Everything You Need To Know About Booking El Al Awards With Qantas!

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El Al Matmid:

El Al Matmid has long made it a pain to use their miles for award flights. They have a convoluted points system when the rest of the world works on a simple mileage system. They expire everyone’s points 36 months after they are earned, even if you have account activity. They charge hefty fuel surcharges. They have a very buggy and outdated website, which is ironic for the flag carrier of the startup nation.

They do have one thing going for them, they have significantly better award availability to Israel than their competition, especially in premium economy and business class. However their award ticket costs made this a pricey option.

For a long time, the best way to book award travel on El Al was with American miles. That relationship crumbled in 2014 during the USAirways merger.

Qantas points for El Al flights:

In October 2017 I wrote about how it was technically possible to use Qantas points on El Al, but I noted about the extremely difficult process you had to go through to book them over the phone as they weren’t bookable online.

In January 2018 I wrote about Qantas adding the ability to book El Al economy and business awards online.

In March 2018 I wrote about Qantas adding the ability to book El Al Premium Economy awards online.

The best way to book El Al flights is still with Qantas points:

  • Qantas points will never expire as long as you have earn or redeem points every 18 months.
  • Qantas doesn’t charge fuel surcharges for El Al flights.
  • Qantas can even book lap children without the standard 10% of a regular fare that most airlines charge, you only need to pay $24 in tax for a round-trip flight from the US to Israel!
  • Qantas now allows for last minute same day award bookings online!

Qantas Transfer Partners and Double or Triple Stacking Bonuses:

You can transfer points from AMEX, Barclays, Capital One, Citi, and Marriott to Qantas.

Through June 30 at 11:59pm MT, AMEX is offering a bonus 20% on transfers to Qantas. You can click here to transfer AMEX points to Qantas. You will need to have a Qantas frequent flyer account (you can join here) and link that number to AMEX on the AMEX transfer page. If you have a old 7 digit Qantas mileage number, you’ll have to add 000 before it in order to link it with AMEX.

Additionally, Qantas has been adding an additional 20% on top of the AMEX bonus, though past performance is no guarantee of future results. They are adding those bonus points within 1-5 days of transferring points from AMEX to Qantas. That means you’ll get 720 Qantas points for every 500 AMEX points transferred, an effective 44% bonus. That bonus should work on all transfers initiated by June 30 at 11:59pm MT.

That will make for some incredible uses for El Al flights. You can view how many points you’ll need for an award ticket in the award chart at the bottom of this post.

Targeted accounts may even get an additional 15-30% bonus on top of that! It’s not known if that bonus will stack on top of both current 20% bonuses as those bonus points won’t post until mid-July, but if it does that would make this deal even more insanely lucrative. That bonus should work on targeted accounts for all transfers initiated by June 30 at 9:59am ET.

Should you transfer points with a 44% bonus?

Qantas has recently announced changes to their program which can be found here, so there shouldn’t be further program changes for at least a couple of years.

That leaves the main potential risk being the severing of the relationship with El Al.

Typically I wouldn’t transfer points to an airline with a bonus offer unless there were plans to use them within the next 6-12 months. As program changes for September have already been announced and as this is an unprecedented offer, I’d be OK transferring points as long as you plan to use them within the next 18-24 months.

Getting targeted for future promotions:

If you are interested in being targeted for transfer promotions from Qantas, you should open a Qantas Frequent Flyer account today and make a points transfer of any amount, such as 500 AMEX points. Opt into email subscriptions for “Exclusive offers from our program partners” under “Interests and subscriptions” and be sure to check your emails for future targeted promotions!

Searching for El Al award space:

There are a couple of ways to search for El Al award space.

You can login to your El Al Matmid account and search for award tickets on ElAl.com. If you don’t have a Matmid account you can download the El Al app and create an account for free.

All awards on the El Al calendar are saver awards that are bookable by partner airlines like Qantas:

 

You’ll need to click on a date to see exactly which classes of service are available on which flights. If you search for JFK or Newark it will pull up all flights from either airport:

 

Personally though I prefer using ExpertFlyer, which is a paid service. I pay $99.99/year for their premium plan, which allows you to search for and create alerts for awards and even specific seats that open up, making it a helpful award tool for many airlines.

Just click on Awards and upgrades and fill in your airports, dates, airline, and class of service:

 

And then you’ll know exactly how many seats are available. In this case there are 2 business seats, 4 premium economy seats, and at least 9 economy seats:

 

Booking on Qantas.com:

Once you know what’s available you can go to this link and login to a Qantas mileage account to search for award space. If you’re on a mobile device you may need to request a desktop site.

