Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[blu]

... Can anyone help me determine how I Will know when the FF award flights will be available for booking.

Iberia release awards 11 months before departure. Qatar at 360 days before.
BAEC is recommended as the best way to check award availability, but you will need to provide an UK/EU address. There's further advice if you search. Otherwise joining Expert Flyer may provide you with alerts when awards released.

 

[flychrisfly]

I am confused and trying to fully understand the conditions described in this paragraph of the Qantas rules for Classic Award flights, assuming that it also applies to the oneworld Classic Award flights:

"14.3.9 If a Member fails to board a Flight Segment of an itinerary containing only Classic Flight Reward Flight Segments, the remaining Segments will be cancelled. The cancelled Segments will only be reinstated if Classic Flight Reward seats are available. If any Segments are reinstated, the Reinstatement Fee will apply (see the Fee Schedule). In addition, the Points required for the entire Itinerary including both travelled and reinstated Segments will be recalculated and any additional Points required will be deducted from the Member's account." (See: https://www.qantas.com/fflyer/dyn/program/terms#jump13).

Does this apply irrespective of the reason for failing to board (i.e. force major events, sickness or similar)? Does "reinstated" apply to all the previously confirmed seats of remaining segments (other than the one failed to board), exactly as previously held (i.e. same date, flight number, etc), or entirely new bookings?

In other words, if I can't board a flight, do I have to start from scratch and try to book the continuation of my trip again with the Qantas FF call centre?

Short answer: yes.
Long answer: good luck. It's unlikely there will be any award availability on any cancelled long haul sectors though shorter sectors may prove available - either way you'll need to speak to someone at QF to sort it out. If it's a connecting airline's late arrival (on the same PNR) then the airlines will work it out but if you're planning on or do on miss a sector then, as I said, good luck! You won't get your original seat back - you basically start from scratch for the affected flights. Once the seats are cancelled they're back in general inventory for the airline and available for sale, the airlines aren't going to hold the seats for you just in case you do decide to reinstate your flights. Travel insurance may cover you but they can't magic up new seats and may only refund you the dollar value of the unused portion of your trip + taxes.

 

[trblvb]

QFF RTW help/advice

Want to book a RTW trip on points with QFF.

Is it possible to use the points with Singapore being to first departure airport?

I have some Kris flyer points I want to use also ie BNE to SIN.

Looking at for example SIN,LA,NYC,ROME,HKG,BNE

 

[pyffii]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

Shouldnt be a problem other than you have to finish in SIN but you have 364 days from taking the first flight to finish BNE-SIN

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

Shouldnt be a problem other than you have to finish in SIN but you have 364 days from taking the first flight to finish BNE-SIN

Not that long as you will need to have booked all legs of the RTW before departure., and you have to be able to get the legs that you need as well.

 

[pyffii]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

You can do date changes for free and of course you need to have U availability but dummy book the end of the trip until your final dates become available

 

[snabbu]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ogram/oneworld-award-140k-280k-420k-8228.html <--- your friend.

 

[serfty]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

Shouldnt be a problem other than you have to finish in SIN but you have 364 days from taking the first flight to finish BNE-SIN

You do not need to finish in SIN but the distance from the last port in the booking to SIN would be taken into account in relation to distance caps/points cost.

 

[Danger]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

The thread snabbu referred to is where you should be directing your attention.

You can do date changes for free and of course you need to have U availability but dummy book the end of the trip until your final dates become available

I think there's terminology confusion here. Trblvb wants to use Qantas points to construct a round the world booking. This is a oneworld five stop fare that, although does not have to take you around the world, can be used for this purpose. Dates changes are not free of charge on this product. Qantas will sting you any which way it can.

Best head over to the aforementioned thread before everyone gets confused.

 

[jewles]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

Would anyone happen to have any tips for booking 2 x J seats out of Perth using the 280k award?

Our preferred stops are:
Athens
Reykjavik
Calgary (or Vancouver if we need to)
Dallas
Beach stop (hoping for Hawaii but will look at alternatives like Belize, Mexico, Costa Rica etc as we know reward seats to Hawaii are as rare as hens teeth)
Home (Perth)

Just trying to book the Perth to Europe leg (preferably Athens or Vienna) I have hit road blocks. Qatar fly the route but I can never find availability, Qantas don't release award seats on the Perth to London flights and using a combination of other airlines ends up with it being a four leg trip which isn't ideal! We don't mind what order we do the stops in so are wondering if there is a better way.

Thanks in advance

 

[Danger]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

Would anyone happen to have any tips for booking 2 x J seats out of Perth using the 280k award?

Our preferred stops are:
Athens
Reykjavik
Calgary (or Vancouver if we need to)
Dallas
Beach stop (hoping for Hawaii but will look at alternatives like Belize, Mexico, Costa Rica etc as we know reward seats to Hawaii are as rare as hens teeth)
Home (Perth)

Just trying to book the Perth to Europe leg (preferably Athens or Vienna) I have hit road blocks. Qatar fly the route but I can never find availability, Qantas don't release award seats on the Perth to London flights and using a combination of other airlines ends up with it being a four leg trip which isn't ideal! We don't mind what order we do the stops in so are wondering if there is a better way.

