Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Mr H]

Maria in Fiji?

Yes. Is that remarkable?

 

[vetrade]

Is it possible to include Fiji (NAN) as part of a OWCA? I can see QF flights into NAN but doesn't seem like there's any other way out not on FJ or JQ.

Can't use FJ or JQ for a OWA

 

[Phoenix-1]

Can't use FJ or JQ for a OWA

Hence the question

 

[prozac]

Yes. Is that remarkable?

Not now I've realised you must have been speaking with Qantas call centre. For a minute I thought you must have had a secret booking agent stashed away. Hard to keep track when you are reading numerous threads.

 

[Mr H]

Is it possible to include Fiji (NAN) as part of a OWCA? I can see QF flights into NAN but doesn't seem like there's any other way out not on FJ or JQ.

You can only leave your country of origin once. The only OW route in and out of NAN is QF to/from SYD. So if you start your itinerary in Australia, you could only continue with domestic flights on your return to Australia. Alternatives would be a surface sector to a non-Australian destination that has other One World routes, or to start your itinerary outwith Australia to allow you to do SYD-NAN-SYD and onwards.

 

[yaksha98]

Hi brains trust - I'm planning for a trip with Qantas oneworld classic flight reward for mid-2023.

looking at positioning to Asia (BKK) and starting the trip there and utilising the 'long transit' option in Sydney as detailed in the pointshack article and heading back to Asia (SIN) 2024 when reward availability is open.

trying to piece this itinerary using the qantas multi city tool for 2022-2023 as a test, but I am hitting a roadblock with the 2023 second trip. can anyone advise what i'm doing wrong?

2022
bkk-hel-ber (stop 1)
ber-lhr-ath (stop 2)
ath-lhr-cdg (stop 3)
cdg-doh-syd (stop 4)

2023
syd-sin (stop 5)
sin-syd (return)

I'm able to price a trip for the first part to europe from bkk and return to sydney. but the moment i add the 2023 syd-sin flight return, it throws up an error. just thinking if the return counts as 6 stops rather than 5? but if I remove the sin-syd last leg, and stop back in sin, it also gives an error.

any one know what i'm doing wrong?

confirmed i've not selected any non-oneworld partners (like ek, air france, etc)

 

[BriarFlyer]

SYD would count as stop 6 as you started your OWA in BKK, and whether you fly it or not that last sector counts toward the award (in miles, stops and segments "flown".) This is also yr 2nd stop in SYD. Final sector should be SIN-BKK, right?

 

[yaksha98]

thanks! i suspected as much.... based in Sydney, so plan is for final trip SIN-SYD.

looks like i'll have to scrap one of the sectors in europe to make the 5 stop rule work?

 

[djkelly69]

looks like i'll have to scrap one of the sectors in europe to make the 5 stop rule work?

I think you are still going to have the issue of two stops in Syd (because the system will see it as a 2nd stop as you technically need to get back to BKK).

 

[yaksha98]

from the rules, i don't have to return to BKK to end the trip, but the mileage from point of disembarkation and embarkation will be counted (14.5.3)

it appears you can also transit 'twice' in 1 city, so sydney being the second transit and final destination. (rule D)

14.5.3 A one way oneworld Classic Flight Reward Itinerary will be charged as a return Itinerary. oneworld Classic Flight Reward Itineraries finishing in a port other than the port of origin must include the distance to return directly to the port of origin when calculating the number of Qantas Points required to redeem the Flight Reward and the maximum distance for the Itinerary.

14.5.4 The following Stopover conditions apply to oneworld Classic Flight Rewards:

(a) up to five free Stopovers are permitted;
(b) additional Stopovers are not permitted;
(c) only one Stopover is permitted in any one city in the Itinerary; and
(d) only two Transfers may be taken at any one city in the Itinerary.

