The Hunt for an Award - Comparison QF vs LH

Status
Not open for further replies.

Kiwi Flyer

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2004
Posts
5,453
I needed to travel between NZ and Canada, preferably in business class. Round trip fares were too high, and I didn't have enough time to utilise a circle trip or RTW fare. So it would have to be an award.

QF wanted 168,000 points + a few hundred in "taxes" just to get to LAX, and I'd need quite a lot more to get the rest of the way. They also had very limited availability (unable to get preferred dates).

I checked AA and they want 125,000 points + small amount of "taxes", but I'd need to route through LAX and DFW - schedule timing was poor.

LH wanted 120,000 points + $200 in "taxes". Given LH earning rate for me is much higher than either AA or QF it was not a difficult decision. But what about availability? The longhaul legs over pacific had plenty of availability on NZ - a choice of 3 flights one way and 4 the other way, all on the preferred dates. The north american legs had very limited availability, but M&M worked hard on getting UA & AC to release a seat for me on flights that would work finally managing to do so a few days before departure. They even allowed me to travel in F on UA's 2-class flight (a rarity for FFPs of airlines which don't mislabel business as first).

In this example, *A came out a long way ahead of OW for award travel and reminded me just how poor value QFF now is for awards. I am more likely to want awards to north america than anywhere else (given the fare structures) and a QFF award, if I could have gotten it to work, would have required the earning from twice as many flights and a bigger cash outlay (in award "taxes" plus the need to purchase ticket for north american flights).
 
Kiwi Flyer said:
I needed to travel between NZ and Canada, preferably in business class. Round trip fares were too high, and I didn't have enough time to utilise a circle trip or RTW fare. So it would have to be an award.

QF wanted 168,000 points + a few hundred in "taxes" just to get to LAX, and I'd need quite a lot more to get the rest of the way. They also had very limited availability (unable to get preferred dates).

I checked AA and they want 125,000 points + small amount of "taxes", but I'd need to route through LAX and DFW - schedule timing was poor.

LH wanted 120,000 points + $200 in "taxes". Given LH earning rate for me is much higher than either AA or QF it was not a difficult decision. But what about availability? The longhaul legs over pacific had plenty of availability on NZ - a choice of 3 flights one way and 4 the other way, all on the preferred dates. The north american legs had very limited availability, but M&M worked hard on getting UA & AC to release a seat for me on flights that would work finally managing to do so a few days before departure. They even allowed me to travel in F on UA's 2-class flight (a rarity for FFPs of airlines which don't mislabel business as first).

In this example, *A came out a long way ahead of OW for award travel and reminded me just how poor value QFF now is for awards. I am more likely to want awards to north america than anywhere else (given the fare structures) and a QFF award, if I could have gotten it to work, would have required the earning from twice as many flights and a bigger cash outlay (in award "taxes" plus the need to purchase ticket for north american flights).

No news there, Kiwi. That's why I fly UA. Triple miles this month too.

:)
 
clifford said:
No news there, Kiwi. That's why I fly UA. Triple miles this month too.

:)

Ahh but UA had no availability on the NZ flights - thanks to Mileage Plus stinginess.
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top