It’s well known amongst our members that toasters are not exactly the best value when it comes to using points. With concern over the financial future of Qantas, many are looking at using their points while they still have some value. If you have only got 7,500 points, a toaster may not be bad value! And that could well have been the situation our trip reporter of the week found themselves in. But it’s what they used the rest of their points on that makes for interesting reading.
Thought I would do a big trip in 2015 with my family (My parents and 4 year old son), however on 20 January 2014 I made the decision to take my family on a “oneworld” Qantas 140K round the world ticket – yes 4 people in “Y” which ended up becoming 6 people in “Y” when a friend and her daughter decided to join us. I made the decision that I wanted to get two trips out of the points so decided to use my already booked ticket to Singapore as the starting point for this trip. So my original ticket for 4 people cost 560K of points and $5,650.82 in fees and taxes.
One of the original bookings made was a journey with Malaysia Airlines from Paris to Brisbane via Kuala Lumpur. At the time it would have been a great choice, a new A380, good seats and a solid airline. Sadly, events we are now all too familiar with saw changes being required.
Now when I booked this ticket Malaysian Airlines had the A380 from Paris it KL and then on to Brisbane – got great seats upper deck and it was lovely while it lasted. MH370 was a tragic event but I was able to convince my parents that MH would be the most secure airline for the months ahead as they would want to try and regain the trust of flyers. I received a text early in the morning in regards to MH17 – I was sitting down watching the news when my dad came in – I knew as soon as he saw it was a Malaysian plane there would be nothing I could say – I would be on the phone to try an alternative to make it work.
With the toaster still in its box, soon it was time to head off on the big journey. Catching the Singapore flight from Brisbane often means a crowded lounge experience, with most flights leaving mid morning. Our traveller was soon to find this to be the case. With a couple of the party suffering from a sore throat, the lounge proved to be a good place to rest if not to eat. Before long it was time to board.
How will our traveller and family cope with the journey ahead? Is it a good use of points and what pointers will they give, travelling with such a large group of family and friends. Join the journey HERE.
