Syd - lax

[eric2011]

Hi, I am thinking of booking SYD - LAX on QF11 (A380) in J and would like to know what others think my chances are of getting a points upgrade (45000pts each) to F class. Don't have dates or anything yet, maybe Nov 2015, but any historical info would be great.

Doing the SYD departure only to try QF F.

The 380 in J doesn't really interest me unless other AFFers think it is far superior than the 747 product and worth the extra trip to Sydney to connect to it

If its buckleys chance and the 380 product isn't that much better than the 747, then I would fly from my home port (BNE) on QF15 (747) in J.

 

[JohnPhelan]

Bear in mind the other big advantage of going via SYD (as a QF Platinum) is being able to have lunch in the F Lounge!

 

[Quickstatus]

Hi, I am thinking of booking SYD - LAX on QF11 (A380) in J and would like to know what others think my chances are of getting a points upgrade (45000pts each) to F class. Don't have dates or anything yet, maybe Nov 2015, but any historical info would be great.

Doing the SYD departure only to try QF F.

The 380 in J doesn't really interest me unless other AFFers think it is far superior than the 747 product and worth the extra trip to Sydney to connect to it

If its buckleys chance and the 380 product isn't that much better than the 747, then I would fly from my home port (BNE) on QF15 (747) in J.

Depends on when you are flying, and what status you carry.

If you are still SG then buckleys I would think. WP and WP1/CL have better chances. Dont forget most pax who have the $$$ to buy J will also be FF pax and have points to burn and they will all be asking for an upgrade.

So depending on your status- generally CL before WP1 before WP before SG
Then throw in the mix perceived customer value, so a celebrity who is not a WP1 may get up before a WP1
Full fare J will also trump discount J

Dates - obviously busy periods will have less availability.

The A380 experience is perceived to be better by some but not so superior that its worth the extra trip to SYD IMO

QF F will at least give you Flounge experience.

If you decide to go QF11 then book J with the expectation you wont get upgrade, then if you do it will be a pleasant bonus.



Im also hoping to get an upgrade to F from J in mid January2015. I have 2P and 1U QF11 mid january, then 2P QF94 and 1P QF11 and only paying for 1J return QF11/12. So hoping for an upgrade to F on way back

P=first class classic award, U=business class classic award. F=first class revenue fare. J=business class revenue fare

Though I reckon P,U,W,X should also be called revenue fares on account of the fuel surcharges etc etc.

 

[eric2011]

Depends on when you are flying, and what status you carry.

If you are still SG then buckleys I would think. WP and WP1/CL have better chances. Dont forget most pax who have the $$$ to buy J will also be FF pax and have points to burn and they will all be asking for an upgrade.

So depending on your status- generally CL before WP1 before WP before SG
Then throw in the mix perceived customer value, so a celebrity who is not a WP1 may get up before a WP1
Full fare J will also trump discount J

Dates - obviously busy periods will have less availability.

The A380 experience is perceived to be better by some but not so superior that its worth the extra trip to SYD IMO

QF F will at least give you Flounge experience.

If you decide to go QF11 then book J with the expectation you wont get upgrade, then if you do it will be a pleasant bonus.

Thanks QS, As much as I don't really like your answer it is pretty much as I expected. With the upcoming trips I have I will still be SG and no higher. I think I will most probably catch QF15 from BNE and use my points for something else while I am over there. Should have enough in the kitty for AA from LAX to MIA return.

Who knows, by Nov next year QF might retire the 747 service from BNE and replace it with a A380 bird. ahhh well we can dream

 

[eric2011]

Bear in mind the other big advantage of going via SYD (as a QF Platinum) is being able to have lunch in the F Lounge!

To be perfectly honest John, I was able to get into the F lounge not so long ago, and it left me a little bit disappointed. Maybe after reading all the hype that has been written here etc I was expecting too much, but I left after about 45 minutes feeling just a little bit disappointed.

