DONE4 from JNB $7000 with BA

[AstroDamo]

Hi guys,

I've been lurking these forums for a long time, 2 years apparently (I just checked can't really believe its been that long) and I've failed to post anything yet. Anyway would like to thank people here for sharing so much information it has really been a great guide and has eventually lead to this round the world trip I'm starting in June.

Mainly this trip was just meant to be during Annual Leave I had an idea of a few places I wanted to go but didn't have any dead set locations other then Vancouver, Toronto and New York. I'd been evaluating options originally booking a LONE4 from NZ then started to think about business trips so started looking at a DCIR26 where through this forum found that cheap fares could be had ex HKG, I laid out a route HKG-NRT-SFO-Surface-SEA-DFWx-JFK-Surface-ORD-DFWx-LAXx-SYD-HKG. Then I learnt a lesson a friend of mine told me he works part time with a travel agency and he could me the fares cheap, so I gave him the itinery he gave it to a lady there she rang me told me she was having difficulty with some timings and would get back to me, never heard back from them. I then tried Qantas they took quite some time to run it through the system I started with the question can you charge it at the HKG price and they stated they were unsure if they had just told me no this would of then saved the next 20 minutes, found the NRT-SFO was the one that was booked out so moved it a day and then they quoted me the EX AUD price and told me they couldn't charge me the AUD price.

I was all set to try ringing Cathay Pacific in HKG when I was searching for DCIR26 in Google and eventually came across a website called wandre.me which is an excellent website for finding out what different fares are available from different countries and in all the different categories I stumbled across the DONE4s and was amazed to see the price difference with ex JNB, knowing JNB is only around $1600 return in economy I decided to give it a go on the oneworld planner and came up with the following: JNB - CPT - LHR - YYC SURFACE SEA - DFW - LGA - YUL SURFACE YYZ - ORD - DFWx - LAXx - SYD - JNB, This encompassed everywhere I wanted to go on the trip and a couple of extra flights that I was planning on buying with the DCIR26.

Then realising I had 3 segments left I decided to add in a trip to PER by going SYD - PER - ADL - SYD then trip to JNB as the LAX - SYD trip was already going to land me at the Platinum level I made the bookings to Per in November (After my year resets) and to JNB in December. This was then finalised and booked online I unfortunately assumed this would be the end of the process however did not realise that payment could just be made online a phone call then needs to be placed to British Airways in South Africa to pay the booking which had now come out to 126,976 ZAR for 2 persons. I contacted the office which answered rather promptly it became a matter of just simply quoting the reference number then he asked me if I wanted to pay telephonically (his words not mine) I said sure why not but also asked him if we could split the payment, he stated that this wouldn't be possible I'm not sure why. After giving over the credit card details surely enough netbank popped up with the transaction and he came back saying that payment had been made the whole process taking 15 minutes. The transaction took about 14 days before it came off pending on my account and an unusual thing happened with it did it split into two separate transactions anyway. So I'm not sure why I couldn't of charged it on two separate credit cards.

Anyway flights were booked I was excited! Now to get to JNB, this was simple case of a return flight I thought I'd spend a week in December in South Africa, however it got me thinking, I remembered that last year when I was thinking about status and travelling to Europe, I was curious how routing via JNB would affect my points and how much more would it cost and I remembered that it was only about $500 more. So sure enough I tried this multi-city booking again and it came to $2,400 Compared to $1750 return at the time I was looking. With Comet ISON possibly being prominent in December in the Northern Hemisphere I went with it and eventually found SYD-PER-JNB-LHR surface HEL-SIN-SYD (I enjoyed Finnairs service last time) for $2300 in Y. Bringing the total trip to around $9,200. About the same as what the DCIR26 was going to cost me with the extra flights I needed to book.

So in Summary I'm already Gold so have worked out by the end of the trip I will retrieve 112,000 points and 1555 points for $9,200 Platinum awaits me at LAX and I'll have 480 status credits 2 months into my new year towards requalification. Also I get a round the world trip in business plus a trip to Europe! Anyway some valuable tricks have been picked up from this forum and I couldn't of done it without you guys so thank you.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Well done, sounds like a fantastic trip

 

[Skyring]

As I keep on saying, this forum is a fantastic place to save money. And spend it.

I'm doing something similar starting about two weeks from now.

Qantas is pretty good about posting points - sometimes I'll be sitting in the lounge waiting for my next Qantas flight and the points will come through for the previous leg just finished. BA, AA, CX, not so quick. Sometimes weeks. Sometimes it takes a nudge.

So I wouldn't bank on the status levels being achieved on the dates they are earnt. If BA is slowly grinding a couple of hundred status credits through their system, you might be home before the thing happens. And of course, the card and tags will take a while longer.

Looking forward to reading your trip report!

 

[Paddy55]

Quite the trip. Enjoy!

Glad to hear the booking process went well as I'm planning to start my next DONE4 from there - ex Aust is just too expensive

 

[AstroDamo]

As I keep on saying, this forum is a fantastic place to save money. And spend it.

