Qantas Frequent Flyer - Is there any way I can get into first class?

I've got a paid business class ticket from LAX-SYD and return Mel-LAX on the 380. I probably won't have an opportunity to fly this route again anytime soon, and it is the first time I've flown on Qantas. I'd love to fly first on the 380. I have a lot of AA and BA miles, but have been told I can't use those miles to upgrade. I also have a decent amount of Amex points. I know this is a stretch and a bit vague, but is there any way I could get into first (other than paying?). Thanks.

IF you are ticketed on QF flight numbers on the QF services and IF you can transfer [enough] AMEX points to garner at least 45,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points then you would be able to submit an upgrade request one way.

Depends on WHAT Amex points.

For Australian Amex, only Ascent Premium (ie Plat Charge or Centurion) can be transferred to QFF, otherewise you need a direct earn card.

Am not sure if any overseas Amex's can transfer to QFF.

Depends on WHAT Amex points.

For Australian Amex, only Ascent Premium (ie Plat Charge or Centurion) can be transferred to QFF, otherewise you need a direct earn card.

Am not sure if any overseas Amex's can transfer to QFF.

No, foreign cards don't work.

I've got a paid business class ticket from LAX-SYD and return Mel-LAX on the 380. I probably won't have an opportunity to fly this route again anytime soon, and it is the first time I've flown on Qantas. I'd love to fly first on the 380. I have a lot of AA and BA miles, but have been told I can't use those miles to upgrade. I also have a decent amount of Amex points. I know this is a stretch and a bit vague, but is there any way I could get into first (other than paying?). Thanks.

You can try on coupon connection and see whether somebody would do a trade with you.

Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately, I don't have enough posts yet to see the coupon section. I guess I could start posting more :)

Thanks for the comments. Unfortunately, I don't have enough posts yet to see the coupon section. I guess I could start posting more :)

QF points can only be used for an account holders family members anyhow. This is part of the Ts and Cs.

..
For Australian Amex, only Ascent Premium (ie Plat Charge or Centurion) can be transferred to QFF, otherewise you need a direct earn card.
...

and the AMEX (Plat) Rewards Advantage Card :)

www.points.com (https://www.points.com/) is also another site where you can swap frequent flyer points.

Good luck.

I can't help with working out how you would be able to use points for an upgrade, however if you want to try out the seat make friends with the crew, preferably the CSM and ask if you can have a look at first after you land and everyone has disembarked. If you ask very nicely they might even be able to arrange a cockpit visit too.

And I assume you have no status? Your chances of an upgrade on that route are very slim. It may be a lot of work for absolutely no gain.

Worse to the worse, open a QFF account for free (as you are not in Oz/NZ), fly to SYD from LAX in J and get some points accumulated... then contact QFF and buy some QFF points to have enough points for upgrade on your return leg, then send the request to upgrade...

Not sure if OP could buy QFF with cash?

And I assume you have no status? Your chances of an upgrade on that route are very slim. It may be a lot of work for absolutely no gain.

+ 1

I'm afraid it comes down to the old pulling the wallet out.

Not sure what you paid for the J ticket but often a F ticket is not that much more. However with that said from experience the difference between J and F on QF isn't significant enough to go to any great effort to pay for. We are not discussing Suite Class on SQ here. J on QF A380 is a pretty OK experience.

Not sure what you paid for the J ticket but often a F ticket is not that much more. However with that said from experience the difference between J and F on QF isn't significant enough to go to any great effort to pay for. We are not discussing Suite Class on SQ here. J on QF A380 is a pretty OK experience.

IMO there is a large differential between F & J on QF!

It starts with the lounges (if you don't have status) then the seat/bed, champagne, drinks, food, service, PJ's/amenity kit, FA chit chat, toilet & last but not least it's F.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I don't have status on QF. I will be AA PLT for this trip. I'm accumulating AA miles on this itinerary, as that is my usual airline. I was just really wanting to experience F on this aircraft, as it is unlikely I'll fly on an A380 again any time soon.

