get an award seat can try again another time so the problem gets worse. QANTAS still releases limited award seats especially in premium cabins which are the most desirable. The supply has not kept up with demand.

 

[wandersen]

Got it, thanks for the responses everyone.

 

[froggerADL]

The key advantage of WP over SG when it comes to award seats is the unwritten benefit that you can ring up and ask if a seat can be released on QF marketed and operated flights (but the chances of being successful may be quite low. I've asked once and was flexible on dates and whether J or F and all my options were denied).

I rang last week and requested two J seats on QF63 SYD-JNB on a specific day in May 2017. Request granted within ten minutes. I also had a J seat released on JFK-LAX-SYD for January 2016, during school holidays.

This is one of the best benefits of QF WP in my opinion.