Qantas PER-MEL(J)-DXB(F)-LHR(F) booked and ticketed using AA!

[Pumbaa]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to share with everyone my excitement and great news! I have managed to book 2 x F tickets for my fiancee and I to go to London via Dubai and Melbourne early January next year!

Total cost is 160 000 AA points and roughly $170 in taxes! I am super stoked as this would have cost 384 000 points and a significantly heftier tax bill with Qantas FF direct. The equivalent cash price from Qantas is $10 000 each or $20 000 for 2 tickets! Looks like I got my points worth this time round

I took advantage of AA purchases with the 50% bonus, and I transferred all my SPG points to AA to get to my AA points total. Now I just need to wait and if I'm really lucky, I can book F tickets back as well!

 

[geordieladinoz]

At the right sale time you can pay for SYD - LHR return F on Qantas for $10k per person, it tempted us last year but I could only justify the J fare. But I guess if you have the points why not.

Personally speaking having done F, I'd rather book a J return than do F one way and Y the other. Each to their own.

Enjoy the experience!

 

[anat0l]

Well done Pumbaa! For early January, I assume there's a few holes in the availability (since not everyone jets off right after the new year; more likely just before it).

Out of interest, could you possibly estimate the cash outlay in having to purchase miles to make up the required amount for your redemption? I'm thinking it'll be quite a few grand, though not $10,000, of course. I assume you may have had a huge cache of SPG Starpoints to sweep over (many of us do not have such a "luxury" although transferring MR to SPG is a satisfactory alternative).

If I were to take on the advice from geordieladinoz, I'd probably just go for J on the way back, since (from what I can guess) - with the possible exception of First Hosts - the overall QF F experience at LHR is, well, absent. So all you'd be benefiting from is the QF F cabin (and no degustation since it is not ex-Australia), and then the EK F Lounge in DXB. (If you could build in a "stopover" at DXB possibly worth more going for F, but AA usually enforces the most direct routing).

If AA were jumping in the sack with EK as well, then you might have the option of using EK as a redemption option. That would make a LHR (or other Euro - escape the APD!) to Australia redemption a nice experience! Currently, according to AAdvantage, EY is available for redemption using AA miles - there's another idea.

 

[vitagen]

Good stuff! I did the same going via Syd as you spend more time in F

Going in Oct though!

 

[Pumbaa]

At the right sale time you can pay for SYD - LHR return F on Qantas for $10k per person, it tempted us last year but I could only justify the J fare. But I guess if you have the points why not.

Personally speaking having done F, I'd rather book a J return than do F one way and Y the other. Each to their own.

Enjoy the experience!

Hi Geordieladinoz,

It might be a while before I could justify paying $20 000 for return airfares for 2. Even if it is in F and you have all those lovely FF points and status credits. It will be interesting to see how we get home. We're tossing up spending some time in Europe, or going straight to the USA via AA/BA and then try our luck finding some F tickets home with CX SFO-HKG(F)-PER(J)!

F there and J back sounds pretty good to me. Theres so many things about QF F that I am looking forward to. Partner has never seen the insides of a Qantas F lounge before. Would love to experience a degustatation menu in the air. Its going to be great. Thanks!

 

[Pumbaa]

Well done Pumbaa! For early January, I assume there's a few holes in the availability (since not everyone jets off right after the new year; more likely just before it).

Out of interest, could you possibly estimate the cash outlay in having to purchase miles to make up the required amount for your redemption? I'm thinking it'll be quite a few grand, though not $10,000, of course. I assume you may have had a huge cache of SPG Starpoints to sweep over (many of us do not have such a "luxury" although transferring MR to SPG is a satisfactory alternative).

If I were to take on the advice from geordieladinoz, I'd probably just go for J on the way back, since (from what I can guess) - with the possible exception of First Hosts - the overall QF F experience at LHR is, well, absent. So all you'd be benefiting from is the QF F cabin (and no degustation since it is not ex-Australia), and then the EK F Lounge in DXB. (If you could build in a "stopover" at DXB possibly worth more going for F, but AA usually enforces the most direct routing).

If AA were jumping in the sack with EK as well, then you might have the option of using EK as a redemption option. That would make a LHR (or other Euro - escape the APD!) to Australia redemption a nice experience! Currently, according to AAdvantage, EY is available for redemption using AA miles - there's another idea.

Thanks very much Anat0l! Surprisingly there is a fair bit of availability for 2 in F via SYD/MEL to LHR. It is scattered on random days of the month, but theres a lot more now than there ever was when QF was flying via SIN.

The cash outlay is quite significant. Even when you buy miles with the 50% bonus, it costs about $1800 for 80 000 points. I don't like to transfer points from AMEX to SPG to AA as I find it not very good value. I usually use all my AMEX points for SQ KF redemptions. What I do like doing is purchasing 20 000 SPG points each year when they have their 25% discount. You can get about 25 000 AA points for approximately $560. Staying at SPG hotels is a real winner. I managed to reach Platinum late last year after completing a platinum challenge. SPG are usually quite generous with their 2/3x promotions. Their hotels aren't very cheap, but I guess that gives you more points? I earnt about 80 000 SPG points last year from hotel stays which I transferred to 100k AA points

Good advice on the J back, the thing with AA is the points difference between F and J is usually quite insignificant (10 000 points), so I usually end up thinking why not if there is availability! I'm more excited about the F there, I don't mind about the J back!

 

[Pumbaa]

Good stuff! I did the same going via Syd as you spend more time in F

Going in Oct though!

Awesome mate! Look forward to hearing how you enjoy your trip! I would have loved to leave via SYD, but sadly availability ex SYD is very scarce in Jan.

One good thing about MEL is we don't have to change airports when we land so we can spend more time in the F lounge

 

[vitagen]

I got red eye arriving at 6am.... flight departs at 5pm. I win!!!!

 

[Pumbaa]

I got red eye arriving at 6am.... flight departs at 5pm. I win!!!!

haha I did that last year when I went to London for the Olympics. I was only travelling PE that time and I purchased some F lounge passes from Ebay for my mum and I. We had 2 meals if I recall correctly. I huge breakfast, then a huge lunch. We were so full and a little tipsy we went straight to sleep on the flight and skipped all the food/drink offerings on the plane.

I'd be hesitant to do the same if I knew there was an onboard degustation menu waiting for me in the air! You will love you time in the lounge, mind you I found 4-6 hours the optimal time as I got a little bored towards the end!