When you get to the award calendar you can check which classes of service to search and then click on go:

 

Click on a date to book a flight:

 

Airports bookable on Qantas.com:

El Al serves 44 airports besides Tel Aviv and this process works great for 31 of those airports. Namely, Amsterdam, Athens, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Brussels, Budapest, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, London/LHR, London/LTN (Search for LHR), Los Angeles, Madrid, Marseilles, Miami, Milan, Moscow, Munich, NYC/JFK, NYC/EWR, Paris, Prague, Rome, Toronto, Vienna, Warsaw, and Zurich.

Unfortunately Qantas.com is not able to book El Al award travel from the following 13 airports: Chicago, Bucharest, Kiev, Larnaca, Las Vegas, Lisbon, Manchester, Mumbai, Nice, Orlando, San Francisco, Sofia, and Venice.

You could call Qantas, but that’s a pain. 

Luckily there’s another solution and it’s great.

Texting Qantas to book awards:

You can text Qantas and book flights from those cities via SMS in the following locations:

  • US SMS: 1-478-772-6827
  • Australia SMS: 0477-726-827
  • Hong Kong SMS: +852-64507645
  • Singapore SMS: +65-82410824
  • UK SMS: +44-7480785726

Note: After writing this article last week Qantas fixed this error for flights from Boston and Miami to Tel Aviv. Hopefully they will fix the issues with the other 13 cities as well!

DDF member zow writes that he tried calling to book an El Al flight from Boston and was first told that they could only book El Al flights from NYC and LA. He tried to HUCA and was told it would be a 90 minute wait time. Then he decided to go down the SMS route and he told the agent that it’s a known bug that El Al flights don’t show up from Boston to Tel Aviv on Qantas.com. The SMS agent was able to find the flights and he was able to book the award.

I decided to see how the process would work today and here is how my conversation went:

 

As you can tell, at first the agent supplied the same BA option that comes up on Qantas.com when searching for flights from Miami to Tel Aviv.

However after I gave the agent specific flight numbers to check, they were able to locate the requested award space. Of course I already knew that award space existed as I had searched for it beforehand as described in this post.

The quoted miles for the round-trip in business class from Miami to Tel Aviv is 184K, which is exactly what is shown in the chart below. That’s just 127,777 miles with a 44% transfer bonus.

The quoted taxes is 84AUD or about $57. The agent said there would be a 70AUD booking fee (about $50), but offered the good ole’ “one time courtesy” when I said that it wasn’t bookable on Qantas.com.

Alas they are not able to hold awards, so you’ll have to wait for your 44% bonus to show up and hope the award space is still there.

It would be a whole lot easier if Qantas.com would enable El Al award booking from those 13 airports, but this was much better than trying to call Qantas to book!

Things to keep in mind with Qantas points:

  • Qantas allows you to book infant lap children for just the minimal cost of the taxes, while most other airlines charge 10% of the cost of a ticket. Note that having a lap child will mean that your ticket will take a longer time to process for ticketing. You can try texting or calling Qantas to have that process expedited.
  • You can change a Qantas award for a fee of 5K points or cancel a Qantas award for a fee of 6K points.
  • Qantas only allows you to book award travel for eligible family members. However you can add other people as an additional user on your AMEX card and transfer points to their Qantas account. That process will become more difficult on 9/1 for newly added authorized users.
  • If you’re on a paid El Al flight you can also credit that flight to airlines like Alaska (starting 7/1) or Qantas to earn valuable points for your flight. Just give El Al your Alaska or Qantas mileage number.

Qantas award chart:

Here is the old Qantas partner award chart:

 

Here is the interim Qantas partner award chart with the reduced economy prices:

 

Here is the future Qantas partner award chart effective 9/18 with the increased premium cabin pricing:

 

Sample destinations to/from Tel Aviv:

  • Zone 1: Larnaca
  • Zone 2: Athens, Sofia
  • Zone 3: London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris, Venice, Warsaw, Zurich
  • Zone 4: Mumbai
  • Zone 5: Bangkok, Beijing, Johannesburg
  • Zone 6: Boston, Hong Kong, JFK, Newark, Toronto, Tokyo
  • Zone 7: Chicago, Miami
  • Zone 8: Los Angeles, San Francisco

El Al/Qantas points comparison chart with taxes:

Here is a comparison for how many points you’ll need with Qantas (regularly or during a transfer promo period) or with El Al Matmid.

Now included in the chart below are the taxes that both El Al and Qantas charge for award tickets. If you booked a premium cabin award before 6/24, you can read this post for what you can do to get a refund.

There are 2 of these charts below. Chart #1 is the old chart, which is valid for the current pricing on premium economy and business class awards. This chart has the old higher pricing for economy, which is no longer applicable.

Chart #2 is the new chart, which is valid for the current pricing in economy and will be valid for future pricing on premium economy and business class awards starting on 9/18.

