Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[squid01]

The flights are not secured until you have paid. Maybe it will all happen by magic behind the scenes, but others' stories suggest it won't. Therefore you have nothing to lose by calling back, getting them priced, paid and ticketed but everything to lose by not doing so.

I phoned back. They said the taxes were $2560 for both passengers which was pretty much what I expected, so it was weird the first person said $1499.

I tried to pay, they got an error again. Tried multiple cards. She said she would have to call me back, I tried to say I would hold on the line but she wasn’t going to do that. Anyway seems I have two different people apparently looking into the payment issue now, the guy from last night and lady from this morning. Not holding my breath. Not sure what else to do?
Almost makes all this not worth it. Think I’ll switch away from Qantas FF after this trip.

 

[flapper]

I phoned back. They said the taxes were $2560 for both passengers which was pretty much what I expected, so it was weird the first person said $1499.

I tried to pay, they got an error again. Tried multiple cards. She said she would have to call me back, I tried to say I would hold on the line but she wasn’t going to do that. Anyway seems I have two different people apparently looking into the payment issue now, the guy from last night and lady from this morning. Not holding my breath. Not sure what else to do?
Almost makes all this not worth it. Think I’ll switch away from Qantas FF after this trip.

I know how you feel. I'm trying to sort an issue. I've made over 10 calls and keep getting conflicting information. Last night someone from Fiji call sentre promised to call me back 8:00am today. Of course no call back. I called and got the SA call centre, I asked to be put through to Fiji. After losts of stange noises and ringing I got through to Fiji. Gave my booking reference and it went staight to the end of call survey. I say call back again straight away.

 

[jeza]

It's really interesting how the OWA is being devalued not through an increase in points costs, but instead through an inability to change the booking without risking losing all your flights.

Some real nightmare stuff in other threads: CX and QR flights disappeared from MBB on OWA RTW classic rewards booking. Need urgent advice please!!

Not good All that stress & worry that is being put on people due to airlines rescheduling &/or call center staff being poorly trained & not empowered to make changes.

To try & mitigate the risk a bit I've resorted to booking BKK-DOH-MAN & MAD-DOH-SYD on QR as a back up to my original itinerary. Plan is I'll try & add the 2023 flights to my original PNR, then if all goes well cancel the backup flights. As I have no status I feel like the odds are better than 50-50 that I'll end up doing the back-up flights.

I realise that by doing this I'm decreasing the availability of flights which is a bit selfish but the difficulties being encountered makes it seem like a prudent step to take.

 

[Mr H]

Not good All that stress & worry that is being put on people due to airlines rescheduling &/or call center staff being poorly trained & not empowered to make changes.

Agreed. The need to book as soon as flights are released a year ahead means there is an almost certainty that schedules for complex itineraries will change during the year - and often the logical alternatives will have been taken by others who also booked a year ahead.

My own first OWA is now three months away. I do think the prize is good enough to be worth the effort, but I have had to build in major alterations due to (a) Japanese routes being cancelled as they were slow to reopen after Covid; (b) not being able to get a US visa in less than a year; (c) war in the Ukraine causing Finnair to cancel flights to Asia; and (d) the economic collapse of Sri Lanka.

One learning point I have is to avoid booking two consecutive flights on the same airline without a stopover in between. Such segments seem to get married and a change to one will cause the other to fall too.

 

[flapper]

Is it possible to add a Y flight to a J OWA booking. I have done this in the past but 2 operators in Fiji have said this is not possible. They say all flights have to be on the same class. I have had so many diffrerent stories from these people and people who promise to call back but never do. I feel my option left is to email Stephanie Tully.
The rule is:
14.5.6 Where mixed-class travel is booked in a oneworld Classic Flight Reward, the whole Itinerary will be calculated using the Qantas Points level for the highest class booked.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

I couldn't book last night as I kept getting error messages online. Called through this morning, but the flight I wanted from Tokyo to Sydney in J was gone. Took Jacques' advice, and have managed to book the following online:

SYD-KUL in J on MH122
KUL-SIN in J on MH627
SIN-HND in Y+ on JL36
NRT-MNL in J on JL741
MNL-SYD in J on QF20

A few additional questions:

1. Is it worth replacing the SIN-HND in Y+ leg with SIN-KUL-NRT in J on MH? The KUL-NRT leg would be on the A350, vs A330 on the SYD-KUL leg. I'm not sure if there's a difference in hard product, but may be worthwhile regardless for the upgrade from Y+ to J.
2. Assuming I am okay to add a MEL-SYD flight in January 2023? This would be a return trip from the tennis, so would just need to book a separate one-way SYD-MEL.
3. Assuming I am okay to add an internal Japan flight from Osaka to Tokyo?
4. Are Qantas charging any change fees for these bookings given they can't be done online?

 

[DC3]

Is it possible to add a Y flight to a J OWA booking. I have done this in the past but 2 operators in Fiji have said this is not possible. They say all flights have to be on the same class …

They are talking rubbish. Any award class can form part of the OWA itinerary.

Edit: I have done this (J and Y)

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Is it possible to add a Y flight to a J OWA booking. I have done this in the past but 2 operators in Fiji have said this is not possible. They say all flights have to be on the same class. I have had so many diffrerent stories from these people and people who promise to call back but never do. I feel my option left is to email Stephanie Tully.

Definitely possible - I just made a J OWA booking that incudes a Y+ leg.

