Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[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.

 

[Kerrodt]

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.

 

[atulhumane]

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.

Thanks @masco131

 

[11sjw]

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.

Flights out of Oz are near on impossible to get 3 or 4 x J tix. Perhaps split them and travel on separate days to reunite in an Asian city and look at 3+ seats from there.

 

[nomadscientist]

Seeking confirmation on interline baggage through-check for separate tickets: What are the chances / your experiences of baggage being allowed through-checked when travelling on separate tickets?

Specifically:
domestic QF flight on a separate ticket
then first OWA flight with JL (next day 7:20am out of MEL)

Q website says it's not possible to through-check baggage:

If travelling on a oneworld flight booked on separate tickets in separate bookings, the baggage will not be checked through and the customers will not receive the boarding pass for their onward flight.

and particularly not over to the next day:

Note: In general, baggage can only be checked though within the same calendar day.

 

[Warragul]

Seeking confirmation on interline baggage through-check for separate tickets: What are the chances / your experiences of baggage being allowed through-checked when travelling on separate tickets?

Specifically:
domestic QF flight on a separate ticket
then first OWA flight with JL (next day 7:20am out of MEL)

Q website says it's not possible to through-check baggage:

and particularly not over to the next day:

If one booking is revenue and the other an award then through check to another OW carrier is excluded from the restriction according to that policy quoted. In practice there seems to be a mixed experience from posts in these forums.

 

[MonteCristo]

If emirates have made award seats available for Qantas bookings, you will need to call to book. There should be no fee for this as the booking can't be done online due to Qantas not making MLA available as an origin.

Thanks very much. I can see EK110 in there as a daily service. So I'll give it a shot once I'm back in Australia.

If only I could find a direct flight from FCO to MLA! Oh well. Might have to bite the bullet and go with ITA or Ryanair on a cash fare.

 

[Aceskywalker]

Does anyone know if you can book a domestic first class on AA on a RTW business class ticket without changing ticket to first...
NYC - LAX?

 

[FlyingFiona]

Does anyone know if you can book a domestic first class on AA on a RTW business class ticket without changing ticket to first...
NYC - LAX?

Not possible. The ticket will book (cap) at the highest class of seat, even if it is just one leg.

 

[Aceskywalker]

Not possible. The ticket will book (cap) at the highest class of seat, even if it is just one leg.

Thanks!

 

[djkelly69]

Does anyone know if you can book a domestic first class on AA on a RTW business class ticket without changing ticket to first...
NYC - LAX?

I believe AA domestic 'first class' counts as business for the purposes of an OWA.

I had no issues with flying MCO-DCA, EWR-PHX and LAS-ORD in AA first as part of an OWA (in business) about 2.5 years ago.

 

[ozflier]

I believe AA domestic 'first class' counts as business for the purposes of an OWA.

I had no issues with flying MCO-DCA, EWR-PHX and LAS-ORD in AA first as part of an OWA (in business) about 2.5 years ago.

Post automatically merged: Jun 4, 2025

Thats been my experience - most recently on an AA flight in first class but on a Business Class OWA. No problems.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I believe AA domestic 'first class' counts as business for the purposes of an OWA.

I had no issues with flying MCO-DCA, EWR-PHX and LAS-ORD in AA first as part of an OWA (in business) about 2.5 years ago.

Yes, but flyingfiona was responding to the OP’s question about NYC-LAX in F.

This is almost certainly going to be a three-class transcon on a 321T with flagship F, flagship business, and economy.

Flagship F for select transcons is considered true F for the purposes of points costs.

For regular domestic F travel in the USA is maps as business class.

 

[elanshin]

Seeking confirmation on interline baggage through-check for separate tickets: What are the chances / your experiences of baggage being allowed through-checked when travelling on separate tickets?

Specifically:
domestic QF flight on a separate ticket
then first OWA flight with JL (next day 7:20am out of MEL)

Q website says it's not possible to through-check baggage:

and particularly not over to the next day:

Not possible for next day at MEL in your scenario.

In general same day QF domestic to OW carrier with classic rewards is possible depending on the carrier. Definitely possible QF-QF on separate tickets.

 

[elanshin]

Does anyone know if you can book a domestic first class on AA on a RTW business class ticket without changing ticket to first...
NYC - LAX?

A few potentially confusing answers but the way to look at it is: US domestic "First" is really business class anywhere else in the world with the exception of select flights on trunm routes (JFK <> LAX is one such route). If your flight sells both First and Business, then this is more akin to real first and will be charged as such. This would be on the A321T (or XLR going forward) or the 777.

 

[KingHuang]

Hi!

What would be the best way to find award seats (from a routes point of view) to go from Geneva or Lyon (or maybe even Paris) back to Sydney? I will be stopping in Singapore on the way to Europe, what's another route we can go on the way back to change things up? Prefer flying in J but also ok to fly in PE and Y!

Thanks!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi!

What would be the best way to find award seats (from a routes point of view) to go from Geneva or Lyon (or maybe even Paris) back to Sydney? I will be stopping in Singapore on the way to Europe, what's another route we can go on the way back to change things up? Prefer flying in J but also ok to fly in PE and Y!

Thanks!

Geneva or Lyon is pretty much going to limit you to BA, back via London, or Finnair back to helsinki. Then you’d have to pick a carrier from there.

From paris you could take your pick of sri lankan, cathay, qantas, japan airlines.

 

[SunnyS]

Hi All,

I’m a complete newbie to the classic reward booking process and am trying to book two round the world tickets (business class) for two people from Australia - Africa - Europe - North America - Australia for the March to late May/early June 2026 period. The flights are for my parents who would like to see the National Parks in California and spend some time in London, France and Switzerland before visiting family in South Africa.

Ideally the itinerary would be:
BNE - JNB
JNB - LHR
LHR - LAX
LAX - BNE

I’ve checked the Oneworld site and this appears to be a valid trip itinerary.

Has anyone had any luck booking seats between these cities? Or using the Point Hacks Concierge service when booking rtw flights? I’ve found very little availability departing and returning to Australia. I’m also struggling with British Airways flights from JNB to LHR, it appears these are released <11.5 months in advance.

My thinking is to book as many of the flights as I can now and add the JNB to LHR flight when it becomes available (fingers crossed).

Any suggestions regarding route options or the best time to book would be greatly appreciated. I’m mindful that the entire trip may need to be moved to later in the year (2026) to allow me to find better seats departing Australia.

 

[MelbFlyer]

I’ve found very little availability departing and returning to Australia.

This is pretty standard these days and unfortunately a fact of reward seats - availability outside of Australia is generally better and seats are easier to find, of course there are some exceptions though.

From the UK to the US though (London to NY, then NY to other parts of the country), there should be a plethora of reward seats on AA / BA.

My thinking is to book as many of the flights as I can now and add the JNB to LHR flight when it becomes available (fingers crossed).

Yes, this would be the option for now to book what you can see, but it may be hard to add flights later on - it will depend on your luck on who you get when you call up to add legs.