Originally Posted by
percysmith
Well, let's say it's the first and last bunch of flights we're sweating over. QF, BA and CX effectively had the same redemption window (T-353) on new Standard rules. And from experience, EZE-LHR is not a sweat.
So on the outbound day T-353 I will redeem SYD-xHKG-xLHR-(BA)EZE//(QF)CBR-SYD. That's already a oneworld award. You might need to do this redemption at T-351, given SYD-HKG-LHR (say CX101-CX251) is on T-353, BA245 (roughly18 hour wait in LHR...urgh) is T-352, and QF CBR-SYD is T-351.
On inbound day T-353 I will drop the CBR-SYD segment and add EZE-xLHR-ZRH, ZRH-(BA)xLHR-(CX)xHKG-(CX)SYD//(QF)CBR-SYD. Again, T-351.
I'm inclined to pay AM now with its own funny money for any changes like this.
Thanks everyone for your advice and suggestions.
I will need to book to fly from SYD for flights in the first week of January 2023 so will have to start in around 7 weeks from now. I am not seeing any CX flights listed at the moment for early November next year while I am doing dummy searches to see what availability is being released each day. I am seeing JL seats available each day in J for SYD-LHR so we're thinking of booking that and then staying in London for a few days before flying LHR-EZE even though the taxes for flying long haul from LHR are a lot higher. If I search for SYD-EZE on the CX website as a one way it shows 90,000 AM with BA for SYD-LHR connecting with LHR-EZE, with the long transit time at LHR but because it shows the SYD-EZE availability 24 hours after SYD-LHR flights are released since the LHR-EZE flight is the day after I leave SYD, the SYD-LHR flights will probably be gone by then. Also, the CX website doesn't show airlines like JL or QR connecting through to EZE even though SYD-LHR flights show for both airlines, so they obviously can't be booked as a one way like BA flights can. (I'm assuming that it can be ticketed this way as a one way since it shows as being available to book.)
Percysmith - to start a booking like you have suggested do you do it online or call up at this stage? I realise that after the first flights I will have to call up to add other flights. If I follow your suggestion to book initial flights it may work to book SYD-LHR with JL and wait to add LHR-EZE later, since those flights still seem to be available several weeks later. Once I have JL and BA in the itinerary that gives me two One World airlines for the MCA.
If I make it an MCA award and book SYD-xHND-LHR with JL and then separate LHR-xGRU-EZE, EZE-xGRU-xLHR-ZRH, then ZRH-xLHR-SYD, with the LHR-SYD via SIN on BA or via HND with JL if CX is still not available to book by then, is this too many transits through LHR, with one stop at the start of the trip and then transits to and from ZRH? Also, in your suggestion of ZRH-(BA)xLHR-(CX)xHKG-(CX)SYD//(QF)CBR-SYD at the end if the trip - what is the purpose of the //(QF)CBR-SYD after arrival back in SYD? I can see why you suggested to add it at the beginning when you said "That's already a oneworld award" and then remove it when adding further flights, so if you were using CX and BA you needed another OW airline to make it an MCA. If I start off with JL and then BA that gives me two OW airlines.
Doing it a stage at a time has worked for me when booking QF One World Awards and they only charge 5000 points for each change / ticket re-issue, no matter how many flights are added. They don't have to cancel and re-book existing flights - they just add new flights to the same booking and when the points required to make it a OWA add to more than the required points it totals out at that. I can see with the AM flight change fees, in $ or AM, it is better to wait to add more flights at once rather than one at a time.
I know what I am enquiring about is complicated and I really appreciate the advice I am receiving since using AM is new to me, except for one time I used them in 2019.