Hi everyone,
My teenage son is keen to go over to Japan with a friend and his parents around Christmas time - returning mid January.
I have over 150k Krisflyer, 104k Qantas and 95k Velocity.
Can anyone suggest the best path to take in order to get an award booking in Economy?
At the moment Garuda are offering a cash fare DEP MEL DEc 24 RET FROM TOKYO JAN 2016 for $1290. So if taxes are high on an award booking I imagine a cash flight may be best.
Cheers Jim
Hi Jim,
As you would understand, that is a tricky time to book flights especially on award flights.
Availabilities aside, the taxes/points payable are as follows (from random searches):
Krisflyer (SIA): $479.50 (63750 pts)
Velocity (SIA): $159.30 (112000 pts)
Qantas (Jetstar): $134 (57600 pts) (I couldn’t check for sure as I have insufficient pts =D)
Seems like Qantas is the way to go if you really want to use your points. However, only available date closest to before Xmas was 20 Dec. Krisflyer – you have to waitlist. Velocity – you have to pay a high premium in points as the saver-type rewards seemed to have depleted.
Do a quick search on comparison/ travel sites like Skyscanner, etc. if you wish to pay for the flights. You might find shorter transit times and cheaper flights compared to Garuda (nearly 24 hrs one way travel time from Sydney – very painful IMHO). Jetstar fly direct and is cheaper (approx $1211).
My 2 cents is to pay for the flights and use the points for future travels. But hey that’s just me. Good luck.