Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Battymum]

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

Hi all. Just wanted to share our final, locked in 280k itinerary FOR 2 X pax and one lap infant now that we have booked our last legs for June 2016. While we incurred a few set of change fees building this itinerary, and it differs a bit from the initial plan, I'm pretty happy with the final mix we've achieved (most of the flights we wanted, minimal taxes and the ability to tack on a second trip next June in the Top End, all before my daughter turns 2 on July 2). After 50 plus hours clocked up to the booking process, I'm now finally ready to leave it alone and to focus on the upcoming trip

Something else I wanted to share - we are ending our journey in Adelaide, and I'd assumed that we would be able to do this, as long as we left enough miles for the return trip to Melbourne (the originating city for this booking), without a need to actually book that as a leg. However, the system wouldn't allow us to end in ADL - we had to book the last leg back from ADL-MEL.

Dec 2015 - Jan 2016
((ADL - MEL (separate booking, cost))
MEL-HKG-JFK (CX, STOPOVER)
JFK-MAD-BCN (IB, STOPOVER)
((BCN - FRA (SURFACE SECTOR))
FRA-HKG-AKL (CX, STOPOVER)
AKL-BNE-ADL (QF, STOPOVER)

June 2016
ADL-DRW (STOPOVER)
DRW-ADL-MEL.

Total miles: 34,998
Total combined taxes (2 x adults, 1 lap infant): $1,340.71
Total number of calls to QF call centre: 18
All sectors in J

Thanks to all who provided assistance as I navigated through the research and booking process, the advice has been invaluable!

i had to had to go back to page 235 to find it - but this trip seems to have been ticketed. The trip hasn't been started yet - I wonder if OP is still lurking.

 

[Battymum]

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

Thanks vetrade. The QF call centre operator was quite amused. DRW was literally the only suitable northern Australian destination we could get to within the mileage we had, when factoring in the requirement for the last leg back to MEL. Ideally, with a lap infant, we would have preferred to cut the mileage down by initially heading to JFK via DFW, and back to ADL from AKL via SYD, however after months of daily checking for new award availability to check up, I'm calling it a day and locking in. Should be an amazing trip!

And then this . So it seems legit.

 

[coles525]

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

Vetrade: thanks for the assistance, so far I've got the following:

MEL-SYD-SIN-CMB-DEL-HKG-JNB-LON-ORD = 26080 mi

8,900 or less to search for...

If I add MEL, total is now: 35743 mi

 

[vetrade]

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

Coles525, the easiest fix I think would be to buy a MEL - SYD return ticket and start your award itinerary from SYD. This would save you a lot of messing around trying to re-jig your OS segments

 

[coles525]

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

Already booked heaps. Could there be a chance of changing?

Will be contacting them now.

 

[vetrade]

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

Already booked heaps. Could there be a chance of changing?

Will be contacting them now.

Just delete your MEL - SYD leg when you add your next flight - don't pay an extra change fee if you can avoid it.

 

[coles525]

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

Just delete your MEL - SYD leg when you add your next flight - don't pay an extra change fee if you can avoid it.

They would allow deleting Melb - Syd, but keeping Syd - CMB (via SIN)?

Or could they have some un-written rules saying they must delete it all from Melb, then rebook from Syd? (I'm prepared for cough!).

 

[coles525]

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

SYD-(SIN)-CMB-DEL-(HKG)-JNB-(LON)-ORD-LAX-SYD-MEL = 35312 mi (connecting flights)

(EDITED)

SYD-SIN-CMB-DEL-HKG-JNB-LON-ORD-LAX-SYD = 34873 mi


Cash fares would be: Melb - Syd / Internal flights (if any) for each country) / Syd - Melb.

 

[Doctore1003]

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

SYD-SIN-CMB-DEL-HKG-JNB-LON-ORD-LAX-SYD = 34873 mi

Hi coles525, have you considered whether you have enough room to maneuver if it's difficult to find seats on the LAX-SYD leg? From my recent experience it appears some days/weeks there is no J award availability for that flight. If you are limited with dates you want to travel, you should have some backup flight options (eg via BNE, or SFO-SYD, or even via NRT with JL) and make sure you'll still be within the 35k limit.

