Intro and initial question

[eranbeard]

Hi everyone. I'm Mark and I've just joined today. I'm having a little trouble finding where to post my first question, so hopefully someone can put this in the correct place if I'm doing something wrong here.

I live in Sydney and fly back to the UK once a year. In addition to this, I fly with my partner and 1 baby once or twice a year somewhere abroad too. My partner flies about 5-10x a year interstate.

I don't belong to any FF programs, and always book flights depending on the price - the cheapest always wins.

I'm not fussy about airlines, but for SYD-LHR flights I would prefer going on the A380 as I'm 6ft4" and value the extra space.

So my question is this - should I be sticking to just one airline each time to try and build up some kind of loyalty?

e.g. SYD-LHR this Sept is about $1600 with Philippine Airlines (never flown), and about $2300 with Qantas. As I don't fly that much per year, would you advise just booking with the cheapest carrier?

Thanks so much
Mark

 

[Steady]

Welcome aboard eranbeard,

Everyone will have a different opinion but here is mine, I think you are getting the best deal in your case of only a few flights a year in economy (whY) from buying the best fare of the day (BFOD). I think you should join up to the FF programs to get whatever points are available and then one day there may be enough in one of the programs t be useful.

 

[RooFlyer]

Welcome to AFF eranbeard.

Be aware that for 'loyalty' to be of material use (such as getting lounge access, extra baggage allowance etc) you have to be a fair way up the chain - at least Gold on the QFF scheme, for instance. By the sound of it, you won't be flying enough to get that far, so chasing 'loyalty' may not be the best way to go. (Many people are in your situation, and are 'loyal' in hope, and the airlines love it.).

BFOD is a good policy, but there is nothing to stop you joining frequent flyer schemes that are free to join (which is most). Then you will slowly accumulate points when you fly on those airlines and eventually have enough to get something useful. Chasing points rather than status is much easier. There is points via shopping, in credit card use (and in applying for credit cards - big bonuses available for successful applications). But be aware also that 'free flights' usually have some sort of fee attached (quite large in the case of Qantas for instance) and can be scarce.

Stick around here and you'll learn a lot!

 

[Mattg]

Welcome

I personally find that having any sort of status with a frequent flyer program makes the whole experience much more enjoyable, especially if flying long-haul. If you got Gold status with Qantas (for example) you would be able to use the lounge before every flight, select your seats for free, use the business class check-in counters and so on. And if you started accumulating points, you would also be higher up in the upgrade priority queue.

So yes, I personally do think it's worth choosing an airline and building up points and status with it. But that airline doesn't necessarily have to be Qantas - there are lots of other useful programs such as Virgin Velocity, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Etihad Guest and many more.

Even if you do continue choosing based on the cheapest fares, you can and definitely should still earn points! You can credit all of your flights to the frequent flyer program of that airline, or any partner airline. For next trip, if you do choose Philippine Airlines then I would suggest crediting the miles to the Etihad Guest program.

 

[bsb]

Welcome aboard eranbeard

based on your level of flying, I'd be tempted to go for BFOD, but as others have said, join loyalty programmes and collect whatever points you can. Get a new credit card every now and then and you'll all have a 'free' trip somewhere warm in no time at all.

Having never flown PR, I can't comment on that airline specifically, but those Asian carriers in Y have very tight seat pitch. Add a stopover to alleviate the inevitable pain and you might as well just fly QF, which in the 380, will be a lot more pleasant.

But you have a newborn, so saving money may be worth the pain, only you know what that threshold will be.

Just remember though that on QF they'll look after you very well with your infant and they have great sales a few times a year, so if you plan, you'll all be happy.

Enjoy your travels.

 

[JohnK]

Welcome to AFF eranbeard!

I'll go against the flow. If you are an infrequent flyer $700 saving per person is a huge saving. Not worth chasing status or points.

 

[Mattg]

Welcome aboard eranbeard

based on your level of flying, I'd be tempted to go for BFOD, but as others have said, join loyalty programmes and collect whatever points you can. Get a new credit card every now and then and you'll all have a 'free' trip somewhere warm in no time at all.

Having never flown PR, I can't comment on that airline specifically, but those Asian carriers in Y have very tight seat pitch. Add a stopover to alleviate the inevitable pain and you might as well just fly QF, which in the 380, will be a lot more pleasant.

But you have a newborn, so saving money may be worth the pain, only you know what that threshold will be.

Just remember though that on QF they'll look after you very well with your infant and they have great sales a few times a year, so if you plan, you'll all be happy.

Enjoy your travels.

Agreed. Keep an eye out for those Qantas sales and enjoy the best of both worlds

 

[Dr Ralph]

Welcome to AFF. I recommend you put all of your eggs in the same basket!

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Welcome!
You mention that your partner flies more than you.
If she is accruing with one particular airline it could be worth following her.
If she flies with virgin you can use family pooling and all contribute to her status.
You might be able to get her to silver or even gold and then enjoy the status when you travel together.
If not, you might still be able to pool points.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I don't belong to any FF programs, and always book flights depending on the price - the cheapest always wins.

