Best departure port to leave Europe to go to Perth, using fewest Qantas FF points

[LaraD]

Hi, Im a newbie here, starting to look at planning a trip to Europe in 2023, around sept/oct. I have found reasonable routes from Perth to Europe by going via Dubai to Athens, however the return leg is proving hard to find . Im looking for a departure city in possibly France, Germany or Spain to get back to Perth, which uses the fewest points in economy class. Im also travelling with kids a stop over possibility is high on my agenda. I know the routes will possibly change but Im hoping for some idea of what would be the best option

 

[RooFlyer]

Hi @LaraD and welcome to AFF.

Having a quick look on the Qantas site, some flights flights from Madrid and Frankfurt, to Perth, either on CX or EK with three sectors will cost 84,200 points. But those involving only two sectors - say, MADor CDG-HKG-PER cost only 66,200 points.

Having a stop-over will always cost more points, as it will be two separate flights, unless you restrict the stop-over to a 'transit' of less than 24 hours.

Before you commit, do a dummy booking and check out the fees and taxes associated with your QFF points redemption - they can be quite high. Sometimes the cheapest paid fare is comparable to the fees and taxes charged on a points ticket (and of course you save the points!).

Are you looking to put the kids on the same 'points' ticket as yourself? if not, that may introduce complications (being on separate tickets, in case there are problems with seating etc).

I hope @Mattg looks in here - he will have better info

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi, Im a newbie here, starting to look at planning a trip to Europe in 2023, around sept/oct. I have found reasonable routes from Perth to Europe by going via Dubai to Athens, however the return leg is proving hard to find . Im looking for a departure city in possibly France, Germany or Spain to get back to Perth, which uses the fewest points in economy class. Im also travelling with kids a stop over possibility is high on my agenda. I know the routes will possibly change but Im hoping for some idea of what would be the best option

As you know awards are distance based. Qantas/Emirates and American Airlines are all on the cheaper award chart, so out of all of those, the one with the shortest distance is likely to be Emirates out of Europe (Qantas will require you to fly via London). you could connect in Singapore however between EK and QF.

A stopover will increase the points as it will be two awards... so your choices are either (a) stop for less than 24 hours, or (b) take the award only as far as singapore, then buy cheap tickets on Scoot (or similar) to Perth. Another option would be to take Emirates to Bali, stopover there, then get cheap tickets Bali-Perth (for cash).

 

[Mattg]

It's very hard to predict what routes are going to have availability, and how many points will be required, if you're not travelling until 2023 A lot can change between now and then!

Since you still have plenty of time to save up points, my advice if you're not planning to travel for another 3 years is to start collecting Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles. The number of miles required from Europe to Perth is generally lower than with Qantas Frequent Flyer, there are no fuel surcharges/carrier charges on Singapore Airlines award flights and you'll pretty much have your pick of European departure points and flight times. (And you can travel to Perth for a particularly low amount of KrisFlyer miles by departing from Istanbul.)

 

[LaraD]

thanks all that's some really great advice. Ive got a lot of research to do I think. And I hadn't thought about S ingapore air, also I like the idea of getting to bali or singapore and buying cheap tix from there.
thanks so much.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Do note about the expiry of points too, QF has 18 months of nil activity, and SQ have 36 months flat, after which points expire.
With QF, so long as you have points going in, your QF account will always be considered as active.
Set up if you havent, QF questions and answers, and have your mobile number on their system, not unknown for points to "disappear", ie, get stolen, ie, get used by others who somehow have gotten into a QFF members account.
With 2fa, you need to have questions and answers set up, so that if you have to log into your QFF account, they will send a 6 digit code to a mobile, or you can answer questions, 3 of them, for which you would have provided answers.
Don't laugh, people on here have said they have discovered their QFF points being used by others to book flights, till 2fa came more into use with QFF.
Trying to log in while in Aust, I think now adays, its all 2fa, as in 2 factor authentication.