I'm over Qantas FF - Is there a better value program for an Oz Resident?

[Nizar]

Burn baby burn..those qff points and start looking to pastures greener...

Would love to move from QF and I have looked it into but it seems that all the other decent programs, whilst having better burn rates, seem to have, at least in my case personally, lower earn rates, because of the following points:

*The ability to earn points and SCs on award flights, whilst now difficult, is something unique to QF I think.
*Earning full points on ALL fare buckets of economy is pretty rare too.
*The credit cards available in Aus seem to have much more attractive sign on bonuses when credited to QF (I have made 100k points from these with another 75k to come before the end of the year).

I don't often defend QF but it is what it is, and whenever I think about starting afresh with another program the above points sway me in the favour of remaining with QF, despite the abysmal burn rates.

 

[Limewood]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

I don't often defend QF but it is what it is, and whenever I think about starting afresh with another program the above points sway me in the favour of remaining with QF, despite the abysmal burn rates.

Despite ASA online removal.

 

[Nizar]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

Despite ASA online removal.

Well, yeh.
Even if ASAs go completely I would jump up and down, make a fuss, and write to AJ, etc, but at the end of the day, that would only remove one of the three main points that keeps me flying with QF.
I tried starting afresh with SQ but they don't make it easy with discount economy fares earning 10% of miles (or none at all), and no absolutely no ability at all to earn on redemption flights.

Do you have suggestions for alternative programs ? Believe me I am all ears if you do. Would be happy to throw QF away if I find an alternative that works out an overall better deal for me.

 

[Sprucegoose]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

It is obvious qantas haven't rolled out the perfect program here. It is up to them how they choose to improve it.

i am considering the AA route. I am LTG so the reality is my benefits are a diminishing rate of return

 

[serfty]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

...
Do you have suggestions for alternative programs ? Believe me I am all ears if you do. Would be happy to throw QF away if I find an alternative that works out an overall better deal for me.

The only one I'd suggest for a regular QF traveller is AAdvantage.

See this thread: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....he-great-points-transfer-aadvantage-6802.html

Since the genesis of that thread, CC earn no longer counts for life time status, but more classes earn points. Get status and minimum points guarantees kick in.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....-platinum-challenge-mileage-earning-8595.html

 

[Nizar]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

The only one I'd suggest for a regular QF traveller is AAdvantage.

See this thread: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....he-great-points-transfer-aadvantage-6802.html

Since the genesis of that thread, CC earn no longer counts for life time status, but more classes earn points. Get status and minimum points guarantees kick in.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....-platinum-challenge-mileage-earning-8595.html

I will read both threads, thanks.

But what I'm trying to get at is:

1/ For the same money as you would pay for a AA run to get you to WP (say $2k), would you also be able to reach AA EXP ?
2/ For a largely QF traveller there as far more advantages being WP than there is being EXP isn't there especially in terms of earn rates ?
3/ Some deep discounts Y fares only earn 0.25 or 0.125 when crediting to AA so hard to build up a decent points balance with AA as a largely QF flyer ?

 

[JohnK]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

1/ For the same money as you would pay for a AA run to get you to WP (say $2k), would you also be able to reach AA EXP ?
2/ For a largely QF traveller there as far more advantages being WP than there is being EXP isn't there especially in terms of earn rates ?
3/ Some deep discounts Y fares only earn 0.25 or 0.125 when crediting to AA so hard to build up a decent points balance with AA as a largely QF flyer ?

I have not kept up with Aadvantage changes but I believe you will need either 100 sectors or ~66,660 flown miles in premium airfares or full economy airfares to achieve Executive Platinum.

One of the reasons I never seriously considered AAdvantage is I want to be Qantas Platinum as most of my flying is Qantas in short haul economy in E, O, N classes and I am not prepared to spend extra to ensure I am on an earning class. I may get there with 100 sectors but that is a bit of stretch.

 

[Speedbird001]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

Well, yeh.
Even if ASAs go completely I would jump up and down, make a fuss, and write to AJ, etc, but at the end of the day, that would only remove one of the three main points that keeps me flying with QF.
I tried starting afresh with SQ but they don't make it easy with discount economy fares earning 10% of miles (or none at all), and no absolutely no ability at all to earn on redemption flights.

