Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[HECL]

Thanks all. Understand how I've made that mistake and my terminology is incorrect. To clarify, I have tried to book the Oneworld Classic Award, and I agree I have made a mistake using Jetstar potentially.

To clarify my issue, Qantas quoted me certain fees and prices but have reneged, changed the price, and cancelled some of my legs that were booked. Is this something that can happens after a price has been agreed, and what are my options.

Did you make this whole booking over the phone with the help of call centre team member? If they have provided you with the wrong advice and info (JQ being allowed on OWA booking), then perhaps you have some leverage there.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks all. Understand how I've made that mistake and my terminology is incorrect. To clarify, I have tried to book the Oneworld Classic Award, and I agree I have made a mistake using Jetstar potentially.

To clarify my issue, Qantas quoted me certain fees and prices but have reneged, changed the price, and cancelled some of my legs that were booked. Is this something that can happens after a price has been agreed, and what are my options.

The system auto prices. They may have included flights and generated a price, but once you change flights or routes, the price can also change. If it doesn’t meet the expected cap in points, something’s gone wrong.

The call centre agent may not know why, but it’s usually evident if you have a good knowledge of the rules.

it is known that for some airlines you must ticket within a specified period of time, which could be as little as 24 hours. If you have not completed ticketing in that time they will auto cancel the flights. depending on how far in advance you are travelling you may be able to get those seats back either when they go back into ordinary inventory, or if Qantas contacts the operating airline to request the seats are returned. But there is no guarantee.

 

[elanshin]

Hi everyone I hope you are well.

I'm having some real trouble with Qantas that resulted in some flights being cancelled on my booking.

The OneWorld Global Explorer guide says that Qantas flights operated by Qantas on a JQ code are allowed for purposes of Round The World and this was the only flight back into the country at the time. I got quoted the 318,000 points per person but then when the took the points they quoted it differently at ~440,000 points per person which I did not have enough, so the flights would not ticket.

As a result, I have had some legs get cancelled, and other issues and now I currently have no way of finishing the flights back into Australia. despite the fact that I got quoted by multiple different operators that it was going to work and Qantas have taken my money for the fees and taxes. This has taken about 4 weeks to get to this point whereby they've changed the price.

Putting aside that maybe it was a mistake with Jetstar, what are my options here? Qantas have put my entire trip in jeopardy by mis-quoting me and there are no flights into Australia on Classic Reward on any dates close to when I need to get back.

So as others have mentioned about JQ, I'll skip this part.

Firstly get back in contact with QF (and be prepared to play phone whack a mole with a consultant that knows what they're doing). Also whilst it'll be frustrating, try not to take it out on the operators, it reduces the odds of them trying to help you. Politely hang up and decline if you find they don't know what they're doing although give them a chance yo understand your request as it'll be off script for them.

Firstly, ask for them to try and pull your itinerary back (they should have a copy of what you asked for). Explain the situation and sre if they can reinstate some of the flights. You don't need thr final leg (one with JQ) to ticket and secure the others first. You can pay a 5k change fee per person later if you can't immediately figure out your options.

Also if you're willing to share what you've done here route wise, we can also double check if there are any other problematic segments as well as suggest potential alternatives. Sometimes it just takes a bit of out of the box thinking and routing.

 

[JohnM]

So as others have mentioned about JQ, I'll skip this part.

Firstly get back in contact with QF (and be prepared to play phone whack a mole with a consultant that knows what they're doing). Also whilst it'll be frustrating, try not to take it out on the operators, it reduces the odds of them trying to help you. Politely hang up and decline if you find they don't know what they're doing although give them a chance yo understand your request as it'll be off script for them.

Firstly, ask for them to try and pull your itinerary back (they should have a copy of what you asked for). Explain the situation and sre if they can reinstate some of the flights. You don't need thr final leg (one with JQ) to ticket and secure the others first. You can pay a 5k change fee per person later if you can't immediately figure out your options.

Also if you're willing to share what you've done here route wise, we can also double check if there are any other problematic segments as well as suggest potential alternatives. Sometimes it just takes a bit of out of the box thinking and routing.

But if anyone starts talking to the operator about 'RTW' and 'Global Explorer' or 'Oneworld Explorer' in the context of a OWA, that is an immediate catalyst for confusion.

Not pointing the finger at the OP, but if the customer is naive or simply careless about this, yet is convinced they are correct, and similarly in the case of the operator, there could be elements of tunnel vision fixation that bog the process down to the point of impasse, leading to angst.

I long railed against using 'RTW' for OWA - to the point of giving up long ago to keep mentioning it on this thread, because it just would not cease.

 

[Hydra911]

Hi everyone, thanks very much for all the guidance. Absolutely am being respectful to staff as part of my negotiations with them, but they are steadfast that the original amount was priced incorrectly. Currently looking at alternative solutions to take roundabout trips through various countries and switching to economy class to be able to have enough points. May have found a route through Nadi. Not quite the business class dream but might allow me to have a holiday at least!

 

[Mr H]

Hi everyone, thanks very much for all the guidance. Absolutely am being respectful to staff as part of my negotiations with them, but they are steadfast that the original amount was priced incorrectly. Currently looking at alternative solutions to take roundabout trips through various countries and switching to economy class to be able to have enough points. May have found a route through Nadi. Not quite the business class dream but might allow me to have a holiday at least!

