Cheapest SYD->IAH/HOU flights?

[jaseone]

I've been trying all day to find a deal I am happy with to get to Houston at the last minute on this Friday, I would really like to get on QF11 again to LAX for the A380 and can get that airfare down to $1081, however for the life of me I can't find any reasonable US domestic flights using an Aussie credit card to get to Houston whether they are one way or return. I've tried Expedia, US Airways, United, whatever Travelocity's Australian site is called and AA all without any luck.

Right now my yard stick is United's return flights from SYD to IAH at $1487, I hate flying United though so am trying to avoid that if at all possible! There is also V Australia that I can get for something like $980 SYD to IAH return but that has the same issue with getting to Houston that the Qantas flight does!

Is there some trick that I am missing? I have been trying everything I can think of but I just keep coming up short! Really at this stage I only really want a one way ticket to Houston (I have an E-3 Visa so that won't be an issue with the border guards) but am finding that return tickets are a lot cheaper (go figure!).

 

[Mal]

Ouch, looking at one-ways from both LAX and SFO to IAH on AA's AU site is mad. THere are some ~$A500 fares from LAX, but they wouldn't suit your arrival time.

Thinking about this logically - you have three potential gateway destinations in the U.S from Australia - HNL / LAX / SFO (plus JFK if you count that as a flight)

One ways will be expensive, but you have the chance of a carrier coming back for extra if you do "throw away" ticketing.

So, I would be searching for return fares from those locations, with a return date in August or so - which should have fairly open buckets and fare availability.

Then match up with a fare arriving in LAX/SFO/HNL etc and you should be set.

Otherwise, perhaps look into a one-way Qantas award flight ... if you have points. May be availability (havn't checked) and will only cost a few $ + the points required.

But obviously, visiting Houston is quite popular on a Friday!

 

[jaseone]

Thanks for the reply!

I was looking at killing two birds with the one stone and getting a return flight back for Christmas time seeing how that worked in my favor so wasn't looking at doing the throwaway thing. Even still I just can't find any deals that come close to United's and that is just irking me!

I haven't tried putting HNL into the mix yet though so let me mess around with that for a bit...

 

[jaseone]

Well the latest I am thinking of is a outgoing QF11 to SYD (with a returning QF12) then using my Qantas points (only have ~40,000) to get to Dallas then either have my girlfriend drive up & meet me or get a cheap 1 hour flight down to Houston.

There is no way you can use Qantas points for flights that aren't QF code shares is there though? If there was that would solve the problem entirely and allow me to book the LAX -> Houston leg on points.

I could possibly top up my points to 48,000 and get to LAX via Melbourne and Auckland but that just sounds like a pain! I may just have to bite the bullet and see how many United flight attendants retire on my flights this time around with them!

UPDATE: Am still trying to work some magic on this, best so far is SYD - LAX - DEN - IAH for AUD 1263 on United. The Saver fare on QF11 is no longer available for the Friday and regardless I still can't find an affordable LAX/SFO flight to Houston. No wonder a lot of people refuse to travel, it is so frustrating finding that good deal but oh so rewarding once you do (if you do that is)!

 

[JohnK]

Well the latest I am thinking of is a outgoing QF11 to SYD (with a returning QF12) then using my Qantas points (only have ~40,000) to get to Dallas then either have my girlfriend drive up & meet me or get a cheap 1 hour flight down to Houston.

There is no way you can use Qantas points for flights that aren't QF code shares is there though? If there was that would solve the problem entirely and allow me to book the LAX -> Houston leg on points.

The internal US flights do need to be QF codeshares. If you purchase any airfare to LAX there is nothing stopping you using QFF points for AA flights to LAX-IAH. Just make sure you leave enough time to connect in LAX.

 

[jaseone]

The internal US flights do need to be QF codeshares. If you purchase any airfare to LAX there is nothing stopping you using QFF points for AA flights to LAX-IAH. Just make sure you leave enough time to connect in LAX.

How do you book AA flights LAX->IAH using Qantas points though? Closest I can get on Qantas' site is LAX->DFW, is it just that there are no QF codeshares that fly to IAH/HOU? Although I swear I have been on such AA flights before that had a QF codeshare...

 

[JohnK]

How do you book AA flights LAX->IAH using Qantas points though? Closest I can get on Qantas' site is LAX->DFW, is it just that there are no QF codeshares that fly to IAH/HOU? Although I swear I have been on such AA flights before that had a QF codeshare...

You may have been on a flight that had a QF codeshare if it was a through ticket purchased from Australia.

IAH is not one of cities available with the online award booking engine so you would need to call the QF service centre to search for award availability LAX-DFW-IAH. If an award if found you will more than likely pay an additional 2,500 QFF points for the award assisted booking fee but you may also be able to get this fee waived as IAH is not an online option.

 

[jaseone]

I think I may just end up throwing in the towel and going with the one way United fare of $1,263, nobody else is even close to that ballpark one way and even if I did use Qantas FF points for the US domestic flights I am going to get bitten with the fees & taxes!

The return may just be another $200 or so on United but then if I can't return on the date I specify I have to at least pay the $250 change fee plus any difference in the fares and I would be stuck on yet another United itinerary!

 

[JohnK]

I think I may just end up throwing in the towel and going with the one way United fare of $1,263, nobody else is even close to that ballpark one way and even if I did use Qantas FF points for the US domestic flights I am going to get bitten with the fees & taxes!

From memory taxes and surcharges for QF award bookings on US domestic flights is typically <US$10 for simple itineraries.

 

[sr81]

I booked RDU-ORD on QF points with AA. Taxes and fees USD 5.