Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[prozac]

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

kewpid, after 12 months reading I am still coming to grips with this system. That said I think I see some waste in your itinerary - /DUS/AMS/FRA/ZRH. Lots of short flights that could easily and interestingly be covered on the ground if you have the time. If you flew LGW-AMS it would be simple to catch a train Schiphol - DUS and FRA and ZRH. Alternatively LGW-FRA either train or car to DUS and AMS, back to FRA by whatever route. Reconnect your schedule, no-one knows you have done any ground travel so not included in calculations. This section of your trip looks more like business than pleasure, if you excuse my observation. There is so much to see between those cities noted. I can think of a couple of days just in the 2 hrs it would take you to drive in a straight line AMS-DUS.
Use the saved miles to fly some long distance legs in N.America/Canada

 

[travelislife]

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

kewpid, after 12 months reading I am still coming to grips with this system. That said I think I see some waste in your itinerary - /DUS/AMS/FRA/ZRH. Lots of short flights that could easily and interestingly be covered on the ground if you have the time. If you flew LGW-AMS it would be simple to catch a train Schiphol - DUS and FRA and ZRH. Alternatively LGW-FRA either train or car to DUS and AMS, back to FRA by whatever route. Reconnect your schedule, no-one knows you have done any ground travel so not included in calculations. This section of your trip looks more like business than pleasure, if you excuse my observation. There is so much to see between those cities noted. I can think of a couple of days just in the 2 hrs it would take you to drive in a straight line AMS-DUS.
Use the saved miles to fly some long distance legs in N.America/Canada

I think that kewpid is only trying to fly in to one of those cities not all of them!

 

[travelislife]

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

Cheers vetrade.

Im trying to do:
CBR-ADL (QF)
ADL-HKG (CX)
HKG to Europe (there's supposedly at least 2 Business seats on CX on all of LHR/LGW/DUS/AMS/FRA/ZRH, but Qantas' website won't play for any of them)
CDG-JFK (AA)
JFK-ZRH-HKG-MEL (CX)
MEL-CBR (QF)

Kewpid are you able to confirm you are having a stopover in HKG on the way over? I.e. greater than 24 hours? Otherwise there might be some married segment logic going on with ADL-HKG-Europe.

 

[kewpid]

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

Thanks all! I should have been a little clearer. Essentially (over the December/January period...) my partner and I want to go:

- Canberra to London/Paris
- London/Paris to New York
- New York to Canberra

Getting two business rewards for every leg during peak time is a little tricky, hence all the random connections. I also wanted to avoid BA's fuel surcharges but may have to bite the bullet.

 

[prozac]

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

I think that kewpid is only trying to fly in to one of those cities not all of them!

 

[kewpid]

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

Kewpid are you able to confirm you are having a stopover in HKG on the way over? I.e. greater than 24 hours? Otherwise there might be some married segment logic going on with ADL-HKG-Europe.

Hi travelislife - the original itinerary I tried did not have a stopvover in HKG, so that may be the issue.

 

[travelislife]

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

Hi travelislife - the original itinerary I tried did not have a stopvover in HKG, so that may be the issue.

I haven't done a search for availability but that might be the issue. There might be availability separately on ADL-HKG and HKG-Europe, but nothing for ADL-Europe. Can you add in a stopover in Hong Kong and see if it then works?

 

[Radio8tiv]

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

I haven't done a search for availability but that might be the issue. There might be availability separately on ADL-HKG and HKG-Europe, but nothing for ADL-Europe. Can you add in a stopover in Hong Kong and see if it then works?

you may also be able to fly on the A350 with QR915 into DOH then onto CDG in a A380 with QR39 or from DOH to FRA on a A350 again with QR67, if your just looking at getting to Europe and not looking at going to HKG, just another option maybe

 

[Ultan Lankford]

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

I think I know the answer to this put you do not have to start your flight in Australia?

 

[Tonkatough]

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

I experienced this same 'disappearing seats' issue when trying to go LHR-HKG-ADL on CX with a <24 hour stop-over in HGK, as part of a 280k RTW OneWorld Award. Phoned Qantas and they advised me that CX flights are frequently not updated on the Qantas website in a timely manner.


Also, the HKG-ADL segment of this trip was often visible on the Qantas website but not bookable due to lacking 'married segment logic'.


Ended up going:
LHR-PVG (surface)
HKG-ADL


Nice train ride from PVG-HKG if you have the time.

 

[madrooster]

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

I experienced this same 'disappearing seats' issue when trying to go LHR-HKG-ADL on CX with a <24 hour stop-over in HGK, as part of a 280k RTW OneWorld Award. Phoned Qantas and they advised me that CX flights are frequently not updated on the Qantas website in a timely manner.


Also, the HKG-ADL segment of this trip was often visible on the Qantas website but not bookable due to lacking 'married segment logic'.


Ended up going:
LHR-PVG (surface)
HKG-ADL


Nice train ride from PVG-HKG if you have the time.

Were you searching as LHR-ADL or LHR-HKG + HKG-ADL? You need to search as LHR-ADL.