In other words, if you want to book round-trip travel from NYC to Tel Aviv before 9/18 for travel anytime in the next year, you’ll need 75.6K Qantas points in economy, 126K in premium economy, or 156K in business.

If you transfer points from AMEX with a 44% bonus that means you’ll need about 52.5K points in economy, 87.5K points in premium economy, or 108,333 points in business class. If you need a one-way ticket now you’ll need 26,250 points in economy, 43,750 points for premium economy, or 54,167 points for business class.

If you want to book round-trip travel from NYC to Tel Aviv as of 9/18, you’ll need 75.6K Qantas points in economy, 141.6K in premium economy, or 180K in business. That’s a 10% decrease from previous economy rates, a 12.4% increase in premium economy, and an 11.5% increase in business class.

If you transfer points from AMEX with a 44% bonus now and want to hold that for future use, you’ll need to transfer about 52.5K points in economy, 98,333 points in premium economy, or 125K points in business class. If you need a one-way ticket for future use you’ll need to transfer about 26,250 points in economy, 49,167 points for premium economy, or 62.5K points during the current promo for business class.

  • You will need to round-up to their nearest 500 points for AMEX transfers to Qantas.
  • The chart below includes rates for round-trip travel, though both programs allow for one-way travel at half of the round-trip rate.

 

Chart #1:

Flying between Tel Aviv and:AMEX/Citi points transferred to Qantas at a 1:1 ratio for a round-trip on El Al::::::::::::::::::::::::AMEX points transferred to Qantas with a 20% bonus for a round-trip on El Al:::::::::::::::::::::AMEX points transferred to Qantas with a 44% bonus for a round-trip on El Al:::::::::::::::::::::AMEX points transferred to El Al points for a round-trip for Executives on El Al, with fuel surcharges:::::::::::::::
NYC winter84K Economy+$57
126K Premium+$57
156K Business+$57
70K Economy
105K Premium
130K Business
58,333 Economy
87.5K Premium
108,333 Business
80K+$300 Economy
140K+$200 Premium
255K+$350 Business
NYC summer84K Economy+$57
126K Premium+$57
156K Business+$57
70K Economy
105K Premium
130K Business
58,333 Economy
87.5K Premium
108,333 Business
88K+$350 Economy
180K+$200 Premium
255K+$350 Business
Boston winter84K Economy+$57
126K Premium+$57
156K Business+$57
70K Economy
105K Premium
130K Business
58,333 Economy
87.5K Premium
108,333 Business
60K+$350 Economy
140K+$200 Premium
212.5K+$300 Business
Boston summer84K Economy+$57
126K Premium+$57
156K Business+$57
70K Economy
105K Premium
130K Business
58,333 Economy
87.5K Premium
108,333 Business
88K+$300 Economy
180K+$200 Premium
212.5K+$300 Business
Chicago winter100K Economy+$57
150K Premium+$57
184K Business+$57
83,333 Economy
125K Premium
153,333 Business
69,444 Economy
104,166 Premium
127,777 Business
80K+$350 Economy
184K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$350 Business
Chicago summer100K Economy+$57
150K Premium+$57
184K Business+$57
83,333 Economy
125K Premium
153,333 Business
69,444 Economy
104,166 Premium
127,777 Business
88K+$350 Economy
200K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$350 Business
Toronto winter84K Economy+$73
126K Premium+$73
156K Business+$73
70K Economy
105K Premium
