First of all, as an AA frequently flyer, your definition of "difficult" is probably different than ours. For you, "difficult" prolly means not getting your first choice date. OTOH, for a CO flyer, "difficult" means getting any flight without resorting to an EasyExtortion Reward.

That being said, QF rewards in J/F require some advance planning and flexibility, but are definitely doable. I'm currently in Australia now on a QF FC reward ticket, returning next Monday.

Feb. thru May is the easiest time of the year to get a QF reward, Christmastime is the toughest. Remember, not only do you have the usual Christmas traffic, but it's also summer in the southern hemisphere so nice weather and school holidays make it even more difficult.

Obviously getting an F ticket is quite a bit more difficult than a J seat. There are only 17 F seats on a 747-400 vs. 50-60 J seats and over 250 Y seats. However, you can usually get an F seat if you book 3 or more months in advance in off-season, and are flexible as to travel days and are willing to consider a connection through Melbourne. Obviously, allow much longer in high season. And you may not be able to get them at all. Also, getting two tickets together might be more difficult. QF only allots two F tickets per flight to CO.

I would strongly suggest that you hold out for the F seats if you can flex on your travel times. It's only 30,000 miles more for F, and well worth it! J is comfortable and pleasant, but not as nice as CO's BusinessFirst. OTOH, QF's FC blows CO's BusinessFirst right out of the water!!! A true flat bed, Qantas jammies provided, quality Champagne upon boarding, better food and booze, DVD library in addition to J-class choice of movies, great snacks (steak sandwich is best) upon request.

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Think of how stupid the "average person" is, then consider that half of them are dumber than that! -George Carlin