Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[levelnine]

Huge release of Qantas seats to Singapore and London from late Jan to end of March.

 

[blu]

thank you!

Update: well 2 hrs with Megan in SA replaced MH-QR-QR with QF1 (A388). Awaiting ticketing.
Last QR flight had been cancelled & downgraded from J to Y, so will lose the "QR seat selection fees"' but worth it.

 

[FenderQF]

Amazing! Just booked return J. Never had the opportunity to fly the Kangaroo Route in J due to my lowly status.

 

[encryptededdy]

Good time to book before the blogs pick this up. While I won't be using these myself, thanks to @levelnine for posting here

 

[SimonR32]

Hi,

My partner and I are looking at booking a classic rewards oneworld RTW ticket via QFF points for a holiday August 2023. I am hoping you all may be able to help with some questions. Our itinerary is:

Per->Athens (Leave Early Aug 2023)
Athens -> Reykjavik
Reykjavik->Barcelona (Originally planning to book this leg ourselves outside of OW, otherwise too many Europe stops I believe)
Madrid -> Lima
Lima -> Mexico City
Cancun -> Tokyo
Tokyo -> Perth (return mid Nov 2023)

We had a previous booking for July 2020 which we had to cancel, but are having more difficulty organising this booking.

We wanted to book the start of the trip, and then the remainder once seats are available. We called Qantas twice to ask about this and both times they have said we cannot book only part of the booking early. Now because I have delayed booking I can’t find any OW rewards seats which leave Perth and would work as a connection to Athens. Originally looking PER-LHR-ATH, or PER-DXB-ATH. I am now considering booking this leg outside of the OW ticket.

• Any suggestions as to classic rewards flights which could work Perth -> Athens early August 2023?
• If we did book Per->Athens outside of the OW booking – the first trip on the OW RTW ticket would be on British Airways – I believe this would mean they would be the ticketing airline? Is that a concern? Would i need to call BA for any queries/changes?
• This would also mean we wouldn’t start and end at the same city. I don’t believe this is a problem?

The leg of the trip from Madrid to Lima would have a flight on LATAM. This is coming up as a classic reward seat on the QANTAS website but I believed they had left OW, so am unsure if this would be accepted?

Business class or Economy?

Perth to Athens is going to be very hard, try KL/Singapore/Hong Kong etc to Athens, or even through Bali (Denpasar) or even Sri Lanka or India.

No, Qantas ticket if you use Qantas points, most my previous oneworld awards have not had any Qantas flights.

Starting and ending the different cities is fine, you just need to calculate that distance in your overall limit.

LATAM isn't part of one world so no, you can't use them in the award ticket.

I don't mean to be rude, but as others have commented, with your knowledge and timing you may be biting off way more than you can chew... Maybe look at using one of the paid services that assist in booking OW award tickets?

 

[Rich]

Hi,

My partner and I are looking at booking a classic rewards oneworld RTW ticket via QFF points for a holiday August 2023. I am hoping you all may be able to help with some questions. Our itinerary is:

Per->Athens (Leave Early Aug 2023)
Athens -> Reykjavik
Reykjavik->Barcelona (Originally planning to book this leg ourselves outside of OW, otherwise too many Europe stops I believe)
Madrid -> Lima
Lima -> Mexico City
Cancun -> Tokyo
Tokyo -> Perth (return mid Nov 2023)

We had a previous booking for July 2020 which we had to cancel, but are having more difficulty organising this booking.

We wanted to book the start of the trip, and then the remainder once seats are available. We called Qantas twice to ask about this and both times they have said we cannot book only part of the booking early. Now because I have delayed booking I can’t find any OW rewards seats which leave Perth and would work as a connection to Athens. Originally looking PER-LHR-ATH, or PER-DXB-ATH. I am now considering booking this leg outside of the OW ticket.

