Basically, I need some R&R that I only seem to be able to get in Europe.

Basically, I need some R&R that I only seem to be able to get in Europe. I have seen the offer wit AA and have two questions as I am new to this and can't afford to lose in the transaction.

1) Theoretically, can I buy the max amount on offer before this calendar year ends and then buy another maximum amount beginning of January.

2) How easy is it to get return first class airfares from Sydney, preferably to London, but any European capital would do and easyjet it over to London on a decent airline?

Many thanks for your input!

Don't understand the question properly but If you are looking for a good rate on 1st class travel I suggest you try wwwfirstclass travel .com.au they have great discounted rates. Hope this helps 

To answer your questions:

1) Correct, you can buy a maximum of 80K miles this calendar year (excludes the bonus you get) and buy another 80K as of January first. Naturally, the best deals are only to be had if there is a bonus offer promotion. I don't think there is currently one.

2) Its is not easy at all, in general you can probably get business class around 330 days out of your travel date (if you are lucky you might be able to snag a First class seat, MEL-LHR on QF sometimes has space), or if you fly within 3 days Cathay Pacific often releases space (all unused seats bar one). Note that most space released especially with Oneworld is in business class, not first class. Qatar, Malaysian and BA are carriers who  offer the best amunt of award seating, but you often have to be creative with routing (e.g fly SYD-KUL-DOH-LHR).

All depends on when you intend to travel and where you are based / travelling from. In your case buying LifeMiles might be better. For more info on both AAdvantage and LifeMiles buy miles tricks, check out the excellent AUSBT articles, they will provide you with all the info you need.

http://www.ausbt.com.au/low-cost-qantas-business-first-class-buying-us-frequent-flyer-miles

http://www.ausbt.com.au/avianca-lifemiles-unlocks-low-cost-business-first-class-star-alliance-flights

Yes, sorry Merc25, on re-reading the question, it wasn't very articulate.

Many thanks KG.  My understanding from the AA website is that they have an offer of buy 80 000 and get 45 000 bonus points and the offer has been extended until January 2015 which makes my scheme possible. 

I don't really mind where I have to travel to to get there as I will be comfortable all the way (even in business) and it will purely be for little holidays.  I broke both of my legs this year, one after the other and would find economy too difficult for such a long trip.

Merc25, I did use someone similar the last time I travelled first class but I have just been thinking, why not cut out the middle man if I can.  I am a single parent so better in my pocket than theirs!

I appreciate your replies.  More research needed.

Sorry to hear of your injury. This isn't going to be very useful because the savings are non existent. You can easily pick up a paid business class fare for around 6k-7k AUD which isn't fare off from what you will pay through AA plus taxes plus booking fees, and you'll have the constrained dates. Some airlines offer F fares that are this low.

As for catching F then easyjet, all I can say about that is you've got to be kidding. What's the point of going F then Y-? Sure you might save few dollars and even perhaps avoid UK's prohbitive APD tax, but unless you're going to an area served by easyjet, then this isn't recommended especially if you need space to stretch with a leg injury.

Nevertheless the best strategy to reduce costs (wether miles or paid fares) is to fly into the UK, out of anywhere in Europe.

Thanks Edy4eva.  So the taxes etc bring the cost up that high?  Something else to consider then. Apparently, (cheers for the articles KG), Avian ca don't charge the fuel levy when you book the ticket..

As I did have the injuries (healed now but have created a lot of other havoc on the old bod), I will, after next week have four months off work on extended sick leave and I feel the need for London at the moment.

I guess though, as with many things, one gets all excited and then the fine print kicks in.  We shall see.

As for the easyjet thing, I was just thinking that to be more flexible you may need to fly into Paris, which I did last year and then make your way over to where you want to go. I went on a cheap BA flight.

It was a very short flight but I had never flown into the UK from France before and flying in over Dover was pretty special.

......or Rome or whatever western European city works.

Sorry to hear of your injury how every Most business class seats today will accomodate you,and are cheaper than 1st class,very hard to cut out the middle man though as they can normally provide better prices than the airlines. First class travel do promote business class sales so it's worth checking out their web site.

I don't know Merc25 if I am looking at the wrong page.  The url you posted goes to a domain page.  There is www.firstclass.com.au but they are really expensive.

I flew to Paris first class return and an economy jump across to London and back with a stopover in Singapore, flying Thai and paid $6000 AUD each.  Maybe the dollar was a bit better back then but those prices are really super expensive on that website.  Can you let me know if that is the one you mean?

This idea that one can buy miles and use them to redeem for Business or First Class flights to Europe is a bit of a red herring. I'm concerned that the reality of such redemptions are not being drummed in, when the message of cheap mileage purchases is being delivered, resulting in adverse value outcomes to the uninitiated.

In my opinion, if you want to get to Europe in Business Class for a great fare, fly a redemption flight to Asia, particularly Bangkok, where you will be able to purchase outright Business Class fares at a much reduced cost. If you are willing to up your chances, then redeem the first leg in Economy, where redemption availability is greater, particularly to ports like SIN or HKG. 

The challenge is getting redemption availability out of Australia in Business/First. 

Hey, that's a great idea, why have I never thought of that before?

I'm planning a trip to Paris in May and I've been tossing up whether to just deal with economy for 24 hours or pay the ridiculous $6500 fare in business. But I see now that I can book from various Asian cities to Paris for $US2200ish in biz-class, add an extra thousand to fly to Asia in economy (which I don't mind for an eight-hour flight), and do the whole journey in reasonable comfort at a not-unreasonable price. 

Of course the big pitfall is not being protected for delays, so I'd probably give myself a 24 hour stopover in Asia in each direction to be on the safe side. 

Any other pitfalls I should be aware of? Is that $2200 HKG-CDG fare going to triple the moment I put my Australian credit card number in?

Should be fine Hugo. The challenge sometimes, is when the airline booking site require you to verify your identity by presenting the credit card used for purchasing at check-in or at the airline's downtown office. 

I find booking through expedia or other web-based travel agents helps. Although most airline sites that I visit now have done away with the requirement to present yourself. This use to be the case with Qantas when booking flights ex BKK or HKG.

Thank you TheRealBabuska. Ii am very aware of the concept of anything sounding to good to be true usually is which is why I needed to ask the questions.  I certainly don't want to be left with a shed load of miles which I cannot redeem. 

i was however, curious about how the guy I used last time was able to offer such a great price AND obviously make a profit as well (he's not doing it out of the goodness of his heart).

i thought that seeing as I will have some time on my hands and desperately need to get away, I might be able to work something out myself. As I said, I paid $6K return to Paris in first class which is a great price but still something I can't afford to do on a regular basis.  If I'm not going to be able to make it work though then I will save myself the grief.