Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[logos 01]

I have a OWA booked for May-June 2026. The final part of trip is:
IST-AMM (RJ) - (Transit)
AMM-RUH (RJ) - (Transit)
RUH-HKG (CX) - Stopover
HKG-BNE-SYD-MEL (CX/QF).

The RUH-HKG CX flight has just been cancelled. On my booking it shows the old flight as canceled but no replacement as yet. I'll have to ring QF. Can I ask them to reroute us from IST to HKG some other way?

 

[Captain Halliday]

Can I ask them to reroute us from IST to HKG some other way?

Of course you can ask, but as QF don’t operate this route, or any variation close to it, they will be limited to moving you to any available award seats on other one world airlines.

I’d recommend finding at least one, and ideally several, alternative oneworld options you would be happy with and proposing them when you call.

 

[logos 01]

Of course you can ask, but as QF don’t operate this route, or any variation close to it, they will be limited to moving you to any available award seats on other one world airlines.

I’d recommend finding at least one, and ideally several, alternative oneworld options you would be happy with and proposing them when you call.

I feared that might be the case. Finding any Oneworld award seats, in Y let alone J is not going to be easy.

 

[BD1959]

There’s limited IST-MCT-BKK on WV (the dreaded # - your flight IST-MCT is in economy) then BKK-HKG on CX in J - see depart IST 16/6.

Unfortunately RJ have cancelled on you very late.

Regards,

BD

 

[logos 01]

There’s limited IST-MCT-BKK on WV (the dreaded # - your flight IST-MCT is in economy) then BKK-HKG on CX in J - see depart IST 16/6.

Unfortunately RJ have cancelled on you very late.

Regards,

BD

Thanks @BD1959 appreciate you looking around. I've been doing the same. Spending a combined 10hrs in Y on a narrow body isn't exactly the kind of experience my partner and I were hoping for when we booked this trip. Waiting to see what QF can do as well, not much hope but you never know, could get lucky. If IST-MCT-BKK was to be the only option we'd have to weight it vs binning the trip.

Can't blame CX for cancelling the flight given the middle east situation, and not QF's fault. But really hoping things don't all go pear shaped when we're so close to departure after having booked this a year ago.

 

[BD1959]

Thanks @BD1959 appreciate you looking around. I've been doing the same. Spending a combined 10hrs in Y on a narrow body isn't exactly the kind of experience my partner and I were hoping for when we booked this trip..

IST-MCT is 10hrs? I get the disappointment of having to do *any * Y time but these are exceptional circumstances and could well be the only way of getting home.

QF will only be able to offer what’s available to them - which *should* align with what you can see - though we all know that isn’t always the case. Good Lick - By all means try them and please update us on what you eventually end up doing.

Regards,

BD

 

[logos 01]

IST-MCT is 10hrs? I get the disappointment of having to do *any * Y time but these are exceptional circumstances and could well be the only way of getting home.

QF will only be able to offer what’s available to them - which *should* align with what you can see - though we all know that isn’t always the case. Good Lick - By all means try them and please update us on what you eventually end up doing.

Regards,

BD

When I looked for IST-BKK on the 16th it came up but it looked like both the IST-MCT, MCT-BKK were in economy? Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place? And you're right that if it's the only way of getting home it's the only way of getting home. Such is life.

QF are trying for a solution, RJ had previously downgraded us to premium economy on our IST-AMM-RUH leg due to aircraft change (their new A320neo fleet). I didn't change it at the time because it would mean changing dates and impact the CX RUH-HKG flight.

But QF are going to use the downgrade to leverage RJ to put us on IST-AMM-BKK, and then push CX to give us BKK-HKG given they cancelled our flight. No guarantee one or both will come to the party, but they will try. Will take maybe up to a week to hear back.

I checked on ticketing, (don't want the rest of our trip to drop out), and the operator checked and confirmed the other seats are and will remain ticketed.

