Oneworld Classic Flight Reward Discussion - The Definitive Thread

[Matt_01]

Are these two different use cases?

No not 2 different use cases, changing a date, route or adding in sectors are essentially no different as they are all treated as a change.

Also, when re-reading my post I may have caused confusion as I interchanged words that could have been interpreted differently to my intent as an example from what you highlighted I realise I had made a typo and have now corrected the post. It should have read "I was open with the agent and informed her why I was asking about change waivers adding in sectors and what I was looking to achieve and was advised I will not be charged fees."

 

[Matt_01]

So, is it will, or will not, be charged fees? There’s two different versions of the post quoted. Am I reading this right?

I was writing the above post but then had to get on a couple of calls so it was a while between starting and posting. I have also edited the original post in an attempt to to make it easier understand. To answer your question I was advised the 5000 points change fee would not be payable however any additional fees and taxes (cash component) associated with the booking would be payable.

I am more focused on the points charges as this is per person per change and adds up.

 

[Matt_01]

Interesting strategy. I'd thought of doing this also, but I'm not confident I understand the rules well enough w.r.t modifying bookings for no penalty. Are "unlimited" changes allowed, or is only the first change penalty free?

I am testing my own theory, booked a classic reward for 8000 points and $38 in fees and taxes, tomorrow I will change it and a day or 2 later I will change it again to see what happens.

 

[Ktan89]

Hi All, I can confirm there are no changes fees (5,000points) and it is unlimited times. I have probably made 5 changes already this year.
Late last year, some agents were still talking about the changes fees and you have to point it out to them that it was free until 31 March. This year none of the agents bring it up. I think they all finally got the memo that there are no change fees on classic award bookings until Jan 2022

 

[DC3]

... This year none of the agents bring it up. I think they all finally got the memo that there are no change fees on classic award bookings until Jan 2022

Oh, thank goodness. So now they all know about it at the Call Centres.

I’ll have plenty of changes, coming up.

 

[Sapz]

I have cancelled one of my CFR bookings yesterday and received an email saying my flight booking has been converted into a Flight Credit. I'm not sure what does it really means. Is it just the portion of tax or tax + Points? Is this something that happens by default these days? Should I request a full refund, or is it even possible?

 

[Matt_01]

Question for those who book on BA, do BA open up rewards closer to the flight date. I am looking to book in early 22 and can see lots of J availability around 354 days out (not sure exactly on the day count but it seems to be one more than QF) but not a lot of F. When I was searching for flights within the next couple of weeks F is wide open and was not sure if this is Covid related or if BA open up additional seats similar to other carriers closer to the travel date.

 

[vetrade]

Matt_01, I haven't flown BA F but I have flown BA J multiple times and from my experience availability varies significantly depending on the particular route to be flown. Our BA long haul experience has been mainly between JNB & LHR or CPT and LHR (or vice versa) and J availability is definitely always much better for JNB than CPT (this is because of the higher demand because a lot of poms like to holiday in CPT). I haven't noticed any additional release of reward seats close to the travel date.

We have also flown BA short haul many times between LHR and multiple European cities and there doesn't seem to be any consistent pattern there either - again with no appearance that additional seats are released close to travel although sometimes J rewards will show up about 6 monts out after none have been available around the 354 day mark. On some routes there never seems to be J available while on others you always seem to be able to get them if you book 5-6 months or more out.

Interestingly, BA has many daily flights between LHR or LGW and EDI but I have never seen any Y of J reward seat availability on any of those flights no matter how many days out you look for them.

 

[jrobin]

Hi, I'm wondering if there is a way to search in this thread to see different itineraries that people have successfully booked in the past?
Thanks

I booked the following QF Oneworld Award itinerary for my wife in October-November 2018. (I was on a similar LONE4 booking.)

