Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Steph123]

Thanks for the giggle everyone! I'm sure I sound like a tourist who comes to Australia and doesn't understand how far apart our cities are... always funny I think due to timing we'll fly LAS-SFO and do the drive down to LA. I think if I tried to convince my partner driving the whole way would be a good idea I'd never hear the end of it (good start to a marriage hahah!)

 

[bigpete]

I think due to timing we'll fly LAS-SFO and do the drive down to LA.

Have you done this inter-city drive before? Assuming Highway 1 is open when you visit, I'd suggest you must do the 49-Mile Scenic Drive in San Francisco and the astounding Hearst Castle in San SImeon. In the interests of minimising the thread digressing from it's original purpose, feel free to PM for a more extensive list of possible things to see/do. Also, I found previously that there were never any AA award seats ex-SFO but I could get SJC/LAX/BNE with AA & QF

 

[Phoenix-1]

Hi all, me again. I'm a very happy little vegemite as I have been able to secure us a full itinerary for our honeymoon next year! With a few hiccups and one not-so-ideal layover, I'd say we've got a pretty good plan.

Looks like an awesome trip. Can you share how much taxes were?

Also I will be (sadly) cancelling a J reward MEL-LAX flight (QF93) on the 8th of May which was booked as part of a OWCA. If anyone is interested in it let me know and I'll PM you when it's cancelled.

 

[Steph123]

Have you done this inter-city drive before? Assuming Highway 1 is open when you visit, I'd suggest you must do the 49-Mile Scenic Drive in San Francisco and the astounding Hearst Castle in San SImeon. In the interests of minimising the thread digressing from it's original purpose, feel free to PM for a more extensive list of possible things to see/do. Also, I found previously that there were never any AA award seats ex-SFO but I could get SJC/LAX/BNE with AA & QF

No we've never been to the USA before! I will definitely send you a PM in the next couple days, thanks heaps for the offer

Looks like an awesome trip. Can you share how much taxes were?

Also I will be (sadly) cancelling a J reward MEL-LAX flight (QF93) on the 8th of May which was booked as part of a OWCA. If anyone is interested in it let me know and I'll PM you when it's cancelled.

Of course - taxes were $1389 for both of us, with the majority (a whopping $712!) for our trip back SIN-SYD on BA. Even so, this is great value.. Including the yearly fees we paid for the credit cards to earn the Qantas points for this trip, the total we paid for our flights was under $3k for both our tickets (ie. $1500 ea). Not sure how much these flights would have cost if we'd paid revenue fares, but I don't even think we could get economy tickets for that price. As I said, very happy little vegemite

 

[bigpete]

Not sure how much these flights would have cost if we'd paid revenue fares, but I don't even think we could get economy tickets for that price. As I said, very happy little vegemite

I track my theoretical points yield for each trip. You can use the One World site to get the retail value of your routing Multi-City Flights: Round The World Airline Tickets - RTW

 

[Mr H]

I track my theoretical points yield for each trip. You can use the One World site to get the retail value of your routing Multi-City Flights: Round The World Airline Tickets - RTW

The tool you link to requires you to circumnavigate the world - i.e. go to America. Many of us choose not to do that.

 

[Phoenix-1]

Of course - taxes were $1389 for both of us, with the majority (a whopping $712!) for our trip back SIN-SYD on BA. Even so, this is great value.. Including the yearly fees we paid for the credit cards to earn the Qantas points for this trip, the total we paid for our flights was under $3k for both our tickets (ie. $1500 ea). Not sure how much these flights would have cost if we'd paid revenue fares, but I don't even think we could get economy tickets for that price. As I said, very happy little vegemite

Thanks. A great deal.

 

[bigpete]

The tool you link to requires you to circumnavigate the world - i.e. go to America. Many of us choose not to do that.

Sorry my bad, I've only ever used it for RTW itineraries and didn't realise it has trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific hard-coded. Assume the fare value could be estimated via Qantas multi-city?

 

[Mr H]

Sorry my bad, I've only ever used it for RTW itineraries and didn't realise it has trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific hard-coded. Assume the fare value could be estimated via Qantas multi-city?