Do you have suggestions for alternative programs ? Believe me I am all ears if you do. Would be happy to throw QF away if I find an alternative that works out an overall better deal for me.

I suspect - and I apologise upfront now because I don't know for sure - that whilst AA and SQ may have inferior earn rates in economy, not to mention the absence of cynical status bonuses that QF offers for flying QF, the burn rates are inferior with Qantas, certainly compared to AA. Vital to check apples with apples. Net net, credit card points tip the balance to QF...reluctantly.

 

[serfty]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

I will read both threads, thanks.

But what I'm trying to get at is:

1/ For the same money as you would pay for a AA run to get you to WP (say $2k), would you also be able to reach AA EXP ?
2/ For a largely QF traveller there as far more advantages being WP than there is being EXP isn't there especially in terms of earn rates ?
3/ Some deep discounts Y fares only earn 0.25 or 0.125 when crediting to AA so hard to build up a decent points balance with AA as a largely QF flyer ?

1. Certainly EXP is harder to earn than QF WP, this is more about the earn/burn ratio which AAdvantage dominaters (QF has little competition here in Oz when compares to that wich AAdvantage has in the USA).

2 & 3 Not necessarily - the trick is to get status - AA Gold at least - after which there is a minimum earn on QF flights. More below and in that challenge thread I linked up thread.

e.g. A MEL-SYD flight in O Class: Earnings for: No status - 55 miles, Gold: 625, Plat/EXP: 1000.

...
EARNING MILES

Miles can be earned on Qualifying fares on One World Carriers and partner airlines. ...

To see how many miles will be earned per flight, please see American Airlines oneworld Partner and check the earning levels for the carrier being flown

e.g. flying a 800 mile flight on Qantas in S class

S class earns 0.5 miles per miles flown , so would earn 400. Since 400 is less than the min earning of 500, the min of 500 will be earned

If the member has Gold status , then a 25% bonus will be earned on the 500 giving 625 miles

If the member has Platinum or Executive Platinum status , then a 100% bonus will be earned on the 500 giving 1000 miles


REDEEMING MILES

If wanting to redeem a r/t trip within Australia, within New Zealand or between Australia and New Zealand, the cost will be

20,000 miles in Economy Class
35,000 miles in Business Class
60,000 miles in 1st Class


For the redemption costs for AA awards: AMERICAN AIRLINES AWARD CHART (one way)

For the redemption costs of other partner awards: oneworld and other Airline Award Chart

For the redemption costs for One World awards: oneworld Airlines Award Chart


Note : One World awards are mileage based. When working out the distance, AA counts the distance between stopover points and does not include transit points.

e.g. If you wish to fly MEL-SYD-HKG-LHR-TIP, with no stopovers in SYD/HKG/LHR, the distance travelled will be classed as approx 9716 miles rather than the total distance flown of 12,483 miles


BA EARNING RESTRICTION

[-]BA Flights between UK and USA are ineligable for earning miles [/-] This is no longer the case.

LAN EARNING RESTRICTION

All LAN flights earn miles other than some cheap domestic fares

EARNING MILES ON QANTAS


When travelling domestically on Qantas

Some cheap red-e-deals book in the eligable class of O whilst others book in the ineligable classes E and N. Avoid the E and N class red-e-deals when wanting to earn miles

Super Savers earn 50% miles

Flexi Savers and Fully Flexible earn 100% miles

Business earn 125% miles

When travelling internationally on Qantas

Economy fares booked in O,Q earn 25% miles
Economy fares booked in G,N,S,M,V,L earn 50% miles
Economy fares booked in H,K,B,Y earn 100% miles
Premium Economy fares booked in W,T,R earn 110% miles
Business fares booked in C,D,I,J earn 125% miles
First fares booked in A,F earn 150% miles

If booked in a class other than those listed , NO miles or points will be accrued
...

 

[Nizar]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

1. Certainly EXP is harder to earn than QF WP, this is more about the earn/burn ratio which AAdvantage dominaters (QF has little competition here in Oz when compares to that wich AAdvantage has in the USA).

2 & 3 Not necessarily - the trick is to get status - AA Gold at least - after which there is a minimum earn on QF flights. More below and in that challenge thread I linked up thread.

e.g. A MEL-SYD flight in O Class: Earnings for: No status - 55 miles, Gold: 625, Plat/EXP: 1000.