130K Business
58,333 Economy
87.5K Premium
108,333 Business
80K+$270 Economy
140K+$270 Premium
178.5K+$320 Business
Toronto summer84K Economy+$73
126K Premium+$73
156K Business+$73
70K Economy
105K Premium
130K Business
58,333 Economy
87.5K Premium
108,333 Business
88K+$270 Economy
140K+$170 Premium
178.5K+$320 Business
Miami winter100K Economy+$57
150K Premium+$57
184K Business+$57
83,333 Economy
125K Premium
153,333 Business
69,444 Economy
104,166 Premium
127,777 Business
80K+$350 Economy
184K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$350 Business
Miami summer100K Economy+$57
150K Premium+$57
184K Business+$57
83,333 Economy
125K Premium
153,333 Business
69,444 Economy
104,166 Premium
127,777 Business
88K+$350 Economy
200K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$350 Business
Los Angeles winter112K Economy+$57
168K Premium+$57
208K Business+$57
93,333 Economy
140K Premium
173,333 Business
77,777 Economy
116,666 Premium
144,444 Business
100K+$300 Economy
184K+$350 Premium
297.5K+$450 Business
Los Angeles summer112K Economy+$57
168K Premium+$57
208K Business+$57
93,333 Economy
140K Premium
173,333 Business
77,777 Economy
116,666 Premium
144,444 Business
112K+$350 Economy
220K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$450 Business
San Francisco winter112K Economy+$57
168K Premium+$57
208K Business+$57
93,333 Economy
140K Premium
173,333 Business
77,777 Economy
116,666 Premium
144,444 Business
100K+$300 Economy
184K+$350 Premium
297.5K+$450 Business
San Francisco summer112K Economy+$57
168K Premium+$57
208K Business+$57
93,333 Economy
140K Premium
173,333 Business
77,777 Economy
116,666 Premium
144,444 Business
112K+$350 Economy
200K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$450 Business
London winter40K Economy+$191
60K Premium+$310
76K Business+$310
33,333 Economy
50K Premium
63,333 Business
27,777 Economy
41,666 Premium
52,777 Business
32K+$270 Economy
48K+$425 Premium
93.5K+$455 Business
London summer40K Economy+$191
60K Premium+$310
76K Business+$310
33,333 Economy
50K Premium
63,333 Business
27,777 Economy
41,666 Premium
52,777 Business
40K+$270 Economy
70K+$310 Premium
93.5K+$455 Business
Johannesburg winter70K Economy+$68
130K Business+$68
58,333 Economy
108,333 Business
48,611 Economy
90,277 Business
60K+$260 Economy
178.5K+$160 Business
Johannesburg summer70K Economy+$68
130K Business+$68
58,333 Economy
108,333 Business
48,611 Economy
90,277 Business
70K+$260 Economy
178.5K+$160 Business
Hong Kong winter84K Economy+$77
126K Premium+$77
156K Business+$79
70K Economy
105K Premium
130K Business
58,333 Economy
87.5K Premium
108,333 Business
88K+$210 Economy
140K+$210 Premium
212.5K+$210 Business
Hong Kong summer84K Economy+$77
126K Premium+$77
156K Business+$79
70K Economy
105K Premium
130K Business
58,333 Economy
87.5K Premium
108,333 Business
70K+$330 Economy
180K+$180 Premium
212.5K+$330 Business
Bangkok winter70K Economy+$61
105K Premium+$61
130K Business+$61
58,333 Economy
87.5K Premium
108,333 Business
48,611 Economy
72,916 Premium
90,277 Business
60K+$265 Economy
140K+$315 Premium
212.5K+$285 Business
Bangkok summer70K Economy+$61
105K Premium+$61
130K Business+$61
58,333 Economy
87.5K Premium
108,333 Business
48,611 Economy
72,916 Premium
90,277 Business
70K+$315 Economy
180K+$180 Premium
212.5K+$285 Business