I also want to say thanks for everyone being nice about this noob question. If I would have asked the same thing in the AA forum, all of the responses would have been about how stupid I am for even thinking about asking such a questions.

... but is there any way I could get into first (other than paying?). Thanks.

as the signs on the curtains say... not unless there is an emergency :)

IMO there is a large differential between F & J on QF!

It starts with the lounges (if you don't have status) then the seat/bed, champagne, drinks, food, service, PJ's/amenity kit, FA chit chat, toilet & last but not least it's F.

OK let's deal with these one by one
1. Lounges - only different out of MEL and SYD, out of LAX fundamentally the same. Only difference is the menu service out of SYD and quality of wines. Otherwise. Perhaps a $200 difference if you were to buy a nice meal and some drinks out of MEL/ SYD
2. Seat/ bed - both are flat beds, one has no neighbour (F) both have same size TV screen and personally I find ability to sleep about the same in both
3. Champagne - have not noticed a difference
4. Drinks - have not noticed a material difference
5. Food - is the same menu but F has one extra dish
6. PJ's - both made from cotton both generally too big for me
7. Service/ FA chit chat - same indifference in both cabins (QF crew work both cabins these days as I understand)
8. Toilet - cant say I have spent so much time in the toilets to really notice a difference, except in the SQ Suite bathrooms which are massive!
9. It's F - under this guidance the OP should have just booked United.

My point is that these days there is actually a far smaller gap between F and J on QF (along with BA and UA while I am at it) than back in the days of the cradle J seats and flat beds in F. So while I have never declined the many F upgrades QF has provided me on the A380 and said "you know what I would be fine with J" the difference is not substantial. This is in contrast to SQ where the Suite is an entirely different world to J class.

OK let's deal with these one by one
1. Lounges - only different out of MEL and SYD, out of LAX fundamentally the same. Only difference is the menu service out of SYD and quality of wines. Otherwise. Perhaps a $200 difference if you were to buy a nice meal and some drinks out of MEL/ SYD
2. Seat/ bed - both are flat beds, one has no neighbour (F) both have same size TV screen and personally I find ability to sleep about the same in both
3. Champagne - have not noticed a difference
4. Drinks - have not noticed a material difference
5. Food - is the same menu but F has one extra dish
6. PJ's - both made from cotton both generally too big for me
7. Service/ FA chit chat - same indifference in both cabins (QF crew work both cabins these days as I understand)
8. Toilet - cant say I have spent so much time in the toilets to really notice a difference, except in the SQ Suite bathrooms which are massive!
9. It's F - under this guidance the OP should have just booked United.

My point is that these days there is actually a far smaller gap between F and J on QF (along with BA and UA while I am at it) than back in the days of the cradle J seats and flat beds in F. So while I have never declined the many F upgrades QF has provided me on the A380 and said "you know what I would be fine with J" the difference is not substantial. This is in contrast to SQ where the Suite is an entirely different world to J class.

I agree with some things here. Hot food is pretty much same-same on most airlines these days, with some notable exceptions such as Swiss F. Airlines can differentiate with their cold food - you often get far better cheeses and desserts and salads in F than J.

Champagne - chalk and cheese between QF F and J. There is no comparison between what is served, except for the region they both happen to come from.

As for F is F - yes I believe that. I would take UA F any day over QF J. But that is simply because i like to maximise my time on board exactly how I want it. When I have 2 FAs for 10 people, compared to 2 FAs for 32, I'm going to get more personalised service in F.

I can't count the number of times I might have asked for a drink/bottle of water in J to be told 'we'll come back with that'... where in F i get it pretty much straight away. If I want a mug of hot milk and a cookie so i can go to sleep I can do that in F and not have to wait until there is a gap in the main meal service like in J.

