Getting SWMBO/HWMBO 'on board' with your travel plans.

[smit0847]

(I'll try to keep the puns to a minimum)

My partner used to work for VA and JQ many years ago (in Ops). She is reasonably savvy when discussing aircraft types, routes etc. However, some of the statements she's made recently, I am struggling with:

'but FF points don't have any value, only SCs do'
'i don't care which airline we fly, I just want the most direct route'
'why would we use more points to fly in J when we could just go Y?'
'let's go to Iceland' :shock:
'whats the point in one of us being Gold when we could both be Silver?'

However, she intertwines this with:

'$200 VA J fares from MEL-SYD and BNE?!? Let's book multiple trips!'
'make sure we get a flight during the dinner service times so we get the best J experience'
'We should be saving our VA FF points for a US trip - I don't want to have to fly United!!'
'i love sitting in row 3 (on VA)'
'i can't be bothered understanding the deal - just book it for us and I'll go'
'if you see $99 VA flights to PER again, just book them for us. At that price you don't even have to check with me'.

She is coming around. I've spent about a month talking her into a USDM trip next year in J - I'm hoping that after experiencing proper long-haul J she will realise the benefits of my growing addiction to points, status, fare buckets, excellent deals etc. I will be VA Gold for the first time in October (thanks to family pooling), and with all these VA J trips we've booked and family pooling (back to her), she will also be Gold in about Jan and I think she will start to realise the benefits.

Any suggestions/stories/experiences on getting them on-side with your crazy ideas? I'd love to do a status run in the US but will need to explain it to SWMBO without sounding like a lunatic. I know for a lot of people it's 'if I can fly J you can do whatever you want' but I'm needing to explain why we need to get new CCs every year, only shop at certain places, manage our points and SCs to get the most out of them etc.

 

[markis10]

Sounds like you need to rack up some man minute credits:

[video=youtube;YMP9EmBv12s]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMP9EmBv12s[/video]

 

[Alanslegal]

My partner used to work for VA and JQ many years ago (in Ops). She is reasonably savvy when discussing aircraft types, routes etc. However, some of the statements she's made recently, I am struggling with:

'but FF points don't have any value, only SCs do'
'i don't care which airline we fly, I just want the most direct route'
'why would we use more points to fly in J when we could just go Y?'
'let's go to Iceland' :shock:
'whats the point in one of us being Gold when we could both be Silver?'

She sounds pretty savvy as it is. Alot of her comments are indeed quite valid

1. FF points do not have a value, its just WE here give them a value
2. Most flyers want direct/convenient routings, its just WE here want go the long way cos it earns more points/sc or get to fly nicer planes
3. Yes never use points to go J if its a domestic flight , totally not worth it especially given she has never flown long haul J and thinks dom J is just overrated Y ... but you wait till she goes on the USDM J trip
4. Iceland, I want to go there too!! Damn my GF is going there in October and guess where I am stuck in??!?!?!?! SYD
5. I can't explain the 2 x PS over 1 x SG comment other than she needs a bit more training in this aspect

so you get my drift, she's not doing bad getting first 4 out of 5 comments on the right track

 

[casanovawa]

Well the FF points do have value as Qantas has assigned a value to them, its just that value will vary in terms of how you use them, either for redeeming for a product from their shop or for redeeming for a flight option in a particular cabin.. The value is obviously the difference between the price of purchasing it outright and the reduced price of purchasing with points, but there is usually always some benefit to redeeming them...

The other part of the value proposition about the flights is if you are a person who actually thnks a nice flight experience is part of the package of enjoying going on holidays or travelling... If you don't particularly enjoy flying for whatever reason and see it as only another form of getting there to be tolerated, then spending lots of extra money to get to the next cabin or taking extra flights or the long route probably won't excite you... But try her on long haul J and i think she will probably appreciate where your coming from...

 

[hummel]

I won mine over when she had a 1hr long massage before BKK-CDG on TG F. She now asks me if there is any USDM promo's running

 

[casanovawa]

Of course if she doesn't value flying J you could always get her a Y ticket and yourself a J ticket... And she can maybe watch you get a massage at BKK waiting for the flight out...

That might convince her as well???

 

[Alanslegal]

Well the FF points do have value as Qantas has assigned a value to them

I am pretty certain under the QFFP terms and conditions that points do not have a monetary value.

 

[smit0847]

She sounds pretty savvy as it is. Alot of her comments are indeed quite valid

1. FF points do not have a value, its just WE here give them a value
2. Most flyers want direct/convenient routings, its just WE here want go the long way cos it earns more points/sc or get to fly nicer planes
3. Yes never use points to go J if its a domestic flight , totally not worth it especially given she has never flown long haul J and thinks dom J is just overrated Y ... but you wait till she goes on the USDM J trip
4. Iceland, I want to go there too!! Damn my GF is going there in October and guess where I am stuck in??!?!?!?! SYD
5. I can't explain the 2 x PS over 1 x SG comment other than she needs a bit more training in this aspect

so you get my drift, she's not doing bad getting first 4 out of 5 comments on the right track

As I tried to explain to her:

1. They are something you earn which you exchange for goods and services. If that is not something of value I don't know what is!
2. Isn't a better airline a better argument than a direct flight?
3. I meant intl J sorry.
4. It's in the middle of nowhere - it's half-way to New York!
5. 'why should you get gold when I get nothing', 'because you wouldn't have known anything about this if it wasn't for me!'

