RooFlyer could you explain further. You noted that a QantasFF need not book through the Qantas booking system. In fact I avoided it where possible and used a TA. I thought that in order to apply Qantas FF points for flights you had to book through the Qantas booking engine? If not who do you book through. Second question - you avoided the Qantas booking system and used a TA. I assume TA is travel agent. How do you use a travel agent and access your points for reward flights. Sorry if these questions are stupid, but as a newbie there is so much to learn.
I have used a 'Qantas FFlyer' in its wider sense, not just one who is booking a QFF points flight.
A Travel Agent can book Qantas
paid flights because they have direct access to the "booking engine" that Qantas, and other airlines use. This 'booking engine, called Amadeus, is the software behind the Qantas web site and app. Those are just portals into the "booking engine" - there are more direct ways.
Have you heard of the App "Check my Trip"? If you download it, you can see your points or paid bookings made through Qantas (and any other airline bookings that uses the Amadeus engine), even though the App has got nothing to do with Qantas. That's because the App is tapping direct into Amadeus.
Don't get too distracted by this - if you only ever book with Qantas, then the Qantas booking page will suffice (except for its numerous bugs). But because Travel Agents have
direct access to the booking engine, they can do everything directly, without you and me thinking about it and navigating the Qantas site limitations.
BUT Travel Agents generally don't deal in points bookings - you do those on your own. But once you've made your points booking through Qantas, you can see it in "Check my Trip" - because like a paid booking, its ultimately made on the Amadeus software. My Travel Agent can also see my points bookings, because they have access to Amadeus.
Actually, if I gave my TA access to my QFF account (like they have access to my credit card), I guess they
could make points bookings for me, and presumably charge a fee for doing so.
I'll introduce another concept here which you might put in the back of your mind for later, because you will come across it sooner or later. Not every airline uses the Amadeus software. In fact there are 2 or 3 major systems in use around the world. Some of Qantas' OneWorld partners use different software - American Airlines for instance uses one called Sabre. Think of it as Mac Vs Microsoft. Both do similar jobs, in different ways and can talk to each other in limited ways. If you book an AA flight using Qantas points, you will get a PNR from AA
which is different from the one you will get from Qantas. Different booking engines/software produce different PNRs, so if you talk to Qantas about your booking, you need to quote the Qantas PNR. If you talk to AA about your flight, you need to quote the AA PNR. Of course, a Travel Agent talks BOTH PNRs
