The ULTIMATE Qantas Guide

[ramboflyer]

Best way to use my points.

Rather than start a new discussion that has probably been done a few times I was hoping I could be pointed in the right direction on the best way to use my Qantas points.
Briefly my wife and I are taking our first overseas trip this time in 2015. The plan is Australia/LA/SF/Las Vegas/NY/Washington/Boston/Italy/France/Britain/Australia. It seems to me using points for Classic awards is not smart as the taxes & fees are nearly as much as the fare. Paying for an economy fare and applying for an upgrade sounds reasonable or any seat awards will earn points but use heaps to do so. I will have about 500,000 which is not a lot for 2 of us but I have been saving them up on the credit card (mainly) for a few years and want to maximize them.
I have other questions and I'm sure there is a thread in here somewhere but I couldn't find it.

 

[Shan Man]

Re: Best way to use my points.

Given the amount of places you want to visit. May I suggest a RTW ticket done through one world? 2xbusiness class tickets will cost 480k points

link:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ogram/oneworld-award-140k-280k-420k-8228.html

 

[ketsuzei]

Re: Best way to use my points.

Given the amount of places you want to visit. May I suggest a RTW ticket done through one world? 2xbusiness class tickets will cost 480k points

link:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ogram/oneworld-award-140k-280k-420k-8228.html

Or maybe 560,000.

 

[Shan Man]

Re: Best way to use my points.

Or maybe 560,000.

Should have paid more attention in Maths.... oops.

 

[QF WP]

All very good info. Quite a few of the links look like they need updating though.

This thread has probably over its shelf life. Remembering how long it look me initially, I have neither the time nor desire to re-map the new QF website and link each page.

 

[ramboflyer]

Re: Best way to use my points.

Thanks for the replies. It would be nice to fly business class on my planned trip. I wonder if I don't have enough points if I could use points plus pay? I followed the links and assuming the info is still relevant (2006) I did a dummy booking for a round the world trip on my itinerary but once i got to 5 stopovers up popped a message to tell me I had to change something. I wont be flying between Rome/Paris/London so how do I do a booking that arrives in Rome but then leaves from London? I have spent a fair bit of time on the Qantas site but struggle to find the answers.

 

[Youfah Mizzum]

Re: Best way to use my points.

Thanks for the replies. It would be nice to fly business class on my planned trip. I wonder if I don't have enough points if I could use points plus pay? I followed the links and assuming the info is still relevant (2006) I did a dummy booking for a round the world trip on my itinerary but once i got to 5 stopovers up popped a message to tell me I had to change something. I wont be flying between Rome/Paris/London so how do I do a booking that arrives in Rome but then leaves from London? I have spent a fair bit of time on the Qantas site but struggle to find the answers.

Ramboflyer, firstly ley me state I am also a newbie at checking out flights but I have also been doing similar research and can state the following (after assistance form others here).
1. You can't do points plus pay as far as I can tell. If you have 500,000 points, you need 560,000 for business class. Look for deals with financial institutions which offer points for new credit card(s). You should be able to rapidly get the extra 60,000 points with a couple of new cards.
2. I also did a dummy RTW trip on the oneWorld site, but never asked me about points, so finally someone cleared up the confusion & advised I needed to do a multicity, not a round the world, and do it from the Qantas site, not OneWorld.
3. Yes, you can arrive in one city and leave in another. This is known as a surface sector. The mileage between the cities count towards the 35,000 miles.
4. I have spent, quite literally hours upon hours on both the Qantas site & the OneWorld site & still can't find the answers I'm after. What I have found helpful is to ask for assistance on this forum - specific questions will get decent answers.

 

[ramboflyer]

Re: Best way to use my points.

Ramboflyer, firstly ley me state I am also a newbie at checking out flights but I have also been doing similar research and can state the following (after assistance form others here).
1. You can't do points plus pay as far as I can tell. If you have 500,000 points, you need 560,000 for business class. Look for deals with financial institutions which offer points for new credit card(s). You should be able to rapidly get the extra 60,000 points with a couple of new cards.
2. I also did a dummy RTW trip on the oneWorld site, but never asked me about points, so finally someone cleared up the confusion & advised I needed to do a multicity, not a round the world, and do it from the Qantas site, not OneWorld.
3. Yes, you can arrive in one city and leave in another. This is known as a surface sector. The mileage between the cities count towards the 35,000 miles.
4. I have spent, quite literally hours upon hours on both the Qantas site & the OneWorld site & still can't find the answers I'm after. What I have found helpful is to ask for assistance on this forum - specific questions will get decent answers.

