Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Josh Murray]

Hi friends ,

After some more experienced advice please! I've dived into my oneworld Classic Flight booking and have a few questions:

1. Does a booking need to have a Qantas flight booking plus (at least) two oneworld Member Airline bookings? Or isn't a Qantas flight needed?

2. Is there a time cap for my complete trip? 12 months?

Thanks so much travellers,

Josh

 

[DC3]

Hi friends ,

Welcome to AFF. 2 x oneworld airlines needed, and QF does not need to be one of those two.

 

[Josh Murray]

Welcome to AFF. 2 x oneworld airlines, and QF does not need to be one of those two.

Wow thanks so much for the speedy reply. Am I right in saying all flights need to happen within a 12 month period? Just that I am planning to be away for a year so need to plan as such with my flights.

 

[DC3]

Just to clarify, if QF flights are part of the itinerary, then flights on at least two other oneworld airlines are also to be included. However, if there are no QF flights, then at least two other oneworld carriers are still needed in the itinerary.

Re-edited for further clarification

 

[Josh Murray]

Just to clarify, if QF flights are part of the itinerary, then at least two other oneworld airlines are also to be included. However, if there are no QF flights, then two oneworld flights are still needed.

Yes that makes sense. Much clearer than their t&c's below which for me infers 2 others + Qantas.

14.4.1 A oneworld Classic Flight Reward is a Classic Flight Reward Itinerary that includes travel on at least two oneworld Member Airlines other than Qantas and does not include any travel on any airline that is not a oneworld Member Airline.

 

[DC3]

My wording wasn’t all that great, so I’ve re-edited my earlier posts. My understanding is that the booking has a 12-moth validity. Someone else may clarify.

 

[elanshin]

Hi friends ,

After some more experienced advice please! I've dived into my oneworld Classic Flight booking and have a few questions:

1. Does a booking need to have a Qantas flight booking plus (at least) two oneworld Member Airline bookings? Or isn't a Qantas flight needed?

As mentioned, 2 other OW airlines are needed to be valid (QF is not needed).

2. Is there a time cap for my complete trip? 12 months?

12 months from commencement of journey, but given you can't add legs once you start the journey and awards only release around 300-360 days out, in practical terms you can only really book around 11 months journey at maximum.

 

[Josh Murray]

As mentioned, 2 other OW airlines are needed to be valid (QF is not needed).


12 months from commencement of journey, but given you can't add legs once you start the journey and awards only release around 300-360 days out, in practical terms you can only really book around 11 months journey at maximum.

Thanks for clarifying. You're right with the 11 month-ish window. Will keep that in mind

 

[Amanad78]

Wow thanks so much for the speedy reply. Am I right in saying all flights need to happen within a 12 month period? Just that I am planning to be away for a year so need to plan as such with my flights.

I am currently on a OneWorld award. 2 pax in J on AY, MH and QF.
Our first flight was 7 April 2025 and our last flight will be 14 March 2026, so just over 11 months total.
We booked the March 2026 flight on 31 March 2025, so just a week before we flew our first flight.

 

[Josh Murray]

I am currently on a OneWorld award. 2 pax in J on AY, MH and QF.
Our first flight was 7 April 2025 and our last flight will be 14 March 2026, so just over 11 months total.
We booked the March 2026 flight on 31 March 2025, so just a week before we flew our first flight.

Hope you're having a GREAT trip @Amanad78 ! Did you have to add flights to an original booking given the time you are travelling? That's our plan. I get that there is so much frustration on the forums here about getting through to call centres and not getting proper support... but I'm prepared for the frustration, with the reward of a year away.

 

[pyramidforce]

If my OWA begins DUB-LCY/LHR-JFK does the LCY-LHR surface segment count as a stopover?

I may have stuffed something up...

 

[Amanad78]

Hope you're having a GREAT trip @Amanad78 ! Did you have to add flights to an original booking given the time you are travelling? That's our plan. I get that there is so much frustration on the forums here about getting through to call centres and not getting proper support... but I'm prepared for the frustration, with the reward of a year away.

Thanks, having a great trip!
Yes, we added the second lot of flights after the first (we have a 9 month 'stopover' in Aus). Start and end of the trip is Singapore

 

[djkelly69]

If my OWA begins DUB-LCY/LHR-JFK does the LCY-LHR surface segment count as a stopover?