If you fly through NAN then I presume you are flying FJ which is also not a One World carrier, so will also mean your itinerary will not cap out at 318k points. I recommend you read the rules before proceeding.

 

[HECL]

Hi everyone, thanks very much for all the guidance. Absolutely am being respectful to staff as part of my negotiations with them, but they are steadfast that the original amount was priced incorrectly. Currently looking at alternative solutions to take roundabout trips through various countries and switching to economy class to be able to have enough points. May have found a route through Nadi. Not quite the business class dream but might allow me to have a holiday at least!

Take a look at this article, it breaks down the rules and requirements of the fare

How to fly around the world in Business Class with Qantas Points

It's not easy, but those who persevere can enjoy one of the best uses of points.

www.pointhacks.com.au

 

[Hydra911]

Thanks. I do understand this - in my dates there is no OneWorld flights into Australia from any location that I can find so I was just saying I am trying to do it without the points cap and instead have reverted to just doing multi-city classic rewards essentially. All good.

If you fly through NAN then I presume you are flying FJ which is also not a One World carrier, so will also mean your itinerary will not cap out at 318k points. I recommend you read the rules before proceeding.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks. I do understand this - in my dates there is no OneWorld flights into Australia from any location that I can find so I was just saying I am trying to do it without the points cap and instead have reverted to just doing multi-city classic rewards essentially. All good.

With multi city awards you might find it becomes expensive. Every time you switch between partner tables you’ll be charged the sector price, not the ‘through fare’.

An alternative might be to piece together your oneworld award starting outside australia. Or ending outside australia. The first or last sector you could buy a cheap jetstar or scoot flight to connect.

That way you’ll enjoy business class for everything except one or two legs. Better than trying to cram it all on to one ticket with economy.

If starting or ending outside australia, allow a 24 hour buffer for your connecting flight, Just in case of delays.

 

[elanshin]

Thanks. I do understand this - in my dates there is no OneWorld flights into Australia from any location that I can find so I was just saying I am trying to do it without the points cap and instead have reverted to just doing multi-city classic rewards essentially. All good.

If you want to post your current proposed itinerary, we can offer suggestions on creative routing to research into. There are definitely routes that don't show up if you don't break it apart.

Eg US > AUS will never show US> HKG> AUS on CX but will potentially if you break up the searches.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

If you want to post your current proposed itinerary, we can offer suggestions on creative routing to research into. There are definitely routes that don't show up if you don't break it apart.

Eg US > AUS will never show US> HKG> AUS on CX but will potentially if you break up the searches.

Yes. Or via Tokyo, Honolulu, santiago… etc

 

[melbkate]

Hi all I am Bronze and I looking to add segments to a OWA home from Tokyo. I can see seats available 360 days out on JL on the Qantas multi-city search.

Will I be able to book it over the phone as Bronze are meant to only book 297 days out or is that only Qantas flights?

I remember once on another booking being told even though I could see availablilty the operator said they were not bookable but cannot remember the reason of if that was JL.

Thanks in advance for any assistance as I am dreadin calling up and attempting this.. Kate

 

[jeza]

Hi all I am Bronze and I looking to add segments to a OWA home from Tokyo. I can see seats available 360 days out on JL on the Qantas multi-city search.

Will I be able to book it over the phone as Bronze are meant to only book 297 days out or is that only Qantas flights?

I remember once on another booking being told even though I could see availablilty the operator said they were not bookable but cannot remember the reason of if that was JL.

Thanks in advance for any assistance as I am dreadin calling up and attempting this.. Kate

If you can see it you should be able to book it.

I believe you are correct, QF Bronze used to only get QF flight availability from 297 days.

 

[Mr H]

Will I be able to book it over the phone as Bronze are meant to only book 297 days out or is that only Qantas flights?

You would be able to a answer your own question quite easily by lifting the phone and giving it a try.

 

[melbkate]

You would be able to a answer your own question quite easily by lifting the phone and giving it a try.

It's never easy calling Qantas so just trying get get prepared beforehand

 

[Mr H]

It's never easy calling Qantas

It's not actually that hard.

 

[BriarFlyer]

Will I be able to book it over the phone as Bronze are meant to only book 297 days out or is that only Qantas flights?

That's only for Qantas flights.

 

[melbkate]

That's only for Qantas flights.

Thank you

 

[Mike65]

If you fly through NAN then I presume you are flying FJ which is also not a One World carrier, so will also mean your itinerary will not cap out at 318k points. I recommend you read the rules before proceeding.

So, you can book the US -> AUS leg of an OWA with FJ (108.4k pts + $98 in J) but the mileage wont be calculated as part of the 318k limit? How does that make sense? Can you then use those miles on other legs to end with a OWA itinerary that shows under the 35,000 mile cap but is actully more like 40,000 miles?

 

[cjd600]

So, you can book the US -> AUS leg of an OWA with FJ (108.4k pts + $98 in J) but the mileage wont be calculated as part of the 318k limit? How does that make sense? Can you then use those miles on other legs to end with a OWA itinerary that shows under the 35,000 mile cap but is actully more like 40,000 miles?

As soon as you use FJ it is no longer a OWA. Your whole trip will price out at the points amount sector by sector. And not cap at 318k as mentioned.