Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Mwenenzi]

I’ve done a few Oneworld Classic Flight Reward trips in the past but never with a break in between so seeking feedback from members.
Looking at an extended trip in 2026, with 4 weeks in Egypt/UK/Ireland Apri, back to BNE for a few months, then 4 weeks in USA in October.
I’m doing dummy bookings to see availability of 2 x Business (U) and what alternatives there are..
All depends on availability of course, but I’m currently WP and will make P1 (and LTG) in mid-August this year, so I have a slightly better chance of getting what we need. It will be complicated by the increase in required points after August this year but I have enough to cover the extra if required.

First step is a positioning BNE/CGK then commence the reward booking from there:
CGK/OOMS/CAI - STOP 1 (Oman Air)
CAI/LHR - STOP 2 (BA)
LHR/SIN/BNE- STOP 3 (QF)
BNE/ORD - STOP 4 (QF/AA)
ORD/JFK - STOP 5 (AA)
JFK/ BNE) – END -(AA or QF)
<snip>

Oman Air, while a QF partner, is not a OW airline. Due to join OW 30 June 2025. So will not be able to have Oman Air, in a QF Oneworld Classic Flight Reward, itinerary until then. Doubt QF would book Oman Air now, based on what should/may happen in ~3months time.

Oman Air - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Oman Air, while a QF partner, is not a OW airline. Due to join OW 30 June 2025. So will not be able to have Oman Air, in a QF Oneworld Classic Flight Reward, itinerary until then. Doubt QF would book Oman Air now, based on what should/may happen in ~3months time.

Oman Air - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Good point. I was initially thinking that as the OP’s trip was well into next year, by the time they come to book Oman Air should be available.

But if the OP has been doing dummy bookings now, it will not cap the points for a OWA if Oman is included.

Which might also be why it is not calculating the return to CGK.

 

[madrooster]

Fiji Airways now full member, Can be used on OWA?

Not yet.

 

[QFFBNE]

Well, if you can get it to book via the website and not have to debate this clause with an agent when changing/adding flights, then go for it.

PS: 2 x 318,000 = 636,000 pts if 2 pax.

I was expecting 636,000 as well, but Qantas multicity said 646,000 which is weird but acceptable

Post automatically merged: Apr 8, 2025

Oman Air, while a QF partner, is not a OW airline. Due to join OW 30 June 2025. So will not be able to have Oman Air, in a QF Oneworld Classic Flight Reward, itinerary until then. Doubt QF would book Oman Air now, based on what should/may happen in ~3months time.

Oman Air - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I was doing the dummy booking for February 2026 and the Oman Air flight was available as a reward booking

 

[QFFBNE]

Good point. I was initially thinking that as the OP’s trip was well into next year, by the time they come to book Oman Air should be available.

But if the OP has been doing dummy bookings now, it will not cap the points for a OWA if Oman is included.

Which might also be why it is not calculating the return to CGK.

I honestly dont care if they classify it as OWA or not, the fact is I was able to include Oman Air in a booking that had 5 stopovers and for only 646,000 points. I tried longer last leg via HKG which brought it to over 36,000nm and the points jumped to around 800,000

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I honestly dont care if they classify it as OWA or not, the fact is I was able to include Oman Air in a booking that had 5 stopovers and for only 646,000 points. I tried longer last leg via HKG which brought it to over 36,000nm and the points jumped to around 800,000

I’ve just plugged the itinerary into great circle mapper, I’m getting 38245 miles. I see you have based your calculations on nautical miles… which is not the currency for OWAs. They are in miles, not nautical miles.

I suspect the price you have got must include several economy sectors?

Oman Air is there as a FF partner, but won’t be part of any OWA cap at the moment. Just like you can include JQ or EK in these itineraries, It will still price, just not cap.

I can’t get the itinerary to price anywhere near your quote for all business class.

 

[QFFBNE]

Not yet.

It can if the booking is for next year i.e. CGK-OOMS WY850 1455/1950, OOMS-CAI WY407 2125/2345

Oman Air, while a QF partner, is not a OW airline. Due to join OW 30 June 2025. So will not be able to have Oman Air, in a QF Oneworld Classic Flight Reward, itinerary until then. Doubt QF would book Oman Air now, based on what should/may happen in ~3months time.

Oman Air - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I wonder if I can book Reward flights with Oman before 30 June, and given I'll be adding the US flights in October, would the Oman flights already booked then be OW eligible and the pints total recalculated to make it a Oneworld Classic Flight Reward?

 

[QFFBNE]

I’ve just plugged the itinerary into great circle mapper, I’m getting 38245 miles. I see you have based your calculations on nautical miles… which is not the currency for OWAs. They are in miles, not nautical miles.

