"oneworld" award (132.4K/249.6K/318K/455K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

[vetrade]

You can search seatguru.com to see the seat maps of each airline's planes and get info on seats to avoid. For couples, having access to eachother across the aisle is no big deal because usually communications are infrequent once you settle in and start watching movies etc. We usually like to get window seats one in front of the other so that neither has to sit beside someone else (notwithstanding privacy screens)

It won't matter if your CC has been cancelled, just take it with you to show if required - some airlines may want to sight it but that's as much as they require.

 

[DC3]

... It won't matter if your CC has been cancelled, just take it with you to show if required - some airlines may want to sight it but that's as much as they require.

Adding to this, several years back I had to show my cc that was used for the booking at the ICN check-in counter. It had expired months beforehand but I was aware of the requirement when I booked. It was sighted and handed straight back, and that was it.

 

[exceladdict]

We have flights through Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Wideroe on behalf of Finnair, British airways and Qatar airways. So far I have tried Cathay pacific's website and I can select seats using the itinerary. I will try the other airlines shortly and see what we can book. Being a couple is it generally best with 1 - 2 - 1 configurations to get one on the side and one in the middle so you can have direct access to each other (having never sat in business class)?

That said, one thing I am uncertain about - we paid for the taxes and surcharges for both our oneworld redemptions through a Westpac credit card which I now wish to cancel to avoid the annual fee. Qantas has fobbed me off and said I need to check with each individual airlines whether I need this card for proof of purchase? I have done some googling and supposedly Cathay Pacific is quite specific that this proof of purchase could be required. I can't find a contact centre with Cathay to answer this nor a facebook messenger chat like Qantas... the cathay pacific centre i did get through on bookings has no clue with redemption of oneworld and fobbed me back to qantas. They do say it is 'probably' safer to bring the credit card, but again it is just a wishy washy personal opinion and she had no 'official' idea of the correct answer. Didn't help with the language barrier with Cathay staff ( i presume it is HK based judging by the responder).

Does anyone have experience or know with all of the airlines we are going with whether this is an issue in terms of cancelling my credit card? I would have the statement and physical card still (albeit deactivated). I am abit worried it will jeopardize the booking? But at the same time it logically doesn't seem to make sense as we booked the flights with points so apart from the taxes /fees etc there are no costs associated with the flights to prove up? Apart from our qantas FF points?

Surely others have had same issues?

I do have a few credit cards but most require booking/using the credit card to purchase flights. GIven I only paid for fees/surcharges to redeem our qantas FF points for the oneworld award I assume my westpac altitude black card would not cover free insurance (I got the amex and mastercard bundle of the westpac altitude in order to get the 120k qantas points last yr).

We are not entering senior age (30s more like it) , but pre-existing is technically i had a knee recon to repair a torn acl last yr. I'm back at sports and all so functionally I should be assessed normally IMHO, but I fear being excluded out of legalities and fine print. Not only that i presume besides snowboarding on piste, alot of policies may specifically not address odd winter items in Scandinavia - e.g. dog sledding, reindeer sledding, ice fishing etc. - all standard Scandinavian winter activities? Sorry to go off topic... i did raise a seperate insurance forum post on this but had not a single response so am not sure where all the Scandinavian travellers have been getting their insurance from....

Wow, learned something new today, have never been asked to show a card on check in.

For travel insurance purposes, refer to the PDS, but my understanding is that the amount you spend on award surcharges may qualify towards the minimum spend required to activate insurance, depending on your cards policy etc etc. Of course, closing the card means you'd lose this.

I have previously paid the fee for complimentary insurance to be assessed to include a pre existing medical condition. If I recall correctly it was $160 for the assessment and then an additional $100 or so in premium. Definitely want to compare the cost to just buying insurance outright (and how the policies compare). Some of the recent changes to some complimentary insurances has significantly nerfed them (Bankwest world card for example).

 

[flyingchicken]

Also this flight lands in HND, and the next departs NRT

Hey Bookworm,

I've been thinking I might be forced to land in JFK and fly out of LGA as part of a transit. Did you do the same for HND/NRT or did you treat this as a stopover instead. I've seen others asking similar questions in the past but I can't for the life of me find it using the search bar.

Can anyone help my clarify if I land at JFK, spend less than 24 hours in New York, and then fly out of LGA am I clear or will this cost me one more stopover than I am accounting for?

Many thanks to all

 

[DC3]

… Can anyone help my clarify if I land at JFK, spend less than 24 hours in New York, and then fly out of LGA am I clear or will this cost me one more stopover than I am accounting for? ...

