Qantas classic reward to Singapore - No business awards available?

[ZMan]

That really depends on how much you value QF points. The best way to calculate that is to take the cash fare price you would pay for the price, subtract the taxes and fees you would pay on the classic award booking and divide the total number of points by the cost of the cash fare. Generally, anything over 1 cent per point value is considered good, although I've gotten that value as high as 9 cents on flights to LDH.

Also, if you're paying 350,000 points on a one-way business class ticket to Singapore you are likely paying too much. A classic award business award on QF should set you back 75,000 points + taxes & fees one-way:
View attachment 277480

-RooFlyer88

What dates did you search for that particular fare? I can’t seem to find any so cheap.

Or are you QFF gold member or something?

 

[love_the_life]

What dates did you search for that particular fare? I can’t seem to find any so cheap.

Or are you QFF gold member or something?

There seems to be quite a lot of Y availability to Singapore but you were after J - that is harder to come by, especially if you want more than 1 seat. I can even see some premium economy around - July and on.

I can see availability every day when not logged in to my FF account so you should be able to as well.

You are clicking the Rewards only filter? And not choosing 'Use Points' on the home page search?

 

[clifford]

If it were me, I'd just buy JQ Biz at $659 each way or even Scoot at $499 and enjoy the trip.

JQ isn't too bad, IME, with unlimited plonk and quite decent meals.

Why try and waste 75,000 points and however many $$$ they extract from you as taxes and charges?

BTW, I've just spent 75,000 points + $335 on a business class ticket on RJ from BKK to LCA via AMM, which I think is a better deal.

 

[ZMan]

There seems to be quite a lot of Y availability to Singapore but you were after J - that is harder to come by, especially if you want more than 1 seat. I can even see some premium economy around - July and on.

I can see availability every day when not logged in to my FF account so you should be able to as well.

You are clicking the Rewards only filter? And not choosing 'Use Points' on the home page search?
View attachment 277522

Y is flexible economic and J is flexible business? Sorry I’m not familiar with different classes.

I’m doing a standard search without clicking use points then applying the rewards only filter.

 

[love_the_life]

Y is flexible economic and J is flexible business? Sorry I’m not familiar with different classes.

I’m doing a standard search without clicking use points then applying the rewards only filter.

So you are looking for the classic awards - yes Y is economy and J is business. I can see lots of economy to Singapore but like others have said, the Business sears are harder to get. Also be a bit careful with return flights though Singapore isn't too bad. I remember doing an award to Japan once and it was very hard to get one back when I wanted it - I was lucky in the end but it could have been a more expensive trip than I planned for.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

There is a classic business award on the outbound to Singapore on July 6 with British Airways:



There's also similar availability on the outbound for July 12 again BA business class to Singapore. For return, Sunday July 31 there is Singapore to Sydney again with BA as a business classic award for 75,000 points.

-RooFlyer88

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Or are you QFF gold member or something?

Fellow AFF members can correct me if I'm mistaken here but your frequent flyer status means little when you are booking 90 days out or less. What I see as a QFF Gold should be exactly the same as what you see as a Bronze for July.

If it were me, I'd just buy JQ Biz at $659 each way or even Scoot at $499 and enjoy the trip.

JQ isn't too bad, IME, with unlimited plonk and quite decent meals.

Why try and waste 75,000 points and however many $$$ they extract from you as taxes and charges?

BTW, I've just spent 75,000 points + $335 on a business class ticket on RJ from BKK to LCA via AMM, which I think is a better deal.

Life is too short to fly JQ. Don't get me wrong, I've flown JQ a number of times including long-haul "domestic" later this week to HNL, but if I'm flying something long haul and I've got the points, I'm darn well gonna book J. That's where you get the best bang for your buck. A 10,000 point redemption to convert my $100 economy QF flight to Melbourne from Sydney to business class is a real bargain, especially if it's on an A330 with lie-flat business seats. And on programs where you get even better value (i.e. Air Canada's Aeroplan), the prospect of spending 80,000 points for 25 hours in business class flying from Sydney to Toronto is a real bargain.

-RooFlyer88

 

[ZMan]

There is a classic business award on the outbound to Singapore on July 6 with British Airways:

View attachment 277541

There's also similar availability on the outbound for July 12 again BA business class to Singapore. For return, Sunday July 31 there is Singapore to Sydney again with BA as a business classic award for 75,000 points.

