Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Nizar]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

That was my understanding too, but I asked in case I had misunderstood all along. Thanks for the replies.

Maybe you were thinking of xONEx's ?
I am sure there is another thread for this, as some members of this board do one frequently (annually ?) to maintain status. Oh, and to explore the world too of course lol

 

[prozac]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Maybe you were thinking of xONEx's ?...

Another thing I need to read then...

 

[JohnM]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Maybe you were thinking of xONEx's ?
I am sure there is another thread for this, as some members of this board do one frequently (annually ?) to maintain status. Oh, and to explore the world too of course lol

Ahem, I do believe that is correct .

 

[Yada7]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Seats available online don't seem to be available when ringing up and speaking to Qantas. My understanding from this thread was that there were more seats available when speaking to Qantas but my experience seems not to be the case. Is it a case of asking them to look somewhere or am I SOL.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Seats available online don't seem to be available when ringing up and speaking to Qantas. My understanding from this thread was that there were more seats available when speaking to Qantas but my experience seems not to be the case. Is it a case of asking them to look somewhere or am I SOL.

An acronym you will sometimes see in this thread is HUACA, Yada7. It stands for Hang Up And Call Again, which is what we recommend when you get advice from a QF operator that is inconsistent with your expectations - sometimes they get it wrong and sometimes they just can't be bothered being helpful and looking for you. I suggest you make a list of the exact details of the award seats you have found (date, airline, flight number, departure time etc.) and call again. You should get a different operator you can get to check for the specific flights you have found awards on.

 

[Yada7]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Thanks vetrade. I had read of HUACA and suggested I'd call back later when I had a bit more time. Operator seemed helpful enough but also a bit uncertain (told me that I couldn't book a RTW ticket online). I had all the flight numbers as you recommend and had even gone through the BA website and could see how many seats were available. Will try again at lunchtime.

 

[adelee]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I had all the flight numbers as you recommend and had even gone through the BA website and could see how many seats were available.

Be careful mentioning availability on the BA website at the outset when you next call. In my experience, many operators will flat out deny there is seat availability if you mention you've spotted it on another carrier's website - it gives them an easy out!

 

[Yada7]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

All done - some route changing but happy with the result. All J class.

MEL - HKG on Cathay Pacific
HKG - DOH - DME on Qatar, going to go by train from Moscow to Helsinki
HEL - TXL on Finnair, going to go by train from Berlin to Prague to Krakow
KRK - LHR - JFK on British Airways
EWR - HKG - NRT on Cathay Pacific
HND - SYD - MEL on Qantas

My brain hurts. I don't know how the Qantas help does that all day everyday but Helen was amazingly helpful.

Thanks to all for your help. I'll be checking in on this thread regularly and can hopefully help others.

 

[yoyo]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

can you tell us how many points you used and how much the taxes came to?

 

[Yada7]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

can you tell us how many points you used and how much the taxes came to?

280k points and $1450 taxes, each. The taxes seem high compared to other quotes but I don't understand taxes, so I guess it is what it is.

 

[yoyo]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

LHR kills you in taxes, I have been trying to build an itinerary similar to yours and have played around with flying out of Madrid instead of LHR which saves taxes but since I will be going to London, I will still need to pay for a flight to Madrid.

 

[adelee]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Also, you will have been hit with high British Airways and Qantas taxes, and to a lesser extent, Qatar. CX, on the other hand, has very low taxes.

 

[Yada7]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

London is a transit so I assume I am not being hit with the APD, just the other one. I do recall a post a bit back saying they received a refund on the portion of their taxes. It'd be a nice surprise if that happens to me but if not I'm really happy with being able to enjoy a variety of airline J classes as well as their airport lounges.

There was an AirBerlin flight from Berlin to NY but it didn't have any J-class availability.

 

[travelislife]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Also, you will have been hit with high British Airways and Qantas taxes, and to a lesser extent, Qatar. CX, on the other hand, has very low taxes.

Fuel surcharges not taxes! Taxes are what the government/airports charge generally. The $$$ after that all go directly to the airlines balance sheet.

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Fuel surcharges not taxes! Taxes are what the government/airports charge generally. The $$$ after that all go directly to the airlines balance sheet.

True but the airlines conveniently refer to them as "taxes". An ACCC enquiry is probably overdue.

 

[jxv]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Mrs jxv and I had finally clocked up enough QFF points for two OW 280k awards! We have planned our travels for 2016, booked the flights and I am now waiting for re-ticketing after the final change. This post is meant as inspiration for those who are looking for ways to use their points.

