a few questions, Aus <-> China

[diesmile]

hi, i am new to all the airline loyalty programs, so i hope someone may help me to clear a few things up.

apart from normal domastic travels, the only international travel i do is from adelaide to nanjing (china).

i am trying to join a loyalty program to give me the best benifits. by all mean, i am not a freqent flyer, however if i can get anything extra, i will consider a bonus.

now, the only airline can get me from ade to nanjing is singapore and cathy pacific. qantas can get me to shanghai, which is close to nanjing. i am not sure if others airlines can fly to nanjing or shanghai from adel.

now, since i have been here, i get a general feel that ppl value krisflyer higher than qantas ff. but i just checked both websites and found out: for KF, i need 75000 points one way on Economy Saver for travelling between ade and shanghai. while for qantas ff, i need only 36000 on economy class.
(just for information, it costs 55000 points for me to travel from adel to nanjing on KF one way)

is that much of differences? or am i missing something? i mean, even if i only goes to shanghai, i can just get someone to pick me up and drive me 2 hours to nanjing.

also what is this oneworld program? i know it is a program where many airlines join together, but i can't find any infos wheather it cost anything to join or not.

secondly, say i join both oneworld and qantas ff, do i earn points on both if i took a qantas flight? what about other partner airlines in the oneworld? say if i catch cathy pacific, do i only earn points on oneworld?

in addition, do points in KF expire? and what about cathy's asia miles?

i hope my questions are clear to u guys, thanks in advance.

 

[Ikara]

Grrrrr! Let me be a 61 year old WP!

Have you ever heard of the shift key? It allows you to start sentences with a capital letter.

Secondly, this is not a mobile phone so please don't use SMS short cuts.

I shall now go and have another scotch (black label).

JB

 

[markis10]

A couple of quick answers which I am sure others will elaborate on.

Firstly welcome to AFF (thats my SMS abbreviation for Australian Frequent Flyer )

Points in different programs maybe called miles but a mile in one program is not equal to a mile in another program, that is you may earn more miles for the same trip on one airline over the same distance but that same airline may require you to spend more miles to get a reward, or they may ask for the same number of miles to be redeemed but then hit you with a fuel surcharge, or some other form of charge that makes the bargain not so much of a bargain.

As a rule you can earn rewards on a flight and credit it to one program only, thats assuming the flight is purchased as an eligable fare, some of CX's fares often do not attract mileage.

Oneworld is an airline alliance, fliers who are a member of one airline may get benefits on another member airline, such as exta baggage etc, Singapore is a member of the Star Alliance so if you were to fly United Airlines to Shanghai via the USA you could earn kris flyer points!

I hope that helps.

 

[yo yo ma]

Have you ever heard of the shift key? It allows you to start sentences with a capital letter.

Secondly, this is not a mobile phone so please don't use SMS short cuts.

The forum may not be a mobile phone but it is not a university thesis either. It does frustrate me too when there are basic spelling and grammar errors. However, so long as the post written in a way that the meaning is able to be understood, then I don't have a problem with it.

Back to the original question, to which I don't know the answer...

 

[diesmile]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

Now, how do I find out whether a specific flight will earn me milage or not? is there any information section stating these rules?

also where do I find the infos on joining costs and others on KF? I searched their website and programes, but fail to see so.

 

[JohnK]

Now, how do I find out whether a specific flight will earn me milage or not? is there any information section stating these rules?

If you are interested in KrisFlyer then go to the Singapore airlines website and follow the links to KrisFlyer. Read through the terms and conditions and it may all become clearer.

also where do I find the infos on joining costs and others on KF? I searched their website and programes, but fail to see so.

It is free to join KrisFlyer but do note that miles expire ~3 years from the date of the flight.