cheapest run for 60 SC

[Golf888]

on the same subject on cheapest run.....
around the end of sep, after a couple of return flights
will have about ~205 SC to achieve Platinum by end of Nov.

all travel is company related and in cattle class.... so not sure if can
get 205 SC.... may have one or two more return flights by
end of Nov...(usually to Asia with 60SC).....

so, in the best scenario, 205-120=85SC
worst scenario, 205-60=145SC

is it worth to do a status run to get Platinum....?
100% bonus......

 

[Andy]

Thanks for the insight here. My reason for evaluating the cost of 60 SC was for 50% status points on next year's travel. Not really interested in the lounges (as most of the time I just make it on time and also I fly J class for company work so Business lounges are always accessable)

 

[JohnK]

Glad to see the "YMMV" there....

Why? If it wasn't there, you would be sad!

You mention "spending" money on non-necessary travel to gain status, but "wasting" money on QP membership. Others may consider it "wasting" time and money to take trips purely for the needed SCs rather than just "spending" a far lesser amount on QP membership.

If I didn't spend the money to travel then I would not need QP membership. All my travel serves a purpose. It is self funded and nothing is wasted, even the BKK-SIN-BKK day trips.

In my opinion the non-lounge benefits are good enough to justify the extra cost. Priority check-in, additional luggage allowance, priority luggage, preferred seating, status bonus on ff points, better chance of upgrades clearing, better customer service when something goes wrong.

 

[Alan in CBR]

Having access to a shower and a quiet lounge and a drink and freebie Internet access between a couple of long flights is worth a lot to me. I've spent too many hours in that big circular gate area at the end of LAX 4, listening to that horrible recorded announcement telling me to watch my bags, to contemplate going back to not having lounge access.

I agree entirely. I purchased a lifetime QP membership 10 years ago. At the time I couldn't really justify a year on year purchase, so I rationalised it by telling myself that over a lifetime of travel it would be worth it. (I think I knew I was kidding myself, but I really wanted to be able to justify it.) I'm sure that in the first two years each visit must have cost me an average of about $100! Even so, I never once regretted the purchase.

I absolutely adore having access to a lounge prior to a flight - it's an oasis in the airport desert. Being able to have a shower in SIN or BKK in the middle of a SYD-LHR flight in Economy is a real lifesaver.

 

[Alan in CBR]

Why? If it wasn't there, you would be sad!

Oh come on, John, can't you even take a compliment now? For the record I was genuinely pleased that you gave your opinion and then by the addition of the "YMMV", recognised that others may think otherwise. This forum wouldn't be much fun if everyone thought exactly the same way, would it?

I'm sure we've all done stuff that would have other members shaking their heads in disapproval. Recently I spent an afternoon and all night flying LHR-DXB-LHR just to pick up a bunch of qualifying points to make sure I don't miss out on requalifying for Exec Plat. It didn't cost me any extra since it was part of a DONE4, and it saved me a night's accommodation costs! Then when I needed to fly from London to Washington DC, I did it via Los Angeles. Many of my co-workers think I'm nuts, as I'm sure would some people reading this.

When I post on a public forum such as AFF, I'm implicitly inviting people to make comments on what I write. If they come back and say, "I would never have done what you did - I don't think it's worth it" then that's not an insult - it's just a difference of opinion. I respect their opinion, but for the sake of a few extra hours in an aircraft I'm happy to keep the little black card in my wallet for another year and another eight eVIPS in my AAdvantage account. And I really like First Class lounges!

In my opinion the non-lounge benefits are good enough to justify the extra cost. Priority check-in, additional luggage allowance, priority luggage, preferred seating, status bonus on ff points, better chance of upgrades clearing, better customer service when something goes wrong.

Well there you go. You made the right choice for you. But please, if someone says that they don't think it's worth it for them to go for Gold as opposed to buying QP membership, don't take it personally. It's all just useful discussions and sharing of opinions.

[Snakes on a Plane]
YmfMMmfV
[/Snakes on a Plane]

 

[simongr]

I'm sure we've all done stuff that would have other members shaking their heads in disapproval. Recently I spent an afternoon and all night flying LHR-DXB-LHR just to pick up a bunch of qualifying points to make sure I don't miss out on requalifying for Exec Plat. It didn't cost me any extra since it was part of a DONE4, and it saved me a night's accommodation costs! Then when I needed to fly from London to Washington DC, I did it via Los Angeles. Many of my co-workers think I'm nuts, as I'm sure would some people reading this.

How cough you are fracking nuts!!!! I am sooo looking forward to doing that sort of travel if I get the next job I am hoping for. Mind you I am very particular avout flying business and if that can be done on a DONE4 type flight with little additional costs over a straighforward SYD-LHR-SYD and I dont have to spend 10 days at a time in one place - I would do the same thing An extra day away that could contribute to J/F class flights for mrs sim is almost as worthwhile as a trip to tiffany's

[Snakes on a Plane]
YmfMMmfV
[/Snakes on a Plane]

Priceless!!!

 

[Dave Noble]

How cough you are fracking nuts!!!! I am sooo looking forward to doing that sort of travel if I get the next job I am hoping for. Mind you I am very particular avout flying business and if that can be done on a DONE4 type flight with little additional costs over a straighforward SYD-LHR-SYD and I dont have to spend 10 days at a time in one place - I would do the same thing An extra day away that could contribute to J/F class flights for mrs sim is almost as worthwhile as a trip to tiffany's
!

Will you be going the whole hog on saving and start buying DONE4s out of India. Save $2,500 on the ex-AU price plus gives you 4 flights within Australia/New Zealand without that pesky no more than 2 stops in continent of origin issue coming in, nor the only 1 international arrival n departure?