 

[coles525]

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

Hi coles525, have you considered whether you have enough room to maneuver if it's difficult to find seats on the LAX-SYD leg? From my recent experience it appears some days/weeks there is no J award availability for that flight. If you are limited with dates you want to travel, you should have some backup flight options (eg via BNE, or SFO-SYD, or even via NRT with JL) and make sure you'll still be within the 35k limit.

Have not given thought about LAX - SYD being unavailable on the day of flight.

Will look into SFO / BNE and others tomorrow.

 

[vetrade]

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

They would allow deleting Melb - Syd, but keeping Syd - CMB (via SIN)?

Or could they have some un-written rules saying they must delete it all from Melb, then rebook from Syd? (I'm prepared for cough!).

Shouldn't be any problem just deleting the MEL - SYD leg.

 

[hossein_au]

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

- anyone else? I am sure I have read of trips being broken up somehow - we just can't take longer than 12 weeks and I would like to make maximum use of the deal.

Is it bad that my concern with this plan would be missing out on lounge access at SYD ??
Is there a lounge in CBR? And would I be entitled to use it given a CBR start would possibly mean an economy seat until the next flight .

Cannot answer the other questions, but CBR does have three very nice Qantas lounges (QC, J, and CL). I have been to almost all major domestic lounges, and CBR lounges are right up there, if not better than, other QF lounges in the country. Also starting from CBR does not mean an economy seat to the next stop; all QF flights to and from CBR (with the exception of Dash-8) have J seats. Even if you do end up flying economy, I believe you should still get access to J lounge in CBR because of the long haul J flight you will have in the same day.

 

[coles525]

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

Was on the phone with QF, I've re-booked another ticket to Syd (online any seat award).

They have suggested/told that to get under the 35,000 miles limit, I would need to take off the flight between LON-ORD, as flying back home (Syd or even Bris), is via MEL (my final stop!) which takes it over the limit.


SYD-SIN-CMB-DEL-HKG-JNB-LON-ORD-LAX-SYD (via melb)

MEL-SYD (single flight) [just booked]
SYD-SIN-CMB-DEL-HKG-JNB-LON (stop) [booked: deleting Melb-Syd at next phone call]
LON-ORD (130,000 QFF + £666.90 pounds!) (QFF online test booking)
LAX-MEL (makes 29,650 miles) or HNL-SYD-MEL (makes 27,241 miles)

 

[Battymum]

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

Cannot answer the other questions, but CBR does have three very nice Qantas lounges (QC, J, and CL). I have been to almost all major domestic lounges, and CBR lounges are right up there, if not better than, other QF lounges in the country. Also starting from CBR does not mean an economy seat to the next stop; all QF flights to and from CBR (with the exception of Dash-8) have J seats. Even if you do end up flying economy, I believe you should still get access to J lounge in CBR because of the long haul J flight you will have in the same day.

Yeah, was not thinking of all the pollies that CBR would cater to. Here I am thinking its just another international airport I can get to quite easily.
First world problems, I guess.

But anyone have any comment on Adelees trip, I tried to send a PM but I don't have the required post count.

 

[vetrade]

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

Was on the phone with QF, I've re-booked another ticket to Syd (online any seat award).

They have suggested/told that to get under the 35,000 miles limit, I would need to take off the flight between LON-ORD, as flying back home (Syd or even Bris), is via MEL (my final stop!) which takes it over the limit.


SYD-SIN-CMB-DEL-HKG-JNB-LON-ORD-LAX-SYD (via melb)

MEL-SYD (single flight) [just booked]
SYD-SIN-CMB-DEL-HKG-JNB-LON (stop) [booked: deleting Melb-Syd at next phone call]
LON-ORD (130,000 QFF + £666.90 pounds!) (QFF online test booking)
LAX-MEL (makes 29,650 miles) or HNL-SYD-MEL (makes 27,241 miles)

For something which is straight forward I can't believe how needlessly complicated this has become, coles525. What's this story about "flying back home (SYD or even BNE) is via MEL" ???????? WTF? That just does not make any sense.

