Well, in that case, perhaps you can enlighten me on the "many inaccuracies" since my information came either directly from CO.com or from the OP international partner desk itself.


Better yet, if I gave you a range of dates this fall that we'd like to secure a couple of seats "down under" on QF flights in FC, could you just work your magic and book them for me? If so, I'd be very grateful.

Oh now we are going to get combative here? It's just keeps happening. Remember we are a happy forum. Let's all be civil.

With that said. Tanlines I'm sorry you were clearly misinformed. I have booked tickets using CO miles and so have many of my friends. When there was avail on QF's website CO had it as well. And CO's relationship isn't that special as US has it too.

Thanks for that information UM... it's very frustrating to learn on here that the information I've been told repeatedly by the partner reward desk folks isn't correct.

I guess I'll just keep watching the inventory on KVS and trying.

And my comment to channa still stands-- if either of you can work some "magic" to find a pair of seats for me for this fall, I'd be VERY
grateful! (: haha

Have you tried awardplanner.com?

Yes, that was clear.
Provided you're abiding by the blackout of one roundtrip, you should be able to claim the award.. if not, you're probably dealing with a CSR that you shouldn't be, hang up and call back.
They tightly control inventory, period. The number of miles is not the issue. QF sets the price at which they sell the seat to CO. The number of miles that CO sells that seat at to their FFers is an entirely separate issue. US has its own award chart, so does AA, etc. and all those charts are different than QF's...

Did you check and FIND availability on Qantas (on flights other than the two blacked out) and then get told you couldn't redeem for those seats with CO miles... and then call back and get the same answer?

Quantas Can Be Rewarding
 

Yes, getting Quantas seats is a big challenge. However, as I write tonight from the Melbourne Hilton, I can say without qualification that their first class service is beyond comparison (When did you last get flat beds in Biz Class or an orchid in your large bathroom?)

As previously stated, seats into Melbourne are easier to come by and you are allowed an open jaw so you can leave from Sydney or almost any other city that Quantas flies to.

Keep trying and use the redial button when the CO desk opens in the morning!

Best wishes from Down Under! :)

Sorry but I have to agree that you've been misinformed. After maybe 2 dozen phone calls within the past year to get my QF J reward tickets booked/changed/ticketed, I have come to learn that some representatives do not understand all the rules of the game. Mind you, they are VERY good and patient.. and VERY convincing. So convincing in fact that you can't argue with them about what other CSRs have told you previously.

That being said, the best way to prove that QF reward inventory is universal between them and all of their partners is using the QF reward search tools. If you are able to find a ticket using their tools on an 'eligable' flight (QF metal, transpacific, 2 max tasman crossings, etc), call up CO IMMEDIATELY (i can't stress this enough... as if your lottery ticket expires in 2 minutes sense of urgency) and reserving. If you see availability, CO will be able to book it. It's that simple. The CSR will be very happy that you have done the work for them in fact.

I can't stress this method enough.. as I have found J inventory that the CSR 'doesn't see' and have had to make them look more closely.. suddenly, the seats are visable on their screen too (i believe them.. i can only imagine what data is on their screen and how easy it is to overlook inventory stats)

Oh, and if you want to somehow 'sneak' in new zealand in your reward.. PM me. It's hell now that Jetstar is in the game unless you book your transpacific through Auckland. Getting to christchurch is basically impossible as there is only 1 eligable flight a day and you need it both ways via SYD for CO to be able to book. I have been misinformed by CSRs and messages on this board about being able to do an open jaw between auckland and christchurch to avoid the 2 tasman crossing limit on CO reward tickets. I guess their policy has changed. Basically, unless your transpacific flight flies into or out of Auckland, you cannot do it.

thanks Inaflash and Gleff!

you guys have come up with some awesome ideas! I'm glad to hear that despite what I've been told by the CSR's it's still possible to snag these seats on QF!

I'll try your suggestions about doing more research via KVS in advance of the call to the partner desk, locating precise dates and flights that show reward availabilty, and then immediately calling CO OP to book the flights.

thanks guys! :)

This is the only way to do it. I successfully booked JFK-LAX-MEL-SYD-LAX-JFK in F after finding availability on the QF FF site. I called CO, gave them the dates/flight #s and they immediately booked them. It took only a couple of minutes.

I ran an award search using the quantas tool and i found a routing that puts me on BA JFK-Heathrow then Heathrow to Heathrow on QF. Can CO book an award flight that uses BA metal?

Nope! I'm not even sure if you can combine partners on an award.. NYC-LHR-SYD on VS/QF might be possible in that case, but you'd probably have to book it as two awards- one US-Europe and one Europe-Australia.

A BA/QF combined award is a OneWorld award actually, which isn't bookable with OP miles; we looked into it.

QF J awards for 105k OP miles absolutely CAN be had. Persistence pays off. I've gotten them for my wife. One time she had to fly SYD-MEL-AKL-LAX-SEA to get home, maybe one more airport than she cared to visit, but that's quibbling. It is a great award for the price, certainly the best use of OP balance I can think of.

Totally concur -- the prior remark about not going to SYD in June when it's "cold and wet" is extremely misleading. I just brought my family back from there two weeks ago (on a CX J award) and the "winter" weather was glorious. BEST time of year to go.

Is it possable to get 3 F awards around christmas time?

Very, Very Unlikely. Just geeting 3 F anytime is probably impossible. There has been a lot of discussion about the number of F seats QF allocates on each plane. No one has ever reported more than 2 (out of the 14 available)

At Christmas, I would say three F seats, same aircraft, would indeed be impossible. You might try for three different flights leaving in the same 24-48 hour timeframe, or for one seat each in F, J and Y.