 

[casanovawa]

They may for some sort of legal reason not have a monetary value intrinsically linked with them so you can't claim for a set amount of money owed to you against QFFP, but when Qantas offer goods and services in exchange for them it is quite simple to work out an inferred type of value that will potentially be different in each instance rather than a fixed amount...

Plus do you get access to the Virgin lounge with silver?? I know for QF it would be better to have one gold and get to access the QP with a guest so both people can get in, than have two silvers neither of which can get into the lounge... It may be different for Virgin...

The joys of trying to introduce another person to a love of travel, and perhaps premium travel, when it is an exercise that often has to be done together if they can't see the value in it or want everything the other person gets but without making any of the sacrifices or getting involved in the stratgems to earn it...

 

[Newk]

What a fun thread..thanks for starting it
I have/had a similar problem.
I have nibbled at this FF stuff for years and promised that one day I would REALLY get into it, having had this site recommended by a friend ages ago, but done nothing about it.
A big batch of travel in the last few years saw me reach gold easily and WP looked just a bit too far. Then I remembered my friend's recommendation and came here.
Coupled with a double SC offer (how did they know) and a couple of JASAs I am now WP and REALLY into it.
So recently I have tried to get SO to accept my invitation for Qantas Ultimate Card..which would have netted 30k points for her and 15k for me. Nothing happened and the offer and indeed card was soon withdrawn
Next step..the Amex platinum card looks good for 75k sign on points. Nothing happened and the offer was soon withdrawn

MMM tried a domestic trip that took in the Sydney Flounge. Impressed but still nothing happened

So I sat down one day and wrote an email detailing the:

Lovely flight the majority of family had in business class from LAX to Sydney after son 1 busted his collar bone skiing in USA. All by points upgrade from economy
The return family trip to Hawaii, mostly in business, all on points.
The wonderful trip back from Frankfurt to Adelaide all in business that SO and I had recently with points upgrade from economy. (that was a really great trip thank you Mr Qantas)
The great experience that I had recently on a business to first upgrade Melbourne to LAX

And then I calculated a redemption value for the points as used. Some were 4c a point, some 6c and one even got near 10c. Explained how all this is a game and if we can get the points for free or 1c each and use them like that what's not to like?

Finally I said that if she didn't play I would only work the system for myself and she could stay "down the back"

The application for the Citi select (with 80k sign on points) went in the next day

Wish us luck

 

[beardoc]

For about 3-4 years of the planning to get status, doing status credit runs to SJU and back, getting certain credit cards, obsessing about flights and hotel stays, and everything associated, my partner was completely over it and couldn't see any benefit. And then we went on our first DONE4 together, and we flew J. We ended up in Moscow, Petra, Barcelona, places that we had wanted to go. And we did it in hotels where suite upgrades have become the norm.

I now book trips to the Sydney Hilton, even though we live only 10 minutes away. It's our time - I book the rooms when they're cheap, and get suite upgrades, executive lounge access and breakfast in Glass. All for a little more than what I would pay for a dinner out on a Friday night. Huge brownie points.

But the biggest two things in convincing the partner that all of this is completely worth it? The QANTAS Sydney First Class Lounge, and the British Airways LHR T5 First Lounge. Both of these were experiences that would never have happened without this, and that was what sealed the deal. And now I have permission to maintain HH Diamond and WP. As long as we occasionally have a JQ35/36 F lounge visit and a stay at HSW for a day or so, every so often.

 

[simongr]

Mrssimongr is very on board with flying J - not sure how she will cope in whY next week (she and boygr are flying J down to MEL but all three of us are in whY back).

She is also on board with me being away more if it means that she can fly J and use the F lounge.

 

[Paddy55]

Mrs Paddy has steadily come around... it's taken about three years

The FLounge at SYD and F/J award experience has helped :mrgreen:

For a trip to Europe next May/June a PE award was knocked back in favour of more searching for a J Aaward !

Give it time...

 

[DeKa]

I now book trips to the Sydney Hilton, even though we live only 10 minutes away. It's our time - I book the rooms when they're cheap, and get suite upgrades, executive lounge access and breakfast in Glass. All for a little more than what I would pay for a dinner out on a Friday night. Huge brownie points.

That is a good idea

 

[Berlin]

My partner luckily had a (not so glamorous) past in the hotel industry so at least for that part I don't have do much convincing, nothing under a Hilton or at least something like an Aloft over in the states.

Now with air travel... It has been mentioned here before and worked on him as well as on several of my work colleagues: Qantas. First. Lounge. Converts most people for life!