Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with others

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Canada

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Hi,

I am brand new to this site. My daughter has been selected in a representative sporting team travelling to Canada in August 2015.
She is petrified of the long flight and would like me to go also.
I have 279000 qantas points which have been saved over the last 20 years from a bank loan I took out which had bonus points go with it, and from purchases, not much of these are actually from flying. I was saving them for a family Xmas in New York for my 50th in 2016.

My questions are:

(I've been on the oneworld site but can only find around the world itinerary, it won't give me a points balance for one way).

(1) HOw many points would I need to fly Cathay Pacific, Perth to Toronto via HOng Kong (3 hours) on 8th August 2015?

(2) Can I have the travel agent that books the team, book me also so that I can sit next to her? Or, is it just a matter of luck if I can get a seat next to her?

(3) Is there ever a $ point when you think it's better to pay the money and save the points? I could get a group booking price for me but it will still be a struggle financially for us to pay it.

(4) On 24th August, other members are going to other destinations like the nearest Disneyland or New York or a Canadian location because it is so far away from Oz that's it's a waste to fly that far and only see a sporting venue. (When in Canada we will be very close to Niagra Falls). So now I have both of us to return to Perth. Does anyone have any cost-effective suggestions as to how I could do one destination on the way home and whether I should be using an around the world ticket (I don't think I fit the criteria) or use separate tickets?

I'm mainly trying to work out whether to use the points I've accumulated to send me there on a return flight plus send her home on a one way flight, or send us both back home via some kind of around the world ticket that allows us to go somewhere else. I can't afford accomm in more than one place.

(5) And would 279000 points be enough to get my 2 other family members to the same location and back from Perth? So we could meet them there and all return home together?


Is Niagra Falls a destination worth going all that way for?

As you can see, I'm confused! The other option is for her to not go, as at this stage there appears to be no chaperone on the way back due to other families going to other desintations. What to do!

Ihope that makes sense. Outside the box thinkers are very welcome, maybe I'm missing something here.

My main goal is not to use all those points on one family member when I've been saving them for so long. If I could turn it into a family holiday that doesn't send us bankrupt then I would.

Thanks so much for reading.
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Welcome to AFF Canada. You've certainly presented some interesting questions that others will be better placed to answer re actual flights.

However, I do have a couple of thoughts, have you spoken to a professional about your daughter's fear of flying? They may be able to assist in overcoming that fear so that she can travel alone.

Also, I do hope you keep your points current so they don't expire. It would be horrible to have saved them for so long and then they expire.

Finally, if you're close to Niagara falls then it is definitely worth making the effort to see it .

Happy travelling.
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Go onto the qantas site to book award flights rather than one world, you can also call (this will be a fee if you call)
The problem with needing specific flights is if they award availability is gone then your cant get them, so might not be an option if you need the same flight
1. perth to toronto needs 75000 points + taxes in econ according to qantas one way so 2x for return (i am assuming this is cathy as i dont have enough qanatas points to check)
2. this is just seat selection and shouldnt be an issue to much
3. yes of course but its down to the person to decide, 140 000 points can get you a round the world trip. which is an option, for multiple stops. you would have to read up on the rules and forum post here:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ogram/oneworld-award-140k-280k-420k-8228.html . most people suggest using points for bussiness classs flights as this is better point to $ ratio but again this is a personal thing.

a quick search on skyscanner shows the cathy flights are around $2,100, you can get virgin via melb to lax then lax to toronto for $1800 return for date you said and a random return date

another option a friend of my is using to move to canada (ie a one way) is jetstar specials to honalul ($299) then honalul to canada for ($320) which is a fantastic price for a one way (still decent if 2x for return) but this doesnt work great as your in perth, but is another option.

75000 x 2 x 3 = 450 000 points so no, would not be enough for you and 2 other family members.

I would of course do what others are doing and travel aswell, would I just go to the US to see niagra falls? no, but if i am there i would see it, shes going for sport afterall so anything else is a bonus i guess.
you can pick up cheap returns from toronto to new york etc by themself, not alway best to bundle with an international fare (but sometimes it is just have to check that yourself for your dates)
.
 
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Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Hi Canada, welcome to AFF. Unfortunately I can't help with the flights and Qantas points queries, but as a fellow Perth-ite, I sympathise - living over here does tend to make travel arrangements to the US and Canada just that bit more complicated! And as HVR stated, yes definitely go to see Niagara Falls if you are going to be nearby - it is a LONG trip from Perth and you should make the most of it if you can whilst you're over there. As you've probably seen by looking through the various AFF threads, there are many tremendously helpful people on here who are experienced frequent flyers and/or have comprehensive knowledge of points systems, how they work, the best way to book etc, so I'm sure some of them will be along soon to help out with your queries. Oh, and I'll be 50 in 2016 as well :) and am hoping to make a special trip that year as well, so best wishes with your plans!
 
