Frequent flyer, but not a frequent flyer?

[opplevelse]

Hi All,

Based in Perth, I fly a bit, mainly internationally for work. My company allows us to fly premium eco for long haul, but not business. I'm QFF LT silver, with QC.

This year I have flown PER-MEL-BNE-PER, and PER-SIN-KUL-SIN-PER twice. I am about to fly PER-SIN-LHR-ABZ-SVG-OSL-LHR-AUH-DOH-PER and later in the year PER-SYD-PER and then Perth-Calgary-Houston-Rio-Perth (unsure of exact stops yet) plus possibly one more trip to South East Asia.

This travel is not unusual for me, and I normally do something similar every year. However, this year for the first time in years I lost my gold status with Qantas and genuinely, im over them and more than happy to shift. I think I lost it because qantas doesnt seem to do codeshare flights much anymore. Unfortunately there are no standard carriers who seem to go everywhere, so I dont know who to focus on? This upcoming trip is with Qantas, BA, SAS and Qatar.

I guess Im looking for advice on programs and how to regain status? Im not looking forward to this upcoming trip without lounge access!

Cheers
Bruce.

 

[Dmac59]

Welcome aboard @opplevelse
There is a wealth of resources within the AFF Forums, and of course experienced and knowledgeable members will be able to offer suggestions and advice.
Happy travels.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Based in Perth, I fly a bit, mainly internationally for work. My company allows us to fly premium eco for long haul, but not business. I'm QFF LT silver, with QC.

This year I have flown PER-MEL-BNE-PER, and PER-SIN-KUL-SIN-PER twice. I am about to fly PER-SIN-LHR-ABZ-SVG-OSL-LHR-AUH-DOH-PER and later in the year PER-SYD-PER and then Perth-Calgary-Houston-Rio-Perth (unsure of exact stops yet) plus possibly one more trip to South East Asia.

This travel is not unusual for me, and I normally do something similar every year. However, this year for the first time in years I lost my gold status with Qantas and genuinely, im over them and more than happy to shift. I think I lost it because qantas doesnt seem to do codeshare flights much anymore. Unfortunately there are no standard carriers who seem to go everywhere, so I dont know who to focus on? This upcoming trip is with Qantas, BA, SAS and Qatar.
I guess Im looking for advice on programs and how to regain status? Im not looking forward to this upcoming trip without lounge access!

Welcome to AFF

The frequent flyer programme over the fence is not always greener.
If you struggle to get status with QF no certainty will be easier with another airline. OW Sapphire (=QF gold) will get lounge access. More ffp's are basing status and ff miles/avios/points on price paid, less real taxes.

You will have lost your QF status because you did not get enough SC's on

• QF marketed-QF operated flights,
• QF marketed-another airline operated flights
• or partner flights that earn QF SC's.

QF does still have code share flights. But code shares tend to be more expensive, so your employer may not have purchased those
Qantas is a ff partner with BA & QR Qatar, and other airlines. However SC's earning to QF ffp with QR Qatar is poor. If you could get a BA codeshares on QR operated would ean more QF SC's

For your :- I am about to fly PER-SIN-LHR-ABZ-SVG-OSL-LHR-AUH-DOH-PER and later in the year PER-SYD-PER and then Perth-Calgary-Houston-Rio-Perth (unsure of exact stops yet) plus possibly one more trip to South East Asia.
What airlines [Flight number - operating ]- Have you calculated QF SC earm. Or to another ffp?
Some good long flights. But will be transits. For some depending on you employers policies, consider a Oneworld RTW *ONE*

A map from the Great Circle Mapper

A map from the Great Circle Mapper

www.gcmap.com

BA QR AY AY IB all use avios as the common ff curency. Can subject to t&c's move avios but not status be moved betweeen the ffp.
Like QF, BA & QR have "own" airline flights for status (2-4). Check the fine print.
QR is a ff partner of VA. So can get QR avios on Virgin Australia VA flights, but check the rules.

A broad guide for SAS. However SAS to leave Star Alliance and join SkyTeam [eff. 01 Sep 2024]

Where to Credit | Where to Credit SAS Scandinavian Airlines Flights

Find the best frequent flyer program for SAS Scandinavian Airlines flights. Where to Credit shows you the number of miles you earn on any frequent flyer program!

www.wheretocredit.com

 

[SeatBackForward]

Hi All,

Based in Perth, I fly a bit, mainly internationally for work. My company allows us to fly premium eco for long haul, but not business. I'm QFF LT silver, with QC.