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

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

I think I know the answer to this put you do not have to start your flight in Australia?

No you don't.
If you start outside Oz, then you can return home part way through your itinerary for a stopover, and then restart your travels again later. We use this method sometimes to effectively turn the ticket into 2 trips.

 

[cjd600]

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

No you don't.
If you start outside Oz, then you can return home part way through your itinerary for a stopover, and then restart your travels again later. We use this method sometimes to effectively turn the ticket into 2 trips.

Can this 'method' be utilised starting from a different city in Oz, or needs to be another country?

 

[Tonkatough]

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

Were you searching as LHR-ADL or LHR-HKG + HKG-ADL? You need to search as LHR-ADL.

Tried all of this, and more!

 

[kewpid]

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

After much gnashing of teeth we have settled (and booked yay!) the following:
- CBR-ADL (QF J)
- ADL-HKG (CX J)
- HKG-JFK (CX J)
- JFK-CDG (AA J)
- CDG-DOH-DPS (QR J)
- PER-CBR (QF J)

Stopping in HKG on the way over has done the trick - thanks all.

There's no availability in any class back into Australia, so we'll have to buy a cheapie DPS-PER and spend a few days in Bali. Life's tough!

 

[vetrade]

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

Can this 'method' be utilised starting from a different city in Oz, or needs to be another country?

From QF's Ts & C's:
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.

 

[vetrade]

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

After much gnashing of teeth we have settled (and booked yay!) the following:
- CBR-ADL (QF J)
- ADL-HKG (CX J)
- HKG-JFK (CX J)
- JFK-CDG (AA J)
- CDG-DOH-DPS (QR J)
- PER-CBR (QF J)

Stopping in HKG on the way over has done the trick - thanks all.

There's no availability in any class back into Australia, so we'll have to buy a cheapie DPS-PER and spend a few days in Bali. Life's tough!

Good result especially given the time of year you're travelling, kewpid. No doubt you have that warm fuzzy feeling now that you have your itinerary locked in.
Hope you don't have too short a transit in DOH - you will want to have plenty of time to enjoy the fabulous QR lounge there!

You might also still like to periodically check for better availability for flights back into Oz - you never know your luck.

 

[ablecookie]

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

I am doing some dry run to check availability for our 280k trip 3rd quarter next year.

Running into trouble on our first leg from SYD to LAX, was hoping to try out A380, checked availaibility all the way from 353 days out searching backwards and showing only Y availability. Also failed to find anything via MEL or even BNE on 747. Then no luck on BA site for AA from SYD to LAX as well.

Am I approaching this wrong way, so simply because I have no status?

 

[travelislife]

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

After much gnashing of teeth we have settled (and booked yay!) the following:
- CBR-ADL (QF J)
- ADL-HKG (CX J)
- HKG-JFK (CX J)
- JFK-CDG (AA J)
- CDG-DOH-DPS (QR J)
- PER-CBR (QF J)

Stopping in HKG on the way over has done the trick - thanks all.

There's no availability in any class back into Australia, so we'll have to buy a cheapie DPS-PER and spend a few days in Bali. Life's tough!

Good stuff. Keep an eye on it though something could open up closer to time and there has been anecdotal stories of people being able to change flights.

 

[vetrade]

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

I am doing some dry run to check availability for our 280k trip 3rd quarter next year.

Running into trouble on our first leg from SYD to LAX, was hoping to try out A380, checked availaibility all the way from 353 days out searching backwards and showing only Y availability. Also failed to find anything via MEL or even BNE on 747. Then no luck on BA site for AA from SYD to LAX as well.

Am I approaching this wrong way, so simply because I have no status?[/QUOTE

As you've found out SYD - LAX is probably the hardest route to get J award seats on, ablecookie, simply because availability is low and competition is fierce. Even pax with status struggle although some do apparently succeed by asking QF to release seats for them.

CX J award availability is generally good flying to LAX via HKG. Of course this is not ideal given that the total travel time can be around double but it may pay to lock in that option first to be sure you can get to LA, then you can hope a better option comes up. That would dependent on the longer flights being within your total distance constraints too........and you could always take the philosophical view that it gives you double the time to enjoy your J seats.

AA J availability seems a bit random (as well as being sparse) - their awards are supposedly released at 330 days which means you have to wait over 3 weeks longer than CX and QF etc. but anecdotally it seems that they can take longer than that to be released so don't just focus on the 327 - 330 day time frame. This is where the fall back position with CX seats can be beneficial - if you book them when they are available you can look for AA SYD - LAX options later when they get released and then change if you find suitable flights. IME the best way to search for J availability on AA is via their aa.com website (not the aa.com.au site - when you get the option to select your country of residence select USA). You are then looking for Business Milesaver fares which will be coloured blue (Y is green), not Business Anytime fares. AA's website allows you to scroll forward or back through the dates which makes the search easier. I just had a quick look and found J award availability for 2 pax to LAX on spasmodic dates in early April and March 2017. Make sure you check the flight details to make sure the booking class is "U". Some that show up will be connecting flights via AKL but some will be SYD - LAX direct.