14.5.5 Surface Segments are permitted as part of oneworld Classic Flight Reward Itineraries, but the distance between the disembarkation point and the next embarkation point will be included in the Reward Point zone calculation for that Itinerary.

 

[Amanad78]

I think you would need to book the last flight SYD to BKK , leaving SYD less than 24 hours after you arrive from SIN so it counts as a transit (and then just be a no show for the final flight)

 

[Mr H]

I think you would need to book the last flight SYD to BKK , leaving SYD less than 24 hours after you arrive from SIN so it counts as a transit (and then just be a no show for the final flight)

May be cheaper to book a connection to CBR or NTL and no show for that. This would avoid a second stopover in Sydney but would still could as a fifth stopover and require the mileage to return to BKK to be available.

 

[kctt]

7th call to Cape Town: No wait time. Agent asked me to provide details of itinerary for verification purpose
Ticket is not issued 48 hours after 6th call
I told him previous agent put my booking in queue to be ticketed in 24-48 hours but it did not happen.
I asked him to get in touch with support or ticket team to get the ticket issued. He replied saying travel is not imminent so he's not allowed to phone ticket team. He will save some change and put booking in ticket queue and it should be processed in 48 hours.
At the end of the call, a QANTAS ITINERARY email sent from [email protected] to my email with details of flight in text format.
I'm wondering if ticket process is automatic or someone in ticket team has to review and issue ticket?

 

[aikman]

Hi brains trust - I'm planning for a trip with Qantas oneworld classic flight reward for mid-2023.

looking at positioning to Asia (BKK) and starting the trip there and utilising the 'long transit' option in Sydney as detailed in the pointshack article and heading back to Asia (SIN) 2024 when reward availability is open.

trying to piece this itinerary using the qantas multi city tool for 2022-2023 as a test, but I am hitting a roadblock with the 2023 second trip. can anyone advise what i'm doing wrong?

2022
bkk-hel-ber (stop 1)
ber-lhr-ath (stop 2)
ath-lhr-cdg (stop 3)
cdg-doh-syd (stop 4)

2023
syd-sin (stop 5)
sin-syd (return)

I'm able to price a trip for the first part to europe from bkk and return to sydney. but the moment i add the 2023 syd-sin flight return, it throws up an error. just thinking if the return counts as 6 stops rather than 5? but if I remove the sin-syd last leg, and stop back in sin, it also gives an error.

any one know what i'm doing wrong?

confirmed i've not selected any non-oneworld partners (like ek, air france, etc)

I think your itinerary is fine. Not all valid itineraries are bookable online. The system just doesn't like some itineraries for some reason.

Do you really need that trip to SIN? It's usually cheap and easy to get to SIN. Will you really be worse off by buying a return cash ticket to SIN compared to buying a one way ticket to BKK plus the hassles of booking a oneworld award over the phone?

 

[yaksha98]

I think your itinerary is fine. Not all valid itineraries are bookable online. The system just doesn't like some itineraries for some reason.

Do you really need that trip to SIN? It's usually cheap and easy to get to SIN. Will you really be worse off by buying a return cash ticket to SIN compared to buying a one way ticket to BKK plus the hassles of booking a oneworld award over the phone?

Thanks for advice. Don't really "need" the trip to SIN at the end, but have family there to visit and if the mileage is available no harm trying for a biz flight return.

Might try and book the Europe trip in the next month or so when reward available becomes available and then try my luck with the call centre later this year for the 2024 flights.

 

[flapper]

7th call to Cape Town: No wait time. Agent asked me to provide details of itinerary for verification purpose
Ticket is not issued 48 hours after 6th call
I told him previous agent put my booking in queue to be ticketed in 24-48 hours but it did not happen.
I asked him to get in touch with support or ticket team to get the ticket issued. He replied saying travel is not imminent so he's not allowed to phone ticket team. He will save some change and put booking in ticket queue and it should be processed in 48 hours.
At the end of the call, a QANTAS ITINERARY email sent from [email protected] to my email with details of flight in text format.
I'm wondering if ticket process is automatic or someone in ticket team has to review and issue ticket?