 

Chart #2:

Flying between Tel Aviv and:AMEX/Citi points transferred to Qantas at a 1:1 ratio for a round-trip on El Al::::::::::::::::::::::::AMEX points transferred to Qantas with a 20% bonus for a round-trip on El Al::::::::::::::::::AMEX points transferred to Qantas with a 44% bonus for a round-trip on El Al::::::::::::::::::AMEX points transferred to El Al points for a round-trip for Executives on El Al, with fuel surcharges:::::::::::::::
NYC winter75.6K Economy+$57
141.6K Premium+$57
180K Business+$57
63K Economy
118K Premium
150K Business
52.5K Economy
98,333 Premium
125K Business
80K+$300 Economy
140K+$200 Premium
255K+$350 Business
NYC summer75.6K Economy+$57
141.6K Premium+$57
180K Business+$57
63K Economy
118K Premium
150K Business
52.5K Economy
98,333 Premium
125K Business
88K+$350 Economy
180K+$200 Premium
255K+$350 Business
Boston winter75.6K Economy+$57
141.6K Premium+$57
180K Business+$57
63K Economy
118K Premium
150K Business
52.5K Economy
98,333 Premium
125K Business
60K+$350 Economy
140K+$200 Premium
212.5K+$300 Business
Boston summer75.6K Economy+$57
141.6K Premium+$57
180K Business+$57
63K Economy
118K Premium
150K Business
52.5K Economy
98,333 Premium
125K Business
88K+$300 Economy
180K+$200 Premium
212.5K+$300 Business
Chicago winter90K Economy+$57
163.6K Premium+$57
209K Business+$57
75K Economy
136,333 Premium
174,166 Business
62.5K Economy
113,611 Premium
145,138 Business
80K+$350 Economy
184K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$350 Business
Chicago summer90K Economy+$57
163.6K Premium+$57
209K Business+$57
75K Economy
136,333 Premium
174,166 Business
62.5K Economy
113,611 Premium
145,138 Business
88K+$350 Economy
200K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$350 Business
Toronto winter75.6K Economy+$73
141.6K Premium+$73
180K Business+$73
63K Economy
118K Premium
150K Business
52.5K Economy
98,333 Premium
125K Business
80K+$270 Economy
140K+$270 Premium
178.5K+$320 Business
Toronto summer75.6K Economy+$73
141.6K Premium+$73
180K Business+$73
63K Economy
118K Premium
150K Business
52.5K Economy
98,333 Premium
125K Business
88K+$270 Economy
140K+$170 Premium
178.5K+$320 Business
Miami winter90K Economy+$57
163.6K Premium+$57
209K Business+$57
75K Economy
136,333 Premium
174,166 Business
62.5K Economy
113,611 Premium
145,138 Business
80K+$350 Economy
184K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$350 Business
Miami summer90K Economy+$57
163.6K Premium+$57
209K Business+$57
75K Economy
136,333 Premium
174,166 Business
62.5K Economy
113,611 Premium
145,138 Business
88K+$350 Economy
200K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$350 Business
Los Angeles winter100.6K Economy+$57
187K Premium+$57
238.4K Business+$57
83,833 Economy
155,833 Premium
198,666 Business
69,861 Economy
129,861 Premium
165,555 Business
100K+$300 Economy
184K+$350 Premium
297.5K+$450 Business
Los Angeles summer100.6K Economy+$57
187K Premium+$57
238.4K Business+$57
83,833 Economy
155,833 Premium
198,666 Business
69,861 Economy
129,861 Premium
165,555 Business
112K+$350 Economy
220K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$450 Business
San Francisco winter100.6K Economy+$57
187K Premium+$57
238.4K Business+$57
83,833 Economy
155,833 Premium
198,666 Business
69,861 Economy
129,861 Premium
165,555 Business
100K+$300 Economy
184K+$350 Premium
297.5K+$450 Business
San Francisco summer100.6K Economy+$57
187K Premium+$57
238.4K Business+$57
83,833 Economy
155,833 Premium
198,666 Business
69,861 Economy
129,861 Premium
165,555 Business
112K+$350 Economy
200K+$300 Premium
297.5K+$450 Business
London winter40K Economy+$191
69K Premium+$310
87.6K Business+$310
33,333 Economy
57.5K Premium
73K Business
27,777 Economy
47,916 Premium
60,833 Business
32K+$270 Economy
48K+$425 Premium
93.5K+$455 Business
London summer40K Economy+$191
69K Premium+$310
87.6K Business+$310
33,333 Economy
57.5K Premium
73K Business
27,777 Economy
47,916 Premium
60,833 Business
40K+$270 Economy
70K+$310 Premium
93.5K+$455 Business
Johannesburg winter60.4K Economy+$68
150K Business+$68
50,333 Economy
125K Business
41,944 Economy
104,166 Business
60K+$260 Economy
178.5K+$160 Business
Johannesburg summer60.4K Economy+$68
150K Business+$68
50,333 Economy
125K Business
41,944 Economy
104,166 Business
70K+$260 Economy
178.5K+$160 Business
Hong Kong winter75.6K Economy+$77
141.6K Premium+$77
180K Business+$79
63K Economy
118K Premium
150K Business
52.5K Economy
98,333 Premium
125K Business
88K+$210 Economy
140K+$210 Premium
212.5K+$210 Business
Hong Kong summer75.6K Economy+$77
141.6K Premium+$77
180K Business+$79
63K Economy
118K Premium
150K Business
52.5K Economy
98,333 Premium
125K Business
70K+$330 Economy
180K+$180 Premium
212.5K+$330 Business
Bangkok winter60.4K Economy+$61
118K Premium+$61
150K Business+$61
50,333 Economy
98,333 Premium
125K Business
41,944 Economy
81,944 Premium
104,166 Business
60K+$265 Economy
140K+$315 Premium
212.5K+$285 Business
Bangkok summer60.4K Economy+$61
118K Premium+$61
150K Business+$61
50,333 Economy
98,333 Premium
125K Business
41,944 Economy
81,944 Premium
104,166 Business
70K+$315 Economy
180K+$180 Premium
212.5K+$285 Business

Will you transfer points from AMEX to Qantas with the 44% transfer bonus?


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Leave a Reply

136 Comments On "Everything You Need To Know About Booking El Al Awards With Qantas!"

All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.

Jake

1)Does Qantas charge fuel surcharges on flights from nyc to Europe like BA does for AA flights?

2) If I transfer 2 million miles am I going to get 30%+20%?

3)It seems you can book China Eastern via Qantas. However, it shows Economy, Premium Economy, and First.
1) How would I know if they charge surcharges
2) Is “First” actually first or it’s really China Eastern business?

Dav

So bottom Line , I have no plans for travel even not within the next year or so

Would you reccomend to transfer or not ?

yed

I would appreciate is anyone can advise of which email sever that SMS phone number works with. this way we can text to that number directly from gmail.

moe8555

In terms of the risk of severing the relationship, my current operating assumption is that there is no risk of this happening within the year or two.

