Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[jastel]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Sorry about the formatting...

Like I said I am pretty free with dates, arrival and departure points etc. I will see China, UK/Europe and USA by car/bus/train/local flights etc to end up at the next departure point.
I chose China and Hawaii as I have not been there, transiting through Middle east was sensible from China.
Flights are there according to OW Map but unsure about reward seats or not. Seems to be under mileage allowed.
I have to be in Australia for most of May so I thought I will just get a BFOD back here and back to UK again to continue ticket.
My status is only QF Silver.

Advise away please...

Thanks

 

[Alanslegal]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Your proposed trip would be allowed.There are 5 stopovers (PVG,LON,NYC,LAX,HNL) which is the max. allowed. HKG & DOH are less than 24hr transits. If this is a J award the only thing I'd be worried about is finding availability if you are hoping for two ore more seats.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

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[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]CX146[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Cathay[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Cairns CNS[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Hong Kong HKG[/TD]
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[TD="class: xl65, bgcolor: transparent, align: right"]19/03/2015[/TD]
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[TD="class: xl66, bgcolor: transparent, align: right"]19:30[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]CX5808[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Dragon[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Hong Kong HKG[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Shanghai PVG[/TD]
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[TD="class: xl66, bgcolor: transparent, align: right"]1:30[/TD]
[TD="class: xl66, bgcolor: transparent, align: right"]5:50[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]QR895[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Qatar[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Beijing PEK[/TD]
[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]Doha DOH[/TD]
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[TD="class: xl66, bgcolor: transparent, align: right"]6:45[/TD]
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[TD="bgcolor: transparent"]AA283[/TD]
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Not sure of your reason for wanting PEK – DOH – DXB – LHR. You will find it virtually impossible to get a J award from DXB to LHR for March/April next year (EK flights don’t count as they are not in OW). The obvious route would be to fly direct from DOH - LHR on QR and cut out the transit through DXB.
LAX – HNL – this is a AA domestic flight so it has Y and F class – QF will try to book you into Y but you may still have problems finding even a Y classic award seat.
HNL – SYD – you won’t get any award seats for this route - QF just doesn’t release any IME.
I think you should forget about any thoughts of including HNL in any OW award itinerary.
OW rules say that if you don’t return to your city of origin, the distance from there to your final destination must be included in the distance total.

 

[jastel]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Just me...and as I said I don't really care which route so long as I get to Europe/USA etc...and yes J 280000pts award hopefully.
Is LAX a stopover? I thought NY to LA was a surface segment and stopover 4 was HNL then SYD was 5??
Not that it matters it still complies...I think.
Is the best thing to book the first bits and then add the later USA bits when the seats are released in a month or two. And there should be No points penalty if J class.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Just me...and as I said I don't really care which route so long as I get to Europe/USA etc...and yes J 280000pts award hopefully.
Is LAX a stopover? I thought NY to LA was a surface segment and stopover 4 was HNL then SYD was 5??
Not that it matters it still complies...I think.
Is the best thing to book the first bits and then add the later USA bits when the seats are released in a month or two. And there should be No points penalty if J class.

You're right LAX isn't classed as a stopover but see comments above about your intention to go to HNL. If you really want to go there I'd suggest you will probably need to pay for a separate return ticket from LAX - HNL and then go for a QF flight from LAX - SYD or BNE.
You can book your first few flights now from CNS - LHR (which I would do ASAP) and can add the rest of your itinerary later.

 

[Grooba]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Just me...and as I said I don't really care which route so long as I get to Europe/USA etc...and yes J 280000pts award hopefully.
Is LAX a stopover? I thought NY to LA was a surface segment and stopover 4 was HNL then SYD was 5??
Not that it matters it still complies...I think.
Is the best thing to book the first bits and then add the later USA bits when the seats are released in a month or two. And there should be No points penalty if J class.

It can be quite tough to get J seats back home from US on any QF services however availability on CX is generally quite good if you are happy to go via HKG. If you want to visit china/usa/europe then you could try something like CNS-SYD-PVG-HKG-FRA-LHR-(anywhere in usa)-(JFK/ORD/ETC)-HKG-CNS.

 

[jastel]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Vetrade - thanks for the Hawaii tips, I noticed only a flight every few days to Aust, better get a new plan for that bit maybe Tokyo or Singapore instead...
The Dubai bit was to get on a A380, it said QF1 but probably easier to go direct I guess.
It seems the best way to get seats is NOT to use Qantas...

 

[MrHanky]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

It seems the best way to get seats is NOT to use Qantas...

Yes, it's also one of the best ways of avoiding hefty fuel fines... There's certainly some degree of irony here.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Vetrade - thanks for the Hawaii tips, I noticed only a flight every few days to Aust, better get a new plan for that bit maybe Tokyo or Singapore instead...
The Dubai bit was to get on a A380, it said QF1 but probably easier to go direct I guess.
It seems the best way to get seats is NOT to use Qantas...