 

[ellen10]

In 2019 we did our first OWA booking. Lots of flights and a wonderful experience, even adding in sectors was seamless.
I have been saving and building my points base to dip my toe in again but after reading so many sad stories, I am so very very hesitant. At this stage I am only going to redeem direct flights and hopefully things may settle down in the Qantas frequent flyer world and the world in general.

Every sad story and angst I read makes me very sad for you all. I wish you all the best and hope you can get things sorted for what should be a very happy and longed for holiday experience.

 

[squid01]

Is it possible to add a Y flight to a J OWA booking. I have done this in the past but 2 operators in Fiji have said this is not possible. They say all flights have to be on the same class. I have had so many diffrerent stories from these people and people who promise to call back but never do. I feel my option left is to email Stephanie Tully.

Yes you can. Even in the OWCA terms and conditions is explicitly mentions if the itinerary is mixed class it gets charged at the higher class cabin rate. So you can refer them to that.

 

[flapper]

Yes you can. Even in the OWCA terms and conditions is explicitly mentions if the itinerary is mixed class it gets charged at the higher class cabin rate. So you can refer them to that.

I've just been told by a 3rd operator that it can't be done. I read out the rule and they still said they can't do it. I hope to draft an email to Stephanie this arvo.

 

[Mr H]

I've just been told by a 3rd operator that it can't be done. I read out the rule and they still said they can't do it. I hope to draft an email to Stephanie this arvo.

I have had some promising interactions with Cape Town and one that was really good - I have not heard of anything good coming from the Fiji centre.

 

[theblank]

Can the Qantas call centre modify the first segment of a Classic Rewards booking on a partner airline (2 segments) without stuffing up the 2nd segment?

Last night i booked Qantas Classic Rewards Booking on Qatar Airways from CGK>DOH>DUB
however i now want to change that to BKK>DOH>DUB, without changing anything for the DOH>DUB segment.

whilst there is availability from BKK>DOH problem is DOH>DUB has no more availability, it would appear that I got the last remaining Classic awards seat on DOH>DUB. So whilst i can cancel for free, I dont want to cancel the booking and rebook as the availability might not return.

Last time i called them about something else they didnt give me much confidence that they knew what they are doing.

 

[Mr H]

Can the Qantas call centre modify the first segment of a Classic Rewards booking on a partner airline (2 segments) without stuffing up the 2nd segment?

Last night i booked Qantas Classic Rewards Booking on Qatar Airways from CGK>DOH>DUB
however i now want to change that to BKK>DOH>DUB, without changing anything for the DOH>DUB segment.

whilst there is availability from BKK>DOH problem is DOH>DUB has no more availability, it would appear that I got the last remaining Classic awards seat on DOH>DUB. So whilst i can cancel for free, I dont want to cancel the booking and rebook as the availability might not return.

Last time i called them about something else they didnt give me much confidence that they knew what they are doing.

Do you have a stopover in Doha? If so, then you should be OK to get the first flight changed. If not, the two flights may have become married and if you scrap one, the other will be scrapped too. Agents don't always spot this until it is too late (if they spot it at all). I think a lot of the tales of woe of disappearing flights are down to this issue.

 

[theblank]

Do you have a stopover in Doha? If so, then you should be OK to get the first flight changed. If not, the two flights may have become married and if you scrap one, the other will be scrapped too. Agents don't always spot this until it is too late (if they spot it at all). I think a lot of the tales of woe of disappearing flights are down to this issue.

i think the answer is No to a Stopover, its only a ~3hr transit, and a single booking with bags checked through to Dublin. So if its married segment it can be done provided i insist that they check?

 

[Mr H]

i think the answer is No to a Stopover, its only a ~3hr transit, and a single booking with bags checked through to Dublin. So if its married segment it can be done provided i insist that they check?

No. If it is a married segment then you would lose it when you change the first flight. Asking the agent will theoretically let you stop them making a change to the itinerary before it is too late, but if they don't understand the question then you only discover the reality when the flight has disappeared for ever. If I were you, I would focus on how to get from Bangkok to Jakarta. Maybe a cheap revenue flight...

 

[theblank]

If I were you, I would focus on how to get from Bangkok to Jakarta. Maybe a cheap revenue flight...

thanks for the wise tip! i will leave the booking as is, because there is somewhere between buggar all and sweet nothing for Rewards seats from AU to Europe at present, and i absolutely dont want to risk it. I have been watching daily for months, these flights are dropping off like flies, and paid flight prices are skyrocketing.

my issue is my desired flight on SQ from BNE>SIN>CGK is no longer available on points, but BNE>SIN>BKK is, but there is a few other options up my sleeve. the BNE>SIN flights are fine, i can swim the rest of the way if needed.

 

[aikman]

They could an option in the phone menu to direct OWA enquiries to AKL/HBA but I suspect this will get abused very quickly.

 

[Mr H]

my issue is my desired flight on SQ from BNE>SIN>CGK is no longer available on points, but BNE>SIN>BKK is, but there is a few other options up my sleeve. the BNE>SIN flights are fine, i can swim the rest of the way if needed.

There's often reasonable OW availability between SYD and CGK - e.g. though KUL. May be worth looking at

 

[flapper]

They could an option in the phone menu to direct OWA enquiries to AKL/HBA but I suspect this will get abused very quickly.

There should especially be an option to get through to AKL/HBA when QF cancel a flight on your OWA and just leave you to lots of wrong info from the overseas CC.