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Pip,
The main hassles are :-
- Familiarity with qantas.com and its award booking system
- Limitations to the itinerary that can be booked on the above
- Pure availability of flights
The Multi-Destination option on the web site means that you can be fairly flexible about your itinerary, though this flexibility has come about through leg-by-leg charging so the required points are higher. If it can't do what you want then the only option is to call Qantas and cop the assisted booking fee.
But availability is the key, and although there are some automated tools that will alert you when segments become available, I find the most effective method (for the desperate) is to log in every waking hour. It's either that or travel to un-popular destinations at un-popular times.
Where are you trying to get to and when?
Cheers,
Andrew
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