In general this should be the best approach after considering bang for buck (ie Budget airline seat may bea lot more ramped than a full service airline etc etc) and what you need with respect to comfort, legroom, baggage etc.

So my question is this - should I be sticking to just one airline each time to try and build up some kind of loyalty?

Ok, First point: There is not ONE answer. Everyone's circumstances are different and the BEST answer is different for each of us. So please read a lot of the older threads/posts on this forum. It will take you a week or two, but I can guarantee that you will not regret it and you will find an armory of ways to improve your travel experience from reduced ATM fees, cheaper flights, better use of points etc etc.

"build up some kind of loyalty" In your case most likely not. But yes you should join at least one FF program and quite probably more than one, but not to earn loyalty, but to earn points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For some who fly a lot earning loyalty can have extra benefits as if your status is high enough you can earn perks to make you flights more comfortable, gain more access to seata etc.

But even if you do not fly a lot there are points riches to be had. How much will depend on how much knowlege you gain, your willingness to act on it and what opportunities you are eligible for (ie what credit cards you can qualify for, your income, do you run your own business etc).

You may be best to select only one FF program. Personally I believe that most people are not as thre are many, many ways to aquire points. However some FF programs can be useless to you and say a flight earning points on a particular airlines program may have no value that you can realise (but for example you can often fly on one airline, but awrd points to another airline.

Food luck with your reading.

 

[BettyB]

Welcome

 

[clazman]

Welcome aboard....

There is no right or wrong answer to your question

My airline strategy is bit of a mix and match. I have a mixture of business and personal travel and generally try and fly One World airlines to keep up my status and points accrual, but if the price is right will fly other airlines.

 

[BettyB]

Welcome

 

[prozac]

Welcome to AFF eranbeard.

 

[Scash]

Welcome eranbeard. I am in a similar situation and fly dom a couple of times a year and intl maybe once a year (all leisure) so will never reach any meaningful status so BFOD is generally my approach. I have joined a few different FF schemes (QF, SQ & EK) and accumulate points through various means. Case in point I have just booked an intl trip for later this year with QFF points and $500 (mix of J & Y) and previously had enough points to upgrade.

 

[RAM]

Welcome on board!

We fall into a similar situation as yourself. Once a year UK/Eur rtn and some infrequent domestic trips et al.

Over time the points do add up. As you can see (look at the FF schemes I belong to) it costs nothing to enrol in nearly all FF plans. The BA one cannot have an Australian address though but the points from one adult LHR rtn (or Europe rtn) can be enough for 5 intra-Europe Y flights for example. Much better value IMHO than many can get from VFF or Q.

Family pooling with VFF is worth setting up in advance. Costs nothing but can work out nicely. Unfortunately your children become adults much sooner than you'd think. At least for air fares that is - once they turn 12.

Whether you get to use the points or not is secondary to having them in the first place. Never let points go unearned if offered.

Booking the CFoTD subject to 'quality' issues with airlines works for us. Do your homework on the airline before booking it. Plenty of reviews and sites to look at. Some horror stories with China still through to today - so with a young family...

As for Q service vs price. Our experience (especially with 3 under 4 yrs) was that some Q staff were wonderful and the flights were enjoyable for all passengers. Other Q flights (the majority for us) saw Q service approach the other extreme for all passengers. Have not booked a Q international flight (other than when its come up as part of a code share) for nearly a decade.

VA, EY, JAL, MH on the other hand have nearly all been great flights for us without any issues or poor service.

But that is just our experience.

Good luck.

 

[grov]

If you fly only occasionally and always in Economy, you're never going to obtain or retain Gold status. So my advice is to forget chasing status and use those cheaper fares. However, joining a FF program and putting all your financial transactions through your linked credit card is a good way to obtain additional points, which you can use occasionally to upgrade your cheap flight to Business and enjoy all the comforts of lounge access and a great flight experience.

 

[djd]

Etihad is advertising $1753, probably a better bet than Philippine Airlines for just a little extra.

 

[RTWtraveler]

We are with Star Alliance and use an agent to get the best deal for round the world trips twice a year(we are retired). We have always beat direct business prices to/from Europe with SA flights and earn points as we go. Next month we are off to Penang, in J class, and only paying airport fees. Extra baggage, lounge and express service for us is a good thing. I think we are getting the best of both worlds.

But we started out in your position, so best of luck and enjoy your flight.

 

[timster]

those Asian carriers in Y have very tight seat pitch. Add a stopover to alleviate the inevitable pain and you might as well just fly QF, which in the 380, will be a lot more pleasant.

One would think this would be true, but in general it is not (excluding LCCs). QF's seat pitch in Y is worse (or no better) than many Asian airlines, A380 or otherwise. Re-fitted VOD systems add to the space woes, with their under-seat placement still on many QF planes.

And an Asian stopover is actually a benefit to my mind, which is now more difficult with QF (since the move to the DXB hub).