Using Qantas FF points for Oneworld partner flights

carbonara

I'm a bit confused by this as my Qantas points appear to be utterly worthless.

I'm based in London and I went to Sydney and back earlier this year and received over 21,000 points in doing so. Going on the Qantas site and using the where can my points take me tool indicated that I have enough points for a return flight to Edinburgh from London so going to book this took me to a screen saying the booking would cost 20,000 points plus £105 in carrier charges and taxes etc with British Airways.

Going directly to the British Airways site instead and selecting exactly the same flights and dates indicated that the price was £98 including taxes etc. so, basically, using the points will actually cost me the points AND more cash than just not using the points at all so they appear to be utterly worthless and, in fact, cost you money to use. Am I doing something wrong here? Here's the proof: -

Direct with BA


Using Qantas points

blindman

carbonara wrote: »

I'm a bit confused by this as my Qantas points appear to be utterly worthless.

Earning and using any FF miles is a black art.

You need to look at Flytertalk to get good information as how best to use the very few miles you have

The ticket you buy with the FF miles will (more than likely) be totally refundable so you are not comparing two similar things.

The best use of most FF miles is when there are no, or low "taxes" (which isn't the case when starting in the UK) and flying in Business class

budgetflyer

Apart from Avios, where the Return Flight Saver fares subsidise the tax and fees, FF programmes are only really any good for shorthaul where tax are low, ie Asia and USA or as Blindman says, Longhaul Business class.
1 trip to Ozz doesnt really make you a frequent flyer
However,
Im sure theres a site where you can dump small quantities of FF points in exchange for Visa Gift cards.
I'll have a dig around

callum9999

budgetflyer wrote: »

Apart from Avios, where the Return Flight Saver fares subsidise the tax and fees, FF programmes are only really any good for shorthaul where tax are low, ie Asia and USA or as Blindman says, Longhaul Business class.
1 trip to Ozz doesnt really make you a frequent flyer
However,
Im sure theres a site where you can dump small quantities of FF points in exchange for Visa Gift cards.
I'll have a dig around

I find that incredibly hard to believe, what with airmiles generally being non-transferable.

While it's too late for the OP now, if they fly with Qantas again in the future then they should credit the flights to the British Airways programme, where they would have got a much better deal on a London to Edinburgh flight (9000 miles instead of the 20,000 needed by Qantas and only £35). There doesn't seem to be an obvious decent redemption for the OP other than on US or Australian domestic flights or possibly some European flights on Air Berlin.

blindman

callum9999 wrote: »

I find that incredibly hard to believe, what with airmiles generally being non-transferable.

You need to open your mind.

There are a miraid of schemes\web-sites where you can transfer airmiles from one FF into another or hotel or other awards.

Value is never great TBHO but it is possible.

Obviously_the_best

As you're going to be in negative figures spending the damn things, you might as well see how much other people will pay you for them, there are plenty of websites, just google 'Sell airlmies for cash'.

Caz3121

If you compare this to a flexible ticket (which your mileage ticket will likely be) it is

Heathrow (London) - Edinburgh - Friday 27 February 2015
Departs 07:5027 Feb Carrier British Airways
Arrives 09:1027 Feb Cabin Domestic
Flight BA1434

Edinburgh - City Airport (London) - Saturday 14 March 2015
Departs 07:0014 Mar Carrier BA CityFlyer
Arrives 08:2014 Mar Cabin Domestic
Flight BA8711

Price
£573.85 1 passenger