So I wouldn't bank on the status levels being achieved on the dates they are earnt. If BA is slowly grinding a couple of hundred status credits through their system, you might be home before the thing happens. And of course, the card and tags will take a while longer.

Hehe don't worry I'm not expecting to get my Platinum in LAX and then walk into a first lounge, I expect at least a few weeks after the August flights for that to happen and the flight from LAX to SYD will accrue well before the AA flights on the same day, next flights to Europe via JNB in December though I'll definately have my platinum for.

 

[AstroDamo]

Oh also the only annoying thing I found is once the booking was made I started to select my seats the reference number worked fine in BA and QF systems however I had to contact American Airlines to find out what my reference number was for AA as it was a completely different reference number and this had not been dispatched to me at all.

 

[Stoopidsteve]

and for next time, book as many of your flights on AA codeshare rather than BA ... more points and fewer $. Sometimes the codeshares don't appear as first options so keep hitting the the "search for more options" button (I shaved about $1.5k off a planned but never booked JNB-originating DONE5 by using codeshares).

Looks like a fun trip, incl those overland legs, look forward to a trip report.

 

[sanne]

Hope you don't mind me interupting this post. I am very interested in booking one of these RTW fares in J from South Africa. I have been onto the Qantas site, changed the country to South Africa and proceeded to do a dummy RTW itinerary. I kept it simple just for ease at the moment. The fare was just over A$7000 ( in Rand of course ). It seems I could book and pay right there. What would happen next if this was booked through the Qantas site?

I'd appreciate any thoughts about this scenario. Am a little nervous about doing this until I feel confident I know exactly the procedure.

 

[AstroDamo]

Hope you don't mind me interupting this post. I am very interested in booking one of these RTW fares in J from South Africa. I have been onto the Qantas site, changed the country to South Africa and proceeded to do a dummy RTW itinerary. I kept it simple just for ease at the moment. The fare was just over A$7000 ( in Rand of course ). It seems I could book and pay right there. What would happen next if this was booked through the Qantas site?

I'd appreciate any thoughts about this scenario. Am a little nervous about doing this until I feel confident I know exactly the procedure.

I'm assuming that you're using the Multi Booking section and not the oneworld rtw tool, which means you've picked up a DGLOB34? I think the only difference is that you will be restricted to 34,000 miles and I think two less stopovers allowed in North America. But sure someone else here knows better.

Looks like a fun trip, incl those overland legs, look forward to a trip report.

I didn't realise there was Homework involved The overland legs by the way, Calgary to Vancouver I've always wanted to go on the Rocky Mountaineer so I'll be doing that to get to Vancouver then catching an Amtrak train for roughly $30 to Seattle from Vancouver mainly to take advantage of the First class bonus that AA domestic offers. The Second one is a planned drive from Montreal to Toronto via Ottawa.

 

[sanne]

I clicked "Round The World" on the Qantas site which then directed me to the OneWorld Site and I put in my itinerary there, starting from Johanesburg . When it was finalised I looked at the review and it was headed by Qantas. Does this mean I could then pay by CC to Qantas as per normal when booking on the Qantas site. Are other posters being directed to phoning South Africa for payment because they have booke through BA or AA.

My first flight from JNB is to LHR on BA.

Thanks for your help and sorry if I need to be hand held through this. I have learnt so much on this site and used the knowledge to now book JASAs instead of Classic and collecting those valuable SCs. Plus many other words of wisdom. I would love to have the confidence to book this amazingly cheap RTW.

 

[AstroDamo]

Hmm, my first flight is with BA from JHR to CPT, what happened after I clicked to reserve on the Round the World website was it stated that my intinery had been reserved and I think I had about 96 hours to ring and confirm to pay, when I logged into the itinery using the booking reference it also told me the same thing and gave me the number to call. Up until that point I was thinking I was going to be able to pay just online as that seemed to be what the process was leading towards. It might be different though with the Qantas system, I do know though that BA was painless to call and confirm then give them the credit card number, they only really needed the reference number.

 

[Skyring]

I clicked "Round The World" on the Qantas site which then directed me to the OneWorld Site and I put in my itinerary there, starting from Johanesburg . When it was finalised I looked at the review and it was headed by Qantas. Does this mean I could then pay by CC to Qantas as per normal when booking on the Qantas site. Are other posters being directed to phoning South Africa for payment because they have booke through BA or AA.

My first flight from JNB is to LHR on BA.

Thanks for your help and sorry if I need to be hand held through this. I have learnt so much on this site and used the knowledge to now book JASAs instead of Classic and collecting those valuable SCs. Plus many other words of wisdom. I would love to have the confidence to book this amazingly cheap RTW.

Here's the method I used. I'll be off to JNB in a couple of weeks to begin a DONE4.

1. Put together itinerary via online tool. Get dates, flight numbers etc. It will not allow you to book 9/10 times.
2. Call AA RTW desk (800-247-3247) to create an itinerary based on what you have and they will send it to pricing. Use Skype so they can't tell you are calling from Oz. Despite the number, they are not 24/7. They keep US business hours. They are very good and quite unfazed by odd routes and times.
3. Email AA SA ([email protected]) with the reference number to get the price. Call them on +27 21 440 6440. and have your credit card ready.