I suspect the price you have got must include several economy sectors?

Oman Air is there as a FF partner, but won’t be part of any OWA cap at the moment. Just like you can include JQ or EK in these itineraries, It will still price, just not cap.

I can’t get the itinerary to price anywhere near your quote for all business class.

Ahh, thanks, I didnt realise it was miles. I'll have to look at what rerouting I can do to bring it under. And yes there were a couple of economy legs included. I was primarily looking at what airlines, flights and schedules were available to see what options I had for routing, not Reward availability. I have another month or so before Reward seats might open up, just getting my ducks lined up for when I can book the first leg. I wont be able to book the final legs until October/November and even then I'm hoping P1 status will make things a bit easier. As I said the only 'must' is that we are in Cairo on the 7th April next year.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It can if the booking is for next year i.e. CGK-OOMS WY850 1455/1950, OOMS-CAI WY407 2125/2345

I wonder if I can book Reward flights with Oman before 30 June, and given I'll be adding the US flights in October, would the Oman flights already booked then be OW eligible and the pints total recalculated to make it a Oneworld Classic Flight Reward?

Given Fiji airways has officially entered OW, and they still cannot be used for a OWA, suggests there might be a bit of a lag between the airline joining and when you’ll be able to secure their seats for the purposes of points capping.

Oman Air, Fiji, Jetstar and emirates (plus others) are all points partners. You can select them as part of your multi-city award, but they won’t cap the points. They’re not eligible for OWA (either outright or ‘not at the moment’)

It’s a good question as to whether someone like Fiji or Oman would reprice at a later point. We haven’t really had any example of late to draw on.

Rather than Oman via MCT you could potentially look at Royal Jordanian.

constructing your itinerary without a points cap means the flights you have pencilled in would already come to 624k per person.

 

[QFFBNE]

Given Fiji airways has officially entered OW, and they still cannot be used for a OWA, suggests there might be a bit of a lag between the airline joining and when you’ll be able to secure their seats for the purposes of points capping.

Oman Air, Fiji, Jetstar and emirates (plus others) are all points partners. You can select them as part of your multi-city award, but they won’t cap the points. They’re not eligible for OWA (either outright or ‘not at the moment’)

It’s a good question as to whether someone like Fiji or Oman would reprice at a later point. We haven’t really had any example of late to draw on.

Rather than Oman via MCT you could potentially look at Royal Jordanian.

constructing your itinerary without a points cap means the flights you have pencilled in would already come to 624k per person.

Thanks. I was thinking of booking what ever was available to get us to Cairo by the 7th April in Business, then adding to or changing as other seats open up. Obviously I prefer to do it OWA to get it capped but I have plenty of points to go over if I have to. (Not Classic Award Plus crazy I hasten to add) I'll look at any routing to reduce the miles but its difficult given the back-tracking needed to keep the order of our 5 stops (CAI-LHR-BNE-ORD-JFK-BNE). Even looking at booking (cash or points) to CAI seperately then starting the OWA from there. Whats the RJ route? It hasnt come up in my searches.

 

[Warragul]

Whats the RJ route?

BKK-AMM

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks. I was thinking of booking what ever was available to get us to Cairo by the 7th April in Business, then adding to or changing as other seats open up. Obviously I prefer to do it OWA to get it capped but I have plenty of points to go over if I have to. (Not Classic Award Plus crazy I hasten to add) I'll look at any routing to reduce the miles but its difficult given the back-tracking needed to keep the order of our 5 stops (CAI-LHR-BNE-ORD-JFK-BNE). Even looking at booking (cash or points) to CAI seperately then starting the OWA from there. Whats the RJ route? It hasnt come up in my searches.

If you aren’t going to keep within the rules of the OWA there’s no need to worry about mileage or stopover limits. You’re simply buying one way sectors, but on the one ticket. 1.3 million points plus change fees is a big difference to 636k total.

 

[QFFBNE]

If you aren’t going to keep within the rules of the rules of the OWA there’s no need to worry about mileage or stopover limits. You’re simply buying one way sectors, but on the one ticket. 1.3 million points plus change fees is a big difference to 636k total.

I'll play around with the bookings and routes to see how I can use OWA. Happy to go up to 700-800K points but no further. I'll pay for positioning flights if I have to. Plenty of time yet and I'll want to wait until Oman is eligible anyway.

 

[Mr H]

I'll play around with the bookings and routes to see how I can use OWA. Happy to go up to 700-800K points but no further. I'll pay for positioning flights if I have to. Plenty of time yet and I'll want to wait until Oman is eligible anyway.

