Strategies for booking light US-AUS with points

[ElGatoVolador]

Strategies for booking flight US-AUS with points

Rookie question. I was able to book a flight MEL-LAX with 47,000 points on Jul4. I need to get back to australia around 10 days later. All Saver flights are now showing up north of 200+ points or 132k +560USD. Tried going to BNE or SYD instead of MEL but still comes out pretty high.I tried bouncing around on SG. I would need 50,000 KF but all flights i'm finding come up with "Waitlist". I'm afraid to transfer the points and then not be able to use them.Any other strategies that I should look into? Or should I suck it up and pay? $1400 for a saver kind of sucks. I just made gold (or waiting for it to kick in, they haven't credited my latest SC) if that helps.Thanks!

 

[greenfish]

Re: Strategies for booking flight US-AUS with points

Is that $1400 for the one way flight home - or the whole trip?

Sounds like you should probably cancel the reward booking you have, and just do a revenue flight at $1800 or so return - earn some SCs to help to stay gold...

For $2100 you can go flexi - lots of SCs! Then try upgrading with points?

 

[graxx]

Re: Strategies for booking flight US-AUS with points

I agree. Cancel and try a return.
I booked 2x one-way business seats to SF on Qantas on points some time ago because I wasn't sure of return date. Decided to just buy 2 Bus seats back- Qantas wanted $US10,000 for the one-way flight.....thats $15,000 AUD!!!!! Each!!!
Thought it was a mistake so rang- no, that's it.
Will cancel points booking and pay for Bus seats return. QF seem to want $10,000AUD, but there seem to be seats around the $5000-6,000 AUD mark- not Qantas of course.

 

[ElGatoVolador]

1400$ for one way. Yes that's nuts. I was trying to avoid spending a few grand on this trip. Been hoarding points and telling the wife that this boys trip would be cheap.

I'll have to take my chance with krisflyer wait list.

 

[VRC]

Re: Strategies for booking flight US-AUS with points

Just looking now and there is availability LAX SYD 14 and 15 July for 47000 points.