Qantas multi-city does not allow itineraries to start in every country. Plus, it will mislead people into calculating prices flight by flight which nobody would ever pay.

I tend to think of OWAs as allowing you to do things you would never contemplate on a revenue fare rather than trying to work out how much I have "saved" or how many cents I am getting per point.

 

[Phoenix-1]

Also you can get RTW fares in J for $7-10k that would cover most people's routes.

 

[madrooster]

I tend to think of OWAs as allowing you to do things you would never contemplate on a revenue fare

It goes both ways. By being smart about how you structure your commercial fares and ticketing, you can achieve some crazy stuff that makes many awards look like poor value.

As a very simple example, I quite often fly SYD-PER for just $25 one way in J on a commercial fare on either VA or QF by being smart about how I structure a commercial fare/ticket. In some cases I can choose either carrier at my will.

You couldn't possibly come close on an award unless you're talking about the days of VA's migration to Sabre where awards would price at 0 points + tax.

On the other end of the spectrum, I almost never pay GST on AU domestics either. That's an easy approx 10% saving.

 

[SydneySwan]

It goes both ways. By being smart about how you structure your commercial fares and ticketing, you can achieve some crazy stuff that makes many awards look like poor value.

As a very simple example, I quite often fly SYD-PER for just $25 one way in J on a commercial fare on either VA or QF by being smart about how I structure a commercial fare/ticket. In some cases I can choose either carrier at my will.

You couldn't possibly come close on an award unless you're talking about the days of VA's migration to Sabre where awards would price at 0 points + tax.

On the other end of the spectrum, I almost never pay GST on AU domestics either. That's an easy approx 10% saving.

How can we find out about these fares or is this 'Secret Travel Agent's Business'? I would love GST-free domestic tickets.

 

[madrooster]

How can we find out about these fares or is this 'Secret Travel Agent's Business'? I would love GST-free domestic tickets.

They are regular domestic fares with the GST exempted. There's two conditions that allow for the GST to be wiped from a wholly domestic ticket - if you're organised and plan accordingly, it's great. Similar exemptions exist in the US and Canada.

 

[Mr H]

How can we find out about these fares or is this 'Secret Travel Agent's Business'? I would love GST-free domestic tickets.

I presume this is all about adding domestic flights to an international revenue booking - possibly with long stopovers.

 

[Phoenix-1]

I don't know why he's being so secret squirrel about all this.

 

[Mr H]

I don't know why he's being so secret squirrel about all this.

It is a pattern we have seen before.

It goes:

A: makes a statement that sounds intriguing
B: tell me more
A: it is really very simple and works
B: so why not tell us how it works?
A: you wouldn't understand if I told you
B: well why not try us?
A: you really wouldn't understand
B: we might...
A: well since you insist, here is an unedited chuck of a rulebook - see you can't understand it, can you?
B: whatever.

 

[Danger]

I don't know why he's being so secret squirrel about all this.

It is a pattern we have seen before.

It goes:

A: makes a statement that sounds intriguing
B: tell me more
A: it is really very simple and works
B: so why not tell us how it works?
A: you wouldn't understand if I told you
B: well why not try us?
A: you really wouldn't understand
B: we might...
A: well since you insist, here is an unedited chuck of a rulebook - see you can't understand it, can you?
B: whatever.

It's disappointing. This isn't FlyerTalk.

 

[levelnine]

I don't know why he's being so secret squirrel about all this.

Presumably for two reasons:
1. It is difficult, if not impossible, to do without a travel agent.
2. madrooster is a travel agent, so hinting at travel agent exclusives does ultimately help drive business.

Completely fine in my books. If 1 is not true and anyone can do it, revealing it to the public is a surefire way to have it shut down. There's plenty of exploits out there that remain exploits precisely because they don't become public knowledge.

 

[Mr H]

Presumably for two reasons:
1. It is difficult, if not impossible, to do without a travel agent...

Yet they were presented as easy things to do and there was almost a tone that I and others must be fools for not doing it ourselves.

 

[levelnine]

Yet they were presented as easy things to do and there was almost a tone that I and others must be fools for not doing it ourselves.

That's not how I read the post. There's nothing about the structuring of commercial fares/tickets in smart ways that is easy or accessible.