This year I have flown PER-MEL-BNE-PER, and PER-SIN-KUL-SIN-PER twice. I am about to fly PER-SIN-LHR-ABZ-SVG-OSL-LHR-AUH-DOH-PER and later in the year PER-SYD-PER and then Perth-Calgary-Houston-Rio-Perth (unsure of exact stops yet) plus possibly one more trip to South East Asia.

This travel is not unusual for me, and I normally do something similar every year. However, this year for the first time in years I lost my gold status with Qantas and genuinely, im over them and more than happy to shift. I think I lost it because qantas doesnt seem to do codeshare flights much anymore. Unfortunately there are no standard carriers who seem to go everywhere, so I dont know who to focus on? This upcoming trip is with Qantas, BA, SAS and Qatar.

I guess Im looking for advice on programs and how to regain status? Im not looking forward to this upcoming trip without lounge access!

Cheers
Bruce.

I'm guessing you're in O+G ?

 

[Cynicor]

Man, I’d be finding a different job if my company wanted me to fly 24 hours in W…

 

[opplevelse]

I'm guessing you're in O+G ?

Not just O&G, but more broadly engineering.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Not just O&G, but more broadly engineering.

Oh yeah, sorry I should've been broader. It was SVG and IAH bit that led me down that path

 

[opplevelse]

You will have lost your QF status because you did not get enough SC's on

• QF marketed-QF operated flights,
• QF marketed-another airline operated flights
• or partner flights that earn QF SC's.

QF does still have code share flights. But code shares tend to be more expensive, so your employer may not have purchased those
Qantas is a ff partner with BA & QR Qatar, and other airlines. However SC's earning to QF ffp with QR Qatar is poor. If you could get a BA codeshares on QR operated would ean more QF SC's

Yeah, I suspect you are right, our company uses AMEX for travel services, and while I can specify the flights I want I cant specify the codeshare.

Is there more even status credit earning on Star Alliance partners eg. Singapore airways? I guess Im just a bit miffed that despite having to do a lot of flying I cant even get lounge access - Why would I continue with OneWorld if Star partners have better status credit earning opportunities.

Post automatically merged: Aug 20, 2024

I should be clear as well, the FFP are not my issue, it is the SC, and the fact I therefore miss out on lounge access. I have tons of FFP, so much so I doubt I can ever use them all!

 

[WilsonM]

If you can get most of your flying done on *A carriers, PE actually earns quite well - most of the likely programs you'll credit to earn status miles rather than status credits. The reason this is important is that for QF status credits (as an example), you'll earn about half the SC flying Premium Economy versus Business Class. For, say Singapore Airlines, you'll earn only 33% less status miles flying Premium Economy versus Business Class (150% vs 100% of miles flown).

Plus the fact that you're flying extremely long distances rather than lots and lots of segments (comparatively to the SYD-MEL-BNE golden triangle hoppers - which IMO is what QFF/VFF is more designed for), something like Krisflyer (for its VA partnership), or Turkish Airlines (for the easy qualification) would be a start point - you can check out this article here for some more info: The Best Frequent Flyer Programs for Earning Star Alliance Gold Status

 

[opplevelse]

If you can get most of your flying done on *A carriers, PE actually earns quite well - most of the likely programs you'll credit to earn status miles rather than status credits. The reason this is important is that for QF status credits (as an example), you'll earn about half the SC flying Premium Economy versus Business Class. For, say Singapore Airlines, you'll earn only 33% less status miles flying Premium Economy versus Business Class (150% vs 100% of miles flown).

Plus the fact that you're flying extremely long distances rather than lots and lots of segments (comparatively to the SYD-MEL-BNE golden triangle hoppers - which IMO is what QFF/VFF is more designed for), something like Krisflyer (for its VA partnership), or Turkish Airlines (for the easy qualification) would be a start point - you can check out this article here for some more info: The Best Frequent Flyer Programs for Earning Star Alliance Gold Status

ThankS! I’ll have a look!