Thanks in advance

I find looking at the oneworld route map can help: http://onw.innosked.com/(S(reiuec5j2zg3w3fhou0qx3z2))/default.aspx?show=MAP.

It maybe necessary to get a flight from DOH to somewhere close to VIE, like PRG or BUD and then get a separate flight to VIE. You won't lose much mileage by doing it that way.

The good news is that once you get to VIE you can fly direct to KEF. From there you'll need to backtrack a bit to anyone of a number of cities to then get a direct flight to the US (MAD, DUS, LHR etc.). As for YYC, there are only two oneworld destinations: LHR and DFW.

Award seats in J between Hawaii and Australia are very tough, I think.

So perhaps something PER-DOH-PRG/BUD surface to VIE-KEF-LHR-YYC-DFW-Caribbean-DFW/MIA or other mainland US-LAX/SFO/DFW-Australia..

 

[Radio8tiv]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

Would anyone happen to have any tips for booking 2 x J seats out of Perth using the 280k award?

Our preferred stops are:
Athens
Reykjavik
Calgary (or Vancouver if we need to)
Dallas
Beach stop (hoping for Hawaii but will look at alternatives like Belize, Mexico, Costa Rica etc as we know reward seats to Hawaii are as rare as hens teeth)
Home (Perth)

Just trying to book the Perth to Europe leg (preferably Athens or Vienna) I have hit road blocks. Qatar fly the route but I can never find availability, Qantas don't release award seats on the Perth to London flights and using a combination of other airlines ends up with it being a four leg trip which isn't ideal! We don't mind what order we do the stops in so are wondering if there is a better way.

Thanks in advance

When I was starting out planning my 280k I found google flights a valuable tool, you can select oneworld as a search parameter and from there once you have flight numbers/paths you can search availability on qantas multi city search tool, British airways, JAL, etc.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

Would anyone happen to have any tips for booking 2 x J seats out of Perth using the 280k award?

Our preferred stops are:
Athens
Reykjavik
Calgary (or Vancouver if we need to)
Dallas
Beach stop (hoping for Hawaii but will look at alternatives like Belize, Mexico, Costa Rica etc as we know reward seats to Hawaii are as rare as hens teeth)
Home (Perth)

Just trying to book the Perth to Europe leg (preferably Athens or Vienna) I have hit road blocks. Qatar fly the route but I can never find availability, Qantas don't release award seats on the Perth to London flights and using a combination of other airlines ends up with it being a four leg trip which isn't ideal! We don't mind what order we do the stops in so are wondering if there is a better way.

Thanks in advance

You could also consider Award Flight Assist: Award Flight Assist - Frequent Flyer Solutions

 

[trblvb]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

Hi all

For those interested finally booked the following for 2 people:

BNE – SIN J Singapore Airlines 116K points;

All with Qantas points 618K (see below)

[TABLE="width: 437, align: center"][TR][TD]Carrier [/TD][TD]Flight
Number [/TD][TD="colspan: 2"]Arriving [/TD][/TR][TR][TD]City [/TD][TD="colspan: 2"]City [/TD][TD]Class[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]EMIRATES AIRLINES [/TD][TD]355 [/TD][TD]SIN Singapore [/TD][TD="colspan: 2"]DXB Dubai [/TD][TD]D [/TD][/TR][TR][TD]EMIRATES AIRLINES [/TD][TD]203 [/TD][TD]DXB Dubai [/TD][TD="colspan: 2"]JFK New York [/TD][TD]D [/TD][/TR][TR][TD]AMERICAN AIRLINES [/TD][TD]290 [/TD][TD]JFK New York [/TD][TD="colspan: 2"]DUB Dublin [/TD][TD]U [/TD][/TR][TR][TD]BRITISH AIRWAYS [/TD][TD]837 [/TD][TD]DUB Dublin [/TD][TD="colspan: 2"]LHR London [/TD][TD]U [/TD][/TR][TR][TD]BRITISH AIRWAYS [/TD][TD]558 [/TD][TD]LHR London [/TD][TD="colspan: 2"]FCO Rome [/TD][TD]U [/TD][/TR][TR][TD]EMIRATES AIRLINES [/TD][TD]98 [/TD][TD]FCO Rome [/TD][TD="colspan: 2"]DXB Dubai [/TD][TD]D [/TD][/TR][TR][TD]EMIRATES AIRLINES [/TD][TD]382 [/TD][TD]DXB Dubai [/TD][TD="colspan: 2"]HKG Hong Kong [/TD][TD]D [/TD][/TR][TR][TD]QANTAS AIRWAYS [/TD][TD]98 [/TD][TD]HKG Hong Kong [/TD][TD="colspan: 2"]BNE Brisbane [/TD][TD]X [/TD][/TR][TR][TD]
[/TD][TD]
[/TD][TD]
[/TD][TD]
[/TD][TD]
[/TD][TD]
[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]
Stopping at each city except Dubai (need to book accom. Now)

It’s our 2-month dream holiday.

