Baysider said:
Thanks again Dave.
Just to clarify, you would recommend (a) changing the AA Q class to V as a minimum, and (b) as many of the AA S class to V as possible within reasonable $. What do you think I should do with the Qanats Q class leg BNE-NRT ? Of course, we could always put our QFF numbers against that leg and AA numbers against the rest. Will NRT-JFK in V class and the rest "as is" get us over the line on the platinum challenge? (Is there a website where I can find the actual miles?).
Another question, and this is probably wishful thinking, do credits gained with different OW airlines all count towards Oneworld status?
To do the challenge ( which I think will provide good value on your trip unless it is v expensive to change ) , you need to attain 10,000 qpoints on AA services
On G,Q,O,N or S fares, you would earn 0.5 qpoints per mile flown
On H, K, M, L, W, V fares you earn 1 point per mile flown
Typically, V is the lowest of the 1 point earning classes ( there are exceptions, such as some AA web specials , but in this case I believe V will be the lowest )
Your AA travel consists of
NRT-JFK on the outbound and
JFK-SFO-LAX-NRT on the inbound
The outbound mileage is 6475 miles and the inbound is 8375 miles. Total miles 15,120
If both the outbound and inbound are done on G,Q,O,N,S , then the qpoint earning will be 7426 which would not complete the challenge
If the outbound is upgraded to V and inbound left unchanged, the qpoint earning will be 6475 + (8375 / 2 ) = 10,663 and the challenge is completed successfully
If the outbound is left unchanged and the inbound upgraded to V, the qpoint earning will be (6745 / 2 ) + 8375 = 11,613 and again the challenge is completed successfully
Due to Q class being ineligable for mileage earning on QF , the earned miles for the trip will be notably different
If the outbound is upgraded to V and inbound stays as S, the earning will be
BNE-NRT - 4422 / 2 = 2211
NRT-JFK - 6475
JFK-SFO - 2586
SFO-LAX - 500
LAX-NRT - 5451 + 5451 bonus for completing challenge
NRT-BNE - ( 4422 / 2 ) + ( 4422 / 2 ) Platinum bonus = 4422
Total miles earned 27,096
If the outbound stays as Q and the inbound is upgraded to V, then the BNE-NRT will not earn any miles so the mileage earning will be 2211 less so will give a total of 24,885. In this case, I would suggest not having the FF number in the booking and claiming QF miles/SCs for that leg for yourself afterwards. Do Not have your QF number in unless you really have to , since you are risking misposted miles
As a QF Silver member, if you were to collect to QF and left booking as is, you would earn ( 4422 + zero + 2586/2 + 337 + 5451/2 + 4422 ) * 1.25 = 13200 * 1.25 = 16,500 miles. For the others who do not have status, the total earning would only be 13,200 miles
Note: Flying in Q class on AA earns zero miles to the QF scheme
Even 16,500 miles is not quite enough to get a one way ticket from BNE-PER and 13,200 is even further away, whereas 24,885 miles will be enough for a round trip ticket to Perth. I would suggest that the Platinum Status plus the r/t ticket is worth paying a bit extra per ticket for
Depending on what value you place on miles, you may wish to consider booking BNE-SYD-JFK, JFK-SFO, SFO-LAX-BNE on AA . This would add $1200 total to your cost ( $300 each ) but would give an earning of 40,894 miles plus you would have the Platinum status when you start your JFK-SFO flight ( fare basis VLRTAU ) USD2118 per person with a 25% reduction for child plus $139 in taxes , total is AUD9782. The 40,894 would give enough miles for 2 r/ts to Perth from Brisbane. With the lowest purchaed fare being $670 per person on a r/t BNE-PER, the extra $1200 to get 8 r/t award tickets may be worth considering; even taking the award value as lower due to availability, say to $500, that is till $4000 worth of tickets
Dave