The problem with trying to get on the A380 to LHR is that most pax travel from Oz - DXB - LHR so it's rare for a J seat to be available for only the second leg of that.
A thought did cross my mind that maybe you could travel to HNL from PEK via NRT during the first part of your trip. You could then get a return tkt from HNL to Oz so you could be back here for May. Then resume your travels from HNL - you might be lucky and get aa award to LAX or pay for this leg. maybe you could get an award Y seat from HNL - DFW or PHX (depending on your intended movements within the US).
Regarding J seats on QF - availability is usually better from US to Oz than the other way but you do need to book them as soon as they are released. You also need to be aware that QF usually only makes J awards available on one or two days each week - I recently booked J awards for LAX - MEL (on the A380) and I had to arrange our itinerary to get a Monday flight because that was the only day of the week QF released J awards on. I think it's because they know they can sell the J seats to business travellers on the other days of the week but these pax generally don't want to arrive back in OZ mid week (the Monday flight from LAX arrives back in MEL on the Wednesday morning).

 

[jastel]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Yes, have done the QF A380 SYD to LAX twice, got business points upgrades both times. Both midweek.
Back from LAX in econ on 747 once, blah, and second time was booked PE but upgraded to Business on DFW 747 to BNE.
So long as there is a Skybed I don't care.

I didn't connect Dubai with Emirates, hours of computer screen does that...is Doha worth a stopover or would Dubai would be better?

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

...is Doha worth a stopover or would Dubai would be better?

Haven't stayed in Doha but did spend 9 days in Dubai/Abu Dhabi last September and I suspect there is much more to see in DXB - but of course most things are indoors because of the heat, so it depends on your interests. We are definitely glad we saw it but probably wouldn't stay there again - it's a bit like the churches/art galleries/museums in Europe - they all start to look the same after a while.

 

[davidjm2389]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I am planning a oneworld rtw business award and after perusing this magnificent thread I cannot seem to find when individual airlines release business seats to Qantas FF. I believe Qantas releases seats 355 days out and maybe BA 353 days out and AA somewhat later but is there a table somewhere that shows the release date for seats for the other oneworld airlines - CX, QR, MH, AA, JL, IB etc.
It seems some airlines drip out seats at random intervals. Is there any system to this or do you just keep checking QF website, BA exec club, expert flyer etc ?
Many thanks for your help.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

I am planning a oneworld rtw business award and after perusing this magnificent thread I cannot seem to find when individual airlines release business seats to Qantas FF. I believe Qantas releases seats 355 days out and maybe BA 353 days out and AA somewhat later but is there a table somewhere that shows the release date for seats for the other oneworld airlines - CX, QR, MH, AA, JL, IB etc.
It seems some airlines drip out seats at random intervals. Is there any system to this or do you just keep checking QF website, BA exec club, expert flyer etc ?
Many thanks for your help.

You should be aware that the release date of flights is only the earliest date that you might get award seats - in many cases (AA / US especially) award availability may not show up until some (variable) time after that.
Don't know of any table of release dates but these are the ones I know of:
QF - 353 days
AA - 330 days
CX - 360 days
BA - 355 days
QR - 360 or 361 days
JAL - 330 days
IB - 360 days

 

[MrHanky]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Thought I'd come back here and share my final itinerary and ticket cost for those who are considering booking one of these.

MEL-HKG (CX)
HKG-ICN (CX)
ICN-LHR(18 hours stop)-JFK-YYZ (BA/AA)
YYZ-LHR (BA)
LHR-BOS (BA) (surface sector to JFK)
JFK-HKG-MEL (CX)

All up it hit the magic 280k points & $1819 in 'taxes and surcharges', so far has cost me 7k pts in change fees - I have some date changes to do on the final legs once the seats open up, so another 3.5k points there for sure. According to gcmap.com this itinerary clocks in at 34881 miles so I feel like I've definitely maximised this OW award

I've dealt with a range of agents at QF, ranging from extremely competent and helpful, to downright rude and obnoxious. One agent in particular gets a special mention for giving me incorrect information about baggage (tried to tell me US DOT rule does not apply to this itinerary, but it does), and when I asked to speak to a supervisor she refused!

Qantas, if you're listening (which I very much doubt), these are the kind of things you need to fix if you want to stop haemorrhaging cash and losing customers.

 

[Princess Fiona]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Thought I'd come back here and share my final itinerary and ticket cost for those who are considering booking one of these.

