I was looking at booking some flights from Sydney to J’burg with points plus pay. 2 weeks ago I looked and they had them available every day, I’ve just had another look and they seem to have disappeared. (Well they are still available on certain days but are now being listed for about 6x the points).
Do Qantas do this sometimes/are there certain windows throughout the year to book certain flights with points?
Appreciate any comments/help.
Thanks
Welcome to the forum!
I’m just not quite sure what you mean. Points plus pay is essentially using your points like cash, so as long as a cash fare is available you should be able to buy it with points. If you are talking about Classic Flight Rewards, then they are limited in availability and they could be gone at any moment given that 1) other people could’ve booked them and 2) the airline could’ve realised they would rather sell it for money instead.
As for certain windows of the year to look for, there is no general pattern. However, the logic is that they will release reward seats when they think they can’t sell it for a higher cash price. So, think low seasons and off peak dates.
Thank you for your clear reply.
Essentially you’re saying that I’m at the mercy of Qantas actually deciding/needing to release classic rewards seats? I did see that they often batch release new seats in February and October - Thank you
Yes, unfortunately we are at the mercy of all airlines releasing award seats. That is the success/allure of frequent flyer programs, making them the most profitable department of most airlines.
Here is an article talking to the award seat release pattern.