YYZ-LHR-DOH-SEZ (BA/QR)
SEZ-CMB-SIN-MEL-CBR (UL/QF)
MEL-SYD (QF)
SYD-DFW (QF)
DFW-YYZ (AA)
Additional tickets were purchased:
CBR-MEL saving a stop
SYD-VLI-SYD even if bookable would have exceeded mileage limitation

 

[Amanad78]

I booked the following QF Oneworld Award itinerary for my wife in October-November 2018. (I was on a similar LONE4 booking.)

YYZ-LHR-DOH-SEZ (BA/QR)
SEZ-CMB-SIN-MEL-CBR (UL/QF)
MEL-SYD (QF)
SYD-DFW (QF)
DFW-YYZ (AA)
Additional tickets were purchased:
CBR-MEL saving a stop
SYD-VLI-SYD even if bookable would have exceeded mileage limitation

Never thought of the Seychelles, thanks!

 

[serfty]

I have cancelled one of my CFR bookings yesterday and received an email saying my flight booking has been converted into a Flight Credit. I'm not sure what does it really means. Is it just the portion of tax or tax + Points? Is this something that happens by default these days? Should I request a full refund, or is it even possible?

You should get a full refund. I do seem to recall that the flight credit email was sometimes part of the process. But not always - last award I cancelled online (December) had points and $+++ back within a few days with no such email.

I would be calling to clarify why a flight credit has been crated for an award booking cancellation.

 

[Sapz]

You should get a full refund. I do seem to recall that the flight credit email was sometimes part of the process. But not always - last award I cancelled online (December) had points and $+++ back within a few days with no such email.

I would be calling to clarify why a flight credit has been crated for an award booking cancellation.

I sent an email, but no response yet. Maybee jump on the phone tonight. Thanks

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Never thought of the Seychelles, thanks!

Which got me thinking about the Maldives! Which should also be possible? (And some great deals being offered for overwater bungalows these days... valid for travel well into 2022).

 

[Matt_01]

As an update to my above post I have now made, changed the date, changed the route, added in a sector, and cancelled a reward booking. No change fees (points) have been incurred however there was a $2 cash fee incurred from changing from the original route to the new route and I was expecting this. I will now just wait 8-10 weeks for the cash to be refunded.

In my opinion this QF offer for fee changes is maybe better than DSC.

 

[serfty]

In my opinion this QF offer for fee changes is maybe better than DSC

I have been absorbing your recent posts on these fee waivers.

It will be interesting to see what happens after April if changes are made to bookings initally made before then.

 

[vetrade]

It appears that the issue of fee free changes to OW Classic Rewards might not be settled after all. The "Frequently Asked Questions" link to the email received from QF today says, inter alia, this:

Does the point fee waiver apply to both domestic and international Classic Flight Reward bookings?
Yes, the point fee waiver applies to both Domestic and International bookings that contain only Classic Flight Reward flights.

Will the Reward Assistance Fee or Service Fee apply if I make or change my Classic Flight Reward booking through a Qantas contact centre?
Yes, the normal Reward Assistance Fee or Service Fee for making or changing your Classic Flight Reward booking through the Qantas Contact Centre will apply.

I can't reconcile how these statements are compatible with building a OW 318K J award from a single booking made prior to 30th April, 2021, because progressively adding flights can't be done online (AFAIK) and does require dealing through the QF Contact Centre to get them to add in sectors as they open up.

Matt_01, I note your comment that you were able to add a sector to a booking for free. Can you confirm if you did this through the Call Centre?

I'm concerned that QF may have been watching this thread and decided to fine tune the process to block such free sector additions once they fully realised how AFFers would take advantage of the deal.

 

[muppet]

<snip>
I'm concerned that QF may have been watching this thread ...
</snip>

Well, I wouldn’t worry @vetrade .... QF doesn’t have that kind of customer focus

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It appears that the issue of fee free changes to OW Classic Rewards might not be settled after all. The "Frequently Asked Questions" link to the email received from QF today says, inter alia, this:

Does the point fee waiver apply to both domestic and international Classic Flight Reward bookings?
Yes, the point fee waiver applies to both Domestic and International bookings that contain only Classic Flight Reward flights.