It was exciting making the booking – up until 2am a few nights but very happy especially Business all the way except HKG – BNE and opportunity to experience A380.

 

[ozflier]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

Maybe things have changed but I thought Emirates was not allowed on OWA itineraries.
Perhaps this is really a RTW itinerary rather than a OWA one?

 

[exceladdict]

Re: QFF RTW help/advice

Maybe things have changed but I thought Emirates was not allowed on OWA itineraries.
Perhaps this is really a RTW itinerary rather than a OWA one?

309K points per person is higher than the standard 280k but it does look surprisingly low considering the number of emirates legs

 

[appaz]

Hi All,

Been following the thread for a number of years and booked my first 280k reward. Thanks for all the help/tips

September/October this year:
PER-DOH QR J B777
DOH-AMM RJ J A321 - STOP
AMM-ATH RJ J E175 - STOP/OPEN JAW ---> revenue ATH-JTR OA Y A320
JTR-VIE HG Y A321
VIE-HEL AY J A321 - STOP/OPEN JAW ----> revenue HEL-OSL-TOS-ARN Y
ARN-DOH QR J B787
DOH-KUL QR J B787 - STOP ----> revenue KUL-PER OD Y B737

July next year: ---> will likely book a seperate J award PER-KUL
KUL-HKG MH J A330 - overnight 21 hour stop
HKG-NRT JL J B787
NRT-YVR JL J B787 - STOP
YVR-NRT JL J B787
NRT-HKG CX J B777 - overnight stop
HKG-PER CX J A350

Two PAX, Two trips 34,621 miles 280k points + $1450 taxes per person

Didn't realise at the time of booking that JAL787 on the NRT-YVR-NRT route was the old style neo angle flat bed - I thought it was the new suites!

I've changed this section of the trip from July to August next year and grabbed some direct CX flights instead (also saved $552 in taxes in the process)

Now have:
KUL-HKG MH J A330
HKG-YVR CX J B777
YVR-HKG CX J A350
HKG-PER CX J A350

with no need to overnight in HKG in either direction, well worth the 5k QFF points to change

Taxes are now $1179 pp instead of $1450

 

[madrooster]

Didn't realise at the time of booking that JAL787 on the NRT-YVR-NRT route was the old style neo angle flat bed - I thought it was the new suites!

I've changed this section of the trip from July to August next year and grabbed some direct CX flights instead (also saved $552 in taxes in the process)

Now have:
KUL-HKG MH J A330
HKG-YVR CX J B777
YVR-HKG CX J A350
HKG-PER CX J A350

with no need to overnight in HKG in either direction, well worth the 5k QFF points to change

Taxes are now $1179 pp instead of $1450

I believe you got overcharged on taxes originally as swapping JL/JL/JL/CX/CX for CX/CX/CX should increase the taxes and not drop it.

 

[appaz]

I believe you got overcharged on taxes originally as swapping JL/JL/JL/CX/CX for CX/CX/CX should increase the taxes and not drop it.

either way, I'll happily take the $550 refund

 

[yld200]

This whole Middle East situation has drained the life out of me in the last couple of weeks while trying to sort out my flights to Dubai.

Originally I was flying:
MEL>ADL>DOH
DOH>DXB (STOP)
DXB>DOH>ESB (STOP).

The flight to Doha was booked 11 month ago and I was really looking forward to the experience on the A350. Since June I've been scrambling trying to find arrangements to get to Dubai from Doha and any option that I found wouldn't work without an extremely long layover somewhere uncomfortable.

It had gotten to the point where I was happy to wait until T-72 and get Qatar to sort it out, which would have most likely been something like transiting through Muscat then Oman Air to Dubai. Yesterday availability showed up on MLE>DXB via HKG on Cathays A350 to HKG a few days earlier than what we had already booked, so after approval from the boss I jumped on it. QF found the flights and they were on hold while a refund of $98 was to be sorted out. I hung up the phone having confirmed everything when QF rings back 5 mins later - NOOOOOOOOO - The MEL>HKG flight had been pulled from inventory and couldn't be booked. The QF agent had also dropped my QR flight which left me in limbo. I did some searching quickly and found availability from SYD on CX to DXB via HKG so have booked that now.

My new itinerary is:
MEL>SYD>HKG>DXB (STOP)
DXB>AMM>IST (STOP)
The rest of my trip is unchanged.

I have a 5 hour stopover over in HKG now from 9.30 pm til around 2.20am - whats the best lounge to sleep in during that time? I've read that the Pier has resting 'pods' - is that the place to be?