Why? Because we see that Qantas is enhancing the relationship/booking capabilities for El Al – something they surely would not invest in would an imminent threat of severance exist.

Y

The million dollar question:
Will we be getting a DDMS trip report on El Al in the coming year?
(Is it at least more likely than until today?)

rediplus

but why would anyone want to fly ELAL ? spend your points on a quality airline that actually provides service , schedule , satisfaction and wont dump you in greece or worse for shabbos..

lazertek

how long should it take until the points show up and the bonus i did a transfer almost 24hours ago and even the base points didn’t show up yet.

noah32

Great post!

Seems like you have Chicago and Boston in the wrong spots for which airports are available for booking online.

lazertek

i did already it still dosn’t come up

Ryan

So, weird glitch.

Booked Elal on Qantas but points available didn’t decrease.

I was looking up another flight even though there were not enough points in the account. Out of curiosity I checked to see what would happen if I go through the full booking.

Lo and behold it appeared to work. The ticket was even pulled up on elal’s site when in search the record locator.

It seems the points only adjust after you log out and log back on.

Now on Qantas (after relogging in) in the points activity it shows as if only half the necessary points were used – but the ticket looks confirmed.

Thoughts?

Leo

Where can I fly from in Europe using Qantas points to fly Business directly to PHL or EWR?

I have not been able to find anything so far.

moshe

Hi Leo
there’s a daily AA on the summer season between Budapest to PHL also all the Iberia flights to the USA are available online

dov

i transferred 300k on the 25th. still no bonus from Qantas:(

taveller

@dan
Since qantas is very responsive in fixing problems and bugs on their site. Myabe you can ask them to improve their customer service? lets hope they will fiv that problem too

QF

Why should the 44%+15-30% stack? it says clear in the T&C that in will not.

Benji

I do plan to use points within the next year. Here are my 3 questions: 1) Can I book tickets for family members? 2) If I will need to fly on specific dates is it too risky to transfer as availability to book with points is limited? 3) is there a bonus for transferring Citi TY points or only AMEX?

Harry

All this is great but you are missing one vital point: El Al is a lousy airline to fly with, arrogant crew, terrible time keeping and very mediocre food. Even the new Dreamliners are not that great in Business.

Helen

“Even the new Dreamliners are not that great in Business.” – But surely way better than flying Economy on this or any other airline

Mendel

The $73 tax from Toronto and back, is that in Canadian dollars or USD?

Issues linking Amex to Qantas

I’m hearing of folks who are encountering error messages when attempting to link their Amex MR account to their Qantas FF account. Qantas FF number is 10 digits. They call Amex. Amex says they are aware of the issue. I’ve not seen it reported anywhere. Any ideas?

Anon

Is there a way to contact MR and get my bonus changes from 20% to 44 % ?

dans friend

Just wondering are the taxes/fees more expensive when booking a reward flight in economy vs Business. I’m getting a 45 GBP fee ($57 USD) when booking an economy award.

Yanki

Do you have a write up about using quantas points for destinations other then TLV ?

Sam

This will be helpful, like what other travel deals for other destinations.
Thank You gain for another great post!

me

I transferred over points a few times over the past month and always got my extra points from Qantas within 2 days. I transferred more points over 3 days ago and did not get the extra 20%. It could be just that it is taking longer or it could be that they stopped giving it. I am only writing this as a heads up. I am hoping I will still get the extra points but just a word of caution if you are transferring a lot of points and only doing it to get the extra 20%.

Michael Padawer

I transferred 150,000 AMEX points yesterday and received the additional 20% – totaling 180,000 points on Qantas. So far I have not receive the additional 20% from Qantas?

dov

i transferred 6/25 and 6/27
so far no bonus from qantas

spring valley

I also transferred on 6/25 and 6/27
and so far no bonus from Qantas

Dan

Why are they doing that?

Benji

If I transfer the 500 points and sign up for the promos as you suggest will I get any offers by the Sunday deadline that will give me more that the 44%? Also, if I transfer the 500 points and then transfer another 150k on Sunday, will I get the 44% promo on both or will the transfer of the 500 points “use up” the bonus offer?

A1best bubby

I got my 20% from AMEX, but NOTHINGbadditional after that from Qantas. I think that was an error on their part and they stopped giving those extra points once transferred to their account.

netlevy

transferred on the 25th and no additional Bonus ! 🙁
seems that the deal is gone………

Yossi

I paid for tickets. Quantas won’t issue the ticket until the apis is completely filled out, the toddler and infant don’t have passports yet and they won’t accept the document until completely filled out . Any way around it?

