Advice: Should I aim for Silver FF or purchase Qantas Club

[unggg]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum so apologies if this has been covered and for the fact that I may not be using all the correct abbreviations!

I am currently Bronze QFF and have an upcoming SYD-LHR trip in May on QF (will also be travelling around Europe, though not sure yet if by plane or other means). I am contemplating whether to aim to get Silver by May, or whether to purchase Qantas Club through my employer ($475 for one year incl. joining fee) which I can then salary sacrifice. I understand it could be useful to have either the benefits of QC or Silver for this trip (e.g. priority check in to avoid lengthy queues, extra baggage allowance etcc)

Here are my thoughts/questions so far
(i) Aim for Silver
By the end of January, I will require another 40 SC to attain Silver. I am based in Sydney, so I have been thinking of potentially paying for a Jetstar Starclass one way fare to Melb (40 SC) for around $280 in April and then getting a cheap flight back or using points. Are there any other economical options to get 40 SC?

(ii) Qantas Club
In my view, the biggest difference of QC over Silver is lounge access which I will be able to use at least 4 times on the SYD-LHR trip (QF31 and 32) while silver only gives me 1 guest pass (which by the rules doesn't extend to my wife who is travelling with me). Lounge access would be nice to have in Syd and LHR and to a lesser extent in SIN.

There is also potential for me to fly for work, usually to Asia in business class, however I have no visibility on this. Assuming no further travel, QC looks like the better option, however, it appears to me that QC will lose value the more I travel after this trip (e.g. I would be 40SC short of Gold if I had at least one trip to HK in business) and then of course my QC membership would be of little value to me assuming I got the remaining 40SC to get Gold.

Does anyone have any further thoughts on this?

Thank you in advance for any advice!

 

[Rebekkap]

Hi,

I'm new to the forum so apologies if this has been covered and for the fact that I may not be using all the correct abbreviations!

I am currently Bronze QFF and have an upcoming SYD-LHR trip in May on QF (will also be travelling around Europe, though not sure yet if by plane or other means). I am contemplating whether to aim to get Silver by May, or whether to purchase Qantas Club through my employer ($475 for one year incl. joining fee) which I can then salary sacrifice. I understand it could be useful to have either the benefits of QC or Silver for this trip (e.g. priority check in to avoid lengthy queues, extra baggage allowance etcc)

Here are my thoughts/questions so far
(i) Aim for Silver
By the end of January, I will require another 40 SC to attain Silver. I am based in Sydney, so I have been thinking of potentially paying for a Jetstar Starclass one way fare to Melb (40 SC) for around $280 in April and then getting a cheap flight back or using points. Are there any other economical options to get 40 SC?

(ii) Qantas Club
In my view, the biggest difference of QC over Silver is lounge access which I will be able to use at least 4 times on the SYD-LHR trip (QF31 and 32) while silver only gives me 1 guest pass (which by the rules doesn't extend to my wife who is travelling with me). Lounge access would be nice to have in Syd and LHR and to a lesser extent in SIN.

There is also potential for me to fly for work, usually to Asia in business class, however I have no visibility on this. Assuming no further travel, QC looks like the better option, however, it appears to me that QC will lose value the more I travel after this trip (e.g. I would be 40SC short of Gold if I had at least one trip to HK in business) and then of course my QC membership would be of little value to me assuming I got the remaining 40SC to get Gold.

Does anyone have any further thoughts on this?

Thank you in advance for any advice!

I have a couple of thoughts!

Silver lets you pick seats in advance, and also pay in advance for exit rows, if you want to do that.

However, I don't think you can underestimate the value of lounge access when you change planes - is it Singapore? - because you can SHOWER. Which makes the most amazing difference to how cough you feel at the end of a 24 hour flight.

Honestly, I'd probably do both - silver and QC - but if I had to pick one, QC.

And if you do get to Gold, you won't have wasted your money because they suspend your membership while you're gold - if you have, say, six months left on your QC membership, you'll still have six months when you drop back to silver!

