Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[mt1552]

Anyone know if Hong Kong counts as being part of China.

My OWA starts in Shanghai, if I go HK mid trip will that count as going back to my starting country?

 

[Tonkatough]

About to start a J Oneworld Classic Reward trip and received an option to submit a request to upgrade the second Qantas leg (which is one of the current legs in Y) using points. I had not thought this was an option with a Oneworld Classic Reward ticket. Is this something new?

 

[nomadscientist]

I have a tight connection between two AA flights on my OWA. If I miss the connection without my wrongdoing, who should I speak to for sorting it out:

1. the carrier AA
2. the ticketing airline Qantas (via call centre?)
3. my travel insurance

Details:
MBJ (Jamaica) - ORD - LAX = intl to dom transfer at ORD
95mins connection time
I read online that ORD is 120mins MCT for intl to dom (yet Qantas ticketed it)
Fare class U (biz) so hopefully that helps with getting off the plane quickly

 

[elanshin]

About to start a J Oneworld Classic Reward trip and received an option to submit a request to upgrade the second Qantas leg (which is one of the current legs in Y) using points. I had not thought this was an option with a Oneworld Classic Reward ticket. Is this something new?

This is normal. CR could always submit an upgrade request to J (not to F from J though). OWA is just a classic rewards thats capped.

 

[Mr H]

I have a tight connection between two AA flights on my OWA. If I miss the connection without my wrongdoing, who should I speak to for sorting it out:

1. the carrier AA
2. the ticketing airline Qantas (via call centre?)
3. my travel insurance

Details:
MBJ (Jamaica) - ORD - LAX = intl to dom transfer at ORD
95mins connection time
I read online that ORD is 120mins MCT for intl to dom (yet Qantas ticketed it)
Fare class U (biz) so hopefully that helps with getting off the plane quickly

If you miss the connection between two AA flights then it is for AA to fix. Remember, though, to call it a connexion or the AAgent won’t understand you.

 

[smellan]

What if you added a MH KUL-SIN leg to start? I wonder if that would work for the itinerary.



2 things to note on this

1.You only have 4 stops in this itinerary. Final stop is not a leg, so you could add one more stopover. However....

2. As it is, you're over the 35,000 mile limit

A map from the Great Circle Mapper

A map from the Great Circle Mapper

www.gcmap.com

dam good pick up- I was under the kms but hadnt added in that extra leg back to SIN from CNS! this is so tricky!!

 

[DC3]

I have a tight connection between two AA flights on my OWA. If I miss the connection without my wrongdoing, who should I speak to for sorting it out:

1. the carrier AA
2. the ticketing airline Qantas (via call centre?)
3. my travel insurance

Details:
MBJ (Jamaica) - ORD - LAX = intl to dom transfer at ORD
95mins connection time
I read online that ORD is 120mins MCT for intl to dom (yet Qantas ticketed it)
Fare class U (biz) so hopefully that helps with getting off the plane quickly

Two hours should be good. 95 minutes is rather tight.

Getting from ORD T5 (International) to the Domestic Terminals is very straightforward (O'Hare official web site):

• The Terminal Transfer Bus runs every 15 minutes and will take you directly from T5 to the Domestic Terminals. There is no pedestrian connection airside, so you will not stay air side and you will have to go back through security at the Domestic Terminals. The Transfer Bus runs 1130 -2130 daily.
• The Airport Transit System (train) runs 24/7 with trains arriving in each terminal every 10 minutes and takes a total of 10 minutes end-to-end.

If connecting flights are on the same PNR then you are “protected’ (i.e., for the next “available” flight”). Probably easiest to sort out a missed connection at ORD AA desk.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I have a tight connection between two AA flights on my OWA. If I miss the connection without my wrongdoing, who should I speak to for sorting it out:

1. the carrier AA
2. the ticketing airline Qantas (via call centre?)
3. my travel insurance

Details:
MBJ (Jamaica) - ORD - LAX = intl to dom transfer at ORD
95mins connection time
I read online that ORD is 120mins MCT for intl to dom (yet Qantas ticketed it)
Fare class U (biz) so hopefully that helps with getting off the plane quickly

AA - in fact all the major US airlines - are pretty good when it comes to these sorts of things. They’ll rebook you to get to your destination, even on other carriers if required.