Malky

Transferred on the 25 and still didnt get any bonus points:( can I contact Qantas and try to get it?

Probably won\'t help to call Qantas

Same here.

Calling Qantas might just cause them to claw back all the extra bonus 20% they gave to everyone else.

Surprised they haven’t.

Malky

Well if they caught onto this, then then can take back the bonus points they gave everyone regardless if I call them or not.
Maybe if I call theyll manually apply it or they’ll say it was an error and no longer giving an extra 20%.

for Malky

Have you called? I just did. Waiting….

Yossi

BH Transferred posted on 24 credit posted on 25, transfered posted on the 28 just posted credit bonus on Jul 1. Seems the transfers go random as they are overloaded. Looks like everyone’s credits will eventually post as they get to it

A1best bubby

After giving up hope by reading the recent posts, I checked my account this morning and lo and behold, the extra 20% was posted to my account. So don’t give up hope!

Malky

When did you transfer?

Avi

#metoo

Dovi18

I just saw that I did get the extra 20% from a transfer I made on june 27. I did not call them.

Mark

Just got the extra 20% as well, I transferred on the 29th at 11 pm. initially after seeing the posts yesterday that they may not give it, I added more points to be safe, if they bonus those as well I will have an influx in Qantas.

yed

Great News!
Extra 20% just posted today after making the transfer Yesterday.

Malky

Cant figure this out. I made 2 transfers, , one of June 25 and one of June 27. The one from 25th I didnt get bonus points yet but the one from the 27 I just got.

for Malky

The 25th experienced a glitch. Have you called yet? I called, and am now waiting.

Malky

I called yesterday before the bonus points posted from the 27. The rep was trying to tell me that I received the points in my account but I kept saying I didn’t see the transaction where Qantas posted the bonus points…he wasn’t understanding me. Let me know the outcome of you call please

for Malky

2 calls so far. No resolution yet.

Malky

Same. They seem so clueless the agents. They didnt understand my problem

marlon aronstam

i received my bonus thanks to Dan

mef201

I made two transfers to Qantas from Amex, both on June 25th. The second one got the bonus yesterday, the first one has not. I’m on hold with Qantas to try to get the bonus for the first. Does anyone know why I can see my Qantas reservation on the El Al website, but not on the El Al app?

For mef

What was the outcome of your call?

mef201

I hung up after an hour on hold. I sent them an email and they said they’re working on it. Nothing yet.

for mef201

Still nothing? I haven’t yet resorted to email.

Scientist

What address did you send the email to?

Michael Padawer

I transferred points from AMEX to Qatas on 6/27. I immediately received my 20% bonus. Then yesterday, without my contacting Qantas, Qantas up those points by 20%. Thank you Dan.

Looking forward to flying business class.

Edgetrader

I transfered points from AMEX on friday 6/28 received the extra 20% today.
Thanks Dan.

SW

I called last night to complain about not getting the extra 20% and sure enough today the extra points appeared in my account! 400K tunred into 576!

Thanks DAN

Your call last night...

I just called now, the rep said she had to email a special department, and would call me back within 24 hours. How did your call last night go?

Shaya

Hi Dan,

Is this the best option for me to transfer my Amex points if I plan to travel within the next year with BA to TLV?

dov

i also got 20percent for the 6/27 transfer but not for the 6/25 transfer

for dov

Have you called yet?

Benji

I transferred on the 28th and got the Qantas 20% bonus for net 44%

Benji

B”H. TY Dan

how

Transferred on the 29th. Bonus posted on the 1st

Scientist

I transferred on June 25 and still haven’t received the Qantas bonus. I called today. First the rep said that it takes 6-8 weeks for the 20% to post. I politely explained that that’s not so. She put me on hold for a while and then said it takes 15 days. I again explained that she is incorrect. She then said that she’ll send an email to the correct department and that I should give it until Friday. Any suggestions?

For Scientist

Seems reps are telling all different stories. But ultimately emailing some department. I got a different story. Hopeful.

dov

didn’t call yet. trying to sms

For dov

SMS always tells me to call

Shmuel

Im also a 6/25 non bonus victim…I called twice and both times they said I should take it up with Amex. Any advice?

Scientist

They tried that on me and I politely explained that it has nothing to do with Amex and that this was a Qantas bonus advertised on Qantas’s website.

For Scientist

Same here. My rep told me 24 hours. Said she had to email some department. None of us can take no for an answer. Keep it up. Keep it respectful.

Jonathan

I’m also still waiting on the bonus for two transfers (two different accounts) made on the 25th. Has anyone seen the bonus post for transfers made on the 25th (as a result of a call or otherwise)? I tried texting but was referred to the 1-800 number for FF questions. Just tried calling now but hours are Australia hours, so need to wait for this afternoon. I sent an email in the interim. Would love to hear the script for anyone who has been successful with a Qantas rep on this glitch.

