re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread
Firstly a thank you to everyone for the wealth of knowledge in this forum. The excitement is infectious as people share their plans and I'm so impressed with the way the community helps those less-experienced out.
For myself I am unbelievably excited about a 280K J RTW trip planned for next year (July/Aug) for my wife and I. I've never redeemed QFF points (other than for a pair of headphones, then I did the maths and realised 280K trips were the way to go) so would appreciate any input you might have.
Part of this trip is to pick off some destinations we haven't been to previously (and one that we have, but too little of), but another part is to simply enjoy the experience of flying J class with different providers. So the routes are as such to capture that.
Here's what I'm thinking. This is based on the research I've done so far about what might be possible:
Melbourne - Hong Kong - Tokyo (STOP) : Tokyo is the destination, but I've read such wonderful reviews of Cathay Pacific's J-class that I'm thinking we go through HKG. Are transitions where you quickly pop into the city and come back to get on the connecting flight a done thing or too risky?
Tokyo - Dubai - St Petersburg (STOP) : This is an Emirates flight that comes up as an award booking (similar to above post I guess). I assume it's therefore OK to do and Emirates are another J-Class experience that seems to have great reviews.
St Petersburg - Krakow (STOP) : I don't know how I can do this, the QF booking system comes up with an error - nothing available? Following Krakow we are going to train down to Prague and then back up to Berlin through Dresden.
Berlin - New York (STOP) : Seems like I have to transit through LHR here on BA, but from what I've read I'm confident I don't have to pay the APD as in transit rather than originating from UK. Sorry to raise this again, there's just a post a few pages back that made me doubt myself.
New York - Cancun (STOP) : Tried routing this through Atlanta to try and see family there while in transit, but there were only First Class seats available JFK-ATL on QFs online booking. Should I try going through AA here?
Cancun - Melbourne (STOP) : Could try and do the stop through Atlanta going this way (?Cancun-Atlanta-LAX-Melbourne). Seem to come up with difficulties of too many flights in one day. Would love to bring it home on the Red Kangaroo to experience their J-class here (plus I love an Aussie accent saying Welcome Home after a trip)
Tokyo, St Petersburg, Krakow-Prague, New York are must-dos. Berlin and Cancun not so much so if anyone has suggestions that involve some variations there feel free to throw them up.
Again, I really appreciate the feedback here. I'm ready to pull the trigger but just want to try and get as much as I can online to minimise the points cost involved with ringing up.
. I still haven't managed it - and I'm an antique :mrgreen:.