If this does happen you need to contact QF on arrival into LAX to ensure that whatever AA has done your original ticket is still in tact.

Sometimes during IRROPS the agents will reticket you, but not properly update the underlying ticket, so you can appear as a ‘no show’, affecting the rest of the ticket.

 

[nomadscientist]

AA - in fact all the major US airlines - are pretty good when it comes to these sorts of things. They’ll rebook you to get to your destination, even on other carriers if required.

If this does happen you need to contact QF on arrival into LAX to ensure that whatever AA has done your original ticket is still in tact.

Sometimes during IRROPS the agents will reticket you, but not properly update the underlying ticket, so you can appear as a ‘no show’, affecting the rest of the ticket.

Outstanding, that's really helpful info. Thanks Mr H, DC3, MEL_Traveller!

 

[djkelly69]

Sometimes during IRROPS the agents will reticket you, but not properly update the underlying ticket, so you can appear as a ‘no show’, affecting the rest of the ticket.

Can confirm, had an OWA in late 2022 and missed an AA LAX-MCO flight when QF11 was late.

They put us onto Delta LAX-MCO which was fine, but the rest of the fairly extensive US itinerary dropped off as we were listed as a no show for the flight we missed. It was fixed by QF after a few days and a few long (multi-hour) phone calls (this was pre the rewards escalations email), but made for a couple of stressful initial days in Orlando.

 

[Aceskywalker]

Are you able to make changes to OWA once travel has commenced - i.e. change carrier from Qantas to JAL but same destination / travel class, after first flight has taken off?

 

[nomadscientist]

Are you able to make changes to OWA once travel has commenced - i.e. change carrier from Qantas to JAL but same destination / travel class, after first flight has taken off?

From the Q Support Page:

Changes that require a ticket to be re-issued are not permitted within 24 hours of departure or once travel has commenced. Changes are not permitted on any Classic Flight Reward flight booking once travel has commenced.

In the actual T&Cs, I only found the omission of being able to change after commencement, i.e., under the list of permitted changes, changes after commencement are not shown. But maybe I overlooked something, and someone else with more experience can confirm this...

 

[elanshin]

Are you able to make changes to OWA once travel has commenced - i.e. change carrier from Qantas to JAL but same destination / travel class, after first flight has taken off?

As i understand it, its not possible as a voluntary change. But involuntary (schedule changes, cancellation etc) can occur and you can change it at that point. depending on timing, you can even make changes that would invalidate your OWA normally.

 

[Aceskywalker]

Thanks for the replies. I was under the impression, segments once started can't be altered as per normal classic reward rules.

Chat GPT says yes but that's probably as accurate as flipping a coin...​

Changes Allowed After Travel Has Started​

Once you've taken the first flight in your itinerary, you can:

• Change the date and time of future flight segments, subject to award seat availability.

• Modify flight numbers, provided the routing and cabin class remain the same.
• Adjust connections, as long as the overall itinerary stays within the original routing rules (e.g., total distance, number of segments, and stopovers).

 

[elanshin]

Thanks for the replies. I was under the impression, segments once started can't be altered as per normal classic reward rules.

Chat GPT says yes but that's probably as accurate as flipping a coin...​

Changes Allowed After Travel Has Started​

Once you've taken the first flight in your itinerary, you can:

• Change the date and time of future flight segments, subject to award seat availability.
• Modify flight numbers, provided the routing and cabin class remain the same.
• Adjust connections, as long as the overall itinerary stays within the original routing rules (e.g., total distance, number of segments, and stopovers).

I'd not trust chatgpt as there's quite a few specific things and I'm not even sure some of which Qantas publicly lists. Some of the information is basically knowledge passed down from past experiences but aren't actually listed anywhere.

But yes as I understand it, once your OWA starts you can change dates but not from QF to JL even on the same route.

