PR or not?

[turtlemichael]

I'm looking for some general direction steering.

I'm starting to plan for a trip to the US around Christmas 2020 in order to pick up a cruise from Miami. I'll be able to book in a 2-3 months. The chances of getting to LA or SF around Christmas in Business Class with a subsequent flight across the US to Miami, using the pile of QFF points we have, are remote.

I've been looking at the options combining reasonable cost and convenience and comfort. Using PR MEL-MNL-LAX is getting my attention. Some of the PR itineraries allow an overnight in Manila which suits the OH.

The Philippine Airlines option is far and away the cheapest of those I've looked at (FJ, QF, NZ) which is a factor.

While I am not looking for anyone to tell me what to do, any comments or suggestions on PR these days or other options would be appreciated.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Melburnian1 is the resident expert on PR, and seems to think they have a fairly decent product.

I wouldn't give up hope on using QFFF points... you might be able to score EK out of Asia to the east coast, then look at getting to the Asia gateway.

 

[Franky]

Melburnian1 is the resident expert on PR, and seems to think they have a fairly decent product.

I wouldn't give up hope on using QFFF points... you might be able to score EK out of Asia to the east coast, then look at getting to the Asia gateway.

Similarly, QR is also worth a look even if your'e not going in the generally considered right direction, and I believe they still fly into Miami and bookable on both QF and AA .

 

[turtlemichael]

Melburnian1 is the resident expert on PR, and seems to think they have a fairly decent product.

I wouldn't give up hope on using QFFF points... you might be able to score EK out of Asia to the east coast, then look at getting to the Asia gateway.

Following up, I have managed to use Qantas points. I booked MEL-SFO via NRT on JAL for a few days before Christmas 2020 at massive points but it still saved x thousand dollars. Then the non-stop MEL-SFO came up for the same day at 50,000 points per person less so I cancelled JAL and rebooked. I forfeited 6000 points x2 for cancelling but am quite happy with the outcome. Thanks for the encouragement.

 

[Melburnian1]

While you chose an alternative, PR would have been an excellent choice.

The one downer is that transferring international to international (something I've done in MNL with sufficient time to walk out of the airport and go shopping) with limited time means you're stuck in some suboptimal transfer room that others claim is far from a good experience.

But on board facilities, staff, meals, timekeeping usually very good or better, plus often an attractive fare. Aircraft largely are 'young.'