Mum spoke to Travel Agent. Said she can book Syd to London Return Business for 280k points. How?!

Status
Not open for further replies.

brad1549

Junior Member
Joined
Oct 15, 2015
Posts
45
Hi all,

As the title asks. My mum is travelling to Europe in mid-September 2019 and went to a travel agent to book flights. The travel agent said she can book mum Sydney to London, return, all in Business class, for only 280k points.

How is this possible? I myself have quite a few points but I'm fine flying economy. However, it usually costs me 120k points return in economy (Classic Reward flight where you pay airport taxes).

Is this 280k points return flight simply a classic reward? She's looking to fly to London on September 16th - and strangely I can't see any Classic Reward Business Class seat available.

Am I missing something? I read on another forum there's a thing called a "Oneworld Award (140k/280k/420k)" - is this it?

Thanks!
 
Hi all,

As the title asks. My mum is travelling to Europe in mid-September 2019 and went to a travel agent to book flights. The travel agent said she can book mum Sydney to London, return, all in Business class, for only 280k points.

How is this possible? I myself have quite a few points but I'm fine flying economy. However, it usually costs me 120k points return in economy (Classic Reward flight where you pay airport taxes).

Is this 280k points return flight simply a classic reward? She's looking to fly to London on September 16th - and strangely I can't see any Classic Reward Business Class seat available.

Am I missing something? I read on another forum there's a thing called a "Oneworld Award (140k/280k/420k)" - is this it?

Thanks!

QF flight calculator is showing 128,000 QF points in J each way. So the quote is pretty close.
QF .jpg

Here's the calculator:
 
It a Qantas oneworld Classic award.

You must use at least two oneworld airlines other than Qantas (travel Qantas is not necessary).

e.g. SYD-HKG on CX, HKG-LHR on BA, LHR-SYD on QF/BA.Routing could be around the World as SYD-LAX-JFK-LHR-HEL-SIN-SYD.

It can be any routing up to 16 segment totalling up to 35000 miles.

See here: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread Australian Frequent Flyer

You can do similar in First for 420K points.
 
Last edited:
Hi all,

As the title asks. My mum is travelling to Europe in mid-September 2019 and went to a travel agent to book flights. The travel agent said she can book mum Sydney to London, return, all in Business class, for only 280k points.

How is this possible? I myself have quite a few points but I'm fine flying economy. However, it usually costs me 120k points return in economy (Classic Reward flight where you pay airport taxes).

Is this 280k points return flight simply a classic reward? She's looking to fly to London on September 16th - and strangely I can't see any Classic Reward Business Class seat available.

Am I missing something? I read on another forum there's a thing called a "Oneworld Award (140k/280k/420k)" - is this it?

Thanks!

Business class is double economy so thats ballpark right

Also partner airlines cost a bit extra

Tables below:


 
Last edited:
It costs 256K points on Qantas.

The biggest problem will be finding availability.

Plenty of people want to fly Sydney-London in business class.
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

QF flight calculator is showing 128,000 QF points in J each way. So the quote is pretty close.
View attachment 168118

Here's the calculator:
Thanks for your reply.

Yeah I saw this calculator. So are these just Classic Reward Flights?

Because on the Qantas website when I search Sydney to London, Using Points Only, it doesn't give me an option to select my travel class. Also 16th September only has Economy Classic Reward flights available.

How would the travel agent be able to book business on this date? Do travel agents have additional systems/power?
 
The option to select class is there somewhere.

Usually Business Class award seats - if any - on such a popular route will be snapped up almost a year ahead when they are released.
 
What airline and what routing?
Qantas/Emirates preferably - although happy to fly with other airlines.

So is "Qantas Oneworld Classic Reward" the same as the "Classic Reward" flights you can book through Qantas directly?

I'm hoping to fly Sydney to London either on night of 26th September or morning of 27th September.
Returning night of 6th October.

Thanks
 
Using Points Only, it doesn't give me an option to select my travel class. Also 16th September only has Economy Classic Reward flights available.

How would the travel agent be able to book business on this date? Do travel agents have additional systems/power?

It is common for only Economy seats to be available on popular routes.

I would be extremely wary about using a travel agent to book a points flight. In fact I would definitely avoid it unless you or your mother has a long standing relationship with the travel agent. It is likely not a 'points seat' but some other form of discount paid seat that the travel agent is buying somehow with points. This makes it very risky for the passenger should anything go wrong - ie flight or aircraft cancellation. I'm not even sure its legal, in respect of the airline rules.

Travel agents earn their income via commission from the airline on paid seats. Whilst they can book points seats for you, its very uncommon, in my 15 years of using a travel agent.
 
It is common for only Economy seats to be available on popular routes.

I would be extremely wary about using a travel agent to book a points flight. In fact I would definitely avoid it unless you or your mother has a long standing relationship with the travel agent. It is likely not a 'points seat' but some other form of discount paid seat that the travel agent is buying somehow with points. This makes it very risky for the passenger should anything go wrong - ie flight or aircraft cancellation. I'm not even sure its legal, in respect of the airline rules.

Travel agents earn their income via commission from the airline on paid seats. Whilst they can book points seats for you, its very uncommon, in my 15 years of using a travel agent.
Thanks for the reply and warning.

My parents have used the exact same lady for the past ~20yrs (and probably 20+ trips!) so we do trust her.

I'm now just at an age where I understand points etc, and had never heard of this 280k business return.
 
The option to select class is there somewhere.

Usually Business Class award seats - if any - on such a popular route will be snapped up almost a year ahead when they are released.
I honestly can't find the class selection at all! I've searched everywhere.

So, are the "Qantas Oneworld Classic Reward" flights that people are talking about simply the "Use Points Only" option when searching on the Qantas website? Clicking this then brings up the Qantas Classic Rewards options....

Although I'm not sure if Qantas Oneworld Classic Reward is the same as Qantas Classic Reward?
 
Here's information on the OneWorld Award: Oneworld Award (140K/280K/420K) Planning (wiki content) | Australian Frequent Flyer

Basically, it's a multi-sector Classic Award that caps out at 280K points in Business as long as you meet the rules (key ones being maximum 35K miles (including surface sectors), maximum 16 sectors and 5 stops.
Thanks for the article, however I still have 2 questions:

1) Are "Qantas Oneworld Classic Reward Flights" the same as "Qantas Classic Reward Flights" which are booked on the Qantas website? (i.e. on the Qantas website booking selecting "Use Points Only")

2) If the answer to Question 1 is "No", then how/where do I book the "Oneworld" Classic Reward flights?

Thanks!!
 
Thanks for the article, however I still have 2 questions:

1) Are "Qantas Oneworld Classic Reward Flights" the same as "Qantas Classic Reward Flights" which are booked on the Qantas website? (i.e. on the Qantas website booking selecting "Use Points Only")

2) If the answer to Question 1 is "No", then how/where do I book the "Oneworld" Classic Reward flights?

Thanks!!

1) Effectively yes. Keep piling on flights, the number of points may look >280K in sum but meet the rules and it will cap at 280K. That's where the TA has got the 280K from - but SYD-LHR-SYD is <280K (ie. it's 256K), so it's not necessary to invoke the OneWorld Award for the straight-up return itinerary.
 
1) Effectively yes. Keep piling on flights, the number of points may look >280K in sum but meet the rules and it will cap at 280K. That's where the TA has got the 280K from - but SYD-LHR-SYD is <280K (ie. it's 256K), so it's not necessary to invoke the OneWorld Award for the straight-up return itinerary.
Out of interest ,has anyone managed to score QF business reward seats PER-LHR direct or VV.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top