Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[cjd600]

ok thanks, I was under the impression that going through London airports is what made the taxes high and not the airline or the program?

im still very green to this,

so if Iwere to do hyphetically melb to france and back , assuming avaiability, what would be the way to pay the least taxes? avoid going through London? or BA or Malaysia air?

so my proposal of melb, asia, eu, usa melb, if Ichose the right airlines/airports I could get away with paying $1100 all up in taxes???

i hope this is true, it seems that Ialwas end up paying coughpy amounts of taxes

what do other people do to minimse taxes?

also another question, I assume that I got charged 290k points (if i recall) while oneworld is 280k because I didnt satisfy the oneworld conditions?
or did Ichoose the wrong airline?

Airline choice + flying out of London (UK) will both impact your taxes....

If you did your above itinerary, and not out of London, on only CX/IB/AA you'd probably come in well under $1100

 

[fairbasa]

My understanding is if you stopover (>24hrs) in London, a passenger departure tax is added (no matter which airline you fly). However, if you fly with just a transit in London with an airline which doesn't charge fuel fines (AA), it shouldn't be any more expensive.

 

[SOPOOR]

Airline choice + flying out of London (UK) will both impact your taxes....

If you did your above itinerary, and not out of London, on only CX/IB/AA you'd probably come in well under $1100

I felt so ripped off for $1100 for all that


oh wow, thats amazing,

 

[hankahanka]

After 4 years of churning, I've got the following booked for myself and my partner, all J unless otherwise noted. Never thought I'd eventually get there.

MEL-NRT QF
HND-xLHR-HAM BA
HAM-xLHR-IAD BA 747-400
TYS(y)-xDCA(y)-BOS-HKG AA, AA, CX
HKG-xPER-MEL CX, QF

Got pinged about $1300 each. Looking forward to changing the domestic AA Y sectors to J/F when they allegedly will change their domestic first to J codes. Will try and sniff out a JAL flight between Japan and Germany.

I've left 4500 miles on the table, since i don't have time for more stops, and the QF dragon wouldn't let me depart Australia twice. Not that it's on the rules anywhere I could see in the ts&cs.

 

[madrooster]

I've left 4500 miles on the table, since i don't have time for more stops, and the QF dragon wouldn't let me depart Australia twice. Not that it's on the rules anywhere I could see in the ts&cs.

You can't depart the origin country more than once. It's in the rules. JL flies to FRA, HEL, CDG, LHR so that might be an option for you, with HEL being the best option as you can go NRT-HEL-HAM. FRA or CDG would require backtracking via TXL or LHR.

 

[Global Tripper]

So trip booked as follows
SYD-DFW QF
DFW-xMIA-SCL AA,LA
SCL-MAD LA
MAD-xLHR-DUB BA
DUB-xHEL-xDOH-SIN AY,QR,QR
SIN-SYD QF
Taxes are $1,330 pp. This seems a bit on the high side. Anyone care to comment including which segments are the main contributors to these costs.

 

[hutch]

So trip booked as follows
SYD-DFW QF
DFW-xMIA-SCL AA,LA
SCL-MAD LA
MAD-xLHR-DUB BA
DUB-xHEL-xDOH-SIN AY,QR,QR
SIN-SYD QF
Taxes are $1,330 pp. This seems a bit on the high side. Anyone care to comment including which segments are the main contributors to these costs.

Yep, your fees would be higher because of your airline choices. BA is in your itinerary and charge really high fees... QF is also pretty pricey. QR charge less than those two. I haven't booked LA or AY with awards yet. AA is cheap.

 

[hutch]

I felt so ripped off for $1100 for all that


oh wow, thats amazing,

I'm confused...did you use BAEC or QF points last time?

 

[SOPOOR]

I'm confused...did you use BAEC or QF points last time?

oops, thanks for reminding

I wanted to use QFF points but the flight wasnt avaialble, and someone recommended to look at BAEC as their flights reveal more, and then to call back QFF and to book with them directly.

sorry, im really a newbie here!

 

[Global Tripper]

Thanks Hutch

 

[hutch]

Thanks Hutch

Just noted that the BA flights are short haul, so there would still be charges but not as high. Given this, I'd guess that the 2 QF flights could be around 40-50% of your fees. I remember when I added a SIN-SYD leg to my ticket, it cost a couple hundred dollars.
If youre doing a LHR stopover and not transit, there are also some departure taxes (though won't be as high as your going short-haul).
Generally the cheap fee airlines (that i know of) are AA, IB, CX

 

[SOPOOR]

So im a bit confused
It seems that certain airlines and atops are the cause of high taxes
So eg if you are going to europe. Not to transit in heathrow
What are other methods to reduce tax?

And is it possible to say go from aus to eu or usa and pay virtually no tax?