We have booked a cruise from Venice to Istanbul starting in March. The special offer included a cheap airfare to get there: $995 for two pax, plus $200 pp to be able to choose the airline and have a stopover. After the cruise we will stay in Istanbul for a few days and then fly IST-MAD-BCN on IB. We will explore Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon and Porto travelling by train, then slowly drive back to Lisbon, taking in more scenery.

Our OW award starts in Lisbon.

13 April: BA: LIS-LHR-JNB, 1st stop.
We will buy separate tickets to WDH and return and are arranging for a self-drive holiday to Etosha NP.

22 April: QF: JNB-SYD-MEL, 2nd stop, at our home base.

21 July: QF: MEL-SIN, 3rd stop.
1 August: MH: KUL-CGK and QF: CGK-SYD, 4th stop
We still have to work out what we want to do in Malaysia.

3 September: CX: BNE-HKG and BA: HKG-LHR-FRA 5th stop and final destination.
As we live in Geelong we will have to buy separate tickets SYD-MEL and MEL-BNE to get home on the 4th stop.

Great Circle Mapper shows this OW itinerary to be 34729 miles, including the distance from FRA back to the starting point LIS. That is pretty close to the maximum!

We will take some time to explore Bavaria by car and then try out a cheap Rhine cruise to Amsterdam by French cruise company Croisi. Two weeks in the Netherlands will give us the opportunity to catch up with family and friends. The return sector of the cheap fare that got us to Europe will get us back home ex AMS in early October with a stopover in BKK.

I booked LIS-LHR-JNB on-line as soon as it became available and added JNB-SYD by phone when that became available, but it did not get ticketed, despite a few more phone calls, till I recently added the final leg. At least that saved me the first change fee. In July we just wanted to travel to KUL, but even though I could see availability for two on the MH Enrich website for most dates, QF saw only one J seat on any flight. After a bit of searching I came up with the solution above. That cost another change fee.

It is thanks to the information on this forum that I have been able to accelerate our points earning and book this award with minimum fuss. Thanks everyone! Now we have to wait six months for this adventure to start.

 

[ffhound]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

LHR kills you in taxes, I have been trying to build an itinerary similar to yours and have played around with flying out of Madrid instead of LHR which saves taxes but since I will be going to London, I will still need to pay for a flight to Madrid.

Hi

I have just returned from a 140,000 point round the world trip (see my report in the trip reports forum).

I flew from Washington DC and landed at Heathrow with British Airways then a surface sectors and then flew from Amsterdam to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific. Amsterdam has much lower departure taxes and is well worth visiting.

If you do go this way make sure you visit Kinderdyke near Rotterdam.

My total taxes for my trip were $A840.

Melbourne - Sydney - Dallas - Huntsville - Washington DC
- London and Amsterdam - Hong Kong - Melbourne. If you fly via Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific you will substantially reduce your fuel surcharges as the Hong Kong government sets the rates.

cheers Peter

 

[Franky]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

(We will take some time to explore Bavaria by car and then try out a cheap Rhine cruise to Amsterdam by French cruise company Croisi. Two weeks in the Netherlands will give us the opportunity to catch up with family and friends. The return sector of the cheap fare that got us to Europe will get us back home ex AMS in early October with a stopover in BKK.)

Thanks to you too jxv for your info on the French cruise group. How did you come across them? Wouldyou be able to post a review once the cruise is over, would love to do something similar but the prices from AUS are a bit expensive.

 

[jxv]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

(We will take some time to explore Bavaria by car and then try out a cheap Rhine cruise to Amsterdam by French cruise company Croisi. Two weeks in the Netherlands will give us the opportunity to catch up with family and friends. The return sector of the cheap fare that got us to Europe will get us back home ex AMS in early October with a stopover in BKK.)

Thanks to you too jxv for your info on the French cruise group. How did you come across them? Wouldyou be able to post a review once the cruise is over, would love to do something similar but the prices from AUS are a bit expensive.

You are right that most rivercruises marketed in Australia are expensive. Croisi (French website: www.croisieurope.com, English: www.croisieurope.travel) are much cheaper, although shore excursions are extra. I found them in an internet search, where I also found positive reviews on Best CroisiEurope Cruises 2015: Reviews and Photos - Cruise Critic

If all goes to plan we will do their 6-day Strasbourg to Amsterdam cruise in September next year and I hope I will remember to write a review! You may have to remind me.

 

[Radio8tiv]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Just a quick one world award question, I'm planning to do a OW in J in 2017, and am currently saving points with Mrs.Radio. The question is, is is better to pool all the points into one account when it comes time to book so we can see and book the reward seats at the same time? Other wise I would imagine that I could book first only to have no availability when she books hers?
Not sure how it is done but would appreciate any feedback, I know it's early but I like to do my homework early.