So now it's a awaiting game, and hoping the Oneworld gods look down favourably.

 

[BD1959]

When I looked for IST-BKK on the 16th it came up but it looked like both the IST-MCT, MCT-BKK were in economy? Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place?

I saw the same (Y only IST-MCT-BKK) when looking at that as a standalone sector however when I plugged it into a Multicity the option for the mixed came up in the Business column.



Now this may just be another QFIT issue - and QF might not be able to see it - but I think the underlying message I was trying to give is to play around with stops etc.

Good luck!

BD

 

[logos 01]

I saw the same (Y only IST-MCT-BKK) when looking at that as a standalone sector however when I plugged it into a Multicity the option for the mixed came up in the Business column.

View attachment 503201

Now this may just be another QFIT issue - and QF might not be able to see it - but I think the underlying message I was trying to give is to play around with stops etc.

Good luck!

BD

That's interesting. I didn't think to look at multi-city as bringing up different options like that.

Unfortunately the flight BKK-HKG arrives the day after our flight leaving HKG back to Australia. But I'll have a look around for more options, playing with stopovers as you suggest.

Cheers thanks @BD1959

 

[elanshin]

I have a OWA booked for May-June 2026. The final part of trip is:
IST-AMM (RJ) - (Transit)
AMM-RUH (RJ) - (Transit)
RUH-HKG (CX) - Stopover
HKG-BNE-SYD-MEL (CX/QF).

The RUH-HKG CX flight has just been cancelled. On my booking it shows the old flight as canceled but no replacement as yet. I'll have to ring QF. Can I ask them to reroute us from IST to HKG some other way?

Unfortunately this won't be easy to solve. Did you have legs before IST that you could potentially adjust to provide options?
Otherwise I guess see what QF can ask from CX and RJ. You could also consider if you're open to backtracking from IST to another EU city that CX flies to.


Personally I have a HKG - RUH leg heading to Europe in August that I'm also monitoring (connecting onto BA to LHR).

 

[logos 01]

Unfortunately this won't be easy to solve. Did you have legs before IST that you could potentially adjust to provide options?
Otherwise I guess see what QF can ask from CX and RJ. You could also consider if you're open to backtracking from IST to another EU city that CX flies to.


Personally I have a HKG - RUH leg heading to Europe in August that I'm also monitoring (connecting onto BA to LHR).

Yes we fly MAD-AMM(transit)-IST(Stopover) with RJ.
So one option is we skip IST and fly back to HKG from MAD or somewhere else in Europe. Dates are a limitation though because my partner has a Chinese passport and therefore has a Schengen Visa, so we can't extend in Europe, just spend more time in China before heading back to Australia.
I did suggest to QF going from another EU city (eg. BA flies to/from IST), to HKG with CX, but QF consultant seemed to think CX were not likely to agree to that. But if QF's proposed solution doesn't pan out that's another direction to try.

Best of luck with your HKG-RUH in August. Hopefully the situation is more stable by then.

 

[muppet]

Hi all, I had a look through this thread but couldn’t find a definitative post.

Knowing the issues with delayed re-ticketing of OneWorld Awards when you make changes, I have a U class award flying QF, BA and IB that hasn’t been ticketed instantly. Any issues with BA and IB with flights dropping off if not ticketed?

 

[Pete98765432]

Hi all, I had a look through this thread but couldn’t find a definitative post.

Knowing the issues with delayed re-ticketing of OneWorld Awards when you make changes, I have a U class award flying QF, BA and IB that hasn’t been ticketed instantly. Any issues with BA and IB with flights dropping off if not ticketed?

According to this post, IB can be a problem.

 

[muppet]

According to this post, IB can be a problem.

Thank you so much! I can never seem to get AFF to search well.