Is the changeover between LCY and LHR less than 24 hours? If so, I don't believe it will count as a stopover.

 

[pyramidforce]

It is less than 24 hours but I don't think time matters for "surface segments", flying into out of JFK and out of LGA etc counts as a surface segment even if it is <24 hour connection. Hope I am wrong, I guess I will find out when I attempt to change the booking but hope I can know what ground to stand on before I deal with manila again

 

[TwistedEL]

Given Fiji airways has officially entered OW, and they still cannot be used for a OWA, suggests there might be a bit of a lag between the airline joining and when you’ll be able to secure their seats for the purposes of points capping.

Oman Air, Fiji, Jetstar and emirates (plus others) are all points partners. You can select them as part of your multi-city award, but they won’t cap the points. They’re not eligible for OWA (either outright or ‘not at the moment’)

It’s a good question as to whether someone like Fiji or Oman would reprice at a later point. We haven’t really had any example of late to draw on.

Rather than Oman via MCT you could potentially look at Royal Jordanian.

constructing your itinerary without a points cap means the flights you have pencilled in would already come to 624k per person.

The call centre agent I spoke to yesterday advised that FJ won't be available for points capping until the end of June.

 

[Mabel]

Thanks for everyone's help. I have just booked the following for Feb/Mar/Apr 2026.
I booked the first 2 legs online and then booked the rest over 2 phone calls.
I checked in Royal Jordanian that I have a 081- E-ticket number so all good.
5 stops. Just under 33,000 miles.
Taxes are just over $2k each, which is pretty high I think?, but I'm happy as its my first time booking a OWA.

 

[Magicturtle8]

Hello, I have a question on RTW with qantas points. I planned a trim following the article by pointhacks that was posted this year. However, after posting the plan onto rtw.oneworld website, it says that it is invalid 'Your trip must include a trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific crossing and you may cross each ocean only once. Please select a different destination.'.

As I could not find this anywhere in the article, is it safe to assume that the article is missing this rule? My plan was:
SYD - KL - Hong Kong - Japan - Helsinki - Zurich - London - Taipei - Singapore - KL - SYD

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hello, I have a question on RTW with qantas points. I planned a trim following the article by pointhacks that was posted this year. However, after posting the plan onto rtw.oneworld website, it says that it is invalid 'Your trip must include a trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific crossing and you may cross each ocean only once. Please select a different destination.'.

As I could not find this anywhere in the article, is it safe to assume that the article is missing this rule? My plan was:
SYD - KL - Hong Kong - Japan - Helsinki - Zurich - London - Taipei - Singapore - KL - SYD

Different products!

A ‘round the world’ fare - paid with $$ - comes with routing conditions.

A qantas oneworld award on points does not have the same conditions.

You can’t plug a qantas award itinerary into the paid $$ website.

 

[BriarFlyer]

@Magicturtle8 Have another look at the Point Hacks article -- or the AFF version which includes a section on how to book. Not on the Oneworld website, but by using the Qantas multi-city tool.

 

[smellan]

Hi Everyone,

I have been following this post for last 12 months and learnt so so much so thank you. its almost time for me to start booking our Qantas one world trip. Couple of questions...

1. Has anyone seen flights that are available on this option from Vancouver to Anchorage- everything I read suggests there should be with alaskan airlines and searching on google flights they are regular but on the Qantas website I always have no joy even searching.

2a. When I come to book our OWA I will start the booking prior to the points cap changing but the second part of the booking I will be booking when the points price cap goes up (there is 3 of us travelling so around 100,000 difference before the penalties for changing the booking- know unlikely but learnt lots from you all and done some dummy options and managed to get 3 seats previously on my dummy runs!).
Would I be better doing the first half of the booking where we want to go and then just other random legs that meet the criteria before the points cap change so we techically have a full booking and then when the legs come up that we want later in the month cancel these 'dummy' legs and add the other legs we want?
b. When cancelling and adding legs is it 5k points per flight per person per change or 5k per person and you make as many changes as you need as long as its all at the same time in the same phone call?

Thanks so much in advance
Sarah