Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Danger]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I have been lookingat this site for some time and decided I need to join to here I am. I aminterested in the One World Award 280K facility. I have a good idea of therules (from reading this great thread) but not necessarily the inner mechanicsof processing an award; hence a few very basic questions from a rank novice.
1.When you make the initial booking, say online, and move to thestage where you have accepted the costs and paid the $$/agreed to have thepoints deducted; will this not automatically result in the issue of an eTicket.That is you have then moved beyond the booking stage to ticketed status with noability to change?
2.If ticketed (assumingthis occurs) can/will this be ignored as you subsequently update your bookings?
3.Am I right that while you can make the first booking online allsubsequent changes need to be done through the call centre? I don't see theability to reopen a "saved booking".
4.How soon before you actually fly can you make final changes?
5.I noticed a number of posts saying that you can get a betteridea of seat availability by joining the FF programs of other One WorldAirlines. Can you not achieve the same result by checking award seatavailability on say Expertflyer, or will you see more elsewhere?

Many thanks to theAFF community for the incredibly helpful advice and tips I have read.

Welcome, Fly.

The experts will come along in due course but in the meantime . . .

1. Yes, an e-ticket will result as soon as you make a booking. You have the ability to change but of there is a cost. From 1 December this will be 5k each time you change plus a fee of approximately $80.
2. I'm not too sure what you're asking here, sorry.
3. Yes, the call centre is most likely to be the best avenue and charges for doing so may apply.
4. Are you asking the earliest point at which you can finalise an itinerary? If so, the earlier the better. If you're asking how late before you start travel can you make final changes, I believe you can go almost right up until departure but I would not leave it less than 24 hours. I believe there is a rule that once travel begins you are not able to make any routing changes (although you presumably can change dates and time - naturally, for a fee).
5. Because you're using QFF points the availability of award seats that Qantas has will determine what is available to you. That is to say that award availability is often not equal across oneworld carriers. While AA might show availability on a CX flight between the US and HKG, Qantas won't be able to see it and therefore won't be able to sell it to you. The Qantas engine, however, doesn't show availability for all oneworld airlines. For example, award seats on Malaysia Airlines can only be determined by phoning Qantas. Alternatively, some other oneworld programs do show others airlines. For example, BA does show MH availability online. Meanwhile, ExpertFlyer doesn't show award availability for a lot of others, including CX. This is the reason some people suggest using other programs.

 

[Ultan Lankford]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Welcome, Fly.

The experts will come along in due course but in the meantime . . .

1. Yes, an e-ticket will result as soon as you make a booking. You have the ability to change but of there is a cost. From 1 December this will be 5k each time you change plus a fee of approximately $80.
2. I'm not too sure what you're asking here, sorry.
3. Yes, the call centre is most likely to be the best avenue and charges for doing so may apply.
4. Are you asking the earliest point at which you can finalise an itinerary? If so, the earlier the better. If you're asking how late before you start travel can you make final changes, I believe you can go almost right up until departure but I would not leave it less than 24 hours. I believe there is a rule that once travel begins you are not able to make any routing changes (although you presumably can change dates and time - naturally, for a fee).
5. Because you're using QFF points the availability of award seats that Qantas has will determine what is available to you. That is to say that award availability is often not equal across oneworld carriers. While AA might show availability on a CX flight between the US and HKG, Qantas won't be able to see it and therefore won't be able to sell it to you. The Qantas engine, however, doesn't show availability for all oneworld airlines. For example, award seats on Malaysia Airlines can only be determined by phoning Qantas. Alternatively, some other oneworld programs do show others airlines. For example, BA does show MH availability online. Meanwhile, ExpertFlyer doesn't show award availability for a lot of others, including CX. This is the reason some people suggest using other programs.

The new 5,000 points per change fee comes in at the 15th of December and I do not think there is a $80 charge as well.

Also, are date changes allowed after the first departure? I thought that it was all set in stone once you take that first flight.