It's not based on airports, but cities. As JFK and LGA are both in NYC, then it's one transit in NYC if under 24 hours.

Edit: When contacting the Call Centre, if you are given a different answer, maybe don't bother arguing. HUACA.

 

[flyingchicken]

It's not based on airports, but cities. As JFK and LGA are both in NYC, then it's one transit in NYC if under 24 hours.

Edit: When contacting the Call Centre, if you are given a different answer, maybe don't bother arguing. HUACA.

Thanks DC3,

I continued reading on and found a few other people getting the same answer recently. Apologies for re-asking. You were so speedy to reply I didn't have a chance to edit my post.

Many thanks for clarifying. I dread the point where I need to make my final call to Qantas this weekend. Fingers crossed it isn't a repeat of my last horror experience. I might try the 4am approach and see how it goes

 

[Rock706]

Can I use AA codeshare flights operated by another carrier on a oneworld award ticket? I am trying to book seats Madison to Pittsburgh via CHI (which show as available) but my booking keeps failing when I add that sector to my award itinerary . I can see the Madison to Chicago is a codeshare operated by PSA. Perhaps that's the reason?

 

[DC3]

Can I use AA codeshare flights operated by another carrier on a oneworld award ticket? I am trying to book seats Madison to Pittsburgh via CHI (which show as available) but my booking keeps failing when I add that sector to my award itinerary . I can see the Madison to Chicago is a codeshare operated by PSA. Perhaps that's the reason?

PSA is wholly owned by AA. It flies as AA, operating on Regional routes. Similar to Piedmont Airlines, Envoy Air.

As far as booking, they are all AA and are not "another carrier".

Edit: Usually called American Eagle, which is AA. The issue could be something else: e.g., mileage/transits/stops/award availability or just a glitch if using the Qantas awards web site. Have you discussed this issue with the Call Centre?

 

[motef]

A question on adding legs to an existing booking.

Is it best to
1)- book the extra legs and ring Qantas and ask them to merge the PNRs
or
2)- ring Qantas with the original PNR and get them to add the additional legs?

I am thinking of flights that are high demand on Award availability and when released you play a lottery ringing Qantas and doing Option 2 as they may be gone by the time you get through?

What methods can be done?

 

[vetrade]

A question on adding legs to an existing booking.

Is it best to
1)- book the extra legs and ring Qantas and ask them to merge the PNRs
or
2)- ring Qantas with the original PNR and get them to add the additional legs?

I am thinking of flights that are high demand on Award availability and when released you play a lottery ringing Qantas and doing Option 2 as they may be gone by the time you get through?

What methods can be done?

You cannot merge PNRs under any circumstances so you must avoid making two separate bookings. You can book the initial legs online but any changes or additions after that need to be made through the QF call centre and added to your first booking (PNR).

It is a perpetual dilemma trying grab availability as soon as it shows or risk missing it because you were waiting for another flight to open up in an attempt to avoid paying multiple change fees. That risk is compounded if you are chasing J seats. There is no simple solution, I'm afraid, and you'll probably find yourself doing dummy bookings months in advance to try and get a feel for which routes you don't need to book straight away.

The main routes to/from London and the US usually get snapped up quickly so if they are the cornerstone of your travels you need to bite the bullet and just call QF as soon as they are available.

I find it best to maintain flexibility by finding what alternate routes I could use if the "perfect" option isn't available. To do this I have a spreadsheet of OW flights from each city so, for example, if a direct flight from LHR to DOH isn't available I would look at alternatives flying through PRG, CPH or HEL etc. Flexibility regarding the date you want to fly is needed too.

 

[bookworm]

Thanks DC3,

I continued reading on and found a few other people getting the same answer recently. Apologies for re-asking. You were so speedy to reply I didn't have a chance to edit my post.

Many thanks for clarifying. I dread the point where I need to make my final call to Qantas this weekend. Fingers crossed it isn't a repeat of my last horror experience. I might try the 4am approach and see how it goes

Thank you to DC3 Who has clarified.

All the best this weekend. Hope you get your flights.
Someone here mentioned calling at 6.30 am to get the Australian call centre. ( unsure if this is AEST)

My last call was after 10pm Perth time and I got the NZ call centre. I had the call on speakerphone, my daughter was horrified at the unhelpful, cold responses I got.

