Discussion/Q&A on Best QF Status Run Options

[support]

This thread is for Questions and General discussion regarding the Best Status Run Options for QFF as per this thread:

Overview of Best Status Run Options [not the discussion thread]

Please keep your questions and queries to this thread and avoid posting in the other.

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You can also get some status run inspiration from this AFF article:

The Best Qantas Frequent Flyer Status Runs

Haven't earned enough status credits in your Qantas membership year? Here is a selection of the best Qantas Frequent Flyer status runs.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Flashback]

It does if you are a Points Club member.

Classic Flight Reward tables | Qantas Frequent Flyer

See how many Status Credits you’ll earn on Qantas marketed Classic Flight Rewards as a member of Points Club or Points Club Plus.

www.qantas.com

Do you work with Linux?

 

[sudoer]

Do you work with Linux?

You can find me in /etc/

 

[QF029]

Apologies as I'm sure this has been asked numerous times but with my status run now booked in J, if I change my dates and they stay in the DSC window I gather I'll still get all the status credits assuming my PNR creation date was in the booking window?

 

[Port Power]

Yep - previous DSC have applied to award SC for me previously.

QF DSC - Domestic only | Book by 30 Mar | Travel 31 Mar 2021 to 28 Feb 2022

Just a data point - my status credit rollover came through this morning (March membership year) and bonus status credits earned through last year's DSC offer have been included in the rollover. Great outcome that no uphill battle required :)

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

I saw the “Thanks a million” once I logged in. I don’t need much due to a Qatar return flight in Oct/Nov, so no need for circuitous routes. Just one way in J to visit Mum in MEL for her 93rd birthday and a classic rewards seat back to Perth. But thank goodness once again for AFF. I would not have seen that offer otherwise.

 

[exLXCXFF]

Did anyone search/find for a "cheap" option of earning 200 SCs (so 100 SC x 2 really ) out of SYD?

 

[fifo]

Did anyone search/find for a "cheap" option of earning 200 SCs (so 100 SC x 2 really ) out of SYD?

I've been looking a bit, Townsville via Brisbane we'll get you 160, but at like 6 bucks a sc, 7 in J for 320. So not great. NZ options look a bit more reasonable.

Definitely need more ideas ex SYD, particularly ones that can be done in a day!

 

[mc_llama]

Anyone got any juicy SC runs ex bne? Only need 200 points to guarantee an upgrade to platinum before June. Preferably something that can be done in a weekend and doesn't cost the earth

 

[exLXCXFF]

I've been looking a bit, Townsville via Brisbane we'll get you 160, but at like 6 bucks a sc, 7 in J for 320. So not great. NZ options look a bit more reasonable.

Definitely need more ideas ex SYD, particularly ones that can be done in a day!

I spent the last few hours working on this and decided that the best option is NZ via 1 stop. I ended up booking SYD - MEL - AKL - BNE - SYD in December 2022. The outbound leg is SALE ECONOMY and the return leg is SALE Business on one ticket, i.e. no standalone outbound from NZ so that the DSC offer works. Gives me 300 SC for AUD 797 which makes me requalify for Gold in 2023 (I have a January 2023 anniversary, so no luck with extension by Qantas) and gives me exactly 100 SCs that I can rollover via Points Club. 1 SC equals to AUD 2.65, not that bad!

 

[fifo]

I spent the last few hours working on this and decided that the best option is NZ via 1 stop. I ended booking SYD - MEL - AKL - BNE - SYD in December 2022. The outbound leg is SALE ECONOMY and the return leg is SALE Business on one ticket, i.e. no standalone outbound from NZ so that the DSC offer works. Gives me 300 SC for AUD 797 which makes me requalify for Gold in 2023 (I have a January 2023 anniversary, so no luck with extension by Qantas) and gives me exactly 100 SCs that I can rollover via Points Club. 1 SC equals to AUD 2.65, not that bad!

Nice work. Any other options come up that might be worth it as well?

 

[exLXCXFF]

Nice work. Any other options come up that might be worth it as well?

Price vs points earning potential - I think you need to look into overseas flights. I did not find anything helpful within Australia. In the end, it came down to PNG (until I realized that I need a visa), to Singapore (J fare are ridiculously high for what you earn on SCs), and NZ. CHC and AKL fares seem comparable for the dates when I looked, WEL was definitively more expensive.

 

[fifo]

Price vs points earning potential - I think you need to look into overseas flights. I did not find anything helpful within Australia. In the end, it came down to PNG (until I realized that I need a visa), to Singapore (J fare are ridiculously high for what you earn on SCs), and NZ. CHC and AKL fares seem comparable for the dates when I looked, WEL was definitively more expensive

Price vs points earning potential - I think you need to look into overseas flights. I did not find anything helpful within Australia. In the end, it came down to PNG (until I realized that I need a visa), to Singapore (J fare are ridiculously high for what you earn on SCs), and NZ. CHC and AKL fares seem comparable for the dates when I looked, WEL was definitively more expensive.