For me, if access to the F lounge was a deal breaker I wouldn't mind not getting the deal. My thoughts only and not the thoughts of anyone else

 

[Quickstatus]

Thanks QS, As much as I don't really like your answer it is pretty much as I expected. With the upcoming trips I have I will still be SG and no higher. I think I will most probably catch QF15 from BNE and use my points for something else while I am over there. Should have enough in the kitty for AA from LAX to MIA return.

Who knows, by Nov next year QF might retire the 747 service from BNE and replace it with a A380 bird. ahhh well we can dream

Actually I would not redeem points in the US.

The US is a great place for getting some cheap F seats which are carry F level status credits.

Flying AA LAX-MIA return in F will get you 240SC for $1200 return (sept 2015)

(If you flew J BNE-SYD return you will only get 80 SC and it will cost you $1400.)


So an itinerary BNE-LAX-MIA-LAX-BNE in J for QF-int and F for AA-dom will net you 600SC and 51000 points. Add in the points from credit card to pay for airfares and you will have enough points for say 2x return J flights BNE-SYD. And immediate requalification for SG or maybe put you closer to WP?

 

[eric2011]

Actually I would not redeem points in the US.

The US is a great place for getting some cheap F seats which are carry F level status credits.

Flying AA LAX-MIA return in F will get you 240SC for $1200 return (sept 2015)

(If you flew J BNE-SYD return you will only get 80 SC and it will cost you $1400.)


So an itinerary BNE-LAX-MIA-LAX-BNE in J for QF-int and F for AA-dom will net you 600SC and 51000 points. Add in the points from credit card to pay for airfares and you will have enough points for say 2x return J flights BNE-SYD. And immediate requalification for SG or maybe put you closer to WP?

And to book a trip like that would be best to book through QF call centre???

 

[ckck]

And to book a trip like that would be best to book through QF call centre???

I would book that fare myself. The only time I use QF call centre is when I can't book it myself.

Generally speaking you wouldn't be doing BNE-LAX-MIA-LAX-BNE in one day. You might fly BNE-LAX and then spend a week in LAX. Then fly LAX-MIA, spend some time in MIA perhaps. Then fly MIA-xLAX-BNE on your way home. So basically you would have two itineraries. 1) BNE-LAX-BNE and 2) LAX-MIA-LAX.

Be aware that if there is a stuff up or a hurricane stops you from getting back to LAX on time to fly your LAX-BNE leg you might miss your flight and the airline who was responsible for getting you to LAX isn't responsible for getting you back to BNE.

Or you can use the "Multi city" option when booking your flights. This way everything is on one itinerary.

hths.

 

[eric2011]

I would book that fare myself. The only time I use QF call centre is when I can't book it myself.

Generally speaking you wouldn't be doing BNE-LAX-MIA-LAX-BNE in one day. You might fly BNE-LAX and then spend a week in LAX. Then fly LAX-MIA, spend some time in MIA perhaps. Then fly MIA-xLAX-BNE on your way home. So basically you would have two itineraries. 1) BNE-LAX-BNE and 2) LAX-MIA-LAX.

Be aware that if there is a stuff up or a hurricane stops you from getting back to LAX on time to fly your LAX-BNE leg you might miss your flight and the airline who was responsible for getting you to LAX isn't responsible for getting you back to BNE.

Or you can use the "Multi city" option when booking your flights. This way everything is on one itinerary.

hths.

Yes, but isn't it correct that to get status credits the flight needs to be a QF flight number and when I look at flights myself there are not many available

 

[Quickstatus]

Yes, but isn't it correct that to get status credits the flight needs to be a QF flight number and when I look at flights myself there are not many available

On american airlines you get FF points and SC on any AA flights. Same goes with most one world partners.

you get slightly more FF points but same SC if the same flights are QF codeshare

just use the earning points calculator on the QF website.

https://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/do/dyns/initialPointsEarned

 

[eric2011]

On american airlines you get FF points and SC on any AA flights. Same goes with most one world partners.

you get slightly more FF points but same SC if the same flights are QF codeshare

just use the earning points calculator on the QF website.

https://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/do/dyns/initialPointsEarned

Thank you QS. The true meaning of this site is people helping people.