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Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Hi Canada

Not going direct to all your specific questions, but just some thoughts:

* I don't know the extent of your daughter's 'petrification' but is it possible to convince her that travelling with her team friends overseas will be so exciting that se will barely notice the flight? of course I don't know her age, but I've known plenty of teams travelling and I've never seen a kid 'stewing' on an international flight!!

* Yes, there is a point where spending $ and using points intersect (but the exact point is personal of course). You will have to pay cash for the airline's taxes and charges. I can see a Y seat on PER-HKG on 8th August, 35,000 points, but the system only finds a business seat HKG-JFK-YYZ (Toronto) for the next leg, which is strange. Total points for this (which you won't want) is 93,000 and $303 in taxes and charges, to give you an idea. Double that for return ... if you can get the Award seat. Then you balance the cost in taxes against buying the cheapest possible Y seat. You may be surprised at how little the difference might be ... and you get to keep your existing points AND earn some more :) But I appreciate that every dollar counts.

* You can call Qantas and just ask then for the points cost AND TAXES etc, of various options, and if there are Award seat availability - no cost for this unless you book. Again, as you are using Qantas points, its Qantas you book through, even on Cathay flights.

* Yes, get the team TA onto the 'paid ticket option. They should be delighted to do it and they have much better control of the levers than booking off the web. Shouldn't cost any more (ask them about this!!).

* Seating .. you can pre assign seating beforehand by paying, but with a team + you, best done at check-in, as long as you all check in together.

good luck!
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Welcome to AFF and the excitement of long haul flying from PERTH.:(

There is yet another option since flight costs exUSA (and possibly Canada) are less than exAustralia.
Unless the RTW trip offers you some interest, use the miles to get to YYZ and pay for the return flight. CX one way flights are more than half of the RT fare but not at the silly level some (Australian :shock:) airlines feel they can charge.

At the moment a Tuesday flight exYYZ in late Aug YYZ-HKG-PER is about 1525 CAD in L and 2253 in the PEY cabin.
From ORD it is 1255 USD in V class and 1733 USD in E (PEY)

Any of the above will credit nicely to AsiaMiles and the PEY cabin earns the 1.5 EQP bonus on AA.

Happy wandering

Fred

PS You might be pleasantly surprised at the CX fares exKUL for the round trip in PEY
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Welcome to AFF and the excitement of long haul flying from PERTH.:(

Ohhhhhh .... excitement? Is THAT what I'm supposed to call it? I usually refer to it in, er, slightly different words :D
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Welcome to AFF and the excitement of long haul flying from PERTH.:(

There is yet another option since flight costs exUSA (and possibly Canada) are less than exAustralia.
Unless the RTW trip offers you some interest, use the miles to get to YYZ and pay for the return flight. CX one way flights are more than half of the RT fare but not at the silly level some (Australian :shock:) airlines feel they can charge.

At the moment a Tuesday flight exYYZ in late Aug YYZ-HKG-PER is about 1525 CAD in L and 2253 in the PEY cabin.
From ORD it is 1255 USD in V class and 1733 USD in E (PEY)

Any of the above will credit nicely to AsiaMiles and the PEY cabin earns the 1.5 EQP bonus on AA.

Happy wandering

Fred

PS You might be pleasantly surprised at the CX fares exKUL for the round trip in PEY

Fred, you are obviously experienced in flights ex PER, but you appreciate that the OP is after a particular flight, airline and route (PER_HKG_YYZ on CX on 8 August), at the least cost (using QFF points if possible), so as to accompany their daughter to YYZ on a sporting team flight?
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Maybe he could save the sporting team some $$

Fred
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

On a more serious note,

1) Get added to the team group - reimburse group for ticket cost
2) Pay for PER-HKG-PER and get awards for HKG-YYZ-HKG
One of the few places with more expensive tickets than PER is HKG with CX
3) Pay for PER-HKG and award HKG-YYZ. Pay YYZ-HKG-PER. At this point
daughter should be an experienced flyer and PEY for dad is an option.
4) Convince team that AirAsiaX to PER-KUL and CX KUL-HKG-YYZ saves a lot of money
As well a night in a bed on either way cuts the jet lag. Hotels in KUL are not expensive

Happy wandering

Fred
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Wow I can't believe how many have offered help already, and so quickly!

