I think I lucked the holy grail….

[FTGNRG]

As a seasoned QF Platinum FF and a very diligent FF points user. I have never been able to score a EK F from Aus to London. I’ve never even travelled EK. So it certainly isn’t “nothing”. Good job and enjoy the trip.

Not sure how many points you have, but I recommend a reward seat (in any class on any airline) for the return. Otherwise you may find one way international flights cost at least 75% of what a return would fare would be.

Problem is I couldn’t book a mixed class return reward, and even with buying points for top up, I wasn’t keen on coming home via Dallas….given it’s winter. I found a Qatar one way in economy for 1500, so I will survive. Points balance is essentially wiped out now…I have i think 34k left.

Post automatically merged: Wednesday at 4:46 PM

What were the taxes before Points Plus Pay? IIRC they're somewhere around the $2.5-3k mark?

1,888 or something like that…I could have paid all of it with points and being left with I think 840 points….but I did have a budget, so took some of that!

 

[FTGNRG]

Could you check the cost to ship anything extra that you happen to buy back home instead of paying the extra baggage allowance.
Also nice score its always great to see the not so higher ups getting these wins

Flying home on Qatar which has a 30kg allowance. Should be fine, depending on how BIG a Figgy pudding Mother dearest wants

 

[jpp42]

I wasn’t keen on coming home via Dallas….given it’s winter

I'm not sure what this means, Dallas in winter is great - it's a southern US city and the weather is benign and delays are minimal. In terms of the US major Oneworld hubs, where you should avoid in winter is ORD (and to some extent JFK, though it's much better than ORD). Do avoid Dallas in the summer, as it can be plagued by thunderstorm delays... JFK or LAX would be the better choices then in terms of QF ports.

 

[FTGNRG]

Congrats! I'm sure you'll enjoy EK First class.

As an aside though, I would generally recommend against using points + pay to pay the taxes for any amount as AFAIK it means you can no longer cancel or change for 6000/5000 pts respectively, which is one of the biggest advantages of classic reward tickets.

Fair point. But I had a budget, and so I decided to pay for the flight just under what my hypothetical budget for that leg was going to be anyway.

 

[FTGNRG]

I'm not sure what this means, Dallas in winter is great - it's a southern US city and the weather is benign and delays are minimal. In terms of the US major Oneworld hubs, where you should avoid in winter is ORD (and to some extent JFK, though it's much better than ORD).

True…but to be honest I would just rather avoid the US…transiting unfamiliar airports while exhausted is not my idea of fun. If it was Dubai, Singapore, Doha, Jo’burg, this girl could do it with her eyes closed…

 

[FTGNRG]

I also hope you enjoy the flight immensely. I’ve never managed to get an F redemption, so I grew with the others that it is quite a big deal! Your flight home will be sadder than usual though after experiencing the joys of F. Prepare yourself!

Oh I am preparing for serious FOMO. Am hoping the after meeting dinner on the Thursday night, couple with a manic shopping Friday will exhaust me enough I just sleep through the sad!

 

[jpp42]

True…but to be honest I would just rather avoid the US…transiting unfamiliar airports while exhausted is not my idea of fun. If it was Dubai, Singapore, Doha, Jo’burg, this girl could do it with her eyes closed…

Oh agreed about the US in general, I was just commenting that winter is actually the preferred time for DFW in particular. DFW does have international transit for your luggage, but you still have to pass through immigration (and have/obtain rights to enter the US, i.e. get an ESTA or visa), which is annoying.

 

[drron]

I'm not sure what this means, Dallas in winter is great - it's a southern US city and the weather is benign and delays are minimal. In terms of the US major Oneworld hubs, where you should avoid in winter is ORD (and to some extent JFK, though it's much better than ORD). Do avoid Dallas in the summer, as it can be plagued by thunderstorm delays... JFK or LAX would be the better choices then in terms of QF ports.

Not all the time. On one occasion when we were flying NRT-DFW in December about 15 years ago neither of the 2 inbounds for DFW had been able to leave DFW because of a blizzard. AA always treated us well and when we arrived at NRT and saw the cancelled signs panic set in. But on getting to the check in they had already transferred us to an alternate flight. Yes NRT -ORD.

 

[jpp42]

Not all the time. On one occasion when we were flying NRT-DFW in December about 15 years ago neither of the 2 inbounds for DFW had been able to leave DFW because of a blizzard. AA always treated us well and when we arrived at NRT and saw the cancelled signs panic set in. But on getting to the check in they had already transferred us to an alternate flight. Yes NRT -ORD.

Well, there's always someone with a counter-example

Yes, winter weather in southern US locations can be more impactful because they simply aren't prepared, and will take longer to do things like clear runways, and they might not have anti-icing capability, etc. But it's still quite rare.... though ironic that ORD was better in that situation.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Flying home on Qatar which has a 30kg allowance. Should be fine, depending on how BIG a Figgy pudding Mother dearest wants

Another "well done" on getting F.
Trust me you will love it, and good on you for thinking of bringing Mum home a puddin' @FTGNRG
Look forward to your TR

 

[FTGNRG]

Another "well done" on getting F.
Trust me you will love it, and good on you for thinking of bringing Mum home a puddin' @FTGNRG
Look forward to your TR

Yeah, well the figgy pudding from Fortnum's is kinda my fault from last year…..I bought a tiny one for us to share on Xmas day, and got told in no uncertain terms “When you go to your BMJ meeting in person this year, we need another one, preferably bigger….”

 

[RSD]

Going via the U.S. might have gotten you a bigger baggage allowance due to the piece rules that apply to flights to/from the U.S.

Can concur that when it does snow at DFW then it does all turn to cactus - spent most of a day once in a AA lounge there watching flight after flight to CLL get cancelled due to the snow - eventually ended up getting put on a bus with a whole bunch of college kids.