Yeh but the 'harder to earn' is important. We all know what the payoff is, but I have to weigh up whether or not its worth it to chase EXP.

Another factor is CC spend, I only really earn 150k QFF points a year, half of that from flights/hotels and and the other half from day-to-day CC spend. So half of my earning would automatically just disappear if I switch to AA. Well, it won't disappear, but there's no easy way I know of to earn on a CC in Aus which will directly credit to AA. Not to mention those CC sign on bonuses that I have been chasing of late and will likely to continuing to do. Those alone will add 100-150k QFF points a year if I can maintain my streak.

When you say the trick is to have status, wouldn't AA already recognise my QF SG status ?

 

[asg29e]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

...there's no easy way I know of to earn on a CC in Aus which will directly credit to AA. Not to mention those CC sign on bonuses that I have been chasing of late and will likely to continuing to do.

Not direct AA earn I know, but David Jones Amex or Diners transferred to SPG then to AA is still marvellous value. For DJ Amex spend at supermarkets it works out to in excess of 1.5 AA points/$, taking into account the SPG transfer bonus.

 

[JohnK]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

the way I see it, despite what Qantas do, I'm just glad I'm a member here and can know where the good oil's at

MASA's are here to stay, just not online... when they go permanently I'll worry about it then, but for now keep calm & carry on...

That's the spirit.

e.g. A MEL-SYD flight in O Class: Earnings for: No status - 55 miles, Gold: 625, Plat/EXP: 1000.

A lot of my SYD-BNE flights book into E class. There is a sizeable $ difference between E class and O class and be very careful of N class. There could be an even bigger difference between N class and S class.

Earn/burn is much more complicated than some of these threads suggest.

 

[Nizar]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

I was referring to the LHR-MEL-HBA of 128k points + ~$1k for 1 person. Not an expert but seems good to me when I've got points to burn.

It does say 2 x PAX...

Yes well the SQ figure I quoted was 127k points for the return in J so the comparison stands.
Still can't say I agree on 'extremely good value' and I can't see how having points to burn increases the value of any QF redemption. A $12k laptop doesn't become extremely good value if you have $30million in the bank.

Not having a go but just haven't heard those three words together in sequence ('extremely good value') when speaking of QF burn rates so I was a tad shocked that's all.

 

[ketsuzei]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

Yes well the SQ figure I quoted was 127k points for the return in J so the comparison stands.

So show me how to do that for less than 161,500 points.

And flying from HBA is non-trivial (cost-wise) too.

 

[ketsuzei]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

I was referring to the LHR-MEL-HBA of 128k points + ~$1k for 1 person. Not an expert but seems good to me when I've got points to burn.

Looks like excellent value to me too. As do the ones in the opposite direction.

 

[Nizar]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

So show me how to do that for less than 161,500 points.

And flying from HBA is non-trivial (cost-wise) too.

Looks like excellent value to me too. As do the ones in the opposite direction.

Lol fair enough. Each to their own then

 

[ketsuzei]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

Lol fair enough. Each to their own then

So, you can really do SYD-LHR return for "SQ 127k points + approx the same cash component as QF"?

 

[Nizar]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

So, you can really do SYD-LHR return for "SQ 127k points + approx the same cash component as QF"?

I just looked it up and my mistake 127k is actually for other parts of Europe. For LHR the cost is 136k or 68k per way. Note that in the below chart that's 160k and 80k but for online bookings you get a 15% discount.
http://www.singaporeair.com/pdf/ppsclub_krisflyer/charts/SQMI_OneWayAwardCharts.pdf
So if 128k points for the one way is extremely good value, then 136k for the return must be like, free lol.

BUT the edge that QF has is that as a JASA you earn points/SCs. You do not with SQ. But I think you must agree that the points different is substantial.

 

[ketsuzei]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

Zone 9 to Zone 12 in J is 95,000 one way. 15% online discount takes that down to 161,500 points for the return trip.

(Content moderated.)

 

[Aussie_flyer]

Re: [Confirmed] QF removing [cheap] ASAs [from web booking engine Jun 26] was 10Apri

On discount economy to europe sq awards 2000 miles. Qantas awards 20000. Your comparison now makes qantas look at least 5 times more generous