Help me get to Canada...

[kangarooflyer88]

Amazing! These are the smarts I was after! I hadn't even looked at Oakland as an option. I reckon might be able to make this work. To at least have something locked in. And then I'll keep monitoring if connection opens up on UA.

One thing to watch out for is the pain that is getting from SFO to OAK. You need to take a couple of BART trains to get over to the other airport. For an individual traveller that may not be a big deal but for a family travelling it can be a pain. The other thing to consider (and something I forgot to mention before) is baggage. Generally, anyone economy ticket within North America (including flights from Hawaii) won't include baggage. Supposing you don't hold elite status on Virgin or Qantas, you could very well have a hefty checked bag charge thereby negating any "savings" from using points. Ideally, you'd like to have everything on one ticket and make it to/from Australia so you get the free bags. This also has the benefit of giving you MC99 protection in the event of delays and cancellations (aside from your rights under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulation for trips to/from Canada).

 

[travelislife]

One thing to watch out for is the pain that is getting from SFO to OAK. You need to take a couple of BART trains to get over to the other airport. For an individual traveller that may not be a big deal but for a family travelling it can be a pain. The other thing to consider (and something I forgot to mention before) is baggage. Generally, anyone economy ticket within North America (including flights from Hawaii) won't include baggage. Supposing you don't hold elite status on Virgin or Qantas, you could very well have a hefty checked bag charge thereby negating any "savings" from using points. Ideally, you'd like to have everything on one ticket and make it to/from Australia so you get the free bags. This also has the benefit of giving you MC99 protection in the event of delays and cancellations (aside from your rights under Canada's Air Passenger Protection Regulation for trips to/from Canada).

Thanks for this. Yes I am platinum with VA, which is great for baggage on United, and lounge access as well when flying United.

Yes I would love to have it all on the one ticket going over. If we split tickets we wouldn't do a same day transfer, so it would include 1 night in a hotel near Oakland. Yes transfer would be annoying with all our bags, but we have done plenty of train transfers before with our kids, including in Japan in January with all our ski bags.

24,000 points plus $6 from Oakland to Kelowna is a great deal. Do FF bookings not include any baggage on Westjet?

 

[travelislife]

Always a negative somewhere in this game...looks like we would be up for at least $300 in baggage fees, unless I could wrangle a status match from my VA plat to Westjets FF programme. Unlikely. Also assuming they don't charge it per sector for a connecting flight?

Edit: Whoops...ignore the above...looking up Alaska Airlines baggage fees now!

Edit: Alaska look similar costs. USD$35 per bag. We would probably have 5-6 bags because of ski gear so yea AUD$300 total. But would try and wrangle a status match to try and save it on a couple.

Alrighty...thanks for all the help in here, will cross check final bits and pieces with the wife tonight and hopefully lock it in!

 

[Happy Dude]

Thanks for this. Yes I am platinum with VA, which is great for baggage on United, and lounge access as well when flying United.

Only one guest inclusive of children. Not good for a family of four. You'd need spouse to be SG or WP too, or hope for a lounge angel (but be prepared for a dragon).

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Always a negative somewhere in this game...looks like we would be up for at least $300 in baggage fees, unless I could wrangle a status match from my VA plat to Westjets FF programme. Unlikely. Also assuming they don't charge it per sector for a connecting flight?

You do get free baggage on airlines provided you have elite status in the right program. For WestJet specifically you would need to have either WestJet elite status or status with Delta Airlines (one of their partners). At Present Delta Airlines will match your Virgin Australia Platinum status over to Delta Airlines Platinum which would get you preferred seating on WestJet, access to their lounge in Calgary and importantly for you additional baggage allowance. However, wait before you pull the trigger here! The matched status is valid for 90 days from when you request it, so you would want to put in the request just prior to you taking the trip. For most airlines, the status you hold at the time of travel will dictate what you are entitled to in terms of baggage and lounge access. Also, if you somehow manage to earn $3,750 MQD you can keep the status through 2027. WestJet doesn't have a status match at present.

In terms of Qantas, yes they do have a partnership with WestJet allowing you to book award flights on WestJet using your Qantas points. However, Qantas status gets you nothing on WestJet in terms of extra luggage or priority anything.

Edit: Whoops...ignore the above...looking up Alaska Airlines baggage fees now!

Edit: Alaska look similar costs. USD$35 per bag. We would probably have 5-6 bags because of ski gear so yea AUD$300 total. But would try and wrangle a status match to try and save it on a couple.

The thing to watch out for with Alaska is they have a weight limit of 50 lbs per bag even if you are in business and. have Qantas elite status, meaning you'd have to pay extra for oversize bags. Also if you book a classic award with Qantas on WestJet you will receive no complimentary baggage. This is also true I believe using Delta SkyMiles to book the flight.

With that being said if you manage to wrangle OneWorld status then yes you should be able to check bags in for free. One other gambit (if I may call it that) is to look at business class. Whilst it's true economy doesn't have baggage allowance, business just about always does.

As for connecting itineraries, the rule has always been that only one carrier's baggage policy applies for all sectors. Which carrier that is depends on the specific of your travel. In your case, supposing this is a strictly North American itinerary the carrier that first appears on the ticket will be the baggage rules that apply for the whole trip. So for instance, if you flew United over to Calgary from San Francisco then connected onto Air Canada, it would be United's baggage rules that apply for the whole journey. Conversely, if you flew WestJet from Kelowna to Vancouver then flew Qantas from Vancouver to Sydney, it would be WestJet's rules that apply. Note: this rule is completely different from the rest of the world which applies the most significant carrier (MSC) rule.

Only one guest inclusive of children. Not good for a family of four. You'd need spouse to be SG or WP too, or hope for a lounge angel (but be prepared for a dragon).

Correct and here is the link for that. It should be noted that you must have at least one international flight (i.e. US <> Canada) in your itinerary to be eligible to use the United lounge. Also, it should be noted that if you earned at least 1300 status credits in the year following you earning Platinum status, you can nominate someone to be Velocity Gold such as your spouse. If you did that then in theory you shouldn't have any problems as each of you would guest in one child. It should again be pointed out (and apologies for beating a dead horse here) that if you are travelling business class again between Canada and the US, you would have American AAdmirals lounge access, in United business at United Club locations. I should warn you that either the AAdmirals or United Club lounge will be a bit of a let down, so don't set your expectations high here. The best domestic lounges (aside from perhaps the Qantas First lounge at LAX) would be the American Flagship lounges, however access to those is limited to Qantas Gold (or better) elites or OneWorld Sapphire or Emerald Elites who belong to any program except American or Alaska.