johnsmith said:
I have enquired about this with Qantas and if you book a flight before 25th May and make any changes after 25th May then the pre 25th May rules apply. So if you book a flight to London today to fly in February 2006 costing 110,000 points, then change this booking in January 2006 causing a ticket re-issue then you still pay 110,000 points. So the answer above is not correct.
I would not rely on that advice from the QF agent. I think you should ask for it in writing being very specific about the type of change as that would be contrary to normal conditions of a ticket re-issue.
If the change is only to the date (ie the routing remains the same) then the ticket does not need to be reissued and the points and taxes/surcharges remain the same. No problem.
Good idea getting this in writing, I would imagine that this situation will apply to thousands of people after 25th May.
But if the routing is changed, then the ticket must be reissued and the cost will be recalculated, including the points and the taxes/surcharges based on the prevailing rules/costs at the time of reissue. If you are going to be relying on the advice you received from the Qantas agent for a re-isused ticket, then I recommend you seek written clarification prior to making the change as that advice is contrary to the usual process.
With paid tickets, any re-issue before the first flight sector has been taken will result in a recalculation of the fare. Once the first sector has been flown (and providing the fare permits routing changes) any reissue will just result in a recalculation of the taxes and surcharges for the remaining sectors and the fare is locked in.
So with paid tickets there is a difference depending on whether the first sector has been flown or not and I would expect the situation to be exactly the same for an award ticket. If the first sector has not yet been flown, the reissue is basically a cancellation and the isuse of a new ticket, hence the new calculation. But this only for a routing change, not a date change.