Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Fifi2207]

Points are not the issue... got plenty. But fare rules for the Oneworld mean your total travel distance cannot exceed 35,000 miles. I could book the last leg separately (or just try to buy cheap-ish Jetstar flights), buut would prefer to save the points/cash.

Sorry! Misread the 6745 miles as points in my quick scan!

 

[AussieByrd]

Escalation team got my ticketing done... at cost of a significant increase in taxes and fees (potential due to the delay... new fuel fees on other flights cos of re-pricing... arg!). Anyway... getting close to done. Just need to find that final Japan - Australia leg.

 

[bagman]

I’m completely ignorant on how to go about booking Qantas Oneworld Classic Flight Reward, which is why I’m going to use the Frequent Flyer Concierge service.
My question is, after paying the final fee and I receiving details of my award flights what happens if I proceed to make the suggested bookings and award availability is no longer available on the suggested flights ?
Much appreciate your advice.
Cheers

 

[Fifi2207]

Escalation team got my ticketing done... at cost of a significant increase in taxes and fees (potential due to the delay... new fuel fees on other flights cos of re-pricing... arg!). Anyway... getting close to done. Just need to find that final Japan - Australia leg.

Yes, this is why I decided not to risk changing my booking in the end. I figured my flights were fine and at a cost of $1500 for two OWA business around Europe in August it would only go one way if I meddled!

 

[tuck]

I am 100% with you. On top of the different/wrong answers and the inconsistency it is also the uncertainty. I have been told multiple times something will be done/will happen (ticketing, upgrade of segments), only to wait a couple of days for nothing to happen and having to call in again and be at square one.

Was told two days ago it will be ticketed in 24 to 48 hours. Called in today to ask on status. After 30 min hold: "I had to fix some errors and have pushed it to ticketing. It will be ticketed in 24 to 48 hours".

Offshore call centres are a joke. I have spent months booking a Qantas One World BC reward from SYD-HND-HEL-ARN-LHR-LGW-MCO-ORD-HND-BKK-HKT-HKG-CGK-SYD and have made easily 80-90 calls. I have lost count of the amount of times the operator just hung up because it was too hard for them. I would say that 8 out 10 have no idea about this reward and I had a number of them argue with me as they quoted One World Round the World ticket rules to me - which is a PAID product and has nothing to do with reward flights. I have recently tried to change some of the flights that we were originally forced into because of lack of availability or lack of ability of call centre staff. I have been told numerous times that flights were not available, even though they were available on the Qantas website. This last week, I called 5 times over a 7 day period, and every day I was told that the flights must have already been taken and the WEBSITE hasn't been updated.... BS. After hearing this 5 times and dealing with a very rude operator, I requested to speak to a supervisor. After being put on hold for another 30 minutes I finally spoke to a person who knew what they were doing, and the flights that FIVE other operators, over 7 days, were NOT available, actually were available and we now have flights we wanted. Why is it this hard? Most people would not go the distance or have the time to do this. Why is there no way to get help in Australia?

 

[devpianist]

Can anyone tell me why this isn't costing 132k points as an economy RTW trip? Once I select the final Fiji Airways leg it jumps to 218k. Do I need to fly at least one leg with Qantas? I know there's the rule about using at least 2 other non-Qantas airlines but maybe I've overegged it and not used the actual carrier I've got points with. Or am I confusing Iberia Express as the Iberia OW partner?

On a separate note the initial leg to Johannesburg is 2/3 weeks before I'd ideally like to go. Is it better to book this now in the hope they'll add more Classic rewards flights which I can then reschedule to (for 5k points from what I've seen?) instead of holding off booking the entire thing?

Any other advice welcome!

 

[Mr H]

Can anyone tell me why this isn't costing 132k points as an economy RTW trip? Once I select the final Fiji Airways leg it jumps to 218k. Do I need to fly at least one leg with Qantas? I know there's the rule about using at least 2 other non-Qantas airlines but maybe I've overegged it and not used the actual carrier I've got points with.

On a separate note the initial leg to Johannesburg is 2/3 weeks before I'd ideally like to go. Is it better to book this now in the hope they'll add more Classic rewards flights which I can then reschedule to (for 5k points from what I've seen?) instead of holding off booking the entire thing?

Any other advice welcome!

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You mean a One World Award, not RTW. This must be done only on OW airlines and FJ is not a full member of OW.

 

[devpianist]

You mean a One World Award, not RTW. This must be done only on OW airlines and FJ is not a full member of OW.

I'm not following exactly, you mean I need to book this through OneWorld airlines? How would I do this with Qantas points? In the past I've been able to see how much a trip would cost in points via the Qantas website and it's normally come in at 132k for economy class. Or do you mean I need to choose a different airline than Fiji Airways?

 

[jase05]

I'm not following exactly, you mean I need to book this through OneWorld airlines? How would I do this with Qantas points? In the past I've been able to see how much a trip would cost in points via the Qantas website and it's normally come in at 132k for economy class. Or do you mean I need to choose a different airline than Fiji Airways?

The product discussed on here isn’t RTW it’s called a OWA.
Fiji airways aren’t in OW yet so can’t be used in a OWA

 

[MelbFlyer]

The final leg (SFO to MEL) is causing the issue as FJ isn't eligible under the 132k Economy OWA cap - if there are other alternatives, select that instead.