If you're going to pay cash for positioning flights and you're willing to pay three times the price of a OWA in points, one wonders why you don't just do the whole thing in revenue and save the points for a better value redemption.

 

[QFFBNE]

If you're going to pay cash for positioning flights and you're willing to pay three times the price of a OWA in points, one wonders why you don't just do the whole thing in revenue and save the points for a better value redemption.

Because thats not what I'm willing to do. I am willing to use cash/points to do what many others do in using positioning flights to start a OWA, to either get me to a location where Reward seats are available and/or reduce total milage so it qualifies for OWA, A OWA for 2 people currently stands at 636,000 points (2 x 318,000). This will increase to 365,800 after August, and we have no idea how Qantas will treat flights added to bookings made pre-August. I doubt they'll grandfather any already booked flights, but even Qantas can do the right thing occasionally.

I HOPE to be able to book our trip as OWA and therefore have the points capped (636k or 731.6k), but am willing to use a few more points if neccessary, but not Classic Plus levels. As per the OP Im looking at all the permutations and combinations of Airlines, routes, destinations etc to get the best value out of the points I do have. This includes varying the Port we use to commence the OWA, changing routes to reduce milegae or use a different airline, varying the Port we use to get back to BNE mid-way through the trip, and varying the end point.

Ultimately I want to fund the trip with a judicious and efficient use of points and cash (LHR fees will hurt but that's another story). I have sufficient points to do a CP+ award but only if absolutely neccessary. Three other factors are also at play. First, the chances of getting our preferred Award seats increase in August when I attain P1. Second, the increased points required after August. And third, I'm actively running down my points balance while I still have a chance. Qantas are making it almost impossible for loyal customers to find Reward flights they actually want or can use. I will also hit LTG in August and once that happens my loyalty to Qantas ends and I will one no longer be in points/status accumulation mode. After this trip, I hope to have enough accumulated points left for two more Award LHR or JFK return trips in J. If not too bad, I'll use the remaining points to buy toasters, and pay cash for cheaper J tickets on other, better airlines.

 

[Phoenix-1]

If you're willing to "overpay" in points, have you considered just booking a series of one-way flights? You can still take advantage of the price capping in certain segments. If you have points in programs other than Qantas you can then use those, too.

I did something similar last year instead of booking a OWCA I stitched together a few smaller segments using QF and Velocity points. Paid a little more in points but ended up going exactly where I want rather than "close enough".

 

[QFFBNE]

If you're willing to "overpay" in points, have you considered just booking a series of one-way flights? You can still take advantage of the price capping in certain segments. If you have points in programs other than Qantas you can then use those, too.

I did something similar last year instead of booking a OWCA I stitched together a few smaller segments using QF and Velocity points. Paid a little more in points but ended up going exactly where I want rather than "close enough".

Yep, that's one of the options I'm looking at thanks. I also have a couple of internal flights in the UK and USA that I may book seperately using points. The best part is after August I'll have a bit more freedom to choose and change flights. With award seats being made available anytime these days, instead of the old set schedule, I could have up until the last week or so to change to a better flight. Bookm whats available as soon as it's available, then sit back and see if somemthing better comes up.

 

[Mr H]

Yep, that's one of the options I'm looking at thanks. I also have a couple of internal flights in the UK and USA that I may book seperately using points. The best part is after August I'll have a bit more freedom to choose and change flights. With award seats being made available anytime these days, instead of the old set schedule, I could have up until the last week or so to change to a better flight. Bookm whats available as soon as it's available, then sit back and see if somemthing better comes up.

Domestic flights in the UK are unlikely to be good value with points. They are generally cheap, but a large portion of the fare would be the taxes and fees you’d pay anyway with an award booking. J is usually just economy with the middle seat blocked, and if you are P1 you would have access to lounges anyway…

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

This will increase to 365,800 after August, and we have no idea how Qantas will treat flights added to bookings made pre-August.

I had a OWCA itinerary under construction at the time of the last points cost change.
The first leg was booked before the change, and the itinerary was changed many times both before and after the points cost change date.
The itinerary continued to be priced at the old rate.

Disclaimer… previous QF behaviour does not guarantee future QF behaviour…

 

[QFFBNE]

Domestic flights in the UK are unlikely to be good value with points. They are generally cheap, but a large portion of the fare would be the taxes and fees you’d pay anyway with an award booking. J is usually just economy with the middle seat blocked, and if you are P1 you would have access to lounges anyway…

Yep it's under $300 economy return London/Dublin so if I can't get direct CAI/ DUB that's what we'll do.