Will the Reward Assistance Fee or Service Fee apply if I make or change my Classic Flight Reward booking through a Qantas contact centre?
Yes, the normal Reward Assistance Fee or Service Fee for making or changing your Classic Flight Reward booking through the Qantas Contact Centre will apply.

I can't reconcile how these statements are compatible with building a OW 318K J award from a single booking made prior to 30th April, 2021, because progressively adding flights can't be done online (AFAIK) and does require dealing through the QF Contact Centre to get them to add in sectors as they open up.

Matt_01, I note your comment that you were able to add a sector to a booking for free. Can you confirm if you did this through the Call Centre?

I'm concerned that QF may have been watching this thread and decided to fine tune the process to block such free sector additions once they fully realised how AFFers would take advantage of the deal.

Service fees do not apply to awards booked in business and first class. From the QFFF terms and conditions (my bolding):

​

Service Fees​

Service Fees are payable in addition to any applicable Change Fees.​

Payable where changes are made to Classic Flight Reward bookings via Qantas Contact Centres.​

Money payment option is available for Reward Flight booking changes made in Australia or in New Zealand (except as otherwise stated). Amount must be paid at the time of making your changes.​

Service Fees will not be applied when changing Classic Flight Rewards booked for travel in Business or First class.​

​

Frequent Flyer Terms and Conditions | Qantas - the fee section is at the end after cl 25.7.

 

[vetrade]

Yes, I had read the Fee Schedule, MEL_Traveller, and I hope your interpretation is correct, but for me there is still some ambiguity around change and service fee waivers - especially as to how they specifically relate to adding sectors to a booking multiple times via the Call Centre rather than just tinkering with the existing flight times, dates etc.

When I read statements in Qantas emails like the one below I sense an inference that the changes which they say are "free of charge" are specific and/or limited, and therefore that QF may choose to narrow their interpretation later when they see people taking up quite a bit of call centre time stringing together OW Awards with up to 16 sectors without paying anything for it. I prefer statements which explicitly address the circumstances I can see myself facing.

"When you use Qantas Points to book a Classic Flight Reward seat on any Qantas or Jetstar flight, you'll be able to change the date or cancel your booking, free of charge until 31 January 2022.^ That's for Classic Reward bookings for travel up to a year away." That's QF's bolding.

I'll still go ahead and make a couple of bookings and see whether making multiple sector additions throws up any glitches but right now it's still a bit vague for me.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Yes, I had read the Fee Schedule, MEL_Traveller, and I hope your interpretation is correct, but for me there is still some ambiguity around change and service fee waivers - especially as to how they specifically relate to adding sectors to a booking multiple times via the Call Centre rather than just tinkering with the existing flight times, dates etc.

When I read statements in Qantas emails like the one below I sense an inference that the changes which they say are "free of charge" are specific and/or limited, and therefore that QF may choose to narrow their interpretation later when they see people taking up quite a bit of call centre time stringing together OW Awards with up to 16 sectors without paying anything for it. I prefer statements which explicitly address the circumstances I can see myself facing.

"When you use Qantas Points to book a Classic Flight Reward seat on any Qantas or Jetstar flight, you'll be able to change the date or cancel your booking, free of charge until 31 January 2022.^ That's for Classic Reward bookings for travel up to a year away." That's QF's bolding.

I'll still go ahead and make a couple of bookings and see whether making multiple sector additions throws up any glitches but right now it's still a bit vague for me.

It's two separate issues.

Previously, if you had a OW award in first or business class and you wished to add sectors you'd be charged the change fee, but not the award assistance fee.

Under the covid policy the change fee is waived. The award assistance fee was never going to be charged.

If you had an economy booking, the FAQ is pointing out that while the change fee is waived, the award assistance fee is not.

The only discrepancy I can see is that the FAQs talk about Classic Flight Reward bookings (which are defined to include Qantas, Jetstar and OW carriers), where as in your later post, the ability to change date or cancel the booking only applies to a Qantas or Jetstar flight.

The worst case scenario for you would be that you are charged change fees when adding sectors. You'd never be charged the award assistance fee.