 

[Doctore1003]

And is it possible to say go from aus to eu or usa and pay virtually no tax?

You can fly to either with JAL via Tokyo or CX via Hong Kong and pay a relatively small amount of tax.

 

[hutch]

So im a bit confused
It seems that certain airlines and atops are the cause of high taxes
So eg if you are going to europe. Not to transit in heathrow
What are other methods to reduce tax?

And is it possible to say go from aus to eu or usa and pay virtually no tax?

Your statement is exactly spot. Who you fly, what class you fly and where you depart will impact on your tax/fees.

There is no way to pay nothing. Flying Cathay, AA, IB will minimize tax...not departing the UK after a stop-over (transits -less than 24hrs aren't slugged the higher charge) will also keep in down.

However, for me, part of flying J is the experience. So paying slightly higher taxes to fly QR and use the lounge at DOH is worth it. The high charges by BA are stupid as their J class is pretty average from all accounts.

 

[roomer]

Your statement is exactly spot. Who you fly, what class you fly and where you depart will impact on your tax/fees.

There is no way to pay nothing. Flying Cathay, AA, IB will minimize tax...not departing the UK after a stop-over (transits -less than 24hrs aren't slugged the higher charge) will also keep in down.

However, for me, part of flying J is the experience. So paying slightly higher taxes to fly QR and use the lounge at DOH is worth it. The high charges by BA are stupid as their J class is pretty average from all accounts.

Just be mindful that if you do your dummy booking (ie dont book but just see what the points and fees cost) that other than your first booking, the taxes shown aren't what you pay , its more!

I have just added a flight over the phone to my original booking done online (intending to get the business class oneworld of 280K point deal) and the trip I had planned from CDG to IAH via LHR (in transit) showed taxes etc of 615 euros for us both ie ~$900AUS but when that trip was added to my booking, the Qantas lady said the taxes etc are $1200 AUS for us both; something to do with being added to the original booking. So beware !

Other than that, all went well for me doing this 280K award booking for the the first time, but this is by possible only due to the generous guidance from the AFF members. Thank you very much !

 

[hutch]

Just be mindful that if you do your dummy booking (ie dont book but just see what the points and fees cost) that other than your first booking, the taxes shown aren't what you pay , its more!

I have just added a flight over the phone to my original booking done online (intending to get the business class oneworld of 280K point deal) and the trip I had planned from CDG to IAH via LHR (in transit) showed taxes etc of 615 euros for us both ie ~$900AUS but when that trip was added to my booking, the Qantas lady said the taxes etc are $1200 AUS for us both; something to do with being added to the original booking. So beware !

Other than that, all went well for me doing this 280K award booking for the the first time, but this is by possible only due to the generous guidance from the AFF members. Thank you very much !

I assume with those fees this was flying BA?

In relation to the change in fees, all taxes and fees are recalculated... so they are impacted by currency movements, tax increases etc etc. I've had it go down once, but generally goes the other way. Seeing the taxes for each one way sector is a good guide only.

 

[roomer]

I assume with those fees this was flying BA?

In relation to the change in fees, all taxes and fees are recalculated... so they are impacted by currency movements, tax increases etc etc. I've had it go down once, but generally goes the other way. Seeing the taxes for each one way sector is a good guide only.

Yes with BA, unfortunately it was really the only option

 

[hutch]

Fair enough fair enough. I'd probably would have routed through Madrid on Iberia and taken a Y domestic AA flight... but that's just probably showing my prejuidice for BA's J product and my desire to avoid their fees (if their product was world class, then it be a different story... just can't quite get over an airline charging to choose J seats).

 

[SOPOOR]

Your statement is exactly spot. Who you fly, what class you fly and where you depart will impact on your tax/fees.

There is no way to pay nothing. Flying Cathay, AA, IB will minimize tax...not departing the UK after a stop-over (transits -less than 24hrs aren't slugged the higher charge) will also keep in down.

However, for me, part of flying J is the experience. So paying slightly higher taxes to fly QR and use the lounge at DOH is worth it. The high charges by BA are stupid as their J class is pretty average from all accounts.

ok thanks so Cathay, AA and IB will redue tax, not departing UK, sounds good,

so realistically if I were to get the cheapest fees for say AUS to EU TO USA and back what would you guys recommend

what do you guys do for getting best deals out of Business class for 280k

 

[hutch]

I recommend flying to a destination you wish to visit on an airline you think you'll enjoy flying! Off the above suggestion, you could do AUS-HKG (cathay), HKG-EU (cathay), EU-USA (Iberia) and USA-AUS (AA) or (via HKG, Cathay), (via Tokyo, JAL)... the process will be a lot easier if you post an itinerary. Members can then provide suggestions to help.