 

[Aeryn]

I have spent more hours than I can to admit searching for flights to do another OWA in Business for 318k points before the devaluation hits. Destination Europe, not sure exactly where yet except for a few days in London catching up with friends and a stopover in Japan on the way home, as I only got to see Tokyo this year.

As always I wanted to avoid DOH but to complicate matters further I wanted to avoid USA incase my route was deemed unusual. Noting that there seems to be quite good award availability SYD/MEL-DFW and onward to Europe outside of school holidays for next year; so a shop-over was awfully tempting.

In the end I managed to find 4 options:

Option 1: SYD-NAN (FJ) stop NAN-HKG (FJ) stop HKG-MAN (CX) stop <surface sector> CDG-HND (JL) stop HND- SYD (QF) - EU & Japan durations sub-optimal.

Option 2: SYD - CMB (UL) stop CMB-LHR (UL) <surface sector> stop <surface sector> HEL-KIX (AY) stop HND-SYD (QF) - no time for a proper Sri Lankan visit

Option 3: SYD-HKG (QF) stop HKG-BKK (CX) stop BKK-HEL-LHR (AY) stop <surface sector> HEL-KIX (AY) stop HND-SYD (JL) - $695 total taxes.

Option 4: SYD-HKG (QF) stop HKG-BKK (CX) stop BKK-HEL-LHR (AY) stop <surface sector> HEL-HND-ITM (JL) stop HND-SYD (JL) - $955 total taxes.

I tried to book both option 3 and 4 online a few times, but it kept failing after confirming passenger details before payment screen.

I called to make the booking over the phone, got an Aussie sounding accent so I think was HBA might have been AKL but as soon I mentioned a CX flight for second leg she said she couldn't do partner flights and had to transfer me to Resolutions team which sounded like Manila.

I started to give my flights and immediately agent says first flight on QF was only available in Economy on my date, which is funny because there were multiple seats available online in Business.

So I asked about have a seat released on either QF 1, QF33 or QF9 for my date and 2 days either side; and was declined after a few minutes. Disappointing given its neither school holidays nor peak season.

I then asked her to request release QF127 to HKG which was my original first leg and magically this was approved, probably because it was actually available the whole time.

Then the fun began. Trying to add the HKG-BKK leg, I was given the I can only add HKG-BKK in Economy as Business class awards are available only for new bookings shenanigans . I said this is a new booking and that I could see 8 different CX flights with Business availability, so perhaps she needed to search differently or could transfer me to a supervisor?

Agent held firm that Business was for new bookings only, I held firm that this whole itinerary was a new booking and I knew it was possible to add these flights. Mexican stand-off; line went silent, I think she was hoping Id give up. I just waited and then after a few minutes she was back saying, she would remove the SYD-HKG leg and see if she could book the rest of the flights which she could do, then she readded SYD-HKG and presto 318k points!

I decided to go with Option 4 even though it was 4261 more in taxes as I imagine I will like the JL business seat better given I am not a fan of AY Business seat. I might regret it if immigration at HND is as slow as it was a few weeks ago, assuming I have to clear immigration and then transfer to the domestic flight BUT hopefully there are later flights.

Pushed through for expedited ticketing and landed in my inbox within 20 mins.

At some point I will have to decide where in Europe I am going to be spending my time after a few days in London, so might be calling to add a flight to HEL and can always look as swapping back to the direct AY HEL-KIX flight then if still available.

And I will keep my eye out in case QF ever do release any seats on QF1.

 

[atulhumane]

Hello Experts,

I am a newbie and would like to request help in booking our first one world itinerary starting from sydney.

• We are family of 3 adult and 1 infant. I feels like it would be impossible task to find these many Business class seats
• We are flexible with any dates this and next year.
• We don't want to make a complex itinerary and just would like to experience the business class flight
• We would love to visit any 1 country in EU, Asia, New York, LA and if possible Canada.

Can you please help and suggest an itinerary, which is easily possible (not sure if such thing exist ) to achieve (with 3A and 1infant Business class ticket). I have taken seats.aero premium membership but it doesn't show the number of award seats availability.