 

[bookworm]

Time to rethink your itinerary. Flexibility and contingency options are the key because reward seat availability is not consistently reliable. If you have stretched your mileage so thin that you have virtually no routing flexibility left then it's time to re-examine your priorities and expectations. Don't be greedy.

I find it helps if I can visualise our intended route easily by plotting it on a world map. If you are stretching the mileage limit, it's surprising how a map can help you see "wasteful" routings. If your route zig zags too much then it is chewing up mileage. I have found that setting a route which connects stopovers in a circular direction rather than connecting places with crossing multiple times through individual cities (LHR being the most obvious), can save quite a bit in mileage.
Don't discount the benefits of paying cash for some flights to free up mileage on your reward itinerary, especially in Europe. Even though we always book J OW rewards, we often pay for cheap Y flights of 1 - 2 hrs duration to free up miles and allow us to merge 2 or more stopovers into one.
Look at using more BA flights - even though people can be put off by their high taxes, overall they do have good reward availability.
Travelling from Aus to (or from) Europe via the USA will generally soak up 4,000 or more extra Kms than going via Asia/ Middle East. Even flying LHR - JNB - SYD instead of trying for routes via HKG, DXB or DOH can be several 1000 kms less than trying to travel via SFO, DFW or LAX.

Thank you for this, needed a wake up and a rethink.
Took your advice and rerouted via London and Doha (taxes eye watering).

Now waiting to see if I can get availability Doha to Perth. Reading up on the forum, doesn’t appear to have much availability.

Thank you once again.

 

[kpc]

Does returning to the same country but not same city make the rtw invalid? eg is the following valid? Mel-Syd-Jnb-Cpt (stop) - Jnb- Syd (stop)- Doh-Amm (stop)-Hkg(stop)- Mel (stop and end)...thanks

 

[jeza]

Does returning to the same country but not same city make the rtw invalid? eg is the following valid? Mel-Syd-Jnb-Cpt (stop) - Jnb- Syd (stop)- Doh-Amm (stop)-Hkg(stop)- Mel (stop and end)...thanks

Unfortunately, yes it does make it invalid.

14.3.5 A Classic Flight Reward Itinerary must contain no more than one departure from the city or country of first departure on that Itinerary.

 

[kpc]

Unfortunately, yes it does make it invalid.

Thanks for info ..so is the following valid? Akl-Syd-Jnb-Cpt (stop) - Jnb- Syd (stop)- Doh-Amm (stop)-Hkg(stop)- Syd...thanks

 

[exceladdict]

Thanks for info ..so is the following valid? Akl-Syd-Jnb-Cpt (stop) - Jnb- Syd (stop)- Doh-Amm (stop)-Hkg(stop)- Syd...thanks

Looks good if under 35k miles

 

[jeza]

Thanks for info ..so is the following valid? Akl-Syd-Jnb-Cpt (stop) - Jnb- Syd (stop)- Doh-Amm (stop)-Hkg(stop)- Syd...thanks

From what I understand even if your not finishing in the origin (AKL) I believe you still have to count the miles back to that point, so SYD-AKL would be added on the end. According to GCMap that would take the miles to 36K.

Can you remove the JNB-CPT sectors & book them separately?

Just note that sometimes even though GCMap says it's under the 35K agents have come out with a higher total miles figure. Think there was an example of that in this thread a little while ago.

 

[kpc]

From what I understand even if your not finishing in the origin (AKL) I believe you still have to count the miles back to that point, so SYD-AKL would be added on the end. According to GCMap that would take the miles to 36K.

Can you remove the JNB-CPT sectors & book them separately?

Just note that sometimes even though GCMap says it's under the 35K agents have come out with a higher total miles figure. Think there was an example of that in this thread a little while ago.

yes I did think about having to add the mileage from Syd back to Akl at the end...removing Jnb-Cpt-Jnb will fix the 35K mileage problem.

 

[bookworm]

yes I did think about having to add the mileage from Syd back to Akl at the end...removing Jnb-Cpt-Jnb will fix the 35K mileage problem.

You can get some cheap tickets on flights within South Africa.
I have used South Africa’s Favourite Low-Cost Airline | FlySafair when they have offers, the offers are really good.

There’s also other budget options eg Mango airlines as an alternative to SAA which is the main carrier.

 

[pottsy]

Quick question please?
On my OWA I am currently booked to fly from FCO to HKG (so I can purchase my own flight back to Melb, then return to HKG later for second leg of trip). I am finding it difficult to get a reasonable priced flight HKG-Mel-HKG! Just wondering if you have any thoughts on perhaps Singapore being a better option for me?