Dave

 

[Yada Yada]

You are ALL nuts. Why sit on a plane when you could take a b*s. :shock:

 

[NM]

... DONE4 type flight with little additional costs over a straighforward SYD-LHR-SYD...

Unless you are getting a sizable corporate discount on the SYD-LHR-SYD fare, the DONE4 will work out considerable cheaper :idea: .

 

[simongr]

Will you be going the whole hog on saving and start buying DONE4s out of India. Save $2,500 on the ex-AU price plus gives you 4 flights within Australia/New Zealand without that pesky no more than 2 stops in continent of origin issue coming in, nor the only 1 international arrival n departure?

Dave

This is no more than a pipe dream at the moment - I still dont have much influence work wise but in my next job (if I get the sort of job I am interested in) it will mean a global oversight role based in Sydney so I can jet around places looking important whilst I have a team of trained monkeys slaving at my behest [seriously this is the next logical step - although I might call them consulting staff rather than monkeys]

I had a look at the oneword site on their explorer type fares and the kicker/problem for me will always be the minimum stay in one country - I am always keen to get work done, get on plane and get home...

 

[NM]

I had a look at the oneword site on their explorer type fares and the kicker/problem for me will always be the minimum stay in one country - I am always keen to get work done, get on plane and get home...

There is no minimum stay in any one country. The minimum stay conditions are for the time between first international departure and return to your country of origin.

 

[simongr]

NM - I think you live the corporate life like me(ish) - are you able to get these sort of fares past your travel managers? My boss wouldnt have a problem if there was no difference in cost and if there was extra time involved then I would have to have it in my own time.

Even with my current job, if I had to go back to the UK for a job (or had to go to the US for a two week trip - both reasonably remote but not impossible) then I might think about this. And given that BA fly to Cyprus (where my parents are) it would be great if I could engineer it like that...

 

[NM]

NM - I think you live the corporate life like me(ish) - are you able to get these sort of fares past your travel managers? My boss wouldnt have a problem if there was no difference in cost and if there was extra time involved then I would have to have it in my own time.

When I travel overseas, it is usually a multi-purpose trip that incorporates multiple projects or tasks in different places. I often have tasks or meetings that are not critically urgent that get put in the list of "next time you get to XYZ we need you to ....". I save these tasks and combine them into a single trip rather than making lots of separate trips.

So when the ATW air fare works out cheaper than the point-to-point fare, and I can combine multiple tasks into the one trip, its a simple justification.

I have in the past used DONE4 fare just for a trip to the USA, and returned via Europe without stopover, just to save the $2000 difference between BNE-DFW-BNE and DONE4 fare. But generally I do stop in Europe and Asia since I have my European colleague based in Germany and I have staff in Asia that I plan at least a 1 day meeting in each.

On my last trip, my European stopover was a weekend in Germany and I met with my Europe counterpart on the Saturday for an informal meeting including lunch and dinner and a nice walk through Frankfurt. The time we spend together is mostly discussing work issues and building the working relationship, so valuable to the company.

That trip also commenced with a day spent in MEL meeting with my staff and colleagues there, and then again a day in MEL on my return to Australia. So that saved two domestic trips anyway. And I still have a BNE-MEL-BNE up my sleeve as the last two segments of that DONE4 fare.

The catalyst for the trip was work/meetings in DFW and MIA, and by making its an ATW fare I managed 3 visits to MEL, a day with my European counterpart, 2.5 days with my Asian staff, and a late scheduled visit to a customer in PHX. So for a cheaper air fare and the additional meeting benefits, the fare/time is easy to justify.

All my travel to the USA in the last 5 years has been DONE4, DONE3 or DCIR22 fares.

 

[simongr]

How flexible are these DONE4/DONE3 fares? This year is pretty much locked in (until my boss comes back from leave this morning in the US ) but I really think I might explore this for next year.

 

[NM]

How flexible are these DONE4/DONE3 fares? This year is pretty much locked in (until my boss comes back from leave this morning in the US ) but I really think I might explore this for next year.

Very flexible. They are fully refundable before the first flight is taken. Do not require pre-payment (i.e. ticket must be paid and issued before the first flight closes for check-in). You can make as many date/time changes as you like at any time at no cost. A change of routing requires re-issue and costs US$125.

Reservations are made in D class for flight with business class cabins. AA domestic flights book into A (first) class. AE single class flights book into Y class.

Routing is very generous and flexible.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Will you be going the whole hog on saving and start buying DONE4s out of India. Save $2,500 on the ex-AU price plus gives you 4 flights within Australia/New Zealand without that pesky no more than 2 stops in continent of origin issue coming in, nor the only 1 international arrival n departure?

Dave

Does that saving take into account India's Luxury Tax?

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

You are ALL nuts. Why sit on a plane when you could take a b*s. :shock:

For a lot of my travel bus isnt an option since eventually runs up against blue liquid

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

There is no minimum stay in any one country. The minimum stay conditions are for the time between first international departure and return to your country of origin.

And some origins (eg SWP) don't even have a minimum stay requirement.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

Very flexible. They are fully refundable before the first flight is taken. Do not require pre-payment (i.e. ticket must be paid and issued before the first flight closes for check-in). You can make as many date/time changes as you like at any time at no cost. A change of routing requires re-issue and costs US$125.

On the current rules, re-issues before departure are free unless ticket is being issued in the americas (north or south).

 

[Yada Yada]

For a lot of my travel bus isnt an option since eventually runs up against blue liquid

Ah, in which case you must take the airb*s.