 

[Flyfrequently]

Welcome to AFF @opplevelse
As you can already see lots of knowledgeable folk here
Happy Travels

 

[andye]

For One World flights the problem with QFF is that although its not rhat hard to get status dlying QF they have reduced SCs on non-QF flights
BAEC doesn't penalise but you need to make 4 flights on BA to get status
QR Privilege Club, Malaysian Enrich and Cathay Asia Miles also don't penalise but the thresholds are high
Iberia is worth a look as the thresholds are similar to BA for OneWorld Sapphire without the need for home flights

The main options in Aus for Singapore Airlines are Krisflyer itself or VA (won't get you non-SQ Star Alliance access but is probably easier to get status especially of you can utilise family pooling)

 

[kangarooflyer88]

My advice would be that loyalty is a one-way street with airlines. They need to be loyal to you, but you don't need to be loyal to them. Put simply, book the flights you need and figure out a way to exploit the loyalty of airlines to get what you need. For instance, earlier this year I had this complex itinerary booked with involved flying one segment on Qantas (SYD > MEL) followed by a bunch of flights on other airlines:

1. MEL > SCL > GRU > FLN on LATAM
2. FLN > XAP on Azul
3. PFB > GRU > JFK on LATAM
4. JFK > YUL on Delta
5. YUL > YSJ on Air Canada
6. YQM > YEG > YYJ on WestJet, YYJ
7. YVR > SFO on United
8. SFO > SYD on United

As you can see a ton of different airlines which happen to offer the cheapest price. Now keep in mind, all I had status wise was Qantas Platinum. But I did my homework. I saw LATAM would match my Qantas Platinum status over to their equivalent Platinum status (called Black) which ultimately worked out really well for my partner and I as we managed to get our cheap economy tickets upgraded to business using upgrade coupons for the MEL > SCL and GRU > JFK segments (plus lounge access and better economy seats for the other flights we had). For Azul, again, a status match came into play (this time matching LATAM) which allowed me to check 3 bags in for free (plus get free seat selection on the flight from FLN > XAP). But wait! There's more! I ended up matching my Qantas Platinum status over to Turkish Airlines which gave me Star Alliance Gold status meaning a free checked bag and lounge access for my partner and I on Air Canada and United flights. Then for WestJet, I booked that ticket just before I lost my Delta Gold status last year meaning again free seat selection plus checked bags. Lastly, for the flight back to Australia, well that was booked as a business award on Virgin last minute meaning status didn't even matter as we had access to the Polaris lounge at SFO.

-RooFlyer88

 

[nthd_nthd]

My advice would be that loyalty is a one-way street with airlines. They need to be loyal to you, but you don't need to be loyal to them. Put simply, book the flights you need and figure out a way to exploit the loyalty of airlines to get what you need. For instance, earlier this year I had this complex itinerary booked with involved flying one segment on Qantas (SYD > MEL) followed by a bunch of flights on other airlines:

1. MEL > SCL > GRU > FLN on LATAM
2. FLN > XAP on Azul
3. PFB > GRU > JFK on LATAM
4. JFK > YUL on Delta
5. YUL > YSJ on Air Canada
6. YQM > YEG > YYJ on WestJet, YYJ
7. YVR > SFO on United
8. SFO > SYD on United

As you can see a ton of different airlines which happen to offer the cheapest price. Now keep in mind, all I had status wise was Qantas Platinum. But I did my homework. I saw LATAM would match my Qantas Platinum status over to their equivalent Platinum status (called Black) which ultimately worked out really well for my partner and I as we managed to get our cheap economy tickets upgraded to business using upgrade coupons for the MEL > SCL and GRU > JFK segments (plus lounge access and better economy seats for the other flights we had). For Azul, again, a status match came into play (this time matching LATAM) which allowed me to check 3 bags in for free (plus get free seat selection on the flight from FLN > XAP). But wait! There's more! I ended up matching my Qantas Platinum status over to Turkish Airlines which gave me Star Alliance Gold status meaning a free checked bag and lounge access for my partner and I on Air Canada and United flights. Then for WestJet, I booked that ticket just before I lost my Delta Gold status last year meaning again free seat selection plus checked bags. Lastly, for the flight back to Australia, well that was booked as a business award on Virgin last minute meaning status didn't even matter as we had access to the Polaris lounge at SFO.

-RooFlyer88

Star Alliance Gold status meaning a free checked bag and lounge access for my partner and I on Air Canada and United flights

By reading this, Am I right if I buy a cheapest United ticket which does not give me checked bags or seat selection, I still can check in bags and select seat and use Lounge if I am Gold With other Star Alliance partners aka AC?

