Hi,
Apologies for the long post. And yes, I agree, I could be more concise and straight to the point.
I regularly see questions regarding what to do with however many points one has. And the answers always seem to be along the same lines. Whilst this is appreciated, I am hoping for something a little deeper.
I have accrued 400/- QF points and would like to redeem them before the redemption rates become worse in Sep 2019. I am a silver member with Qantas club on top.
Before anyone says to save up and get the 318/- OW RTW award. This is not for everyone. I don’t particularly want to continue churning credit cards to get my balance up to the required 636/- for the two of us. Plus, we both just did a RTW in premium economy and we have no desire to do RTW again as it is simply too taxing on the body (time zone changes) in such a short amount of time. Flying flat would not fix that issue.
It appears my only option is a straight up return business class redemption to one city only.
I suspect I must fly on QF metal only, as it appears that QF flying partner airlines require more points. And I don’t have enough points to a far enough destination on these partner airlines to make most of the 8,400 miles that my accumulated QF total allows to fly on its own metal.
So with 400/- QF points I would like your opinion as to what is actually the best business class journey to make the most of these points.
I have found flights from Sydney to San Francisco (via Melbourne or Brisbane) for 192/- points each plus around $1k in taxes (which seem very high?). This is in the Qantas dreamliner business class cabin which I am led to believe is better than the QF A380 cocoon seats from Sydney.
Is this the best option for points redemption? For that many points I can travel 8,400 miles.
The main reason I think business class to the US is the best use of points is that the flight is actually long. 13-15 hours to the West coast from Sydney. The time zone changes travelling in an east direction IMO is hardest on the body to recover from.
The reasons I am not keen on using points to fly to Asia is Asia is in our time zone, so I have no issues with jet lag. Flights to Asia are cheap and can be flown with cash fares on so many rival airlines whose economy product is good enough for me. For Eg. JAL economy is amazing (yes I know amazing and economy do not belong in the same sentence) and I have no desire to waste points for a Japan business award seat.
Factors to consider
What actually is the best QF route for business class with a maximum distance of 8,400 miles for my circumstances and demands? What is actually the best plane for us business class virgins?
Thanks kindly
Apologies for the long post. And yes, I agree, I could be more concise and straight to the point.
I regularly see questions regarding what to do with however many points one has. And the answers always seem to be along the same lines. Whilst this is appreciated, I am hoping for something a little deeper.
I have accrued 400/- QF points and would like to redeem them before the redemption rates become worse in Sep 2019. I am a silver member with Qantas club on top.
Before anyone says to save up and get the 318/- OW RTW award. This is not for everyone. I don’t particularly want to continue churning credit cards to get my balance up to the required 636/- for the two of us. Plus, we both just did a RTW in premium economy and we have no desire to do RTW again as it is simply too taxing on the body (time zone changes) in such a short amount of time. Flying flat would not fix that issue.
It appears my only option is a straight up return business class redemption to one city only.
I suspect I must fly on QF metal only, as it appears that QF flying partner airlines require more points. And I don’t have enough points to a far enough destination on these partner airlines to make most of the 8,400 miles that my accumulated QF total allows to fly on its own metal.
So with 400/- QF points I would like your opinion as to what is actually the best business class journey to make the most of these points.
I have found flights from Sydney to San Francisco (via Melbourne or Brisbane) for 192/- points each plus around $1k in taxes (which seem very high?). This is in the Qantas dreamliner business class cabin which I am led to believe is better than the QF A380 cocoon seats from Sydney.
Is this the best option for points redemption? For that many points I can travel 8,400 miles.
The main reason I think business class to the US is the best use of points is that the flight is actually long. 13-15 hours to the West coast from Sydney. The time zone changes travelling in an east direction IMO is hardest on the body to recover from.
The reasons I am not keen on using points to fly to Asia is Asia is in our time zone, so I have no issues with jet lag. Flights to Asia are cheap and can be flown with cash fares on so many rival airlines whose economy product is good enough for me. For Eg. JAL economy is amazing (yes I know amazing and economy do not belong in the same sentence) and I have no desire to waste points for a Japan business award seat.
Factors to consider
- We have never flown business and this could be our one and only opportunity so we want to make the most of it.
- We don’t mind the end travel destination. This is for a milestone birthday, and we have no restrictions with dates or destination (obviously limited to 8,400 miles one way).
- We prefer a foot well that is decent in size. Which QF plane and business class seat has the biggest footwell?
- It has to be QF metal (unless someone can correct me if my understanding is wrong about partner airlines requiring more points?) I did want to try the Q Suites on Qatar.
- What configuration is best for a couple? Aisle or middle?
- Do business seats have in built massage functions?
- We prefer privacy and seats with storage in built.
- We prefer it to be on a QF plane that has the newer business class seats. I heard the A380 seats are old and worn.
- Must be fully horizontal lie flat. I have seen some you tube reviews where the bed angles down on other airlines.
What actually is the best QF route for business class with a maximum distance of 8,400 miles for my circumstances and demands? What is actually the best plane for us business class virgins?
Thanks kindly