I have just last night applied successfully for an ANZ card for my wife and I. Once we spend $1500 on each card they will pay 50,000 points so that gives us the extra 100,000 we need. All that at $0 fee in the first year. The down side is it could take up to 4 months and I want to book sooner than that.
I did work out the multi city booking thing. I also am still none the wiser about how it will all work out as we are locked into certain dates and I know we wont get flights at the times and days to suit us. Not surprisingly my preference is one of the RTW business class flights at a total of 560,000 points.
It would be helpful if you could send updates to me if you discover anything new and I will do the same - I noticed a banner for a webinar coming up which peaked my interest on cheaper first/business class flights.

 

[nickfromeastryde]

Guys,

There is 157 pages on this very same discussion board telling you all about the 280K one world award ticket

As someone who has just successfully booked my first 280K award (and got all flights and dates that I was looking for), I can highly recommend that you have a very close look at this topic because it will somewhere in there have an answer to whatever question it is you are asking

It is a lot of work scrolling through that many posts, maybe start with the last 30 pages or so as common topics do seem to roll around but I can guarantee that it will be worth it

 

[ramboflyer]

Guys,

There is 157 pages on this very same discussion board telling you all about the 280K one world award ticket

As someone who has just successfully booked my first 280K award (and got all flights and dates that I was looking for), I can highly recommend that you have a very close look at this topic because it will somewhere in there have an answer to whatever question it is you are asking

It is a lot of work scrolling through that many posts, maybe start with the last 30 pages or so as common topics do seem to roll around but I can guarantee that it will be worth it

It sounds like good advice. I think I knew that from the beginning but took the easy way by asking a question knowing the answer was tucked away somewhere in those 157 pages. In my defense I think my first post left it open for someone to take me straight to the answer. I'll start reading as soon as I get home from watching the Kangaroos towel up St Kilda this afternoon and a cold beer close by!

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Re: Best way to use my points.

Need advice on MNL-SYD please good people:



How is the J product on this bird? Sleepable? Have SQ F booked SIN-MEL but again I need to burn QF FF pts. Advice greatly appreciated.

 

[serfty]

Skybed Mark 1 ... Unless you get a new configuration - ( new one for MNL in May next year is unlikely ).

As for the sky bed 1 , i have no problems sleeping , others, however have reported issues.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

taa Uncle Serftarini - after I posted that I did find the correct thread - think I'll stick with SQ this time - not going to try to endure sleeping on those.

 

[RooFlyer]

Re: Best way to use my points.

Need advice on MNL-SYD please good people:

<snip>

How is the J product on this bird? Sleepable? Have SQ F booked SIN-MEL but again I need to burn QF FF pts. Advice greatly appreciated.

Sorry, one of the least enjoyable QF J flights I have taken. Trip report here No PJs in J, unattractive meals (can happen anywhere of course), Skybed MK1 as serfty says. MNL lounge isn't too flash either. Get a pass to the Mirascor Lounge.

 

[_TheTraveller_]

Re: Best way to use my points.

Is there 24/7 luggage check-in at JFK?

 

[Pushka]

Using My Flights, which is a fantastic app, we were notified of a change in our July booking. It was changed by Qantas from Economy Restricted to Economy. Just wondering why?

 

[drross]

Using My Flights, which is a fantastic app, we were notified of a change in our July booking. It was changed by Qantas from Economy Restricted to Economy. Just wondering why?

lucky maybe??

 

[Archphoto]

Using My Flights, which is a fantastic app, we were notified of a change in our July booking. It was changed by Qantas from Economy Restricted to Economy. Just wondering why?

I'll second that this is a great app!

I had two flights yesterday afternoon changed to the exact same thing - although they weren't QF.
MyFlights is certainly on the ball - has kept me updated just seconds prior to many of my CX flights using NotiFly.

 

[Pushka]

lucky maybe??

But it hasn't changed anything in reality. Its just a dom flight Adl-Syd.

MyFlights is great. Notifies of change in seats which comes in handy when Q does a last minute seat change. Very user friendly.

 

[aussiel]

Hello friends,

Didn't really think this warranted its own thread so will pop it in here.

I'll by flying Syd > PVG (and back) in a few weeks on an a330. Does anyone have any recommendations for the best seat, flying solo? I'm WP but unfortunately flying Y. I was considering putting an upgrade request in, but not sure it's worth the 48,000 points for (probably) an old 330.

Also I've read the "VIP Lounge" that QF use at PVG is ordinary, and that the CX lounge is the way to go, anyone?