Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Matt_01]

@GaryLG I can understand your confusion and many on this site quote QF rules, read into them on way to many levels and to the best of my knowledge the QF booking engine is not owned by QF. These are just my thoughts:

• You wanted to make a booking with your daughter and travel home on different sectors, this is just not possible unless the booking is split and the OWA rules will kick in for each booking.
• QF announced sometime last year that no change/ QF penalty fees (change or cancellation) would be applied to OW reward bookings made before 28 Feb 22 and know changes are permitted through to Dec 22 without penalty points.

Feel free to send me a PM if you would like more information

 

[GaryLG]

@GaryLG I can understand your confusion and many on this site quote QF rules, read into them on way to many levels and to the best of my knowledge the QF booking engine is not owned by QF. These are just my thoughts:

• You wanted to make a booking with your daughter and travel home on different sectors, this is just not possible unless the booking is split and the OWA rules will kick in for each booking.
• QF announced sometime last year that no change/ QF penalty fees (change or cancellation) would be applied to OW reward bookings made before 28 Feb 22 and know changes are permitted through to Dec 22 without penalty points.

Feel free to send me a PM if you would like more information

Thanks for that, I'll keep your offer in mind.

I hadn't realised they didn't own the booking engine, on one level that seems crazy but in this day, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

 

[burlmy]

Has anyone managed to include AS in a Business class OWA? I've been looking at what new options have opened up since AS has joined OW. However the Qantas online booking system is treating AS domestic "first class" (CDIJ) as being equivalent to first class for redemption purposes. Therefore it charges the number of points required for first class and including an AS flight would bring the whole booking up to 455k instead of 318k.

On routes where AA and AS both operate, you can see the Qantas website is quoting AA domestic first class at the business class rate, but AS first class at the first class rate. For example, LAX-SEA is 43,500 on AS and 27,600 on AA.

Interestingly, the QF partner earning tables have been updated, so you would only get the business class earn rate if you were to pay the cash fare. And the website obviously knows that AS CDIJ is business class, as it gives you an information note on the booking that the flight will be in business even though it is charging you the points for first.

Looking at the same redemption using BA avios, AS first is quoted at the business class rate.

It just looks to me that they haven't updated their systems properly since AS joined OW, but QF customer service don't see there is a problem. Any ideas?

 

[Danger]

Has anyone managed to include AS in a Business class OWA? I've been looking at what new options have opened up since AS has joined OW. However the Qantas online booking system is treating AS domestic "first class" (CDIJ) as being equivalent to first class for redemption purposes. Therefore it charges the number of points required for first class and including an AS flight would bring the whole booking up to 455k instead of 318k.

On routes where AA and AS both operate, you can see the Qantas website is quoting AA domestic first class at the business class rate, but AS first class at the first class rate. For example, LAX-SEA is 43,500 on AS and 27,600 on AA.

Interestingly, the QF partner earning tables have been updated, so you would only get the business class earn rate if you were to pay the cash fare. And the website obviously knows that AS CDIJ is business class, as it gives you an information note on the booking that the flight will be in business even though it is charging you the points for first.

Looking at the same redemption using BA avios, AS first is quoted at the business class rate.

It just looks to me that they haven't updated their systems properly since AS joined OW, but QF customer service don't see there is a problem. Any ideas?

It absolutely is a problem, as you've noted.

Are you seeing something like the following, where the dodgy QF award booking tool shows a seat in F but the exclamation point saying it's actually in another class?

 

[burlmy]

It absolutely is a problem, as you've noted.

Are you seeing something like the following, where the dodgy QF award booking tool shows a seat in F but the exclamation point saying it's actually in another class?

Yep exactly, so it knows its equivalent to business, but wants to charge you as first!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Has anyone managed to include AS in a Business class OWA? I've been looking at what new options have opened up since AS has joined OW. However the Qantas online booking system is treating AS domestic "first class" (CDIJ) as being equivalent to first class for redemption purposes. Therefore it charges the number of points required for first class and including an AS flight would bring the whole booking up to 455k instead of 318k.

On routes where AA and AS both operate, you can see the Qantas website is quoting AA domestic first class at the business class rate, but AS first class at the first class rate. For example, LAX-SEA is 43,500 on AS and 27,600 on AA.

Interestingly, the QF partner earning tables have been updated, so you would only get the business class earn rate if you were to pay the cash fare. And the website obviously knows that AS CDIJ is business class, as it gives you an information note on the booking that the flight will be in business even though it is charging you the points for first.

Looking at the same redemption using BA avios, AS first is quoted at the business class rate.

It just looks to me that they haven't updated their systems properly since AS joined OW, but QF customer service don't see there is a problem. Any ideas?

Discussed here at post #60: Alaska Airlines joining Oneworld - seems a known issue atm.

 

[Danger]

Yep exactly, so it knows its equivalent to business, but wants to charge you as first!

Keep pushing QF until you get an appropriate resolution (i.e. someone who doesn't have his or her head stuck in the sand).

Discussed here at post #60: Alaska Airlines joining Oneworld - seems a known issue atm.

Known to us, maybe. To Qantas, apparently not. Going by what burlmy said, it's not an "issue" for Qantas at all.

 

[burlmy]

Keep pushing QF until you get an appropriate resolution (i.e. someone who doesn't have his or her head stuck in the sand).



Known to us, maybe. To Qantas, apparently not. Going by what burlmy said, it's not an "issue" for Qantas at all.