There is absolutely NO need for you to drop the LHR - ORD flight. As said before, to get under the 35000 limit the simplest and most obvious thing to do is for you to make separate arrangements to fly MEL - SYD at the start and SYD - MEL on your return. Flights home from LAX go to either BNE, SYD or MEL. If you fly from LAX to either BNE or SYD you don't have a problem. As pointed out by someone else LAX - SYD seats can be hard to come by so BNE might be a better option for you. Then you can tack on a BNE - SYD flight (included in your OW RTW). Then you just need a separate ticket from SYD - MEL. The hopping from BNE - SYD - MEL is not ideal but it gets the job done - with maybe a bit of inconvenience of extra transit time.

I would not entertain for 1 minute the idea of dropping the LHR - ORD flight - apart from being completely unnecessary that would screw up one of the linchpin connections on your whole itinerary - it would be plain crazy to do that given the simplicity of the alternate fix.

 

[Boca68]

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

For something which is straight forward I can't believe how needlessly complicated this has become, coles525. What's this story about "flying back home (SYD or even BNE) is via MEL" ???????? WTF? That just does not make any sense.

There is absolutely NO need for you to drop the LHR - ORD flight. As said before, to get under the 35000 limit the simplest and most obvious thing to do is for you to make separate arrangements to fly MEL - SYD at the start and SYD - MEL on your return. Flights home from LAX go to either BNE, SYD or MEL. If you fly from LAX to either BNE or SYD you don't have a problem. As pointed out by someone else LAX - SYD seats can be hard to come by so BNE might be a better option for you. Then you can tack on a BNE - SYD flight (included in your OW RTW). Then you just need a separate ticket from SYD - MEL. The hopping from BNE - SYD - MEL is not ideal but it gets the job done - with maybe a bit of inconvenience of extra transit time.

I would not entertain for 1 minute the idea of dropping the LHR - ORD flight - apart from being completely unnecessary that would screw up one of the linchpin connections on your whole itinerary - it would be plain crazy to do that given the simplicity of the alternate fix.

Have to agree.

Plus, the test booking LON-ORD at 130,000 QFF points and £666.90 wow! You could probably purchase a full flex for that price and save the QFF points for next years RTW.

 

[adelee]

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

i had to had to go back to page 235 to find it - but this trip seems to have been ticketed. The trip hasn't been started yet - I wonder if OP is still lurking.

Sure am Perfectly legit. All ticketted and ready to go. One thing to remember with domestic travel though is that a stopover is counted as any transit that goes overnight (so less than 24 hours).

 

[vetrade]

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

........ But anyone have any comment on Adelees trip, I tried to send a PM but I don't have the required post count.

Yes, I'll comment, Battymum..............my first instinct was that your initial itinerary might be knocked back because you were tacking on the second leg trip to PER after you had returned to OZ. My presumption was that CBR and SYD would be treated by QF as being "equivalent". On reflection, I had no good reason to presume that and I now think that your itinerary would be within the rules. The critical rule is 14.3.5 "A Classic Award Itinerary must contain no more than one departure from the city or country of first departure on that Itinerary".

You have one departure from CBR and one departure from OZ so (subject to the other fare conditions) it should be legitimate for you to do the PER add-on. The whole idea of "getting two trips out of one RTW award booking" came about with people discussing how to circumvent the "only one departure from the country of first departure allowed" issue by starting the award from somewhere offshore such as SIN or HKG and using their "return" to Oz at the half way point as just another stopover. Domestic second leg trips, I think, tended to be overlooked until Adelee realised how she could take advantage by including her DRW trip. Hopefully the critiques and confusion about your itinerary haven't caused you too much angst.

 

[Battymum]

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

Just want to make sure its clarified for everyone else as well.

That could work quite well for us - I have family in Goulburn.

With my trip I thought of taking a flight from MCO to JFK -so making two stops on the east coast USA - but as it would only be in economy, I would rather pay for that one and have the option to add a domestic jaunt later in the year. (I chose Perth as its the furthest- in order to get best value - but who knows where we might go! )

 

[Battymum]

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

Sure am Perfectly legit. All ticketted and ready to go. One thing to remember with domestic travel though is that a stopover is counted as any transit that goes overnight (so less than 24 hours).

Thanks for replying Adelee - hope you have a great trip!