Do I need to book complete itinerary online for 3 award seats and then call qantas to add an infant or I can't book online at all if we have an infant ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[masco131]

Hello Experts,

I am a newbie and would like to request help in booking our first one world itinerary starting from sydney.

• We are family of 3 adult and 1 infant. I feels like it would be impossible task to find these many Business class seats
• We are flexible with any dates this and next year.
• We don't want to make a complex itinerary and just would like to experience the business class flight
• We would love to visit any 1 country in EU, Asia, New York, LA and if possible Canada.

Can you please help and suggest an itinerary, which is easily possible (not sure if such thing exist ) to achieve (with 3A and 1infant Business class ticket). I have taken seats.aero premium membership but it doesn't show the number of award seats availability.

Do I need to book complete itinerary online for 3 award seats and then call qantas to add an infant or I can't book online at all if we have an infant ?

Thanks in advance.

Some suggestions would be:
SYD/BNE-MNL: Qantas seem to have good availability to MNL
MNL-BKK: cheap cash fare (surface sector)
BKK/HKT-HEL: good availability on Finnair
HEL-JFK: Also good availability using Finnair
SFO/DFW-HKG: using Cathy pacific (they fly to JFK and BOS too but ending March next year)
HKG-Australia: they fly to BNE,MEL,SYD and even CNS and good availability

As for the number of seats, you will have to confirm on qantas website. I am not sure but I think infant <2 years old can fly for free.

Also, limit your expectations and be ready to split into two groups if two seats are not available on the same flight.

 

[Mr_Tee]

Hello Experts,

I am a newbie and would like to request help in booking our first one world itinerary starting from sydney.

• We are family of 3 adult and 1 infant. I feels like it would be impossible task to find these many Business class seats
• We are flexible with any dates this and next year.
• We don't want to make a complex itinerary and just would like to experience the business class flight
• We would love to visit any 1 country in EU, Asia, New York, LA and if possible Canada.

Can you please help and suggest an itinerary, which is easily possible (not sure if such thing exist ) to achieve (with 3A and 1infant Business class ticket). I have taken seats.aero premium membership but it doesn't show the number of award seats availability.

Do I need to book complete itinerary online for 3 award seats and then call qantas to add an infant or I can't book online at all if we have an infant ?

Thanks in advance.

There's a lot of hard work in your question, which is fair enough because organising one of these itineraries is a lot of hard work.

If you want a more personalised service and response to your questions, I'd suggest using a service like the concierge service from AFF. Link here:

Home

Our Australian award booking service can help you redeem your frequent flyer points for reward flights. Get started now with no upfront fees.

concierge.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Aeryn]

Hello Experts,

• We don't want to make a complex itinerary and just would like to experience the business class flight
• We would love to visit any 1 country in EU, Asia, New York, LA and if possible Canada.

Sounds like you dont really want an OWA but just point to point flights?

IME there is often only 1-2 business seats released on many routes, so as others have said you might need to be prepared for 2 adults and bub to fly on one flight and the 3rd adult to fly on another flight; or to book 2 Business and then separately one PE (and then hope you can upgrade the PE seat closer to departure).

There has been pretty decent award availablity to DFW (Dallas) in late April and early May next year lately especially with the A380 returning to the leg from August. You could do an award flight to DFW return, then just buy tickets onwards to NYC.

LAX also has a lot of flights as there are flights with QF and AA so check for departures from SYD, MEL and BNE.

IME SIN, YVR and LHR awards are rare as hens teeth. But it is possible to fine awards to Japan on JAL they drop petty reliably and sometimes QF. Again check for HND/NRT/KIX from SYD/MEL/BNE.

If you want to go to Hong Kong, there is good availablity via NAN (yes Fiji), you could fly SYD/MEL to NAN maybe spend a day or two at a resort and then onto HKG or vice versa. Just be sure to pick flights carefully, some have lay flat business some do not.

Do I need to book complete itinerary online for 3 award seats and then call qantas to add an infant or I can't book online at all if we have an infant ?

Think you can book he 3 adults and then call to add the infant, if they are under 2 and do not need their own seat.