Business Rewards - Points for One way vs Return

[tomasp]

Hi Guys,

Bit of a noob question, but are the points required to book a Business rewards (say BNE/MEL to LAX) the same for 2 x 1 way fares (i.e. one way there, one way back) as it is when searching and booking for a return trip?

Reason for asking is, I'm WP and wanted to book my first international business rewards flights for my partner and I (looking at flying January-ish 2019). Do I keep checking for availability to come up and then book the one way for the trip there and then wait till the return date becomes available and book another one way fare back, or should I wait until both legs become available and book it as a 'return' trip?

 

[kevrosmith]

Same points each way. If you book your flight back as a one-way ex-USA, then it will charge you in USD and US T&Cs will probably apply. Shouldn't make a difference, but worth noting. Also, when you check-in for your outbound flight and when you arrive to USA, have a copy of your return itinerary printed out in case they ask for evidence that you are leaving. As it's not on the inbound flight booking, they may quiz you about this.

I usually book my reward seats as one-ways on the days they become available to ensure I get the flights on the days I want. It also gives flexibility if I want to cancel one sector if an alternate better option turns up later or on another airline or another day etc.

If you wait until the return becomes available, there's every chance the outbound flight may no longer be available.

If you're using Velocity points, you may also want to consider transferring them to KrisFlyer and booking an SQ reward seat. SQ release their reward seats a little bit earlier than Velocity (355 days v. 330 days respectively), so you can make sure you snag that reward seat you are wanting. J & F on SQ via SIN to USA may take a bit longer, but you can make the most of the service and flights regardless, though you may need more points in this situation as well.

 

[Pleb Status]

One of the biggest issues of booking two OW versus one RTN is double the service fees etc if you want to change/cancel both of the bookings.

I would not let this stop me booking hard to get rewards however.

 

[ozjuice]

yes....book two x one ways if you really want to snag the dates. Otherwise risk being disappointed. The fees are irrelevant really when you consider the reward. I would say it's much better to book one way out...then wait for the ticket to return, or you'll miss out.

 

[Cynicor]

If going to the USA your only option is 2x1 way as the business seats will be long gone by the time you want to book a return!

 

[Bolthead]

I have to say that the last 2 years we had booked return flights in 'J' on the same booking to the USA. (2 Pax) More than likely good luck than good planning.

 

[tomasp]

How far in advance did you book the reward J seats? There will be 2 of us too.

I have to say that the last 2 years we had booked return flights in 'J' on the same booking to the USA. (2 Pax) More than likely good luck than good planning.

 

[Bolthead]

How far in advance did you book the reward J seats? There will be 2 of us too.

31st March 2016 for 27th October 2016 bookings. 2 x J return tickets.