Are there any options from SFO to MEL via AA / QF on the dates you require?

 

[devpianist]

Ok got you, I've changed from FJ to JL and it's coming in at 132k now. Thanks all!

Re: the Johannesburg dates not lining up, is it better to book now in the hope they'll release more Classic Reward flights for a more suitable date and then pay the 5k points to reschedule?

 

[MelbFlyer]

Re: the Johannesburg dates not lining up, is it better to book now in the hope they'll release more Classic Reward flights for a more suitable date and then pay the 5k points to reschedule?

You can book the 1st leg now - it'll mean that the entire itinerary will be priced / re-priced in AUD for the taxes (rather than in ZAR where depending on the credit card you use, might incur international transaction fees).

If you're able to see new reward seats on the dates you prefer after you've booked, you will then need to get over the hurdle of getting through to someone who can see and change your flights accordingly. If you don't have high status (ie. Platinum), this will be a difficult task.

You may be able to see seats showing online, but a lot of consultants won't be able to or they'll make up some excuse that seats showing online are for new bookings only / can't be used towards existing ones.

From there, if you're able to add / change legs, you'll need even more luck to get the entire itinerary re-ticketed with a new e-ticket number and within a reasonably quick timeframe.

Not trying to scare you off, but there's a risk of changing these sorts of itineraries with multiple legs with partner airlines as the partner airlines require Qantas to re-ticket any changes etc.

You'll have to be very alert and follow-up with Qantas once / if your legs are changed after the initial booking to ensure you get a new e-ticket issued (normally the Qantas PDF file).

It's best if you can find alternatives now / be flexible with dates etc, to get your booking done in the one go - long story short, try to do as much as you can now, without getting any phone consultants involved.

 

[devpianist]

Really appreciate that response, thank you mate.

I’ll have a look and see if I can swing it via another route. Only problem is South Africa is fairly isolated when it comes to finding other routes/airlines

 

[Mr H]

Really appreciate that response, thank you mate.

I’ll have a look and see if I can swing it via another route. Only problem is South Africa is fairly isolated when it comes to finding other routes/airlines

I would book provisional flights now so you’re not stranded and just call up and change the booking if better flights come along. You have to pay a change fee of 5,000 points but it’s worth it for the flights you want. There was a while where bookings were being lost because they were not reticketed in time but that seems to have dropped off and if it does happen, there’s a reward ticketing escalations team now to pick it up. I did this myself just a couple of weeks ago.

 

[Gromit]

After a 2 weeks of phone calls and retrying to book and having to find new flights as old ones availability disappeared I finally got my initial booking done via the qantas site with some placeholder return flights. I must say I am not looking forward to the nightmare of calling qantas in a few weeks to update return flights and then a few weeks after that to add some of the US domestic legs. Still the massive points and dollar savings are worth all the pain.

 

[N860CR]

Just trying to work on another of these. I'm not entirely sure the value is there anymore with all these carrier charges!

SYD-KUL (MH) is 1$50
KUL-NRT (JL) is $310
HND-JFK (JL) is $550
JFK-LHR-LIS (BA) is $1551!

I'm not even half way through the ticket and it's up to $2500

 

[MelbFlyer]

Just trying to work on another of these. I'm not entirely sure the value is there anymore with all these carrier charges!

SYD-KUL (MH) is 1$50
KUL-NRT (JL) is $310
HND-JFK (JL) is $550
JFK-LHR-LIS (BA) is $1551!

I'm not even half way through the ticket and it's up to $2500

Assuming these are all in business class?

Going through LHR is definitely expensive, but I didn't think it would be that expensive - probably it's a combination of leaving JFK as well (departure tax).

The first 2 leg taxes are reasonable though.

Are you able to find any flights from JFK to MAD (as an alternative to LIS on BA) on IB? Might be cheaper than via LHR on BA.

If cheaper and with any taxes saved, you can then make your way to Lisbon.

For my recently completed OWA, the total taxes was $1,200pp for the below:
MEL > HKG (QF)
HKG > CDG via HEL (AY)
BCN > LHR (BA)
LHR > SIN (BA)
SIN > MEL (QF)

 

[Mr H]

Assuming these are all in business class?

Going through LHR is definitely expensive, but I didn't think it would be that expensive - probably it's a combination of leaving JFK as well (departure tax).

The first 2 leg taxes are reasonable though.

The UK Departure Tax should not be an issue because I think APD does not apply unless a sector commences in the UK. But BA is notoriously expensive for carrier charges.

 

[elanshin]

Just trying to work on another of these. I'm not entirely sure the value is there anymore with all these carrier charges!

SYD-KUL (MH) is 1$50
KUL-NRT (JL) is $310
HND-JFK (JL) is $550
JFK-LHR-LIS (BA) is $1551!

I'm not even half way through the ticket and it's up to $2500

Are you searching the legs individually or is this what is showing up on the multi city search as well?

 

[MelbFlyer]

Are you searching the legs individually or is this what is showing up on the multi city search as well?

I suspect it's all individually as the individual sector taxes aren't broken down if done in a multi city search - just a final overall figure.

Still gives a "rough" guide of what to expect though.