-RooFlyer88

Thanks for this! I can finally see these too.

Sadly I can only travel on certain dates and none of them have any rewards business.

I might just pay cash and take SQ instead…

 

[sudoer]

A classic award business award on QF should set you back 75,000 points + taxes & fees one-way:

That's the BA/partner award table. QF metal is 68k.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

That's the BA/partner award table. QF metal is 68k.

I suspect many folks would consider spending the extra 7,000 points to secure a classic business award seat with BA versus rolling the dice with an upgrade and is certainly a bargain compared to the points plus pay price which can easily be in the hundreds of thousands of points. Also I hear the J service on BA is a cut above QF, potentially making it worth the extra 7,000 point outlay.

-RooFlyer88

 

[sudoer]

I suspect many folks would consider spending the extra 7,000 points to secure a classic business award seat with BA versus rolling the dice with an upgrade and is certainly a bargain compared to the points plus pay price which can easily be in the hundreds of thousands of points. Also I hear the J service on BA is a cut above QF, potentially making it worth the extra 7,000 point outlay.

I'm not sure how any of that's relevant to my post. I was simply correcting some misinformation.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Also should point out that there is availability for SIN > SYD for July 26 as a business classic on Malaysian and Qantas metal (albeit slightly higher cost):


One thing to keep in mind with award bookings is you don't have to book return awards. If you spot availability on the outbound or return that works for you book that award now and then worry about the other segment you couldn't find availability. Worse case scenario you're flying back on a one way JQ J cash ticket.

-RooFlyer88

 

[Quickstatus]

separate PNRs

It will always be separate PNR as a later inbound booking on the same airline will not be combined with the earlier outbound booking
As a general rule separate PNRs should always include some padding to layover time to mitigate against delays at transit or intermediate points. (Though this also applies to $ bookings. Sometimes (often) the suggested layover times for $ bookings are too short for my liking.

 

[RealtimeY]

If you are returning on a separate PNR, are you considered to be away from your "home port" in the event of delays/cancellations, and eligible for accommodation/compensation?

 

[Quickstatus]

About 353 days in advance

@ZMan
I should also mention that FF status also determines when rewards seats are visible

If I recall correctly:
God and above: 353 days
Silver 323 days?
Bronze 300?

Edit: “Gold”

 

[jpp42]

Hi, I am WP status and have tried to find award availability on the 353 days from now (May 2023), for the past few days and have never managed to see a single J or F seat for several itineraries I'm checking (SYD-LHR, SYD-DFW, SYD-LAX). I know those are popular routes but it's interesting that I have never once seen a single seat available on QF metal (sometimes some partner awards show). I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or it's just that there are too many other SG and higher members grabbing them at exactly 10:00 AM AEST ?

(Availability in W is sporadic and Y is generally available for these same flights/dates.)

 

[downgraded]

Hi, I am WP status and have tried to find award availability on the 353 days from now (May 2023), for the past few days and have never managed to see a single J or F seat for several itineraries I'm checking (SYD-LHR, SYD-DFW, SYD-LAX). I know those are popular routes but it's interesting that I have never once seen a single seat available on QF metal (sometimes some partner awards show). I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or it's just that there are too many other SG and higher members grabbing them at exactly 10:00 AM AEST ?

(Availability in W is sporadic and Y is generally available for these same flights/dates.)

Realistically QF metal on those routes is so limited that the opportunity is very slim (though not impossible). I haven't looked at what CX or EK (for example) have scheduled that far in advance but when you consider CX used to have multiple flights per day from each east coast capital, as did EK, and I assume they don't have the same at the moment, the general availability of premium award seats is only going to be a fraction of what it used to be, further putting pressure on QF's negligible premium seat availability.

 

[levelnine]

Hi, I am WP status and have tried to find award availability on the 353 days from now (May 2023), for the past few days and have never managed to see a single J or F seat for several itineraries I'm checking (SYD-LHR, SYD-DFW, SYD-LAX)

My guess is QF is releasing no business class availability on those routes because they think demand for premium travel will remain high into next year and they'll be able to sell every seat for cash.

If their forward bookings start to drop, they'll probably consider releasing some seats, so keep checking regularly.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

If I recall correctly:
God and above: 353 days
Silver 323 days?
Bronze 300?

I hear God may have slightly greater award seat availability, but may be speculating here.

-RooFlyer88

 

[Quickstatus]

God

Based on some experiences, it may as well be Level God and above