JFK to SYD Return AKL to JFK
 

I have been pricing economy tickets on this trip. Qantas is $150.00 per person cheaper than AA, with no change in planes. I am AA Platinum. Will I get the same miles if I fly Qantas

Depends if you're booking it as a Qantas flight, or as an AA code share on Qantas with an AA flight # (keep in mind AA does not fly to Australia). If you're booking it as an AA flight, you'll get 100% mileage. If you're booking with a QF flight #, the cheap fares get 50% miles.


Qantas chart on AA.com

FYI, you will certainly have to change planes on the retun AKL-JFK, even on QF.
On the JFK-SYD flight, if you are on the QF direct, or even an AA codeshare on the QF direct, keep in mind that you will have to get off the plane in LAX for the ~2-hour layover, so it's really no different than a change in planes (e.g., an AA-operated flight JFK-LAX and then QF on LAX-SYD). And if you take an AA-operated flight to LAX, you at least have the possibility of upgrading with miles/stickers.

There is no QF flight that goes through to JFK - they have been using two-class aircraft on BNE and AKL flights, three class SYD-LAX-JFK, iirc. And of course, you will have to pass immigration formalities and recover your bag(s) for customs clearance before passing back through security and boarding, even if you are on the through flight.

As tom911 points out, watch those QF fare classes - on some you earn 50% of EQ miles, and on the lowest you earn 50% EQ Points based on the 50% EQM - 25% points, so if you are planning anything like status using points, you could have a nasty surprise. (The 19,900 miles round trip could turn into not getting a Platinum challenge for those who think this is a lead pipe cinch, and for Platinums, you earn 1/2 the EQM and effectively loose the double miles bonus.)

As ijgordon says, you can at least upgrade the domestic portions on AA, assuming seat inventory, stickers / status combination.

I think tom911 beat you to the punch this time on Post #2... :)

Thanks for the input. With the platinum bonus it comes out to almost 38,000 miles for the trip. Plus your right about the chance for the upgrade to LAX. Really appreciate the information.

Cost differential assuring 100% miles with the $150.00 the AA codeshare: $0.0079 CPM (JFK-SYD and AKL-LAX-JFK = ~18,929 miles) BTW, be aware QF 747-400 Y is 31" seat pitch in most rows, so an exit row is well worth trying for if you are tall at all. And the QF Pubs, er, Clubs, are well worth using - AKL too, and AKL isn't all that bad for duty free shopping for souvenirs / gifties for the people at home.

Have you priced out including taxes for the 2 itineries? If not, then the difference may be v close to zero since the AA fare will include the fuel fine supplements whilst QF has about $75 fuel fine to add to each international QF flight

Dave

As for seats on the Qantas flights I plan on grabbing the seats in rear that are two across. At least my wife and I will not have any one next to us. Thanks for the tip on airport shopping.

Good luck getting those, they're highly prized and QF is unreliable at best in honoring seat requests(they have a tendency to change them).

Seconded! And they honor oneworld elite status very strangely as well - I've been opped up, and I've been given really bad seats (even after requesting or even having decent seats assigned previousy.) Only their inconstency seems consistent. (I've been opped up more often than I've been able to get the 2xs - :eek: a real pain in the aft.)

Just paid for my tickets. Put in for my upgrades on the JFK to LAX portions. AA got me 71 A and B for the LAX to SYD and 71 K and J for AKL to LAX. From previous post I hope Qantas leaves them be. By the way; does it make any sense to ask about upgrades at the gate.. Thanks again for all the help.

Upgrades to J on QF are almost non existent, those seats sell for $8,000 and up, so they arent going to put you in them unless they really have to. Hopefully you paid the difference for the AA codeshared flight, more likely than not you will end up with less miles than you had planned if you didnt.. Unless your in full fare coach, in which case you probably wouldnt have worried about the $150 difference in the first place.

I'm in the AA codeshare in both directions

And they'd put a QF elite in J before an AA elite. They do play favorites.

I'd imagine you'll be alright unless a QF elite wants your seat, the fact that there's two of you on the PNR helps.

Last time I went to OZ, I had the x2 seats there and back. On the way there the gentlemen next to me went even farther back to sit next to his wife in an empty seat so I had both seats to myself, pretty nice on a 15 hour flight.