And generally, F is much much quieter. No noise and floor movement. Makes for easier sleeping.

In F - everything is about me (and just me)! In J, everything is about me... and the 50 others i am sharing the cabin with. There is a routine in the latter cabin that just isn't in the former.

Ha! you better not fly BA F then as you have to fit in with their meal service. I asked if I could express dine on BA out of LHR to SIN and again SIN to SYD only to be told "no you have to eat each course when we are ready to serve it". Again breakfast was served when they wanted to serve you and on SIN-SYD they ran out of coffee pods for the expresso machine. Have been kept awake in F by fellow PAX be it snoring or talking on all three airlines QF, UA and BA.

But I dont drink like a fish on flights and like to spend my time sleeping or watching TV so I have never had an issue with having to wait for a FA in QF J. However I find this has more to do with the individual crew than the ratios. Especially with the ability on QF J to express dine and to pre-order breakfast.

I do like UA F however and my recent US flights have been UA F over QF J. However this is primarily a price decision where one can generally fly UA F for same price as QF J (using space available paid upgrades from Z class).

Have enjoyed my F flights with BA although the hard product is poor - NF is OK but only just.

Crew have always been friendly & offered great service.

I would agree that QF F is better than QF J , but not by an amazing amount ; if paying for F , I would be looking for better value options than Qantas. QF F on a 747 is pretty much the same today as it was back in 2000 and even the latest incarnation of F is still lacking

On 747, F has the edge of being horizontally flat with no neighbour but on a 380 , both are flat
champagne differences don't bother me one iota since I drink neither
pyjamas - I never take anyway
service - yes it is more personal in 1st
toilet on the 747 is larger but I dont tend to hang out there for too long
Its F : *shrug* being called 1st doesn't mean much ; by that argument a US carrier's domestic 1st should be a more appealing option than QF business.

One advantage of QF F is that the galley (A380 and 747) is always BEHIND the F cabin...

QF F is better than J and I don't think anyone will refute that. Having said that, I believe QF J is quite solid. As for the hard product, I think it is much better than AA J or BA CW, especially if you can get a seat in the forward mini-cabin of the upper deck on the A380. If you had QF miles to upgrade to F, that is one thing, but I wouldn't pay extra cash just for the F.

QF F is better than J and I don't think anyone will refute that. Having said that, I believe QF J is quite solid. As for the hard product, I think it is much better than AA J or BA CW, especially if you can get a seat in the forward mini-cabin of the upper deck on the A380. If you had QF miles to upgrade to F, that is one thing, but I wouldn't pay extra cash just for the F.

Agreed. Haven't done that many F flights but everyone I've done has either been on special or points.

When you can fly F for J (BA) or do FASA (QF) it's good value!

QF F is better than J and I don't think anyone will refute that. Having said that, I believe QF J is quite solid. As for the hard product, I think it is much better than AA J or BA CW, especially if you can get a seat in the forward mini-cabin of the upper deck on the A380. If you had QF miles to upgrade to F, that is one thing, but I wouldn't pay extra cash just for the F.

I kind of agree with you with one exception.
BA CW hard product ie. a flat bed is way better than QF un-refurbed J in a Sky Bed MK1 sloping bed with a need for BYO Velcro undies ;)

I kind of agree with you with one exception.
BA CW hard product ie. a flat bed is way better than QF un-refurbed J in a Sky Bed MK1 sloping bed with a need for BYO Velcro undies ;)

Ah! That explains the wedgie the other night. And the high pitched voices around me!!

I kind of agree with you with one exception.
BA CW hard product ie. a flat bed is way better than QF un-refurbed J in a Sky Bed MK1 sloping bed with a need for BYO Velcro undies ;)It depends upon yon stature.

FWIW, the SkyBed MkI is fine for me. I don't find myself slipping down at all. :)

Mk II is perfectly ok, but a little weird as my toes tend to fly at a higher level than my head when I am prone.