(And I'm pretty sure from memory that guest pass you get when you get to silver allows you PLUS a guest into the QC. But I could be wrong).

Cheers
Rebekka

 

[simongr]

I wouldnt try for silver on this trip as basically all you get is a few extra FF points - not really worth it. I also wouldnt be that struck on QC membership as it is fairly expensive if you wont be using it in the future.

If in the future though you will be flying in Biz to asia and you hit Gold then you QC membership is suspended until you drop again to silver.

$475 for four trips to the lounge is a lot to pay...

 

[Rebekkap]

I wouldnt try for silver on this trip as basically all you get is a few extra FF points - not really worth it. I also wouldnt be that struck on QC membership as it is fairly expensive if you wont be using it in the future.

If in the future though you will be flying in Biz to asia and you hit Gold then you QC membership is suspended until you drop again to silver.

$475 for four trips to the lounge is a lot to pay...

It's not *really* $475 for 4 visits - it's actually 8 visits, since unggg is travelling with his wife, and it's not really $475 because if you salary sacrifice, you're paying with before-tax dollars.

Assuming an overall tax rate of around 30% isn't that around $322.50 in after-tax dollars for eight visits, which would be $41 for a lounge visit - with extra luggage allowance (always handy when flying back from Europe after doing some shopping!) and priority check in thrown in for nothing.

I'd totally pay $41 for a nice clean shower, a snack and a drink, and a chance o check my email before the SIN-LHR leg of that trip. In fact, if I didn't have lounge access, I'd probably spend more than that on a pay shower, a snack and a drink in the airport!


(warning, my maths is cough, so figures may be wrong! :shock

 

[thewinchester]

Agree with all the points raised thusfar, and would concur that based on your future travel profile that purchasing QP and aiming for PS/SG is a sensible idea.

The value of a QP membership when flying INT sectors on QF/BA/AA, specially with a forced transit/stopover, pays for itself. As said, there is nothing better than freshning up with a shower and have a decent place to rest your feet comfortably while waiting for the connecting flight. Plus not having to be out in the main terminal with all the annoying humans is an extra benefit. :mrgreen:

Your original post didn't give an idea of how many points you have in the bank/accrue annually - so I don't know if Lounge ODU's appeal to you as a benefit of QP membership.

Depending on your departure/arrival ports, priority check-in for overseas travel can make things a little easier in crowded terminals, specially if things start going wrong with delays and other issues.

As simongr noted, if you reach SG - any remaning QP membership will be placed on hold if/when you drop down from that status level. This means you won't waste that money at all - it simply sits in the bank for when you need it.

(And I'm pretty sure from memory that guest pass you get when you get to silver allows you PLUS a guest into the QC. But I could be wrong).

Sorry to burst that bubble, but it's for a single person only (just checked the back of a current QP Complimentary Invitation).

It's not *really* $475 for 4 visits - it's actually 8 visits, since unggg is travelling with his wide

We'll assume that spelling mistake was a slip of the keyboard shall wel

 

[markis10]

How many FF points do you have, it may be worth a JASA run and get GOLD if you are not that far from Silver, the points bonus for your LHR flight and loyalty bonus would pay of at least 100 SCs .

 

[Rebekkap]

We'll assume that spelling mistake was a slip of the keyboard shall wel

whoops, fixed -

 

[eastwest101]

Agree with a lot of the previous posters, as a bare minimum I think salary sacking for the QC lounge access for that trip to LHR is worthwhile, especially the value of a shower. Given that the original poster may be getting more business travel overseas in the future he also stands a chance of accumulating more points on future QF or other OneWorld flights.

I was in a similar situation myself and bit the bullet to get QC membership - even though my employer dosen't always book work flights with Qantas - I took up the free membership with Velocity as well so most bases are covered. Having said that - I have probably only got about $50-$70 actual value out of the QC membership so far, but have scored some better seats so it will be line ball as to whether it was economic to do so.