 

[prozac]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

UK APD applies for almost all ex-UK originating departures, be it LHR, LCY, MAN etc. ... with the exception of BFS.

That's as I understood it. Was checking for the sake of the board.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Fly,
1. For the 280K J reward bookings the cost to make changes is just the 5000 points from 1st December. The $80 Danger referred to is only for the 140K Y bookings so you won't have to pay that.
2. After you have your first flights booked any additions you make through the call centre will (must) be added to your original booking. Be careful that you quote your booking reference to the call centre people and tell them you want to make additions to that booking. Your eTicket will have the additional flights added to it.
3. You can't make any changes or additions to your booking online. Must be done through the call centre.
4. You can make changes to your itinerary only up till you depart on your first flight. So you can't get half way through your trip and then decide you want to change it.
5. Expert Flyer is a blog similar to AFF - you should check for availability with the actual OW airlines themselves. It can be a bit coughbersome to come to grips with but Danger has given you the basics above.
You can join the BA FF program online to see a lot of availability that QF won't. To join you just need to put in a bogus address since people from Aus can't join it. I just used my normal address and substituted the Australia with Austria. You don't actually need to have any BA Avios points in your account to search for award availability

 

[immature]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Also, are date changes allowed after the first departure? I thought that it was all set in stone once you take that first flight.

I can confirm that date changes are allowed after first departure, as long as the Origin, Destination and Airline are the same - recently did this myself for a BA flight, mid itinerary.

 

[Ultan Lankford]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I can confirm that date changes are allowed after first departure, as long as the Origin, Destination and Airline are the same - recently did this myself for a BA flight, mid itinerary.

Good stuff, the fee is the usual 3,500 points or soon to be 5,000 points?

 

[tandlj]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

By the way, managed to book quite involved 14 sectors trip in J for 2017 and ended up with $861 each. PER-LAX-MEX-LCY-TLX-WAW-TLX-MUC-DME-PWQ-DME-DOH-PER. (missing flight of PWQ back to DME, might have to pay this leg). Quite pleasantly with fees, having heard of other paying thousand$.

Which airlines? In particular PER-LAX-MEX-LCY?

 

[ablecookie]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Which airlines? In particular PER-LAX-MEX-LCY?

Quite round-about, as there's no availability of direct Perth to US, Per-HKG Cathay, HKG-LAX Cathay, LAX-MEX AA, MEX-MAD Iberia, MAX-LCY BA, LCY-TLX BA, TLX-WAW AB, WAW-TLX AB, TLX-MUC AB, MUC-DME S7, DME-PWQ S7, then home on QR via Qatar.

Went to a bit of trouble to avoid Heathrow.

 

[Oubline]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Hi all

I've tried to find the answer on the thread, and so apologies in advance if it's already been answered.

Very excited to be planning for first OneWorld Award.

I know that the distance of surface segments counts in the 35,000 miles limit, but do both the disembarkation and embarkation cities count as stopovers?

For example, in the simplified itinerary:

MEL-AUH-ATH//MAD-MIA//LAX-MEL, have I already used 'stopovers' at Athens, Madrid, Miami, and Los Angeles?, or just at Athens and Miami?

Thanks for any help

 

[aussiel]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Hi all

I've tried to find the answer on the thread, and so apologies in advance if it's already been answered.

Very excited to be planning for first OneWorld Award.

I know that the distance of surface segments counts in the 35,000 miles limit, but do both the disembarkation and embarkation cities count as stopovers?

For example, in the simplified itinerary:

MEL-AUH-ATH//MAD-MIA//LAX-MEL, have I already used 'stopovers' at Athens, Madrid, Miami, and Los Angeles?, or just at Athens and Miami?

Thanks for any help

A stopover is any arrival port where you don't depart the same (not sure how this works with changing airports such as Tokyo HND/NRT) port within 24 hours. So your stopovers should just be Athens and Miami.

 

[madrooster]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

A stopover is any arrival port where you don't depart the same (not sure how this works with changing airports such as Tokyo HND/NRT) port within 24 hours. So your stopovers should just be Athens and Miami.