I think it is possible to actually book the thing online and get the ref number?

This will be my fourth DONE4 and eighth RTW since 2005. I won't say I get blase about them, but they aren't too hard to arrange once you know the rules. This forum is an excellent way to get the basics right - there are any number of people who will happily jump in to point out errors and to suggest alternatives, depending on your requirements.

And they are a lot of fun. You fly in comfort, the tickets are flexible, you can take a break mid-trip (often people here will "park" a DONE4 so they can resume it when convenient, for example to spread the J legs across two membership years) and you get not just lounge access along the way, but an escalating status level.

I'm NB at the moment, so I've purchased an American Airlines 30 day membership which will give me lounge access during my Y flights to get to Johannesburg and at other lounges along the way, where my class of travel won't allow entry. I've got a couple of tweaks to make to my itinerary, but very likely they won't involve any changes in destinations, just dates.

Start a thread, lay down your travel requirements, ask for help!

 

[sanne]

Here's the method I used. I'll be off to JNB in a couple of weeks to begin a DONE4.

1. Put together itinerary via online tool. Get dates, flight numbers etc. It will not allow you to book 9/10 times.
2. Call AA RTW desk (800-247-3247) to create an itinerary based on what you have and they will send it to pricing. Use Skype so they can't tell you are calling from Oz. Despite the number, they are not 24/7. They keep US business hours. They are very good and quite unfazed by odd routes and times.
3. Email AA SA ([email protected]) with the reference number to get the price. Call them on +27 21 440 6440. and have your credit card ready.

I think it is possible to actually book the thing online and get the ref number?

This will be my fourth DONE4 and eighth RTW since 2005. I won't say I get blase about them, but they aren't too hard to arrange once you know the rules. This forum is an excellent way to get the basics right - there are any number of people who will happily jump in to point out errors and to suggest alternatives, depending on your requirements.

And they are a lot of fun. You fly in comfort, the tickets are flexible, you can take a break mid-trip (often people here will "park" a DONE4 so they can resume it when convenient, for example to spread the J legs across two membership years) and you get not just lounge access along the way, but an escalating status level.

I'm NB at the moment, so I've purchased an American Airlines 30 day membership which will give me lounge access during my Y flights to get to Johannesburg and at other lounges along the way, where my class of travel won't allow entry. I've got a couple of tweaks to make to my itinerary, but very likely they won't involve any changes in destinations, just dates.

Start a thread, lay down your travel requirements, ask for help!

Thanks for your reply. Lots of things to look at here.

If I book this through the Qantas site, even though it goes through the OneWorld Booking Tool, will I get QF points and SCs. I am Gold QF.

 

[Skyring]

If I book this through the Qantas site, even though it goes through the OneWorld Booking Tool, will I get QF points and SCs. I am Gold QF.

So long as your QFF number is used, yes. However, one very good reason not to use QF to book the ticket is to avoid the surcharges associated. Likewise BA. For that reason my flights are AA codeshares wherever possible, including the first BA flight up to Heathrow.

 

[Cynicor]

You will get QF sc and FF booking through any oneworld airline. The advantages to booking through QF are minimal.

 

[DC3]

The AA RTW Desk (phone 0011- 1 - 800 247 3247) business hours are 7.00am - 8.00pm Mon-Fri, and 9.00am – 5.30pm Sat and Sun, Dallas time).

 

[drsmithy]

Unrelated question, but this thread seems as good as any to ask since it'll be quick.

I have an upcoming DONE4 kicking off (AMM-YUL-DFW-PHX-DFW-RAP-DFW-LAX-BNE-AKL-ZQN-SYD-BNE-KUL-HKG-CDG-AMM).

The online tool wouldn't let me book so I had to call up the AA desk - currently it's on hold but should hopefully be ticketed next week.

I noticed when I had a quick look at the booking on the AA website, that they've used the AA codeshare for the LAX-BNE QF flight. I'm QF SG and will be using my QFF number for the flights. Is there any benefit to changing that leg to the native QF flight number ?

 

[AstroDamo]

The Loyalty bonus I think is the only thing you'll get status credits added towards your loyalty bonus if it's booked with the QF number.

 

[Skyring]

The Loyalty bonus I think is the only thing you'll get status credits added towards your loyalty bonus if it's booked with the QF number.

There's also cabin and level bonuses, which are better than AA's.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Oh also the only annoying thing I found is once the booking was made I started to select my seats the reference number worked fine in BA and QF systems however I had to contact American Airlines to find out what my reference number was for AA as it was a completely different reference number and this had not been dispatched to me at all.

Put your itinerary into www.checkmytrip.com Should show all the other airline PNR

You will get QF sc and FF booking through any oneworld airline. The advantages to booking through QF are minimal.

The advantages to booking through QF are nil-zero-zilch. You just pay QF's fuel surcharges. Less fuel surcharges with AA
You will get QF sc's & QF points (but better to earn/burn with AA for most)