RTW - Who to credit to?

[baswitzer]

Hi All,

Wondering if anyone could give me some advice on this trip for a friend (they are not a member of any program) so open to any options.

Syd-BKK (QF)

BKK-BAH (Gulf Air).

BAH-BEY (Gulf Air).

BEY-AMM (Royal Jordanian)

AMM-LHR (Royal Jordanian)

CDG-DFW (AA)

DFW-LAS (AA)

LAS-LAX (AA)

LAX-SYD (QF).

All booked in economy so more than likely discounted rates.

Any ideas? AA, QF?

 

[NM]

All depends on what benefits you are looking to gain from your FF membership.

The AA flights as they stand are not sufficient to complete the Platinum Challenge in discount economy, so unless you can change the LAX-SYD to the AA codeshare, you are not going to get any real status in any program from this trip.

How much future travel do you anticipate?

Do you have a credit card that also earn points in a particular program?

Unless you do lots of travel, its generally best to consolidate the earnings to a single program if possible.

 

[serfty]

All booked in economy so more than likely discounted rates.

... & there's the rub.

To properly answer your question, you need to know the booking class code.

WHY earnings can vary depending on FF programs and Carrier.

e.g. Here's a table published on FT (Before JL etc joined last year) (By gardyloo).

[B]FFP>[/B]	AA*	AY	BA	CX	EI	IB	LA	QF
					*Pts	*Pts		
[B]FLY
 V [/B]								
AA*	1	1	0.25	1	Y	Y	1	0.5
AY**	1	1	0.25	1	Y	Y	1	1
BA*	0.25	0.5	0.25	0.5	Y	Y	0.25	0.25
CX	0	1	0.25	1	Y	N	1	0.5
EI	0	1	0.25	1	Y	Y	1	1
IB	0.3	1	0.25	0	Y	Y	0.3	1
LA	1	1	0.25	1	Y	Y	1	1
QF	0.5	1	0.25	0.5	Y	Y	0.7	1

AY Dom	1	0.5	0.25	1	Y	Y	1	1
LP I/N	1	1	0.25	0	?	?	1	1
LP Dom	0	0	0.25	0	?	?	1	0

* No AA credit on BA US-LON, no BA credit on AA US-LON and v.v.
** Most plans exclude AY "Excursion" (Y-only) flt nos.
*Pts - FFP uses distance-based points; No./pct varies by class/distance

 

[Dave Noble]

Are they booked on an Around the World ticket?

I would suggest AA since all the airlines in the itinerary can be credited to AA since Gulf is an AA partner and AA full mileage on Gulf

Also if you change the LAX-SYD to be on the AA flight number it will enable them to complete the Platinum Challenge and get the best value of FF miles

Assuming they are on a One World Around the world ticket in L class and rebook onto the AA codeshare and sign up for the challenge ( rebooking onto AA codeshare will cost them nothing if on an ATW ticket )

SYD-BKK earns 2331 miles
BKK-BAH-BEY earns 4395 miles
BEY-AMM-LHR earns zero
CDG-DFW-LAS-LAX-SYD earns 21215 plus they will have platinum status so gain Qantas Club lounge access for future trips

Total earning = 27941 miles


Crediting as is to Qantas ( again assuming an L class around the world )
SYD-BKK earns 4662 miles
BKK-BAH-BEY earns zero miles
BEY-AMM-LHR earns 2198 miles ( 50% mileage earned )
CDG-DFW-LAS-LAX earns 3502 miles ( 50% mileage earned )
LAX-SYD earns 7488 miles

Total earning = 17850 miles

I would say that 27941 AA miles is def more worth having than 17850 QF miles

If they are not on an OW Around the World ticket, the earnings could be different but the routing would seem that an ATW ticket would be likely

Dave

 

[moa999]

Dave,
I would not be assuming a LONE ticket given the Gulf Air flights.

Agree though that AA appears to be much better for mileage earning, particularly given the Gulf Air crediting, although as noted not for status under a Challenge, unless you can change LAX-SYD to an AA codeshare

(Could also do the BKK-BAH-BEY sector on a QF FF number to get points on the RJ flight)

 

[Dave Noble]

Dave,
I would not be assuming a LONE ticket given the Gulf Air flights.

Agree though that AA appears to be much better for mileage earning, particularly given the Gulf Air crediting, although as noted not for status under a Challenge, unless you can change LAX-SYD to an AA codeshare

(Could also do the BKK-BAH-BEY sector on a QF FF number to get points on the RJ flight)

I wouldnt have assumed a LONE4, but I would think that there is a v good chance that it is a LGLOB26 ticket which does allow for travel on GF

I wouldn't even waste the time signing up for a QF account just to get the 2198 miles from the RJ flight ; if they are based in AU/NZ and had to pay for membership of QFF, it would be a complete waste imo

Dave

 

[baswitzer]

Thanks for the helpful replies. I will get them to inquire with their travel agent what the booking codes are and come back and let you all know. Changing the flight booking from QF to AA for the LAX to Syd route shouldnt do too much damage to the bottom line?

 

[Dave Noble]

Thanks for the helpful replies. I will get them to inquire with their travel agent what the booking codes are and come back and let you all know. Changing the flight booking from QF to AA for the LAX to Syd route shouldnt do too much damage to the bottom line?

If it is a Global Explorer ticket ( which does sound likely to me ) then there is no cost to change to the AA flight number; just contact AA and make the change ; if you contact QF to make the change, you will have to battle to get them to agree to switch it to the AA codeshare; they are v v v reluctant to do it and , iirc, not all agents can do it; if using QF, then if they claim "it cannot be done" speak to a superior

easier still is contact AA

Dave

 

[baswitzer]

The agent is quoting them 3800 - do you reckon that is about right?

 

[simongr]

If it is a global explorer fare the base fare for a 25,458 mile trip is A$2799 off peak and $3,299 peak - both +++ so if ticketing through QF with their horrendous fuel surcharges that seems reasonable - I think...

 

[Dave Noble]

The agent is quoting them 3800 - do you reckon that is about right?

It sounds rather high to me. As mentioned by Simongr, the base fare for a LLGLOB26 is $2799 and the LHGLOB26 is $3289. The low season fare is based on 1st Intercontinental flight being between 01/01 and 27/05 or between 16/08 and 02/12 or between 25/12 and 31/12

There could be a couple of hundred $ in taxes to add on plus fuel fines

If booked through AA, the fuel fines would likely be reduced over using QF , so does depend on who the travel agent is trying to ticket through

Do make sure that they book the Transpacific flight on the AA flight number

If the agent is trying to ticket through Qantas tell them to do it through AA and if they don't want to play ball , I'd suggest rebooking through the AA ATW desk

Also, they could consider getting the AMM-LHR sector changed to be on the the BA flight and earn a few extra miles there

Dave