Thanks hadn't seen the new posts in the other thread.

Just playing with dummy bookings at this stage so no real urgency for me to justify the effort/frustration of trying to get them to fix it. What they told me so far was that charging at the first class rate was correct as "each airline chooses their own fare class indicators and they are not always consistent with other airlines and some of our partner airlines do charge more points per mile for reward seats"

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Keep pushing QF until you get an appropriate resolution (i.e. someone who doesn't have his or her head stuck in the sand).



Known to us, maybe. To Qantas, apparently not. Going by what burlmy said, it's not an "issue" for Qantas at all.

Yeah - but reservations/call centre prolly don't care that much. Maybe worth a more official channel like an email to the FF service centre might get some action.

 

[Chesty]

Well, with the booking errors still showing up and preventing me from booking a trip online, took my chance on a long wait time on the phone and only to get someone that had no idea. Got a few flights in when she told me to hold the line and proceeded to hang up on me….too hard obviously.

Doing this over the phone is going to be a nightmare, or hope that they sort their booking engine out.

 

[cambriamarsh]

Well, with the booking errors still showing up and preventing me from booking a trip online, took my chance on a long wait time on the phone and only to get someone that had no idea. Got a few flights in when she told me to hold the line and proceeded to hang up on me….too hard obviously.

Doing this over the phone is going to be a nightmare, or hope that they sort their booking engine out.

There can be pleasant surprises as well. My one and only J trip so far we were able to change from Y to J for NAP to LGW the next day on the phone while on a bus in Sorrento, using the South African call centre!

 

[aikman]

Managed to select all my flights and get through to the payment page and then this happened…does this mean it’s a phone call booking now?

I get an error when trying to book HEL-HND-MEL.

I changed it to HEL-HND-SYD-MEL and it went through just fine.

So who knows why these errors come up.

 

[DC3]

Has anyone managed to include AS in a Business class OWA? I've been looking at what new options have opened up since AS has joined OW. However the Qantas online booking system is treating AS domestic "first class" …

AS domestic award flight bookings are not like AA. My understanding is that QF oneworld Business awards on AS will always book into Economy at this stage. So, the oneworld 318,000 point award will allow for AS in economy, but not ‘First’.

This is not a QF error. This is an AS matter. There are seperate award charts for the various oneworld partners. If I want to fly on AS, as part of a QF oneworld 318,000 point award, then it’s in Coach. Maybe someone will provide an update when this changes.

In my case, because of this issue, I’m not looking at AS flights for my oneworld award planning for 2022, and just sticking with AA.

Edited

 

[Matt_01]

This is not a QF error. This is an AS matter. There are seperate award charts for the various oneworld partners. If I want to fly on AS, as part of a QF oneworld 318,000 point award, then it’s in Coach. Maybe someone will provide an update when this changes.

In my case, because of this issue, I’m not looking at AS flights for my oneworld award planning for 2022, and just sticking with AA.

This is also my understanding, it was only a few years back when AA aligned their fare buckets to be similar to QF and at the time there were complaints that QFFers would no longer earn SCs and points based on the AA F rates at a J price this was once a good loop hole. I suspect over time AS tables will be adjusted.

 

[GaryLG]

Just tried a test booking of

MEL-HND-LHR-KEF-LHR-MEL

but the points blew out. Guessing I might have broken a rule going back to LHR? Is that it?

Strangely though, when I tried

MEL-HND-LHR-KEF-HEL-MEL the HEL-MEL flight was routed through HND but I guess that didn't count? Made for a much longer flight though.

 

[Chesty]

There are some weird things going on with HND. I have had booking issues and through the process of elimination worked out that flying into NRT and out of HND direct back to MEL is not allowed. Yet if I change to flying out of HND the long way via SYD it allows the booking which is a pain.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just tried a test booking of

MEL-HND-LHR-KEF-LHR-MEL

but the points blew out. Guessing I might have broken a rule going back to LHR? Is that it?

Strangely though, when I tried

MEL-HND-LHR-KEF-HEL-MEL the HEL-MEL flight was routed through HND but I guess that didn't count? Made for a much longer flight though.

Prices out for me ok at the correct levels. Make sure you're using at least two OW carriers other than QF, and only one stopover in any one city. Going through LHR twice is not a problem, but only one of those can be a stopover (more than 24 hours) if that's what you want (the other can only be a transit).

 

[Chesty]

Just remember going through LHR will ramp up your taxes big time…even if only transiting. For my trip and 2 pax, increased the taxes by $1400.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just remember going through LHR will ramp up your taxes big time…even if only transiting. For my trip and 2 pax, increased the taxes by $1400.

If you are only in transit, on a single ticket, with less than 24 hours the luxury departure tax shouldn't apply.

 

[GaryLG]

Prices out for me ok at the correct levels. Make sure you're using at least two OW carriers other than QF, and only one stopover in any one city. Going through LHR twice is not a problem, but only one of those can be a stopover (more than 24 hours) if that's what you want (the other can only be a transit).

That's really what I was after though I wasn't finding outbound flights so I was stretching the time there. I either need to find better timing flights or a different transit point between the two flights.

Post automatically merged: Oct 11, 2021

Just remember going through LHR will ramp up your taxes big time…even if only transiting. For my trip and 2 pax, increased the taxes by $1400.

Thanks, another good reason then for an alternative transit point.