I believe that they go into a queue for manual processing. HBA & AKL CC have told me bookings that include partner airlines should be ticketed before they take the next call. This is what used to happen before QF outsourced their CCs and I believe still does if you get through to HBA or AKL but I haven't got through to them in over 40 calls the past few months. The operator needs to contact ticketing, this could be a long wait (they used to call but now it could be through an online messenger service, like their support is now). Obviously your booking doesn't include any airlines that cancel their flights if not ticketed within 24 hours. I know QR and CX do and QF, BA & IB don't. Are you comfortable sharing the airlines on your booking so I will know for future reference? If you are able I would keep calling until you get it ticketed. I just HUACA until someone does it.

 

[Mr H]

Thanks for advice. Don't really "need" the trip to SIN at the end, but have family there to visit and if the mileage is available no harm trying for a biz flight return.

100%. Your trade off seems to be giving up one stopover and payment of taxes on a throwaway flight you won't take, and in return you get a return business class flight to Singapore. If that trade off works for you then you would be a fool not to take it.

 

[kctt]

Obviously your booking doesn't include any airlines that cancel their flights if not ticketed within 24 hours. I know QR and CX do and QF, BA & IB don't. Are you comfortable sharing the airlines on your booking so I will know for future reference? If you are able I would keep calling until you get it ticketed. I just HUACA until someone does it.

My flights are with JAL, BA, Finnair, QF. All the easy airlines and popular routes.
QF flight BKK - Sydney in Y. With my bronze status, there is little hope to get anything better than Y so i just live with Y on that one last leg.
As i replied earlier, phone queue would send to overseas first if you don't have platinum status so HUACA won't help to get Hobart / Aukland unless you are super lucky.
We can only try HUACA and push agent to contact support / ticket to get ticket issued.
Agent in my 6th call was pretty good when trying to resolve my request.
Agent in 7th call simply denied escalating / contacting ticket team. He said he would get in trouble if he tried calling ticket team when flight is not imminent.
I'm gonna try calling every 2 days if ticket is not issued as per their 48 hours promise.

 

[kctt]

Btw one thing i have excelled when calling Qantas for this OWA ticket: multi task
While waiting in queue / on hold, I had done work (IT work), check emails, watch movies, take a shower, have lunch, have dinner, complete a 20 minutes exercise run around the house ... No disturb at all to the call
No issue with HUACA 12/7 everyday but i'm gonna try calling every 2 days if ticket is not issued

 

[CaptainCurtis]

I couldn't book last night as I kept getting error messages online. Called through this morning, but the flight I wanted from Tokyo to Sydney in J was gone. Took Jacques' advice, and have managed to book the following online:

SYD-KUL in J on MH122
KUL-SIN in J on MH627
SIN-HND in Y+ on JL36
NRT-MNL in J on JL741
MNL-SYD in J on QF20

A few additional questions:

1. Is it worth replacing the SIN-HND in Y+ leg with SIN-KUL-NRT in J on MH? The KUL-NRT leg would be on the A350, vs A330 on the SYD-KUL leg. I'm not sure if there's a difference in hard product, but may be worthwhile regardless for the upgrade from Y+ to J.
2. Assuming I am okay to add a MEL-SYD flight in January 2023? This would be a return trip from the tennis, so would just need to book a separate one-way SYD-MEL.
3. Assuming I am okay to add an internal Japan flight from Osaka to Tokyo?
4. Are Qantas charging any change fees for these bookings given they can't be done online?

So it's looking like Japan may not open up in time for the Suzuka GP in early October. I'm starting to think about contingencies, and came up with the following... am I mad for even considering it?


It's capping out at 318k QFF points + $1,200NZD taxes, so I must just be falling within the 19,201 - 35,000 mile range. Any ideas how I could extract some further value?