Sydney to Tokyo - J Class - Next year - Credit card bonus points

[teaHSRn]

Firstly a big thanks to this forum. After learning about bonus points a few months ago, I've been lurking and learning the tricks of FF programs.

I'm hoping to snag return business class Sydney to Tokyo flights on frequent flyer points, flying October 2016, for my wife and I.

I want some advice on the best combination of credit cards and frequent flyer programs to get this done, entirely/mostly with points, by getting bonus points by signing up to credit cards.

Cards already signed up for:

ANZ plat - 50,000 bonus Qantas points - both the wife and I have done this
Commbank Plat - 40,000 Qantas bonus points - I've done this
JetStar - 50,000 bonus Qantas points - wife has done this

Bringing the current haul to 190,000 points for Qantas.

Flying Qantas, we will need 72,000 points per way, each for J class fares. So that's 144,000 points each, or 288,000 total. Going to Qantas option we will need an extra 98,000 points.
Options would be:

JetStar - 50,000 bonus points - I apply
NAB - 40,000 bonus points - wife applies.

This combination would bring in a haul of 280,000 points - with 8,000 accrued by shopping.

An alternative would be to fly one way with Qantas points, and then apply for the:

Amex - velocity - 110,000 bonus Velocity points - both apply with one referral bonus would be 240,000 points.
Then transfer the points to KrisFlyer - reaping 177,768 points.
Flying Singapore Airlines in J on a Business Saver award ticked, Sydney - Singapore - Tokyo costs 77,500 points
Or fly to Auckland and then from Auckland to Tokyo using Velocity points.

In terms of incomes/credit scores, we both earn ~70k and have a good credit rating and judge taking a hit on the credit score is worth it. Goal is to maximise the chance of flights, while trying to avoid getting rejected on a credit card application. Secondary goal is to minimise card annual fee's, fuel surcharges etc....basically the aim is to fly business for the cost of economy, including all the annual fees etc. The Amex Velocity card has extra value to us, as we fly to Melbourne once a year so that almost pays the fee.

I plan to book the flights, 353(?) days prior and don't mind if we have to think outside the box to get there. So if this means flying, QF, CX, JAL, BA, SQ, China Eastern (would prefer not) to Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, (and then on to Toyko - or even Osaka/Nagoya) or from Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland that's fine. We don't mind if we have to buy a connecting flight, say Sydney to Auckland, or Shanghai - Osaka.

I'm not specifically looking for advice on routing options in particular - more trying to work out which cards to get to have the highest chance of getting J to Tokyo. Once we have the haul of points, then I'll work out the specific routing, although I realise both need to be considered.

Many thanks in advance for your assistance, knowledge and skills.

 

[burmans]

Firstly a big thanks to this forum. After learning about bonus points a few months ago, I've been lurking and learning the tricks of FF programs.

I'm hoping to snag return business class Sydney to Tokyo flights on frequent flyer points, flying October 2016, for my wife and I.

I want some advice on the best combination of credit cards and frequent flyer programs to get this done, entirely/mostly with points, by getting bonus points by signing up to credit cards.

Cards already signed up for:

ANZ plat - 50,000 bonus Qantas points - both the wife and I have done this
Commbank Plat - 40,000 Qantas bonus points - I've done this
JetStar - 50,000 bonus Qantas points - wife has done this

Bringing the current haul to 190,000 points for Qantas.

Flying Qantas, we will need 72,000 points per way, each for J class fares. So that's 144,000 points each, or 288,000 total. Going to Qantas option we will need an extra 98,000 points.
Options would be:

JetStar - 50,000 bonus points - I apply
NAB - 40,000 bonus points - wife applies.

This combination would bring in a haul of 280,000 points - with 8,000 accrued by shopping.

An alternative would be to fly one way with Qantas points, and then apply for the:

Amex - velocity - 110,000 bonus Velocity points - both apply with one referral bonus would be 240,000 points.
Then transfer the points to KrisFlyer - reaping 177,768 points.
Flying Singapore Airlines in J on a Business Saver award ticked, Sydney - Singapore - Tokyo costs 77,500 points
Or fly to Auckland and then from Auckland to Tokyo using Velocity points.

In terms of incomes/credit scores, we both earn ~70k and have a good credit rating and judge taking a hit on the credit score is worth it. Goal is to maximise the chance of flights, while trying to avoid getting rejected on a credit card application. Secondary goal is to minimise card annual fee's, fuel surcharges etc....basically the aim is to fly business for the cost of economy, including all the annual fees etc. The Amex Velocity card has extra value to us, as we fly to Melbourne once a year so that almost pays the fee.