 

[Awesom Andy]

The QP in SIN is quite large, and is pretty good for a transfer hub. And having that hot (or cold, if you so prefer) shower will do wonder for your morning (LHR local tme) arrival.

 

[docjames]

I too vote QC and forget silver. The lounge will make the long haul better. And arguably it'll be LHR on the return and SIN in both directions where the major benefit lies.

 

[adl73x]

You mentioned you may do some local travel within Europe.

It is worth remembering that QC membership gives you access to BA lounges when you travel on any BA flight. The BA Galleries Lounges at LHR T5 and T3 may add a lot of value to your QC membership.

 

[samh004]

I would similarly aim for Silver and pay for Qantas Club, as if you do hit Gold, your QC will be put on hold anyway. The Silver points bonus (25%), while not being huge, is still fairly decent on a SYD-LHR run.

If I had to pick, QC would be first, but aiming higher for actual status is always useful too

 

[unggg]

Thank you all for the advice and opinions. At this stage, looks like I will go and purchase QC just before my trip - looks like lounge access wins it here for QC.

A brief follow-up question if anyone would know off the top of their head, how long is the stopover in SIN on both QF31 and 32. I've done some looking around and looks like it's around 1.5 hours?

 

[Awesom Andy]

Just out of interest... when is your renewal date? Would your flight to LHR puts you over to Silver?

And the stop-over is 90 mins for both ways for QF31/32, assuming on time running.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

If I had to pick, QC would be first, but aiming higher for actual status is always useful too

+1

As Markis10 suggested, maybe a JASA could help you move up to GOLD? And as others have also mentioned in this thread also, having a shower mid-trip makes a huge difference.

Another angle;
Search on here and FT to see if someone can guest you into the lounges (in OZ, SIN and LHR), then you could still aim for Silver + have lounge access. It's a long shot, but worth an hour of your time.

 

[Limewood]

Just joined the Q club, wife and I used it CNS/SYD return, enjoyed the lounge, both got bumped up to J on way down, on return brought back grand daughter with us she was also allowed to join us in Q lounge, all nice.

I am only bronze have 240 points there, on Q do 2 or 3 domestic trips and 2 OS each year on Q and this year 1 on BA SYD/BKK return, use mixture of QFF points and buy various flights. But will become silver this year anyway.

 

[tuapekastar]

Thank you all for the advice and opinions. At this stage, looks like I will go and purchase QC just before my trip - looks like lounge access wins it here for QC.

I'd purchase it long enough prior to your trip to ensure you actually get the card delivered before you commence it. Those BA lounge guardians can be very strict on insisting you have the physical card with you to gain entry. Not saying it's impossible without, but would be a lot easier with.

I think you need to allow at least ~2 weeks for card delivery (I would personally allow 4 weeks as a safety margin)

 

[Sprucegoose]

Just joined the Q club, wife and I used it CNS/SYD return, enjoyed the lounge, both got bumped up to J on way down, on return brought back grand daughter with us she was also allowed to join us in Q lounge, all nice.

I am only bronze have 240 points there, on Q do 2 or 3 domestic trips and 2 OS each year on Q and this year 1 on BA SYD/BKK return, use mixture of QFF points and buy various flights. But will become silver this year anyway.

Good timing for the upgrade season......

 

[Limewood]

Good timing for the upgrade season......

That it was.

Our grand daughter who is 16 had never been in a Q lounge before let alone flown, so she was mighty impressed, not many in Q lounge either. Don't have member card yet, I think it said Q club member or the like on my boarding pass.

 

[Triamks]

I think you need to allow at least ~2 weeks for card delivery (I would personally allow 4 weeks as a safety margin)

I think that's a very accurate margin. Mine took three weeks in December.

I was advised that my card wouldn't arrive before I left on my trip but my QP appeared on my boarding pass and it was easy enough to get an interim card for use in NZ.