Going between colocated airports in the same city, eg. TYO, PAR, LON, NYC, CHI, WAS, MIL, ROM etc. counts as +1 segment.

Examples:

HEL-NRT // HND-DOH counts as 3 segments
HEL-NRT-DOH counts as 2 segments

If transiting Tokyo in both examples, neither example would count Tokyo as a stop.

 

[fairbasa]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I'm battling this scenario at the moment. Trying to get to Cuba but can't get a clear answer on entering the US as a non-citizen, so looking at flying with a paid fare to Canada, spending a couple of days there, then re-entering the US from there.

Something like MAD-HAV // HAV-YUL (paid fare) // YUL-JFK // should only count as 2 stops in HAV and JFK, but 3 segments?

 

[yld200]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Made my first booking last night on the phone for my September trip! Couldn't do it online as it kept failing at the payment page so the operator waived the costs to book it over the phone.

Booked ADL-DOH-DXB-DOH-ESB all on QR with stop overs in Dubai and Ankara to visit family. Since I'm based in Melbourne, I'll look at add the MEL>ADL later on and might also look at changing to the direct MEL>DXB on the 16th if I can get availability.

 

[immature]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Good stuff, the fee is the usual 3,500 points or soon to be 5,000 points?

Change fee applied was the 3.5k points per person. I believe that there is a telephone charge as well, but this didn't apply as the ticket was in J.

 

[melbkate]

Hi all - would someone kindly advise me if this plan meets the conditions for the 280k J fare?

MEL-HKG-MAA (Madras) CX STOP MAA-DOH-MAD QR STOP surface to Lisbon LIS-MAD-NTE (Nantes Fr) IB STOP surface to Pisa PSA-DOH-NRT STOP QR NRT-MEL QF

We could also go via London on BA from LIS-LHR-BIQ (Biarritz Fr) but bit confused if we are changing direction or not or having too many segments in one continent.

Thanks! Kate

 

[vetrade]

Hi all - would someone kindly advise me if this plan meets the conditions for the 280k J fare?

MEL-HKG-MAA (Madras) CX STOP MAA-DOH-MAD QR STOP surface to Lisbon LIS-MAD-NTE (Nantes Fr) IB STOP surface to Pisa PSA-DOH-NRT STOP QR NRT-MEL QF

We could also go via London on BA from LIS-LHR-BIQ (Biarritz Fr) but bit confused if we are changing direction or not or having too many segments in one continent.

Thanks! Kate

You don't have to travel in one direction, Kate. It's referred to as a RTW trip but in reality it doesn't need to be so that's an important difference to most revenue RTW fares. There's also no restriction on how many segments you have in one continent - subject to complying with all the other rules that is.

 

[SNW1406]

Hello,
Looking to book a 280k Oneworld Classic flight reward and want to fix the first leg (SYD-SCL) before getting the rest booked. Have been looking on QF & BA websites but no J flights are available anytime in Sep 17. I rang Qantas today and talked to them and they also stated their was no J available.
Just like to know my options

 

[hutch]

Maybe AKL - SCL once LATAM is bookable... otherwise via LAX/SFO/DFW.
Its never been a route with lots of J seats...

 

[SNW1406]

Thanks Hutch
I have noticed QF do fly BNE-AKL now which lines up with LA800 from AKL-SCL. I will keep watching until LATAM open up and hope I get on.

 

[bam71]

I'm battling this scenario at the moment. Trying to get to Cuba but can't get a clear answer on entering the US as a non-citizen, so looking at flying with a paid fare to Canada, spending a couple of days there, then re-entering the US from there.

Something like MAD-HAV // HAV-YUL (paid fare) // YUL-JFK // should only count as 2 stops in HAV and JFK, but 3 segments?

Cuba and the USA are not permitted. No US carrier is allowed to participate in an itinerary where Cuba is involved. Even though the trade sanctions have changed and there are no direct US services into Cuba, the rule is still being applied for RTW.