I plan to book the flights, 353(?) days prior and don't mind if we have to think outside the box to get there. So if this means flying, QF, CX, JAL, BA, SQ, China Eastern (would prefer not) to Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, (and then on to Toyko - or even Osaka/Nagoya) or from Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Auckland that's fine. We don't mind if we have to buy a connecting flight, say Sydney to Auckland, or Shanghai - Osaka.

I'm not specifically looking for advice on routing options in particular - more trying to work out which cards to get to have the highest chance of getting J to Tokyo. Once we have the haul of points, then I'll work out the specific routing, although I realise both need to be considered.

Many thanks in advance for your assistance, knowledge and skills.

In terms of availability SQ is pretty good, QF appears harder. So if going the QF route you may just have to accept whatever is available, this far in advance you should be OK.

 

[Mattg]

With that much advance planning and flexibility you shouldn't have too many problems getting the flight/s you want. ANA and QF's new Japan routes should add a few options too.

 

[teaHSRn]

Thanks for all your replies. From the sounds of it, I will have a decent chance using Qantas FF points. As such, the next cards we will hit up will be NAB and JetStar, which should give us enough points.

Can anyone confirm if Qantas booking open 351(?) days before, and any idea of the time availability is released.

Also, I'm thinking of booking the departure flight first, then the return 3 weeks later. Any pitfalls to this?

 

[teaHSRn]

I've just read it's possible to fly SYD - SIN - NRT on an award saver R flight for around 80,000 Kris Flyer miles.

The thought of R class is amazing, so it seems like grabbing the velocity points makes more sense.

I figure 2 x velocity cards at 110,000 plus a referral of 20,000 will get me 240,000 velocity points which will convert to about 177,000 Kris flyer points.

Award saver R or even F, is 95,000 points, SYD- SIN -NRT, and with a 15% online discount that's 80,750 points for the flight...easily done with the AMEX cards.

Does anyone see any downsides to the above idea?

 

[Mattg]

Can anyone confirm if Qantas booking open 351(?) days before, and any idea of the time availability is released.

Also, I'm thinking of booking the departure flight first, then the return 3 weeks later. Any pitfalls to this?

Qantas open up award seats 353 days out, at 10am AEST.

You won't be penalised as such for booking two one-way tickets with points. The only potential issue I would forsee is if you can't get an award seat for the return flight and find yourself stuck with an outbound leg you no longer wish to use. (Though it is possible to cancel for a small penalty.)

 

[Mattg]

I've just read it's possible to fly SYD - SIN - NRT on an award saver R flight for around 80,000 Kris Flyer miles.

The thought of R class is amazing, so it seems like grabbing the velocity points makes more sense.

I figure 2 x velocity cards at 110,000 plus a referral of 20,000 will get me 240,000 velocity points which will convert to about 177,000 Kris flyer points.

Award saver R or even F, is 95,000 points, SYD- SIN -NRT, and with a 15% online discount that's 80,750 points for the flight...easily done with the AMEX cards.

Does anyone see any downsides to the above idea?

Sounds like a plan! A potential pitfall may be award availability, but with enough flexibility you should be able to get something.

 

[trixydoza]

Award saver R or even F, is 95,000 points, SYD- SIN -NRT, and with a 15% online discount that's 80,750 points for the flight...easily done with the AMEX cards.

Does anyone see any downsides to the above idea?

That redemption is one of my personal favourites... noon-ish departure from SYD, overnight at SIN, and then a 9-ish departure to NRT for two daytime flights on the A380. I didn't find the A380 timing quite as appealing in the opposite direction.

Taxes and surcharges were in the order of AUD470 as of March.

 

[winstonAU]

That redemption is one of my personal favourites... noon-ish departure from SYD, overnight at SIN, and then a 9-ish departure to NRT for two daytime flights on the A380. I didn't find the A380 timing quite as appealing in the opposite direction.

Taxes and surcharges were in the order of AUD470 as of March.

This is exactly what I'm looking at doing sometime next year provided I can scrounge up the points.

 

[teaHSRn]

Just an update on my plan.

We have got all the points in place for this trip, and work has approved our leave!

Plan is to fly QF J outbound Sydney to Toyko at a cost of 72k QFF points each or 144k total.

Return flight will be SQ - F/R - Tokyo - Singapore - Syd, at a cost of 80,750 Krisflyer points (after 15% online booking discount), which works out ~109k velocity points.

