Article: It’s Time to Book Your 2025 European Summer Reward Flights

[AFF Editor]

It’s Time to Book Your 2025 European Summer Reward Flights is an article written by the AFF editorial team:

It's Time to Book Your 2025 European Summer Reward Flights

If you want to use frequent flyer points to get to Europe for the 2025 summer, now is the time to start booking your flights.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

 

[RooFlyer]

Over the past 2 weeks, I've been looking for a single J reward seat CDG-DBV-CDG in early June next year. I have no date flexibility for the outward journey.

Aeroplan: Good availability but puts me on TK, via IST with an overnight in Istanbul. Too expensive and I lose a day in Paris.
Alaskan: Good availability but puts me on AY via HEL - not going THAT far out of the way!
Virgin Velocity: Can't handle it
Qantas FF: Sparse availability puts me on AY via HEL
SQ Krisflyer: Nothing available on the dates I want (I have no flexibility with the outward journey. But nearby dates give me a good connection via Vienna.
EDIT: I guess this isn't exactly what the article as about, but sill European Summer reward flights!

But I have got SQ Krisflyer redemptions MEL-SIN and SIN-MEL on either side of my O/S trip (mid May and Mid June. Heaps of Saver availability!!

 

[Human]

Really helpful article.

Just for the information of those who have Velocity points only... whenever I've been up at midnight recently (which, admittedly, hasn't been often) I've done a search of Qatar flights when they're released at 12am AEST on the Virgin Australia website.

On almost every night I've searched, I've been able to find 2 Business class reward seats between Doha and somewhere that Qatar flies to in Australia, 330 days out. I haven't looked at Perth, but almost always there is availability to/from at least one of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Adelaide.

From there, there's more-or-less plenty of availability to Qatar's destinations west of Doha (eg. in Europe).

So flying Qatar using Velocity points is well and truly doable at the moment, for those willing to be flexible.

 

[SYD]

Really helpful article.

Just for the information of those who have Velocity points only... whenever I've been up at midnight recently (which, admittedly, hasn't been often) I've done a search of Qatar flights when they're released at 12am AEST on the Virgin Australia website.

On almost every night I've searched, I've been able to find 2 Business class reward seats between Doha and somewhere that Qatar flies to in Australia, 330 days out. I haven't looked at Perth, but almost always there is availability to/from at least one of Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane or Adelaide.

From there, there's more-or-less plenty of availability to Qatar's destinations west of Doha (eg. in Europe).

So flying Qatar using Velocity points is well and truly doable at the moment, for those willing to be flexible.

Alas, that’s how it used to be using QFF points before the rift. In fact, I’m pretty sure QR released seats beyond 330 days to QF….

Over the past 2 weeks, I've been looking for a single J reward seat CDG-DBV-CDG in early June next year. I have no date flexibility for the outward journey.

Aeroplan: Good availability but puts me on TK, via IST with an overnight in Istanbul. Too expensive and I lose a day in Paris.
Alaskan: Good availability but puts me on AY via HEL - not going THAT far out of the way!
Virgin Velocity: Can't handle it
Qantas FF: Sparse availability puts me on AY via HEL
SQ Krisflyer: Nothing available on the dates I want (I have no flexibility with the outward journey. But nearby dates give me a good connection via Vienna.
EDIT: I guess this isn't exactly what the article as about, but sill European Summer reward flights!

But I have got SQ Krisflyer redemptions MEL-SIN and SIN-MEL on either side of my O/S trip (mid May and Mid June. Heaps of Saver availability!!

It’s not that far, I would have thought slumming in whY is doable?

Otherwise, have you looked at revenue fares into OR out of DBV that only require one other connections? eg SIN-xx_-CDG//CDG-DBV//DBV-xx_-SIN all on one ticket?

 

[RooFlyer]

It’s not that far, I would have thought slumming in whY is doable?

Quelle horreur! (see my thread on Eurobusiness). Actually SQ doesn't have any availability on the day I need, Y or J. Something is on that day - I got the last revenue J ticket using Austrian, which is cheaper than the direct Croatian flight by A$300.

And the others are just too indirect, Y or J or take away too much time in Paris.

Otherwise, have you looked at revenue fares into OR out of DBV that only require one other connections? eg SIN-xx_-CDG//CDG-DBV//DBV-xx_-SIN all on one ticket?

The TA did beat the bushes pretty thoroughly (as did I). I got SIN-xDOH-CDG on QR for $5K return, which I think is good value. Adding DBV on the QR ticket put the cost up surprisingly and timings were very bad.

The options from Paris (CDG only) to Dubrovnik are surprisingly limited, and just about all on StarAlliance, if you discount the long routing via HEL for the points programs I can call on.

 

[cagiva]

Anyone out there able to book the direct flight PER-FCO or PER-CDG with a classic reward? Plenty of availability with Classic Plus at triple the points
Also trying to book into MXP (from PER) with QFF is impossible. Only get options by breaking up the flight.

 

[kamchatsky]

Trying to use Qantas Points for classic awards for European Summer is very difficult, well almost impossible for QF.

But I managed to do is to book 4 * one-way AY J SIN-HEL-LIS using QF points for early July next year. I could only do this as AY released seats beyond QF usual booking window, but you can book it by changing dates further out after the initial search.

I still need to piece together SYD-SIN leg to connect. There is nothing whatsoever from QF, even on Y. I may have to wait a month to see if QF release more seats on that leg. Otherwise I may have to use velocity points to get ourselves to SIN on SQ.

 

[elanshin]

Trying to use Qantas Points for classic awards for European Summer is very difficult, well almost impossible for QF.

But I managed to do is to book 4 * one-way AY J SIN-HEL-LIS using QF points for early July next year. I could only do this as AY released seats beyond QF usual booking window, but you can book it by changing dates further out after the initial search.

I still need to piece together SYD-SIN leg to connect. There is nothing whatsoever from QF, even on Y. I may have to wait a month to see if QF release more seats on that leg. Otherwise I may have to use velocity points to get ourselves to SIN on SQ.

Buy AC points and pay $900AUD per pax to SIN in SQ J? (Although your window before the 125% bonus is closing soon)

 

[kamchatsky]

Buy AC points and pay $900AUD per pax to SIN in SQ J? (Although your window before the 125% bonus is closing soon)

Unfortunately, I need to do this * 4! I'm not keen to shell out ~$4000 given I still have a stash of points to use in AA, AS, BA/QR. I do have 70K AC points already though.

I have to say that I was amazed by the AY's availability of 4*J awards. I almost never see 4*J awards in OW Airlines these days unless it is a very short haul, or one of those QF mass award release days that you have no notice of and all those seats goes within 30 mins.