Optimising SCs MEL-LHR

[wafliron]

I'm trying to figure out the highest-SC-earning routing for a MEL-LHR 128k QFF points JASA. I've gotten as far as:

MEL-BNE (QFxx_): 60 SCs
BNE-SIN (QF51): 120 SCs
SIN-LHR (QF1 or QF9): 160 SCs

Total: 340 SCs

Is that the most optimal routing? Or can anyone suggest improvements?

 

[medhead]

What about Mel-per-Sin? Will that earn more?

Mel-Per 80SC
Per-Sin ??


Sent from the Throne

 

[wafliron]

What about Mel-per-Sin? Will that earn more?

Thanks, but that works out the same:

MEL-PER: 80 SCs
PER-SIN: 100 SCs
SIN-LHR: 160 SCs

Total: 340 SCs

 

[Ansett]

wow

When are you looking to fly as I can not see any ASA in economy for 128K not even a red E Deal

 

[ChrisFlyer]

MEL-BNE (QFxx_): 60 SCs
BNE-SIN (QF51): 120 SCs
SIN-FRA (QF5): 160 SCs
FRA-LHR (BAxx_): 40SCs

Total: 380SCs

 

[samh004]

MEL-BNE (QFxx_): 60 SCs
BNE-SIN (QF51): 120 SCs
SIN-FRA (QF5): 160 SCs
FRA-LHR (BAxx_): 40SCs

Total: 380SCs

The BA flight will not earn SC's as part of a JASA.

You'd probably arrive in a nicer terminal though, and certainly a good route to fly back.




 

[ChrisFlyer]

True - I forgot about that! ... though you could always do the JASA to FRA, then book directly on BA in discount Y... Then go to the MMB page on the BA site, and under the 'upgrade' tab, you could upgrade to J really quite cheaply, and earn full J status credits (which is usually equivalent to an 80-90% discount on a properly-purchased J fare)... safe to say I've never flown in Y on BA you just need to check that the flight has 'I' inventory available, but being a year out, you shouldn't have a problem

Edit: also, if you're paying to return from Europe to Oz (or purchasing a return fare *from* London), it's cheaper to fly to Frankfurt first and then onwards to Singapore, as the UK departure tax is minimal for European flights, but very high for long haul flights.

 

[wafliron]

When are you looking to fly as I can not see any ASA in economy for 128K not even a red E Deal

JASA, not YASA. I said 128k as I was referring to one-way cost.

MEL-BNE (QFxx_): 60 SCs
BNE-SIN (QF51): 120 SCs
SIN-FRA (QF5): 160 SCs
FRA-LHR (BAxx_): 40SCs

Total: 380SCs

Unfortunately, as was pointed out by samh004, no JASA on BA metal :-(

True - I forgot about that! ... though you could always do the JASA to FRA, then book directly on BA in discount Y... Then go to the MMB page on the BA site, and under the 'upgrade' tab, you could upgrade to J really quite cheaply, and earn full J status credits (which is usually equivalent to an 80-90% discount on a properly-purchased J fare)... safe to say I've never flown in Y on BA you just need to check that the flight has 'I' inventory available, but being a year out, you shouldn't have a problem

I didn't mention in my OP that the final destination is actually CDG - if I go the JASA route I was planning on flying a $$$ fare from LHR to CDG. So, whilst your routing is a good idea based on what I originally posted, unfortunately going via FRA won't help earn any more SCs as either way I'm going to have a $$$ fare at the end (either LHR-CDG or FRA-CDG).

I do like the cheap Y->J upgrade idea on BA for the final segment though - any idea how much a paid upgrade on LHR-CDG-LHR would typically cost?

Edit: also, if you're paying to return from Europe to Oz (or purchasing a return fare *from* London), it's cheaper to fly to Frankfurt first and then onwards to Singapore, as the UK departure tax is minimal for European flights, but very high for long haul flights.

Thanks for the tip - would be a JASA on the way home though too, but I guess the same logic applies to the taxes & surcharges on this?

 

[ChrisFlyer]

I do like the cheap Y->J upgrade idea on BA for the final segment though - any idea how much a paid upgrade on LHR-CDG-LHR would typically cost?

Thanks for the tip - would be a JASA on the way home though too, but I guess the same logic applies to the taxes & surcharges on this?

In January it was 59GBP each way to upgrade from Y, and with a QF number on the booking, it just shows up as a normal BA business class flight on your QF statement.

Arriving into LHR on QF is fine, but the departure taxes are what makes the flight back to Oz so expensive, as these are always added on to the fare prices, or add to the $$ cost of a JASA booking. Also, you'll generally find greater JASA availability out of Frankfurt than London, as there is less demand for the seats (albeit on a 744 instead of a 380).

