Frequent Flyer Choice, BA or QF?

[calmelb]

Hi all,

I hope this is the right place to ask this. So my parents are moving to the UK at then end of the year and so now I have a choice of Frequent Flyer programs to choose from (And airlines to Fly).

I would like to stay within Oneworld and have tentatively settled on either staying with Qantas FF (And flying Via DXB to LHR) or jumping ship to BAEC (And flying BA or QF via their respective cities, the calculator doesn't seem to differentiate between them).

Now I would be flying around 3 return trips from MEL-LHR in Business class, which program would give me the best 'bang' for my 'buck'? I mainly care about Status & Status recognition, but points redemption rates & value are also important.

I also currently have 3755 lifetime status credits with QF, so not that close to LTS and way off LTG. Though keep in mind I am only 18 and have plenty more flying left in my lifetime!

Thanks,
calmelb

 

[Nizar]

Hi all,

I hope this is the right place to ask this. So my parents are moving to the UK at then end of the year and so now I have a choice of Frequent Flyer programs to choose from (And airlines to Fly).

I would like to stay within Oneworld and have tentatively settled on either staying with Qantas FF (And flying Via DXB to LHR) or jumping ship to BAEC (And flying BA or QF via their respective cities, the calculator doesn't seem to differentiate between them).

Now I would be flying around 3 return trips from MEL-LHR in Business class, which program would give me the best 'bang' for my 'buck'? I mainly care about Status & Status recognition, but points redemption rates & value are also important.

I also currently have 3755 lifetime status credits with QF, so not that close to LTS and way off LTG. Though keep in mind I am only 18 and have plenty more flying left in my lifetime!

Thanks,
calmelb

18 years old and flying MEL-LHR three times a year in J ?
What a life

 

[andye]

Unless you plan to fly QF for the vast majority of your trips, IMO you will be better off with BA:
Avios are nearly twice as valuable as QFF points
Can fly any OW and get full SCs
Starting from UK, you can get some stunning QR fares, great BA ex-EU fares and good AY fare
The ability to fly direct to MEL and some QF points toward LTG are in QFs favour but BAEC would be my recommendation

 

[vantage03]

Keep earning nuances in mind when learning the BAEC programme. Use a FF calculator before booking as (if I recall correctly) flying to SYD direct on BA will earn less BA Tier Points than if you went direct to Mel on QR or CX with two diff flight numbers.

I've also just moved to London and I just can't understand why BA offer the same tier points LHR-NYC as they do LHR-LAX.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

If you want status and recognition I wouldn't bother with either QF or BA.

Head straight to EK if you want to transit via DXB.

3x biz trips and you're half way between Gold and Platinum - which may not sound like much as a 'status level' compared to other programs - but EK Golds are treated the same - if not better - than QF P1s.

Also as EK Gold you beat all the pesky Qantas Plat/Plat1s in the upgrade queue. Whereas if you are on QF or BA which are "elite heavy" on those sectors your chances of ever receiving an upgrade (or using points) is significantly diminished.

Not to mention more frequency on EK, better seats, inflight internet....

 

[madrooster]

Also as EK Gold you beat all the pesky Qantas Plat/Plat1s in the upgrade queue. Whereas if you are on QF or BA which are "elite heavy" on those sectors your chances of ever receiving an upgrade (or using points) is significantly diminished.

I've found this to be incorrect on a number of occasions. They seem to go EK IO > EK platinum > QF platinum/platinum one (they show as platinum to EK) > EK gold > QF gold etc.

 

[andye]

If you want status and recognition I wouldn't bother with either QF or BA.

Head straight to EK if you want to transit via DXB.

3x biz trips and you're half way between Gold and Platinum - which may not sound like much as a 'status level' compared to other programs - but EK Golds are treated the same - if not better - than QF P1s.

Also as EK Gold you beat all the pesky Qantas Plat/Plat1s in the upgrade queue. Whereas if you are on QF or BA which are "elite heavy" on those sectors your chances of ever receiving an upgrade (or using points) is significantly diminished.

Not to mention more frequency on EK, better seats, inflight internet....

But what would that status really bring when already flying J

At 18 the ability to fly (maybe with a +1) on some European weekend breaks using a BA Reward Flght Saver starting in the lounge would be a win in my book. A trip to Dubai would be less appealing IMO

 

[calmelb]

Thanks for your advice, trippin_the_rift I don't want to stray outside of a major alliance as I would prefer the flexibility to fly in, say, the US and receive lounge access, etc. Going with someone like EK limits me too much.

