OWE - What to do for FF program?

Status
Not open for further replies.

dounuts

Newbie
Joined
Apr 8, 2005
Posts
3
Sorry if this is obvious but I'm new to this!
I am about to get a OWE ticket and was wondering if its best to join the OWE FF program or a program with an airline that I'll be flying most with?
Or doesn't it matter?

Any advice would be much appreciated!
Ta
 
The answer will depend on many factors, including:
  • Which class of travel (First, Business or Economy)
  • Which airlines are you using - they pay different rates of points for different airline codes used
  • What do you want from the FF program - status or points for flights/upgrades
  • Will you be doing much travel other than this trip?
 
I’ll be flying Economy.
The long distance journeys are so far with Cathay Pacific and BA, I’ll be using the full flight allocation in both Asia and North America (I’m assuming the latter is all AA – haven't confirmed that part of the route yet).
I really just want points for flights; I’m not sure what’s involved with the status bit?
I’m planning to lose the last part of the flight back to Oz and fly from the US back to the UK.
I doubt I’ll have a chance to do another RTW trip (?) but I will be doing more travel, probably Europe/North Africa/US.
 
Okay, let me help you understand the reasoning behind NM's questions with a little in-depth answer, dounuts.

Now we know you are flying Economy. You should be aware that Oneworld carriers FF programs credit economy flights at different levels - most will give 100% for all fare types on their own flights (planes) but a lesser rate (50%, some even 25% or nothing) for flights on partner carriers. So it's important to know what is your Itinerary looks like - to allow us to work out which program may give you the greatest opportunity for the most FF points and status. When you've got a fair idea of what it will be then give us a listing like:

QF SYD/HKG
CX HKG/LHR etc

You should also tell us what the fare basis of the ticket is - your TRavel Agent will be able to tell you. If you're on a Oneworld Explorer fare, then it will be a series of numbers and letters like YLEE1YR (I just picked them out of the blue, everybody).

So you're not going to take the flights at the end of the ticket (USA back to Aust); rather you'll have purchased another ticket USA to UK. Include those flights as well as part of the Itinerary for our calculations.

Does that mean that you are going to remain in UK and then use that as a base to then travel to Urope/North Africa/USA??

Now to the comment on status. Status is about the volume of travel you are taking in a membership year (from when you join). This is separate to the number of FF points your earn on those flights.

You earn status with the FF program by taking flights (but for some programs, not all flights will earn you status, just like the points differential above). The more flights that earn you status, the more benefits that the FF program will offer (like being able to check in at Business Class or special check-in desks, more weight for your baggage or pieces [for USA based flights]).

So, for example, in the Qantas FF program there are 4 levels of normal membership: Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Each flight is assigned a number of status "credits" , usually based on distance (the longer distance, the more status). So the more you fly and the longer the distance, the more status you earn.

Once you have earned a certain levels of status credits, you go up in level (for the remainder of your membership year). You will hold that level until you reach the next level (if you do within that same membership year). You then retain the level you achieved at the end of that membership year, for the entire next year; but the counter of status credits is reset.

I hope this has helped...
 
Also note that one RTW fares such as OneWorld Explorer (LONE4) you can book many flights as codeshare services, so long as the flight number and operating airline are both OneWorld airlines. This means that if earning points in the QF program, you are better off using QF codeshare flights in USA and Europe (as an example).

I am talking a DONE4 (business class OneWorld Explorer) fare right now. I have booked an AA codeshare flights number on a CX flight (so I earn 100% QF Platinum bonus points) and several QF codesahre flight numbers (on BA flights). But be aware that there are some restrictions on when you can buy codeshare fares. For example I cannot use the QF Codeshare flight number LAX-DFW since I am arriving into USA on AA (actually CX flight with AA codesahre) and no on a QF flight number, which is required for QF to be able to sell me the QF codeshare on the AA domestic flights.

So as you can see, it gets quite confusing and the options are vast.
 
Lindsay Wilson said:
... If you're on a Oneworld Explorer fare, then it will be a series of numbers and letters like ...
All economy Oneworld Explorer fares book into fare basis codes of LLONEx or LHONEx construction where LL.. is Low Seaosn, LH.. is High Season and x is 3, 4 or 5 depending upon number of 'continents' visited.

e.g. LLONE4 is four continent low season ecomomy fare.

All Economy oneWORLD Explorer Fares book in to 'L' class.
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

So far the itinerary is -

QF cns/asp/syd/chc (has to be this order)
CX akl/hkg/bkk/hkg/pek (bkk is the first real stop, then no particular order)

We were suppose to go with CX from HKG to AMS but we only really want to visit Milan and Stockholm and do a stop over in London. I see QF goes from hkg to Rome so we might get that & fly from Milan on to Stockholm or take CX from hkg to Stockholm?

BA LHR/IAD
AA IAD/MIA/MEM/BNA/(stopover LAX)/LAS/SFO/(stopover DFW)/YYZ/BOS

I'm still working on our route through North America at the mo, it’s all with AA as they seem to fly everywhere we want to go.
From BOS we'll travel on to NYC, flying out to the UK from there. I have seen very cheap flights with Aer Lingus (OW airline) out of JFK to Dublin around the time we want go to the UK. We'll be heading back to Northern Ireland first so Dublin would be great.

Yes the UK will be our base for a while.

I guess the fare basis will, as serfty put, be LLONE4 - I'm getting a four continent low season ticket (leaving Oz before 31/05/05) economy fare? I don't know for sure, I can check with the agent this weekend.

Should I join a FF program before getting my ticket?


Thanks again for all your help – it’s starting to make more sense now.
 
careful with aer lingus

Just a note of caution - be careful booking flights on Aer Lingus as not all fares earn QF points/status credits. I bought a 29 GBP fare from LHR to ireland from their website - no mention when booking of the fare class but found out later it was S class which earns nothing. Only 388 miles, but still... :)

So, before you click "Book" with them, see if you can find out the class (maybe call them) otherwise you'll fly across the atlantic for no points.

Enjoy your trip!

James
 
dounuts said:
We were suppose to go with CX from HKG to AMS but we only really want to visit Milan and Stockholm and do a stop over in London. I see QF goes from hkg to Rome so we might get that & fly from Milan on to Stockholm or take CX from hkg to Stockholm?
Note that the QF flight number HKG-FCO (Rome) is a codeshare flight operated by CX. If you fly into HKG on CX as planned, you may not be able to use the QF codeshare for that the Rome sector. In many cases, QF can only sell you the codeshare if you enter the country on a QF flight. I ran into this on my current OneWorld Explorer where I am using CX to enter the USA (and BA to leave) and so could not use any QF codeshares withing north America. But I can use QF107 for LAX-JFK since I am connecting directly to a BA flight JFK-LHR. The rights and associated restrictions to sell codeshare services are often complex.
dounuts said:
Should I join a FF program before getting my ticket?
No you don't need to join before buying the ticket. But do ensure your FF number is inserted into the booking by the TA agent before you fly. This can be done after the ticket has been issued (purchased).
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top