QF Award Search Baffles Me

[Cruiser Elite]

Why on earth does a search for a Business Class award redemption on the QF web site continually show availability with i included - you guys know what I mean - search for J MNL-MEL and it shows availability - but with MNL-SYD sector in Y? I just cannot believe this of for the life of me understand why QF would do this.

This is not an exercise in QF bashing - most of you would know I am an SQ devotee - and any search of SQ for J or F availability will clearly show YAY or NAY - will never show a sector in Y - so damn frustrating. Am I doing something wrong? Anyway around this?

 

[Princess Fiona]

Why on earth does a search for a Business Class award redemption on the QF web site continually show availability with i included - you guys know what I mean - search for J MNL-MEL and it shows availability - but with MNL-SYD sector in Y? I just cannot believe this of for the life of me understand why QF would do this.

This is not an exercise in QF bashing - most of you would know I am an SQ devotee - and any search of SQ for J or F availability will clearly show YAY or NAY - will never show a sector in Y - so damn frustrating. Am I doing something wrong? Anyway around this?

No sadly you are not doing anything wrong.
Add it to the ever increasing list of things that QF should fix at low/minimal cost if they were actually interested in retaining QFF who actually redeem points and fly

 

[JessicaTam]

No sadly you are not doing anything wrong.
Add it to the ever increasing list of things that QF should fix at low/minimal cost if they were actually interested in retaining QFF who actually redeem points and fly

^^^

What Princess Fiona said.

 

[mannej]

Why - because by the programs T&C's, mixed class redemptions price at the higher cabin for the whole route.
I believe QF are well aware of it but don't fell necessary to fix it.

 

[OzEire]

Why - because by the programs T&C's, mixed class redemptions price at the higher cabin for the whole route.
I believe QF are well aware of it but don't fell necessary to fix it.

Fix it ? Why would QF fix it when they can 'sell' Y redemptions priced as J. Laughing all the way to the (points) bank.

 

[Happy Trails]

Why - because by the programs T&C's, mixed class redemptions price at the higher cabin for the whole route.
I believe QF are well aware of it but don't fell necessary to fix it.

That seems to apply only to oneworld awards :

14.4.3 Where mixed-class travel is booked on a Trip, the Points required for that Trip will be calculated using the lowest quoted Points level of either:
a) the Points level for the highest class of travel flown on that Trip; or
b) the sum of Points, breaking the Trip into multiple Trips wherever the class of travel changes between sectors within a Trip.

14.5.6 Where mixed-class travel is booked in a oneworld Award, the whole Itinerary will be calculated using the Points level for the highest class booked.

http://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/program/terms#jump12

 

[amaroo]

Do yourself a favour and just keep flying with SQ....

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Yeah but I have acquired 500K USDM pts which I now need to burn.

 

[mannej]

It seems as if the pricing of the mixed class awards have changed - as you will find a number of threads on here complaining about the costings of these previously.

I can understand for those routes that have aircraft without the available cabin (no W or F), but that should be the only case. Also, if the awards can offer it, why not offer them for paid tickets?

 

[Happy Trails]

Yeah but I have acquired 500K USDM pts which I now need to burn.

Maybe try searching via the AA site.

 

[amaroo]

Yeah but I have acquired 500K USDM pts which I now need to burn.

Did you buy them or fly them?

 

[knightman7]

Redeem them on CX flights

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Did you buy them or fly them?

Bought them

 

[ukh]

If you search with "flexible with dates" box ticked, then tick all the fare class boxes i.e. first, business etc, the result will be accurate and should not misguide you.
When a "First Seat" is shown to be available on a particular date, it will be available in First for all legs of the flight.
The site has many frustrating problems which have irritated many of us us who do frequent searches for those illusive good value, premium, peak period seats.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Why on earth does a search for a Business Class award redemption on the QF web site continually show availability with i included - you guys know what I mean - search for J MNL-MEL and it shows availability - but with MNL-SYD sector in Y? ....

Yeah but I have acquired 500K USDM pts which I now need to burn.

What the QF ffp shows as available has only a little to do with the the very separate USDM (and AA) ffp. QF ffp shows availability that may be available in a particular class and nothing more. You need to look the USDSM web site. Does USDM even allow mixed class redemption?

As this thread is not about uses on QF points better if its moved

 

[serfty]

That seems to apply only to oneworld awards :

14.4.3 Where mixed-class travel is booked on a Trip, the Points required for that Trip will be calculated using the lowest quoted Points level of either:
a) the Points level for the highest class of travel flown on that Trip; or
b) the sum of Points, breaking the Trip into multiple Trips wherever the class of travel changes between sectors within a Trip.

14.5.6 Where mixed-class travel is booked in a oneworld Award, the whole Itinerary will be calculated using the Points level for the highest class booked.

http://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/program/terms#jump12

By these rules any "trip" is priced at the rate for the highest booking class within that "trip's" routing.

A non oneworld award is composed of one or more "trips", each priced individually.

It could be said that Qantas treat an entire oneworld award booking as a single "trip" and price accordingly.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Yeah but I have acquired 500K USDM pts which I now need to burn.

As this thread is not about uses on QF points better if its moved

And I have in excess 1mil QF pts I want to burn also so YES this thread is about QF pts also. The question was quite specific I thought - if I see availability J or F why does QF site show Y? Throwing up results like that is "a bit Irish I might have thought!" - oops sorry - got into trouble last time I posted that.

 

[Andyzx]

I too find it frustrating but also useful. the "i" allow you to work out which sectors are available at which classes more easily (or it does for me), rather than just NAY if not all sectors are available at the class and check each sector individually. I am looking at the UK next year and found a couple of PE's, a J and a F flight via different routes, that should suit our requirements but would have liked to start in F for the lounge access and bag tags. Book QF and rest them separately and you don't get stung with the higher points price or use your other OW point to book the other sectors. but then again I might just by a cheap Y or or J SYD MEL and fly F to start anyway

Andy

 

[michaele]

Also, if the awards can offer it, why not offer them for paid tickets?

Because then we would still get a J dom and Y international leg!!!!

 

[Happy Trails]

By these rules any "trip" is priced at the rate for the highest booking class within that "trip's" routing.

A non oneworld award is composed of one or more "trips", each priced individually.

It could be said that Qantas treat an entire oneworld award booking as a single "trip" and price accordingly.

My point was that, according to the T&Cs, charging the highest booking class for the whole trip applies only to OW awards.
For mixed class QF awards the rate is compounded, if that's lower, which it probably always will be.

So for example:
MEL-SYD-HKG with the second leg in Y is 46,000 pts.
MEL-SYD-HKG all in J is 72,000 pts.