Where I was going wrong about status credits and QF flight numbers was with using EK and now it has come to me that they are not part of One world, hence the reason you only get credits with them if booked with QF flight number and nothing with EK flight number.

I now feel great about a trip I have in April with flights on both AA and US. They both have my QF FF number attached to them

 

[Quickstatus]

So if you use QF website to book entire journey you will see less flights for the LAX-MIA, but you will get flights which are on AAMetal but QF flight number. If you get entire journey on one booking reference (PNR) BNE-MIA if you are delayed (but not if you are woke up late) on any leg the airline will rebook you to final destination.

Or you can book on AA website to book the LAX-MIA sector and get more flights but only AA flight numbers and probably better prices. Now you are getting 2 PNR - one foe BNE-LAX//LAX-BNE and one for LAX-MIA//MIA-LAX. If either airline stuffs up and you are late for the other airline technically the next airline are under no obligation to help you. However QF and AA have a deep partnership that they would help in my opinion. The 2 different PNR still means you can check your luggage through to final destination if flying on same day (due to the fact that QF and AA are full service airlines). VA is different.

 

[eric2011]

So if you use QF website to book entire journey you will see less flights for the LAX-MIA, but you will get flights which are on AAMetal but QF flight number. If you get entire journey on one booking reference (PNR) BNE-MIA if you are delayed (but not if you are woke up late) on any leg the airline will rebook you to final destination.

Or you can book on AA website to book the LAX-MIA sector and get more flights but only AA flight numbers and probably better prices. Now you are getting 2 PNR - one foe BNE-LAX//LAX-BNE and one for LAX-MIA//MIA-LAX. If either airline stuffs up and you are late for the other airline technically the next airline are under no obligation to help you. However QF and AA have a deep partnership that they would help in my opinion. The 2 different PNR still means you can check your luggage through to final destination if flying on same day (due to the fact that QF and AA are full service airlines). VA is different.

Yep, understand completely. Will have a night/day stop over at LAX both ways so a delay wont worry me too much. Thanks for all your advice QS

 

[Alanslegal]

If you are going to spend over $1k zig-zagging the USA for nothing more than chasing SC why not put that towards the original SYD-LAX flights and go confirmed F class, after all that's what you were originally wanting to know ie chances of that F upgrade.

If you still want to go all out and zig-zag the USA so you can get WP, go for it, but if you are flying ex-BNE (there's no fancy F lounge there) so you'd still have route via SYD/MEL ... and then unless you're doing many international sectors, WP and SG status is pretty negligible if flying mainly domestic.

 

[eric2011]

If you are going to spend over $1k zig-zagging the USA for nothing more than chasing SC why not put that towards the original SYD-LAX flights and go confirmed F class, after all that's what you were originally wanting to know ie chances of that F upgrade.

If you still want to go all out and zig-zag the USA so you can get WP, go for it, but if you are flying ex-BNE (there's no fancy F lounge there) so you'd still have route via SYD/MEL ... and then unless you're doing many international sectors, WP and SG status is pretty negligible if flying mainly domestic.

Sorry, you miss-understood me. I am not going LAX-MIA-LAX to chase status. I am doing a Caribbean cruise which departs Fort Lauderdale. I know I will never get WP in this lifetime and I am quite happy maintaining SG.

In my OP I wasn't even thinking Status Credits, mainly just the possibility of upgrades but we went a little off track and moved onto miles and status credits. All good information for me all the same

 

[Quickstatus]

In my OP I wasn't even thinking Status Credits, mainly just the possibility of upgrades but we went a little off track and moved onto miles and status credits. All good information for me all the same

Haha the dark arts of status credit accumulation!!!

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