 

[wafliron]

In January it was 59GBP each way to upgrade from Y, and with a QF number on the booking, it just shows up as a normal BA business class flight on your QF statement.

Thanks - cheap!

Can you book a BA flight from LHR to CDG under a QF codeshare if it's not part of a larger itinerary (or at all)? Can't seem to find a way to do it on the QF website, and if I do go down the JASA to LHR and then $$ to CDG path it will be advantageous for me if the LHR-CDG flight is under a QF flight number (double SCs).

Arriving into LHR on QF is fine, but the departure taxes are what makes the flight back to Oz so expensive, as these are always added on to the fare prices, or add to the $$ cost of a JASA booking. Also, you'll generally find greater JASA availability out of Frankfurt than London, as there is less demand for the seats (albeit on a 744 instead of a 380).

OK - thanks for the info.

 

[medhead]

If you want to get to Paris in the end I'd suggest FRA and then a train. Provided it is the same SC earn.


Sent from the Throne

 

[wafliron]

If you want to get to Paris in the end I'd suggest FRA and then a train. Provided it is the same SC earn.

It would be a little less if I go FRA-CDG by train (or LHR-CDG by train), as I'd miss out of the SCs for the FRA-CDG or LHR-CDG flight on BA.

 

[Ansett]

JASA, not YASA. I said 128k as I was referring to one-way cost.


All I was getting across is that I thought any award seat at 128K was Brilliant as I cant get one under 800,000 in J love to know how the hell you are managing all that for 128K in J !!!!

As for BA upgrade to Europe I did this recently London To Madrid cost an extra GBP 110.00 in total and yes earned full status credits each way at the rate of 60 in each direction. Some of the cheapest status credits ever earned by myself.

Look forward to you sharing how you got JASA for 128K. Cheers

 

[amaroo]

I'm trying to figure out the highest-SC-earning routing for a MEL-LHR 128k QFF points JASA. I've gotten as far as:

MEL-BNE (QFxx_): 60 SCs
BNE-SIN (QF51): 120 SCs
SIN-LHR (QF1 or QF9): 160 SCs

Total: 340 SCs

Is that the most optimal routing? Or can anyone suggest improvements?

IMO SC should not always be the primary concern.....particularly when it comes to Flounging SYD v BNE!

Assuming that you can source seats I would depart from either SYD or MEL - Flounge, A388, flat J seats & possibly upgrade override everything else.

This week I did a FASA SYD-SIN-SYD on one booking & then added two separate bookings for before & after. I.E. BNE-MEL-SYD for a midday arrival into the Flounge & SYD-MEL-SYD-BNE for a 12.30pm arrival to valet parking.

All up 580SC that doubled to 1160SC

Look at doing a JASA run prior to departing to LHR from either MEL or SYD - the afternoon departure is perfectly timed.

 

[wafliron]

IMO SC should not always be the primary concern.....particularly when it comes to Flounging SYD v BNE!

Assuming that you can source seats I would depart from either SYD or MEL - Flounge, A388, flat J seats & possibly upgrade override everything else.

I would typically agree that maximising SCs shouldn't be the primary concern when weighed up against F Lounge, A380, etc, but if I book this JASA I have a very specific reason for chasing down every last SC from it (which I'll probably elaborate on in another thread sometime soon). That being said, you're probably right at least to the extent of not bothering with BNE - I can do MEL-xSYD-xSIN-xLHR and gain F Lounge / A380 whilst only losing 80 SCs (20 SC less MEL-SYD than MEL-BNE, plus vv, and doubled).

This week I did a FASA SYD-SIN-SYD on one booking & then added two separate bookings for before & after. I.E. BNE-MEL-SYD for a midday arrival into the Flounge & SYD-MEL-SYD-BNE for a 12.30pm arrival to valet parking.

All up 580SC that doubled to 1160SC

Nice And thanks for the suggestion. How are you finding JASAs like BNE-MEL-SYD and SYD-MEL-SYD-BNE though? If I search BNE-SYD or SYD-BNE on QF's website all I get are direct flights - no options with connections at all. Or are they actually separate flights you're booking, e.g. BNE-MEL and then MEL-SYD?

All I was getting across is that I thought any award seat at 128K was Brilliant as I cant get one under 800,000 in J love to know how the hell you are managing all that for 128K in J !!!!

You need to have a read of this thread: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....uent-flyer-program/how-do-i-book-j-29610.html It explains in detail how to find cheap ASAs, but the short version is you need to find flights where there is Classic Award availability and then search for an ASA on the same flight.