• Any suggestions as to classic rewards flights which could work Perth -> Athens early August 2023?
• If we did book Per->Athens outside of the OW booking – the first trip on the OW RTW ticket would be on British Airways – I believe this would mean they would be the ticketing airline? Is that a concern? Would i need to call BA for any queries/changes?
• This would also mean we wouldn’t start and end at the same city. I don’t believe this is a problem?

The leg of the trip from Madrid to Lima would have a flight on LATAM. This is coming up as a classic reward seat on the QANTAS website but I believed they had left OW, so am unsure if this would be accepted?

Some of the comments back to you are a bit disappointing as it sounds like QANTAS have given you some wrong information about modifying bookings. And whilst this OWA product is not the same as a paid RTW ticket, you can still get around the world with the 35000 mile limit. (Not to mention this thread is tagged "round the world".)
I have recently started following this thread to get a better understanding of what do when the time comes (when kids are older) to make a booking. A good start is this excellent article which also gives a great insight in to how you can make the points go further in their second example itinerary (I will leave you to decipher):
How to Fly Around the World with a Qantas Oneworld Classic Flight Reward [Mega Guide]
I recommend reading and understanding that article and then coming back to this thread and reading from 20 pages or so back.

 

[Mr H]

Some of the comments back to you are a bit disappointing as it sounds like QANTAS have given you some wrong information about modifying bookings.

It would be lovely to tell the OP that everything will be wonderful, but realistically that itinerary is likely not to be available. There is no real way to sugar coat it. And yes, QF did give some incorrect advice.

And whilst this OWA product is not the same as a paid RTW ticket, you can still get around the world with the 35000 mile limit. (Not to mention this thread is tagged "round the world".)

The OWA and RTW rules are different. It is sensible to keep the discussions on separate threads because otherwise people risk receiving incorrect advice that was given with good intentions. This may also mislead others who read the thread for inspiration and tips and may not realise that what works for one type of booking does not work for the other.

 

[Rich]

The OWA and RTW rules are different. It is sensible to keep the discussions on separate threads

I don't want to argue with you over an OP who hasn't responded to any follow up questions asked, but which thread should they have used? From what I can see, if you want to visit 3 to 6 places on all corners of the globe on QF points, then this OWA is the best option you have with the points cap. (In fact given the ability to backtrack it is even better that you might expect in some respects.)
Correct me if I am wrong but if you wanted to book the equivalent of a 16 leg RTW ticket on points you would be paying for each segment individually which in business would have to be setting you back 800000+ points.

 

[Mr H]

I don't want to argue with you over an OP who hasn't responded to any follow up questions asked, but which thread should they have used? From what I can see, if you want to visit 3 to 6 places on all corners of the globe on QF points, then this OWA is the best option you have with the points cap. (In fact given the ability to backtrack it is even better that you might expect in some respects.)
Correct me if I am wrong but if you wanted to book the equivalent of a 16 leg RTW ticket on points you would be paying for each segment individually which in business would have to be setting you back 800000+ points.

The OWA is done with points. The RTW options (Explorer tickets) are revenue. The rules are different, and the OP mentioned limits on Europe which suggests he/she was considering an Explorer ticket. This illustrates quite nicely why it is important not to discuss RTW tix on the OWA thread - it confuses people. If there is no obvious existing thread for a discussion then the option is there to start a new thread.

 

[Captain Halliday]

This thread is about the Qantas Oneworld Classic flight reward. There is no requirement to go RTW.*

Oneworld’s round-the-world product is very different. It’s called the Oneworld Explorer. Details of can be found here:

Guide to the Oneworld Explorer Round-The-World Ticket

 

[Rich]

The OWA is done with points. The RTW options (Explorer tickets) are revenue. The rules are different, and the OP mentioned limits on Europe which suggests he/she was considering an Explorer ticket. This illustrates quite nicely why it is important not to discuss RTW tix on the OWA thread - it confuses people. If there is no obvious existing thread for a discussion then the option is there to start a new thread.

