Flying to US & Europe on Frequent Flyer Points

AncientWisdom on 17/01/2017 - 22:12
Last edited 17/01/2017 - 22:51

Hi,

My points balance is as follows:
209,145 Qantas
6,679 Virgin Velocity
84,991 AMEX Membership Rewards

I’m planning a trip for Aug-Sep going like this:
Perth => LA / San Francisco => Copenhagen => Perth

Obviously the first and last leg are more straight forward (but would still of course appreciate any insights!).
How do I go about finding the best way to use my points to get from LA to Copenhagen?

Do you reckon for such a relative complex trip it is worth using an award points booking service and if so which one?

Thanks

Financial

Comments

  • tuvz on 17/01/2017 - 23:15
    +1

    Simply put
    If going business, try use your points
    If going economy, sell your points and buy a retail fare

    • AncientWisdom on 17/01/2017 - 23:33

      Thanks.

      1. How do I figure out which business flights I can get on using my points? (I mean for the Amex Points and the Velocity points I can transfer to other airlines)
      2. You're sure about the economy? Looks like flying from CPH to PER will cost 65000 Velocity points +$55 but will cost $800 to book direct.
    • Randxyz123 on 17/01/2017 - 23:47
      +2

      Selling your points is against the Terms and conditions for Qantas… I wouldn't do it.

      I just had a look… It's 50,000 points from San Fran to Copenhagen via Berlin on air Berlin. (Booking one way on Qantas' web site). That would be a good use of your AMEX points.

      Then it's normally around 55K points to the US and probably the same home.

      Then you can book another one way flight home.

      • djkelly69 on 18/01/2017 - 10:53

        Just noting that Amex points can't be transferred to Qantas (unless OP has a Platinum Charge or similar), so would need to transfer to Asia Miles or someone else to book a Oneworld flight.

  • AncientWisdom on 18/01/2017 - 14:23

    Looks like flights from LA => Copanhagen are cheap (<$400) so probably best to just pay for that segment?

    Currently thinking about:
    - Qantas to LA (in Premium Economy)
    - Pay for LA to Copenhagen
    - Use AMEX points to book with Singapore Airlines the return flight home

    Thoughts?

    • djkelly69 on 18/01/2017 - 14:39

      Not sure about Perth to LA, but reward seats Sydney to LA are notoriously hard to come by - particularly around school holidays which is the time you want to go.

      Most things I have read indicate PE is not much different to economy, so would have to be similarly priced for me to book it. Would much prefer business, but seats are even more limited.

      • The Champagne Mile on 18/01/2017 - 15:34
        +1

        As djkelly69 has commented above, it's really difficult to find award space to the US on Qantas, so I'd probably swap your redemptions around.

        Assuming you are on a scheme where your MR points convert 1:1 to Krisflyer, consider converting your AMEX MR points to Singapore Airlines, as you can redeem 80,750 miles to fly Singapore Airlines Perth to Los Angeles in business, which will be way better in terms of service and hard product than Qantas premium economy. Note that there would be two stops on that route - either Singapore and Tokyo Narita, or Singapore and Seoul Incheon. Singapore Airlines allows you to have one stop over in either of these locations for an extra $100, which is great value, if of interest.

        I agree that it would be best to buy an economy fare from CPH to LAX (Norwegian Air goes direct, and looks cheap - Qantas redemption with British Airways would be 50,000 points economy / 100,000 business with a transit in London, which is a very poor use of points IMO).

        Then use Qantas points to fly Copenhagen back to Perth (Cathay, Emirates and Finnair would be my choices of carriers in business. Qantas only flies from London, where the taxes are horrendous). Based on a quick check, there should be plenty of options available for September.

        • AncientWisdom on 18/01/2017 - 18:16

          Thanks super helpful. To search award seats with Singapore Airlines I need to sign up first?

        • The Champagne Mile on 18/01/2017 - 19:50
          +1

          @AncientWisdom: yes, just sign up for s KrisFlyer account and you'll gain immediate access to search: https://www.singaporeair.com/en_UK/ppsclub-krisflyer/registr…

        • AncientWisdom on 19/01/2017 - 02:26

          @The Champagne Mile: Thanks.
          Looks like all the Business awards are waitlisted for Perth-LA/SF… I could transfer enough points to waitlist and then book an economy/premium economy (is premium economy worth the extra?)

          Also wanted to ask, if I decide to fly to Seattle instead, which airlines could I use?

        • The Champagne Mile on 19/01/2017 - 07:55

          @AncientWisdom: PE and waitlist is one option.

          Another option (depending on availability of flights), would be to transfer your small Virgin balance to Krisflyer and / or get your hands on more MR points (e.g. Explorer sign up - think you may have mentioned this in another thread?) you could look at a business and first class combination fare instead (first class is amazing on Singapore Airlines). Your fare would need to be a first / business combination, as Perth to Singapore has no first class cabin.

          You'd need to search Perth - Singapore availability in business, then Singapore to Los Angeles in First to find availability. This fare would need to be booked via the Singapore Airlines call centre, as it can't be done online (ask them to honour the 15% online booking discount, though). I can't tell you exactly how many points you'd need for the combination fare as it's not available to view online, but Melbourne to Los Angeles would cost 119,000 points for full first class, and it would be less than that.

          If still no availability with Singapore Airlines, you could check Virgin for flights into the US and look at transferring your MR there instead.

          As to your Seattle question, if you are looking at different routing, your best bet is to use an airline aggregator site (Kayak, Adioso, IWantThatFlight) and just plug in your route / dates to see which airlines fly particular routes.

        • AncientWisdom on 19/01/2017 - 15:52

          @The Champagne Mile: Awesome thanks.
          I would rather keep the bonus points from e.g. signing up for the Explorer for another trip but thanks for the advice anyway.

  • AncientWisdom on 21/01/2017 - 02:03

    OK scored a business flight to Seattle through Qantas. I don't have enough points to make part of the way back Business with Qantas (about 6000 short) but would rather use my Amex points anyway before probably cancelling my Platinum Edge. So at the moment looks like my best bet would be Whitelist business flight (85,000) Copenhagen-Perth and book an Economy (40,000) with Singapore Air. Otherwise 116,000 points for business with Thai.

  • Skramit on 21/01/2017 - 13:01
    +1

    $69 flights from LAX to CPH

    http://www.cntraveler.com/story/wow-air-flight-deal-69-to-eu…

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