Scientist

Keeping in mind the time difference, Australia’s 14 hours ahead of the USA. I transferred Amex points around 11:00pm on June 25 which is June 26 in Australia. I still haven’t received my bonus. Texting refers me to FF phone number. Only result from phone call is the rep saying she’ll email the correct department. Did anyone get a bonus for transfers on June 25 and if so, what time of day did you make it?

for Scientist

So far, I got the same story from a Qantas rep. She promised me a response within 24 hours… which just passed.

dov

i have not yet received bonus for 6/25 transfer.

keep us updated

for dov

Same here. Here’s to hoping they treat 6/25 like the rest!

No filter

I have just spent hours with the SMS service (which was terrible and terribly slow) and half an hour on the phone. They are both saying that Qantas cannot book SFO–TLV with El Al because the agreement between Qantas and El Al only allows booking award tickets on LY involving the US via EWR or JFK (the SMS person also said LAX and Toronto). Anyone else get this? They are saying that they’re getting an error trying to book it. The seat is available (checked LY site) and they can see it too. But they can’t book it. What the hell???!!!

No filter

That is insane!!!! It took 30 minutes to get to this result. So HUCA is easier typed than done. And the guy literally says that’s in the agreement between QF and LY.

Spring Valley

I had a similar issue when my tickets wasn’t confirmed, and i called Qantas, and the Rep advised me that the reason is because my ticket is from EWR and i could only book LY on QF from JFK or LAX….
I then contacted Qantas by SMS and the tickets were confirmed whiten minutes.. (they said that i need to fill out the EPIS but when i said that i don’t have all the passport info yet, he said that it is no problem he will book it with just the DOB and i should enter the passport info when i have them)

Moshe

QF saying award bookings with El Al can be only to/from jfk or lax. Anyone have a real recent datapoint from other airports? Speculation and huca advice not needed.

Yossi

I booked tickets Sunday with Quantas EWR TLV and still didn’t receive the itineraries. I tryied emailing from my booking as well which says error every day they say will come within 24 hrs also not in spam folder

Zak

I transferred points on June 25. Bonus points just hit my account. Never called them about it.

For Zak

Good thing some of us did call. Helped us all. Qantas took the high road in the end. As their agents were coming up with every excuse in the book.

Spring Valley

DP Showing that Qantas is issuing all the bonuses for the transfers on the 25th

Scientist

For all my fellow June 25 victims: My 20% Qantas bonus was just added to my FF account.

For Scientist

Ditto

dov

MY 6/25 BONUS WAS JUST ADDED TODAY AS WELL:)

No filter

Bonus points are great but not so great when you can’t make a booking… Any DP for real bookings with LY to TLV From MIA, SFO?

Benji

I am a bit concerned. I transferred 140k amex points and all went well. I just tried texting them to request flights. Took me 3 and a half hours to exchange about 10-15 messages and essentially they told me that their are no flights available over a 2 days period that I requested, not from JFK nor EWR, not in business, coach or coach plus. I pointed out that the EL AL web site listed multiple flights with award seats available it all cabins and even directed them to specific flights. They told me that that ELAL lists their availability but that Qantas has limited availability in what ELAL designates for award travel and that they had nothing that they can offer me. Did I squander my points?

Qantas

Did anyone make a transfer on June 30th and not receive the bonus 20% from Qantas? Seems like since I made a transfer 12 noon in the US it was already July 1st in Australia and they wont give 20% bonus

Jay

Did the same. Got the 20% on July 9th. Didn’t call or anything, Just waited

Ari

Hi Dan, first I am grateful for all you all your posts, it is very helpful. I have booked a flight using Qantas points, however I have cancelled it within 24 hours but have not received a refund. Please advise, Thank you

Jacob

Hi Dan! any reason why El Al flights are not showing on Qantas? I checked different dates and nothing shows up.

No filter

It looks like they are no longer showing (again!). They used to show then El Al changed their site / access and it disappeared. Then Dan spoke to someone at El Al and it showed up again on Qantas.com. And now it’s gone. This is terrible.

Jacob

I have been checking daily the past 5 weeks and they were showing up, today they are not showing up

Levi

I was having the same trouble. No direct flights are now appearing online, I managed to redeem for direct flights though by calling the Qantas call centre.

Mo

@dan if I book business class with Qantas can I make a change to the booking (different dates) through Elal directly or can I only make the change through Qantas? Asking because availability through Qantas is so limited.

IH

Hi Dan, When I try booking award travel with Alaska or Etihad they charge for an infant as if an adult. Is there any way to avoid this issue? And when booking with Qantas do they also charge an infant as if an adult?
Thanks so much!!!!

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