As for BA upgrade to Europe I did this recently London To Madrid cost an extra GBP 110.00 in total and yes earned full status credits each way at the rate of 60 in each direction. Some of the cheapest status credits ever earned by myself.

Thanks for sharing that - again, seems cheap.

 

[TonyHancock]

Look forward to you sharing how you got JASA for 128K. Cheers

From my experience there is an additional cost that can be paid with points or cash. (It is pretty much the tax element.) If you book well in advance you can find one way JASA's MEL-LHR for 128k points + cash. I have two in my schedule for this year.

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Can you book a BA flight from LHR to CDG under a QF codeshare if it's not part of a larger itinerary (or at all)? Can't seem to find a way to do it on the QF website, and if I do go down the JASA to LHR and then $$ to CDG path it will be advantageous for me if the LHR-CDG flight is under a QF flight number (double SCs).

Unfortunately not - to book the QF codeshare the flights must be on the same booking as QF int'l flights. However, the upgrades can only be performed when booked directly with BA and booked on a BA code, so if you want the cheap J seat (which earns 4x the SCs of discount Y), then it has to be a BA booking on a BA code I'm afraid! As a tip for future travel, if you do happen to book a BA European flight from another source (ie. ticketed by another airline or through a travel agent), the discount upgrade option only shows as available from T-24 when online check-in opens - any earlier and it won't work.

 

[amaroo]

Nice And thanks for the suggestion. How are you finding JASAs like BNE-MEL-SYD and SYD-MEL-SYD-BNE though? If I search BNE-SYD or SYD-BNE on QF's website all I get are direct flights - no options with connections at all. Or are they actually separate flights you're booking, e.g. BNE-MEL and then MEL-SYD?

With BNE-MEL-SYD I did the multi search function & booked the best connections on the same PNR.

With SYD-MEL-SYD-BNE again multi search with SYD-MEL & then MEL-BNE....the system provided the option to go via SYD & I took it.

Another tip - I booked the SYD-MEL-SYD-BNE to start some 3 hours after I was scheduled to land on QF2. QF2 landed on schedule at 5.10am & by 6.30am I was sitting on the flight to MEL, same thing for the other two flights. Changing to earlier flights worked a dream with the JASA so I cut my travel time down by 2 hours & had the safety net for a late arriving QF2.

 

[serfty]

The BA flight will not earn SC's as part of a JASA. ...

That is true - but only if in U class. It might be possible a a discount JASA to booking into another class such as I.

 

[wafliron]

Unfortunately not - to book the QF codeshare the flights must be on the same booking as QF int'l flights. However, the upgrades can only be performed when booked directly with BA and booked on a BA code, so if you want the cheap J seat (which earns 4x the SCs of discount Y), then it has to be a BA booking on a BA code I'm afraid! As a tip for future travel, if you do happen to book a BA European flight from another source (ie. ticketed by another airline or through a travel agent), the discount upgrade option only shows as available from T-24 when online check-in opens - any earlier and it won't work.

Thanks for the extra info Chris, appreciated. Re the discounted J upgrades, just to be clear:

1) If booked under a code other than BA they are not available at all.
2) If booked under a BA code but not through BA's own website then they only become available at T-24.
3) If booked under a BA code and through BA's own website then they're available straight away (assuming allowed by yield management.

Is that correct?

With BNE-MEL-SYD I did the multi search function & booked the best connections on the same PNR.

With SYD-MEL-SYD-BNE again multi search with SYD-MEL & then MEL-BNE....the system provided the option to go via SYD & I took it.

Ahh OK - so for BNE-MEL-SYD you searched and booked BNE-MEL and MEL-SYD as separate legs under one PNR? And therefore the points cost was 40k - 24k for BNE-MEL and 16k for MEL-SYD? I thought you meant you got BNE-MEL-SYD for only the cost of BNE-SYD (16k)!

Another tip - I booked the SYD-MEL-SYD-BNE to start some 3 hours after I was scheduled to land on QF2. QF2 landed on schedule at 5.10am & by 6.30am I was sitting on the flight to MEL, same thing for the other two flights. Changing to earlier flights worked a dream with the JASA so I cut my travel time down by 2 hours & had the safety net for a late arriving QF2.

Thanks, that's a good tip if I do the same as you. I assume you had no trouble with your checked luggage making it to your destination and then back home? With all the domestic connections I'd be a little worried about the luggage going AWOL somewhere, especially on the outbound leg of the trip!

That is true - but only if in U class. It might be possible a a discount JASA to booking into another class such as I.

You mean a JASA that costs more than a Classic Award would, I assume? As all the "cheap" JASAs book into U?