MEL-HKG (CX)
HKG-ICN (CX)
ICN-LHR(18 hours)-JFK-YYZ (BA/AA)
YYZ-LHR (BA)
LHR-BOS (BA) (surface sector to JFK)
JFK-HKG-MEL (CX)

All up it hit the magic 280k points & $1819 in 'taxes and surcharges', so far has cost me 7k pts in change fees - I have some date changes to do on the final legs once the seats open up, so another 3.5k points there for sure. According to gcmap.com this itinerary clocks in at 34881 miles so I feel like I've definitely maximised this OW award

I've dealt with a range of agents at QF, ranging from extremely competent and helpful, to downright rude and obnoxious. One agent in particular gets a special mention for giving me incorrect information about baggage (tried to tell me US DOT rule does not apply to this itinerary, but it does), and when I asked to speak to a supervisor she refused!

Qantas, if you're listening (which I very much doubt), these are the kind of things you need to fix if you want to stop haemorrhaging cash and losing customers.

Thats a pretty good routing. Shame about the agent, I'm pretty lucky with QF telephone staff in general

 

[N860CR]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Best thing to do is get their name and make a complaint. You'll get nothing out of it... But if each bad agent has 10 or so complaints lodged against them in a short space of time... Well surely something should happen.

I'm boarding the last two legs of my J OneWorld Award now. It was a battle to get it sorted, but worth it in the end.

 

[davidjm2389]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Can someone just clarify for me. I want to book OW J award flights for my itinerary as they become available over a month or so. I figure I book the first leg online and pay the taxes and use up points. For the subsequent legs, can I book them online through the QF website as they become available to avoid the phone fee, or do I have to book a full itinerary at the start, or ring up QF to add each leg.
I gather from some previous posts that others have booked flight legs as they become available and that the points cap at 280K as long as the OW award rules are obeyed.
i am working on MEL - HKG - ORD. ORD - YTO. YTO - LHR - OSL. OSL - MOS. STO - DOH - MEL. with a few weeks between each flight leg so I hope to book the first leg and then subsequent legs as they come online.
Many thanks for your help.

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Can someone just clarify for me. I want to book OW J award flights for my itinerary as they become available over a month or so. I figure I book the first leg online and pay the taxes and use up points. For the subsequent legs, can I book them online through the QF website as they become available to avoid the phone fee, or do I have to book a full itinerary at the start, or ring up QF to add each leg.
I gather from some previous posts that others have booked flight legs as they become available and that the points cap at 280K as long as the OW award rules are obeyed.
i am working on MEL - HKG - ORD. ORD - YTO. YTO - LHR - OSL. OSL - MOS. STO - DOH - MEL. with a few weeks between each flight leg so I hope to book the first leg and then subsequent legs as they come online.
Many thanks for your help.

Only the first booking can be done online and incurs no fee - all subsequent additions or changes have to be done over the phone and the change fee paid. You don't have to book a full itinerary at the start and you don't have to add only one leg at a time. When you decide to add flights should be according to availability - flights for which availability is scarce, or demand for award seats is high, may need to be booked as soon as possible but often you can wait and book those with generally good availability at the same time to avoid having to pay too many change fees.
Once the points go above 280K the booking will become a OW award and points are capped, so your understanding of that is correct.

 

[BorisWood]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

Thanks in large part to reading all the helpful hints on this thread, I was able to book a trip for 2 of us in J for May/June, 2015. Because Moscow doesn't show up as an option, I was unable to complete the booking online. I did a dummy booking to get dates when J was available for all other flights then called Qantas and had a very helpful guy do the booking for me. He said there would be no cost/points for the call as Moscow was unable to be booked.
The trip is - MEL-SYD-JNB on QF, JNB-LHR-HEL on BA, DME-LHR on BA, LHR-HKG on BA and HKG-MEL on CX. The total taxes/charges for 2 people in J was A$3,371.40.

Once complete, I got seat allocation on QF website but couldn't get seats for BA or CX. I went to BA website and the booking showed up immediately and I was able to book all other seats (BA and CX) plus enter personal details.

One question for those who have travelled SYD to JNB. The seat layout is for a 747 with first class but there is no first class on the flight as far as I could see. I was able to select the front cabin - seats 3E and 3F. Is this normal for this flight i.e. first class seats but business class fare?

Regards
Boris

 

[vetrade]

re: "oneworld" award (140K/280K/420K) Planning - The Definitive Thread

One question for those who have travelled SYD to JNB. The seat layout is for a 747 with first class but there is no first class on the flight as far as I could see. I was able to select the front cabin - seats 3E and 3F. Is this normal for this flight i.e. first class seats but business class fare?

Regards
Boris

BorisWood, some of the 747s on this route have been refurbished - they have 3 J rows downstairs. The (better) un-refurbished ones have 4 rows of J seats downstairs which are better since they were previously F seats. For a couple 3 / 4, E&F are probably best but some ppl prefer the single window seats on the LHS because you get daylight views of the South Pole