CBR > US in peak season - best plan?

[hmc]

Hi

Any help greatly appreciated...

My situation:

I have a convention to attend in San Antonio Jul 11-14 and I'd like to maximise my FF pts/SCs.

My situation:

- I'm QFF Silver with ~110,000 points

- I missed the boat, STS, for an Aust>US QF award ticket, so I'll have to spend some travel $$ for at least some of my flights.

- I planned to fly to the US on Jun 22 or 23 and return Jul 17/18.

- I would like to visit a friend in Austin, TX so my US destination would be either AUS or SAT

Some of the possibilities I've thought of are:

- redeeming pts for a Jetstar SYD or MEL to HNL, then buying AA domestic tix

- move my departure plans back a week (makes it a little cheaper) and buy a QF ticket Aust/US to either LAX or SFO, then AA domestic, hopefully working it out so I complete the Plat Challenge, and maybe using points to upgrade on the long flights.

I've been basically lurking on FT for a couple of years, and I've learnt heaps, but when it comes to spending my own money, I seem to find out what I SHOULD have done as soon as I've spent it

So, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

hmc

 

[futaris]

If you want to complete the AA plat challenge, it will need to be on AA flights or AA codeshares.

 

[NM]

AA often have special deals for travel to most places in the USA via NRT. These fares are not good for FF earning in either QF or AA programs, but can be good if you are looking for an inexpensive way to get to the USA beyond LAX or SFO.

UA also often have good deals that include travel to most places in the USA and again can be good value when you need to go beyond California.

 

[hmc]

Ah, yes...just doing more research on the 2007 rules - thanks!

 

[hmc]

Thanks NM - sage words - yes, I'd picked up on the AA/QF NRT connection, but had dismissed it temporarily because of the lack of earning - will revisit that possibility.

I should add that once in CA I am happy to make my way to TX on Amtrak (sacreligious words on this board, esp. as the pass I use doesn't earn me GRs ), oh, and I have been known to fly HP for price...

 

[Soundguy]

I should add that once in CA I am happy to make my way to TX on Amtrak (sacreligious words on this board, esp. as the pass I use doesn't earn me GRs ), oh, and I have been known to fly HP for price...

I find most domestic flights within the US are quite reasonably priced, it's just a matter of sorting which carrier goes where most efficiently. DFW is a major hub for AA so I would expect a reasonably priced flight could be had there from LAX or SFO.... perhaps you could hire a car from there and drive to San Antonio? Or there may be a train connection.

 

[hmc]

What I'm looking at now is a QF RT award CBR/NRT for 72000 QFF pts + tax then AA L fare RT NRT/ORD/AUS for ~1300AUD, which is 14504 mi, and if I fly after Jun 16 I can complete the Plat Challenge which will be good for 18 months

What major blunders have I made in my thinking?

hmc

 

[NM]

What I'm looking at now is a QF RT award CBR/NRT for 72000 QFF pts + tax then AA L fare RT NRT/ORD/AUS for ~1300AUD, which is 14504 mi, and if I fly after Jun 16 I can complete the Plat Challenge which will be good for 18 months

What major blunders have I made in my thinking?

hmc

just be aware the flight schedules Australia to NRT and NRT-USA will likely require an overnight stop at NRT.

 

[Flashback]

..I have been known to fly HP for price...

You'd fly beer ? :shock:

 

[hmc]

just be aware the flight schedules Australia to NRT and NRT-USA will likely require an overnight stop at NRT.

hmmm...do I admit that I'd be flying the red-eye?

 

[hmc]

You'd fly beer ? :shock:

I looked at the letter 't' to see if I could surround HP with them so they looked like headstones to signify America West's demise, but they have serifs

 

[hmc]

Update: Re: CBR > US in peak season - best plan?

All booked and paid for:

QF - CBR/SYD/NRT 26JUN/27JUN - 36000pts
AA - NRT/DFW/AUS 27JUN )
AA - AUS/DFW/NRT 18JUL/19JUL ) AUD1169 total
QF - NRT/MEL/CBR 19JUL/20JUL - 36000pts

(QF award cost AUD370 in taxes)

The AA flights are booked in L , so as far as I can see from the info, that will be 1:1 EQP, so base miles will be 13854 (including 500 min for DFW/AUS, AUS/DFW) so on the DFW/NRT flight I should achieve plat, giving me 20281 in my account.

When I decided I'd make the trip, no matter what, I was looking at ~AUD3000 for a QF peak season flight to the US, plus the US domestic flights, however, with the help of all here, I'm paying just AUD1540 and ending up AA Plat - and it'll be from Jun 16, so it's good until Feb 2009

Now I have to work out when to use my comp QC invitation, and whether to buy a one day AC pass. I have quite a wait in NRT on the return flight, but I'm thinking my new plat status won't have kicked in - anyone have any experiences they can tell me about to help me decide?

Thanks to all for fab help

H

 

[QF WP]

Yes, L class on AA does earn 100% mileage and 1.0x EQP's. Allowing for slight mileage discrepancies between online calculators (I use WebFlyer's MileMarker), your figures look correct.

NRT/DFW: 6,410 miles & EQP's
DFW/AUS: 184 miles & 500 EQP's

Enjoy Plat status and the use of just enough miles for a trip anywhere in Australia

 

[hmc]

Yay! I returned home 2 days ago, and the points & status are in my profile this morning!

NRT/DFW 6427 EQM/EQP
DFW/AUS 500 EQM/EQP
AUS/DFW 500 EQM/EQP
DFW/NRT 6427 EQM/EQP + 6427 Plat Bonus
Total = 20281

The trip went as planned - the layovers in NRT (8 hrs) and MEL (6 hrs) were pretty trying, but I survived, using my QFF Silver pass in MEL to make the best use of the facilities

Now to plan how to take aadvantage of the status

Thanks for all the great advice offered here

H