 

[Shipsong]

Question for the brains trust: In a surface sector, is the "Stopover" the city you arrive at rather than the one you depart from? I am starting my itinerary in Singapore, going to Europe then coming back to Bangkok and doing a surface sector to Singapore where I come back to Sydney from (I'm then travelling otto other destinations later). Can I do this? Rules say you can't Stopover in the city you start your itinerary from.

Sorry if I haven't explained this well.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Can I do this?

No.

Rules say you can't Stopover in the city you start your itinerary from.

The rules will not allow a second departure from SIN if that is your point of origin.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

No.

The rules will not allow a second departure from SIN if that is your point of origin.

In that case the OP might want to consider smacking their own way to Kuala lumpur one way, the. starting their ticket from there with the first sector being KUL-SIN-xx_

 

[Shipsong]

In that case the OP might want to consider smacking their own way to Kuala lumpur one way, the. starting their ticket from there with the first sector being KUL-SIN-xx_

Thanks I might look at something like that . I was getting my own way to Singapore anyway. But I'm doing some other sectors after coming back to Sydney so I'm limited on stopovers

I'm also trying to do it Premium Economy so options are limited but I think I can start in Bangkok then come back from Europe through Singapore.

My revised idea is pay my own way to Bangkok (from Sydney), then:
Bangkok-Helsinki (first stopover), Helsinki-Singapore (second stopover), Singapore-Sydney (third stopover), Sydney-HongKong-Tokyo (fourth stopover), Tokyo-Hong Kong (fifth stopover), Hong Kong-Sydney (finish) [so Sydney-Bangkok miles will be added to the total]

Does this work? Because the second Sydney is my finish it's not considered a Stopover right?

 

[Cessna 180]

I am curious to peoples recent experience with changes/additions to a 318k OWA booked prior to Aug:

Have your taxes been repriced even if the points remain the same? I presume it must now re price at the new tax rate even if the points stay the same.

I rang last week to add a AY domestic leg which is showing ~30 eur if booked as a stand alone.
The call centre quoted me around $200 for the change, which did not seem correct to me.

The trip booked on AY direct was around $200 anyway, but I wanted the flight on the same PNR.

I have not rang again as I am still tossing a few ideas around, plus they are probably a bit busy with more important things this week.

Ok, since then I rang a few weeks ago and added the flight which triggered the 200$ tax increase. I also made another minor change to the day of one AY flight.

Then Tuesday I rang again and added ZAG-LHR_HEL and removed VIE-HEL and low and behold I am now entitled to a $102 refund! (Which is in my bank today) Plus getting a couple of hours to check out the T3 lounges instead of five hours on Flixbus

The agent was in FIJI and was on a par with any of the best agents I have had on the phone.

I have made a few changes and have lost track of exactly how many taxes I have paid but think it is somewhere around the $800 mark. The dollars written on the e-ticket do not always match what I paid.
This is not an overly complex 318k reward however I have stops in England, Balkans and Scandinavia for ~$800 and 323k points in J which In today's market I consider a privilege. I doubt we can replicate that in the future.

See you in the F lounge Saturday morning.

 

[Cessna 180]

Thanks I might look at something like that . I was getting my own way to Singapore anyway. But I'm doing some other sectors after coming back to Sydney so I'm limited on stopovers

I'm also trying to do it Premium Economy so options are limited but I think I can start in Bangkok then come back from Europe through Singapore.

My revised idea is pay my own way to Bangkok (from Sydney), then:
Bangkok-Helsinki (first stopover), Helsinki-Singapore (second stopover), Singapore-Sydney (third stopover), Sydney-HongKong-Tokyo (fourth stopover), Tokyo-Hong Kong (fifth stopover), Hong Kong-Sydney (finish) [so Sydney-Bangkok miles will be added to the total]

Does this work? Because the second Sydney is my finish it's not considered a Stopover right?

Syd-BKK is a surface sector which would (I think) count as a second stopover in SYD. Two transits and one stopover in the same port is allowed, but I think your idea would make two stopover in SYD.