We have accrued about ~160k QFF from 2 x ANZ cards, and a JetStar card and some shopping. Still waiting on 40k Commbank points, which I've been assured I will have by mid October. In any case these points are not required for this trip.

We both got the Amex 110k velocity points cards, and both have these bonus points sitting in our Amex accounts. We are expecting these points to move to our velocity accounts also mid October.

Taxes should be about $500 for the SQ flights and $500 for the QF flights. Card costs are 2 x $350 for the Amex cards and 1 x $150 for the Jetstar, so total $850. Thus, total cost including the cards is around $1850 for 2pax, or about the same as economy flights. That's without allowing for the free return flight, which we value at about $250, or the travel insurance which comes with the cards.

I've been regularly checking flight availability and it seems to be fine. SQ flights are easy to obtain 352 days out, even for saver suites.

QF are a little bit harder. Often the options out of Sydney involves flying to Brisbane first, then onto to Tokyo. This is no biggie in any case, but closer to the date I'll be logging in at 10:00 am to see availability then. I suspect that Syd - Haneda business class tickets are either restricted to FF with status, or go very quickly or a bit of both.

Very excited about the prospect of flying J and F.

 

[Mattg]

Just an update on my plan.

[snip]

QF are a little bit harder. Often the options out of Sydney involves flying to Brisbane first, then onto to Tokyo. This is no biggie in any case, but closer to the date I'll be logging in at 10:00 am to see availability then. I suspect that Syd - Haneda business class tickets are either restricted to FF with status, or go very quickly or a bit of both.

Very excited about the prospect of flying J and F.

Great stuff! Don't be put off about flying SYD-BNE-NRT. BNE-NRT is a daytime flight, so you'll get to enjoy more of the business class experience compared to SYD-HND which is overnight. Also, BNE-NRT will almost certainly be operated by an A330 with the new Business Suites, which is an excellent product.

 

[boomy]

If departing from SYD I'd suggest looking at JL as another option. During summer season they are operating their upgraded 777-300ER with flat beds in J. Cost will be 78K QFFP plus taxes one way. IMO JL soft product is far superior to QF and with flat beds in J I'll add the extra 6K and fly with them.
Or you can save a bit more and book their awesome F class (114K QFFP plus taxes one way). If you plan to fly Oct 16 then it can be done with a couple of CCs promos next year

 

[smit0847]

If departing from SYD I'd suggest looking at JL as another option. During summer season they are operating their upgraded 777-300ER with flat beds in J. Cost will be 78K QFFP plus taxes one way. IMO JL soft product is far superior to QF and with flat beds in J I'll add the extra 6K and fly with them.
Or you can save a bit more and book their awesome F class (114K QFFP plus taxes one way). If you plan to fly Oct 16 then it can be done with a couple of CCs promos next year

Ive just flown JL J SYD-NRT and was pretty underwhelmed. It was the old 772 hard product which i was expecting but service was very distant and food average. Yes the 77W new product would be great for an overnight flight but for day flights it looks extremely claustrophobic.

Id go the daytime BNE-NRT QF if i had my time again.

 

[teaHSRn]

Or you can save a bit more and book their awesome F class (114K QFFP plus taxes one way). If you plan to fly Oct 16 then it can be done with a couple of CCs promos next year [/QUOTE]

I had thought about the JAL F option, however as we are wanting to depart Aus in early October, I don't think they will be flying the 777-300ER until later in the month.

Thinking that SYD - BNE - NRT flight will be the one for us, as daytime to enjoy our first J journey makes sense.

Have all our point lined up in a Krisflyer and QFF account, ready to go. Been doing a few dummy bookings and everything looks good to go.

Next Saturday 24th is T - 353, so I'll report around 10:00 am an update on how we go.

 

[teaHSRn]

Update for everyone.

Qantas J flight availability mysteriously disappeared completely so we had to modify our plans a bit. This was a bit strange as in all my checks through September there was always a few days of availability and we were looking forward to flying on the Red Roo.

We booked SQ SYD - SIN - NRT in Suites for the outbound leg.

For return, we are flying Cathay, from Osaka (KIX) - HKG - SYD in J.

Looking forward to both flights. Not being able to get direct flights is a little downer, however departing from Osaka suits our travel plans.

There is also a (small) possibility that if JAL or CX is offering F next year that we may cancel our return flight and book F.

Total cost, including credit cards was less than $1k each - so what we would pay for Y...so our budget is happy.

Thanks everyone for your help - esp Mattg