To the others, thanks for the information that BA avios are worth double the amount of QF points. What's the availability like for booking, both on BA metal and on other OW metal?

I am not limited to choosing just those two programs if any other one offers easy status (Top or close to the top preferentially) and good value for points & redemptions plus a worldwide alliance.

Thanks,
calmelb

 

[andye]

Thanks for your advice, trippin_the_rift I don't want to stray outside of a major alliance as I would prefer the flexibility to fly in, say, the US and receive lounge access, etc. Going with someone like EK limits me too much.

To the others, thanks for the information that BA avios are worth double the amount of QF points. What's the availability like for booking, both on BA metal and on other OW metal?

I am not limited to choosing just those two programs if any other one offers easy status (Top or close to the top preferentially) and good value for points & redemptions plus a worldwide alliance.

Thanks,
calmelb

Some thoughts:

QFF Status does seem to release more premium QF seats and puts you higher in the upgrade queue on QF flights (where you could only upgrade using QF points )
Otherwise availability on One World is essentially the same. Both BA and QF have high taxes for long-haul

Reports of operational upgrades seem higher on BA than QF

As alluded to above, BA has good short-haul redemptions with lowish taxes and good availability-probably only worth redeeming in Y as BA short-haul J is pretty ordinary

AAdvantage was previously an excellent programme for OW frequent flyers but less clear-cut since devaluation and the enforcement of the 4 AA-coded flights rule. An interesting consideration is that Etihad partners with AA

Cathay's Marco Polo Club has good redemption rates and lower taxes but status harder to earn than QF/BA. Upgrades for status pax more common than on QF

When it comes to the actual flights (rather than FF programme), my experience is that both QF and CX are better than BA in J on this route. If you route via HKG rather than SIN you can do the HKG-Au leg on CX metal with a BA flight number.

You can also credit EK flights to BAEC if they have a QF flight number

If you are not moving to the London area, this may make a difference as your parents may prefer flights from a regional airport direct to a hub rather than transiting LHR eg MAN-DXB-Au

If you do fly mostly on QF, the value of points may be less of an issue as you will be earning more of them when you factor in the status bonus

 

[Mattg]

Unless you plan to fly QF for the vast majority of your trips, IMO you will be better off with BA:
Avios are nearly twice as valuable as QFF points

I agree with pretty much everything you have said, but just wondering about this. Certainly for short-haul redemptions, Avios are more valuable than QF points. But don't BA charge very high amounts of points for long-haul and premium cabin redemptions? Not to mention the fuel surcharges that are among the highest of any airline. (Yes, QF's fuel surcharge is also high but not as bad as BA.)

 

[andye]

I agree with pretty much everything you have said, but just wondering about this. Certainly for short-haul redemptions, Avios are more valuable than QF points. But don't BA charge very high amounts of points for long-haul and premium cabin redemptions? Not to mention the fuel surcharges that are among the highest of any airline. (Yes, QF's fuel surcharge is also high but not as bad as BA.)

I had a look and was surprised how similar the value was for long-haul. As expected better to redeem miles on own metal

For duplicated routes on own metal:
J LHR-DXB Both 50K and about GBP300
J SYD-SIN 50K BA v 60K QF and about AUD150
J SYD-LHR 125K BA v 128K QF

For BA routes
J LHR-HKG 72.5K BA v 92K QF
J LHR-NYC 50K BA v 53K QF

For QF routes
J SYD-HKG 75K BA v 60K QF
J SYD-LAX 150K BA v 96K QF (!)

For a partner route
J NYC-LAX 37.5K BA v 50K QF
J NRT-LAX 75K BA v 78K QF

As a rule the longer the haul, the better QF looks. Obviously you can tweak the redemption table quirks and get extra value out of each (eg MEL-PER fantastic value at 20K Avios in J). However, if you are going to be able to accumulate enough miles for premium long-haul redemptions, I'd agree with Mattg that there is not much difference between the two. For short-haul Y & J redemptions, the difference is marked

I didn't do a thorough check on the taxes , but on a quick look they seemed about the same (except with BAs short-haul Reward Flight Saver ex-UK where there was a big difference). BAs reputation for very high taxes is partially due to the UK Departure Tax (which you pay regardless of operating carrier), the actual YQ is pretty similar to QF

As an aside, QF miles are cheaper to earn from credit cards, given the QF earn rate per AUD is pretty similar to the Avios earn rate per GBP; however on a practical basis, it's quite difficult to choose the currency of one's transactions