All good and fair enough. I guess I interpreted (perhaps wrongly) that the OP was saying they wanted help as they wanted to book a OWA and was only looking at a RTW reluctantly because of award availability.

 

[djkelly69]

looking at booking a classic rewards oneworld RTW ticket via QFF points

OP mentioned limits on Europe which suggests he/she was considering an Explorer ticket

Their first line was about booking a rewards RTW with points and they mentioned award seats a number of times, so pretty sure they were talking about an OWA.

Perhaps just conflating some other information they had read with the OWA rules.

 

[Mr H]

Their first line was about booking a rewards RTW with points, so pretty sure they were talking about an OWA. Perhaps just conflating some other information they had read.

Perhaps. There were two conflicting sentences in the post. That's why it is really important to get the terminology right and when someone makes a slip (as we all do from time to time), it is corrected. It's nothing personal, just trying to make sure that future readers are not confused.

 

[blu]

What's the current Agents fee situation post 31 Sept changes, for:
. cancelling a pre Sept 22 flight and substituting a new flight (5k points/pax).
. ringing back to see if ticketing queue has stalled (say at 24hrs).

 

[Mr H]

What's the current Agents fee situation post 31 Sept changes, for:
. cancelling a pre Sept 22 flight and substituting a new flight (5k points/pax).
. ringing back to see if ticketing queue has stalled (say at 24hrs).

Both of those should be fee free. If you cancel and start a new booking then you won't be able to change the new booking fee free, whereas if you change your existing booking then you can still change it fee free until the end of December.

 

[Warragul]

I'm having trouble getting my head around the 'Stopover' and 'Transfer' limits in a city, grateful for advice on the following scenario -

Arrive Amman and booked to depart 10 days later for Frankfurt. Can I add a day return flight to somewhere (eg Tel Aviv or Cairo) on day 9 and still be OWA compliant? In essence Amman will be stopover city and a transit point as the stay from the return on day 9 to departure on day 10 will be less than 24 hours.

Given the risks in changing an already ticketed OWA booking, it maybe safer though unfortunate, to make a separate points booking - 40K pp return in Y.

 

[Mr H]

I'm having trouble getting my head around the 'Stopover' and 'Transfer' limits in a city, grateful for advice on the following scenario -

Arrive Amman and booked to depart 10 days later for Frankfurt. Can I add a day return flight to somewhere (eg Tel Aviv or Cairo) on day 9 and still be OWA compliant? In essence Amman will be stopover city and a transit point as the stay from the return on day 9 to departure on day 10 will be less than 24 hours.

Given the risks in changing an already ticketed OWA booking, it maybe safer though unfortunate, to make a separate points booking - 40K pp return in Y.

Provided you have less than 24 hours between arriving back in AMM and leaving again, it is transit and not a stopover. If it is more than 24 hours it is a stopover.

Be aware that Jordan is expensive, including visas and taxi fares too and from the airport. Also, taxes and fees on flights to Terence Aviv are extremely high, even on award flights.

 

[blu]

you can still change it fee free until the end of December.

That was my understanding too, wasn't going to press the point until ticketing completed. Another possible mistatement was not being able to fly on BA CityFlyer service (said "codeshare") out of LCY, even though showing availability. Took BA ex LHR. Otherwise was happy with changes.

 

[Mr H]

That was my understanding too, wasn't going to press the point until ticketing completed. Another possible mistatement was not being able to fly on BA CityFlyer service (said "codeshare") out of LCY, even though showing availability. Took BA ex LHR. Otherwise was happy with changes.

I flew BA CityFlyer LCY-MXP on a OWA earlier this year.

 

[Easy Tiger]

Thanks @levelnine booked a couple of these for partner and I for 28 days in March 2023. The surcharges sting - not new news I know but a dose of reality when you book into and out of LHR! Thanks again

Huge release of Qantas seats to Singapore and London from late Jan to end of March.