Thanks everyone, there's definitely food for thought here.

My daughter is 14 - can't remember which poster asked that.

I asked about a stopover in hong kong (as in overnight or two) but was outnumbered, everyone wanted to get to Toronto as quick as possible, then relaxing 2 days there before competition starts.

I don't have a quote yet on that flight however I've just asked for one so will be interesting to see what you think re price.

wandering_fred (how do I link it to your name?) I will put your suggestion forward but it's sounding like the numbers have spoken with regard to flight choice.

I will be bitterly dissappointed if the ff seats on the 2nd leg economy are already gone.

I hadn't thought of splitting payment and awards for each leg.

There are so many helpful responses here I need to sit down and digest.

Thank you so much to everyone for being so thoughtful. Perth is a cough place to have to fly to/from as far as expense goes. Your helpful hints are very useful, keep em coming!

What about things to do in Toronto for 2 days 10+11 August, 2015.

Cheers,
CAnada.
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Hey Canada

You should definitely do a day trip to Niagara Falls, check out Chariots of Fire as that was a very good tour. In Toronto you should check out the CN Tower, Hockey Hall of Fame (Ice Hockey) and catch a ferry to Toronto Island, amazing views of the city while on the ferry!
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

I have done sporting team tours and what I believe is you need to go with the team and not split up from them at all. Get one travel agent to book the lot of them and pay cash rather than points.
It gets messy any other way as there are multiple flights involved.
This makes it easy on you as Toronto is half way around the world and easy has worked on the 10 or so trips we have done in sporting groups when our sons were competing.
The team manager gets to handle changes of plans and that works for you.
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

My 20 cents ....

My family live in Ottawa, so I have generally have to fly into Toronto to get there. In the research I have done for my style of flying I fly Perth - HK - then NY or Toronto (obviously with CX).
I personally find it takes me at least 3 days to adjust to the time zone different but every one is different.

Toronto is one of my favorite destinations,
I always try and catch a Blue Jays (Baseball), Raptors (NBA) or Maple leafs (NHL) game.. obviously it will depend on the time of the year
CN tower is a must for the view and if you are game walking around outside at the top would be fun
Niagara falls, a short drive and you can spend 2-3 days there quite easily, also some good wine in the area, "ice wine", horse back riding
Great public transport, city is clean and i always feel safe
Lots of great restaurants that kill Perth for pricing and quality ...... but have to try street meat

Some things to think about .. internal flight in US and Canada are cheap ....

New York (shopping) business class flight from Toronto to New York <$500 and economy <$300

Washington (history and more history) similar pricing


Some pics of Toronto CNN, down town and Niagara...

20130414_150255.jpg20130418_141514.jpgDSC00172.jpg
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

I've done several Degrassi-related trips around the city which are a bit of fun if you watched any of the shows.
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Oh and Chinatown in Toronto is great. I particularly like Dumpling House.
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Thanks everyone! Keep the advice coming.
I'm thinking I'll pay for both, Perth - Toronto and now wondering whether to use fflyers for whole journey home, although 330 each to new york sounds super cheap!
Generally, internet quotes are around $1730 for cathay pacific flight however we have about 30 travelling, what discount do you reckon airlines usually give for a group? I know I'll find out sooner or later but this message board is so quick at giving answers.
What about accommodation in New York? Is it super pricey? Does anyone use air b&b?

Will I earn Qantas ff points when travelling on CAthay?

Thanks.
 
Re: Please help-Need advice Perth to Toronto and return, trying to coordinate with ot

Thanks everyone! Keep the advice coming.
I'm thinking I'll pay for both, Perth - Toronto and now wondering whether to use fflyers for whole journey home, although 330 each to new york sounds super cheap!
Generally, internet quotes are around $1730 for cathay pacific flight however we have about 30 travelling, what discount do you reckon airlines usually give for a group? I know I'll find out sooner or later but this message board is so quick at giving answers.
What about accommodation in New York? Is it super pricey? Does anyone use air b&b?

Will I earn Qantas ff points when travelling on CAthay?
Thanks.

You certainly can earn QF points and SCs on CX (Cathay). You just have to make sure your QF # is in the booking. Ask the TA to help you if you are not sure how - or ask us! ;)

I have used AirBnB in NYC. Read the reviews carefully - the more reviews the better. You will generally pay more the closer to Manhattan you are.
 
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