Doable in a day? Do you need covid testing to enter NZ?

 

[exLXCXFF]

Doable in a day? Do you need covid testing to enter NZ?

Not in one day if you do the hop via MEL/BNE to pick up additional SCs. You basically leave during the day AUS time, arrive past midnight and go back between 6am to 8am in the morning. All in all a bit over 24 hours but over 2 calendar days so to speak. The path to reopening NZ is that from October 2022 everyone is welcome, my trip is in December 2022. I hope by then, any PCR/RAT test is scrapped (I think you still need RAT at the moment but I did not check as I hope we are back to normal by December 2022)!

 

[Port Power]

Some very good ideas above, but from Perth it becomes more complicated. In the end I booked PER-MEL-AKL return in J at excellent business saver fares next March (promotion flights end March 21, 2023), which will start my new anniversary year with 660SC. Averaged $3.25 per SC.

I don’t think there will be any more extensions or boosters next year, so with my two international trips, I will requalify again.

 

[exceladdict]

Some very good ideas above, but from Perth it becomes more complicated. In the end I booked PER-MEL-AKL return in J at excellent business saver fares next March (promotion flights end March 21, 2023), which will start my new anniversary year with 660SC. Averaged $3.25 per SC.

I don’t think there will be any more extensions or boosters next year, so with my two international trips, I will requalify again.

I'm sure this has been discussed previously but Mrs Excel and I were considering travelling to Syd after my year resets; and I noticed that PER-MEL-SYD (indeed PER-MEL-SYD-CBR) is the same number of points as PER-SYD (taxes slightly more). I wonder if you could get another leg on top of that to ticket, like PER-MEL-CBR-SYD-OAG?

PER-MEL-SYD-CBR comes in at 41500 + $129, would be 128SC with DSC. Valuing points at 1c, it's roughly a $4 per SC proposition, but if you had stocked up some points to use this could be a good opportunity?

 

[SydneySwan]

I'm sure this has been discussed previously but Mrs Excel and I were considering travelling to Syd after my year resets; and I noticed that PER-MEL-SYD (indeed PER-MEL-SYD-CBR) is the same number of points as PER-SYD (taxes slightly more). I wonder if you could get another leg on top of that to ticket, like PER-MEL-CBR-SYD-OAG?

PER-MEL-SYD-CBR comes in at 41500 + $129, would be 128SC with DSC. Valuing points at 1c, it's roughly a $4 per SC proposition, but if you had stocked up some points to use this could be a good opportunity?

That made me think. I wonder if I could do SYD-CBR-MEL-ADL-PER-ADL-MEL-CBR-SYD?

 

[fifo]

Not in one day if you do the hop via MEL/BNE to pick up additional SCs. You basically leave during the day AUS time, arrive past midnight and go back between 6am to 8am in the morning. All in all a bit over 24 hours but over 2 calendar days so to speak. The path to reopening NZ is that from October 2022 everyone is welcome, my trip is in December 2022. I hope by then, any PCR/RAT test is scrapped (I think you still need RAT at the moment but I did not check as I hope we are back to normal by December 2022)!

Nice one.

What was your top domestic pick ex SYD? I'm looking at Townsville via Brisbane. I need something before Oct unfortunately.

 

[clifford]

I'm looking at killing two birds with one stone.

I need 50 Qantas SC's to get the maximum carry over for Gold (I'm not even thinking about Plat) and less than 50 for VA Plat. So I've booked the following to get the next membership year sorted:

- WGA-SYD-MEL-MGB-ADL in QF Y for 12,000 points and $115.43 (should return 54 SC's)

(driving from CBR to WGA and overnight in ADL)

- ADL-MEL-CBR in VA paid J for $299.46 (I like VA J and it's quite affordable)

 

[exceladdict]

That made me think. I wonder if I could do SYD-CBR-MEL-ADL-PER-ADL-MEL-CBR-SYD?

Multicity freaks out when trying to search three seperate legs on the same day. Is there a sector limit before it costs the flights seperately?

 

[clifford]

Multicity freaks out when trying to search three seperate legs on the same day. Is there a sector limit before it costs the flights seperately?

I've just been able to book WGA-SYD-MEL-ADL-MEL-CBR-PER in Y for 25,000 pts and $249.16.

Not that I would actually fly this (as there are better earning options), but it shows the sort of thing that can be done).

 

[http_x92]

I also wonder if the classic Business Reward flights has been corrected back to 16 SC per flight for short haul domestic. As far as I know there has been cases last year where 18 SCs were awarded. Meaning if you take 4 flights in J (e.g. SYD-MEL-ADL-MEL-SYD), thats 72 SC in normal times, 144 SC during DSC. It its been corrected, then its 128 SC.