 

[kangarooflyer88]

By reading this, Am I right if I buy a cheapest United ticket which does not give me checked bags or seat selection, I still can check in bags and select seat and use Lounge if I am Gold With other Star Alliance partners aka AC?

That's right, we were flying in Basic Economy on United yet I still got the checked bag allowance and lounge access (for myself and partner). Note: United does have restrictions on carry-ons for trips that are solely within the US (I believe you cannot have an overhead bag). Again, that didn't apply for us since we were flying YVR > SFO. It is one bag you will receive for yourself (the Star Alliance Gold member) up to 23 kg in weight. You may also have access to better seating (i.e. when you check in United's computers may put you in the best available seat seeing your Star Alliance Gold status).

Some other points wrt lounge access. If you hold Star Alliance Gold status with any frequent flyer program other than United, you can access United Clubs irrespective of where you fly with United. So a simple trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles will get you access to United Clubs. As a Star Alliance Gold member, irrespective of program you have access to any lounge operated by a Star Alliance partner, provided you are travelling on United or a Star Alliance partner. What this means is that if you are in an airport like LAX which has several Star Alliance lounges (Air Canada in T6, Star Alliance in TBIT) you can access those lounges. At some US airports there are Lufthansa lounges: Detroit, New York JFK and Washington Dulles come to mind. As a Star Alliance Gold member of any airline you can access those lounges. Note: Lufthansa lounges have two sections a business class section and a Senator section. You will be given access to the Senator section. And before you go up in arms about that, realize that the Senator section is usually better than the Business class section (after all this is where all First class passengers on Lufthansa are directed to). You won't have access to United Polaris lounges as those are only available if you are travelling business class (or better) on a flight which crosses a continent. So a flight on Lufthansa from LA to Frankfurt in business, yes you can get in. But a flight from LA to Vancouver on Air Canada in business that's a no.

 

[nthd_nthd]

That's right, we were flying in Basic Economy on United yet I still got the checked bag allowance and lounge access (for myself and partner). Note: United does have restrictions on carry-ons for trips that are solely within the US (I believe you cannot have an overhead bag). Again, that didn't apply for us since we were flying YVR > SFO. It is one bag you will receive for yourself (the Star Alliance Gold member) up to 23 kg in weight. You may also have access to better seating (i.e. when you check in United's computers may put you in the best available seat seeing your Star Alliance Gold status).

Some other points wrt lounge access. If you hold Star Alliance Gold status with any frequent flyer program other than United, you can access United Clubs irrespective of where you fly with United. So a simple trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles will get you access to United Clubs. As a Star Alliance Gold member, irrespective of program you have access to any lounge operated by a Star Alliance partner, provided you are travelling on United or a Star Alliance partner. What this means is that if you are in an airport like LAX which has several Star Alliance lounges (Air Canada in T6, Star Alliance in TBIT) you can access those lounges. At some US airports there are Lufthansa lounges: Detroit, New York JFK and Washington Dulles come to mind. As a Star Alliance Gold member of any airline you can access those lounges. Note: Lufthansa lounges have two sections a business class section and a Senator section. You will be given access to the Senator section. And before you go up in arms about that, realize that the Senator section is usually better than the Business class section (after all this is where all First class passengers on Lufthansa are directed to). You won't have access to United Polaris lounges as those are only available if you are travelling business class (or better) on a flight which crosses a continent. So a flight on Lufthansa from LA to Frankfurt in business, yes you can get in. But a flight from LA to Vancouver on Air Canada in business that's a no.

Great thank you. I learned so much about *A here.

 

[nthd_nthd]

Regarding *A Gold status when flying on Basic Eco with United. For whoever needs info. 1st checked bag of 23kg free.

​

Basic Economy restrictions apply, including​

No complimentary seat selection​

Advance seat assignments may be available for purchase during booking and up until check-in opens Complimentary seat assigned prior to boarding No group or family seating (If you’re traveling with a child under 12, we have new tools that make it easier for them to sit next to a family member for free.) No Premier® member seating benefits

No full-sized carry-on bag on board​

(This restriction does not apply to MileagePlus Premier members, primary cardmembers of qualifying MileagePlus credit cards or Star Alliance™ Gold members.)

Check bags before airport security for the applicable fee Bags brought to the gate incur an additional $25 gate handling charge