Get me on a First Class long haul flight before I turn 25!!!

[travelislife]

And like clock work LM has one of its biggest promos ever! 130% bonus!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

And like clock work LM has one of its biggest promos ever! 130% bonus!

It's a good offer - for the max miles. But for brown891 I would exercise some caution especially because of booking issues and the restrictions on partners.

 

[brown891]

It's a good offer - for the max miles. But for brown891 I would exercise some caution especially because of booking issues and the restrictions on partners.

Buy 101 000 miles + bonus of 131 300 for USD3333 - works out to be roughly 4411AUD. = 1.9c/point
Is that fair?
Won't be buying that many lol just seeing how decent that is. General rule is between 1.5-2c/point is good value isn't it...?

Cheers for the heads up travelislife & MEL_traveller

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Buy 101 000 miles + bonus of 131 300 for USD3333 - works out to be roughly 4411AUD. = 1.9c/point
Is that fair?
Won't be buying that many lol just seeing how decent that is. General rule is between 1.5-2c/point is good value isn't it...?

Cheers for the heads up travelislife & MEL_traveller

yes but.... the top up price for avianca miles (assuming you have the 40% minimum and wish to top up at time of purchase) prices the miles at 1.5c. this 130% bonus or whatever reduces the price to 1.43c or something... the .07 of a cent may not be worth investing so much cash up front.

 

[Wingin..it]

Unfortunately Qantas points cannot be used for upgrades on Emirates aircraft, even if flying on a Qantas flight number.

For the $1200 you mention, just a few dollars more gets a long haul multi-segment first class offering, much better than the couple of hours trans-tasman.

Thanks Mel for heads up on that and clarification .I've never flown Emirates and was presuming as a Qantas flight it may be able to upgrade but apparently not.

 

[graxx]

Hey- forget it!!!
It's not worth the effort, and 25 is just so random!
My experience is that once you have flown first class you tend to be unhappy anywhere else. Just watching those guys turning right at the door totally drives you to distraction!
Better to leave it later in life when you can afford it and not have to go back to economy.

I flew 1st Sydney to London return regularly for 10 years and having to stop and now fly economy (or even business) is thoroughly unsatisfactory! Better to have never done it and not know what you're missing!

Anyway, business is far better value for much the same thing, and more achievable on points. Upgrading from a premium economy is the way to go, although with so few points it will be tricky.
Credit card points is a long, long expensive haul believe me!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hey- forget it!!!
It's not worth the effort, and 25 is just so random!
My experience is that once you have flown first class you tend to be unhappy anywhere else. Just watching those guys turning right at the door totally drives you to distraction!
Better to leave it later in life when you can afford it and not have to go back to economy.

I flew 1st Sydney to London return regularly for 10 years and having to stop and now fly economy (or even business) is thoroughly unsatisfactory! Better to have never done it and not know what you're missing!

Anyway, business is far better value for much the same thing, and more achievable on points. Upgrading from a premium economy is the way to go, although with so few points it will be tricky.
Credit card points is a long, long expensive haul believe me!

re bold text.... $150 extra (via United miles) to fly Thai airways first class rather than business is both achievable and a marked step up.

Class of service is largely a matter of choice. People choose to fly in the cabin they feel they can afford at the time. Based on that affordability/value for money there's nothing you're missing out on by flying economy... you're getting a great deal!!

 

[craven morehead]

Reading with interest !!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Do you mean the old store WOW?

WOW = Woolworths. . And QFF points are back, though at a reduced earning rate. however your spend is lower the new system may be better for you as the $30 minimum has been removed and plus points are now gained on fuel purchases.

But thats awesome. Buying through online portals is definitely a big helper. I got 1800 points from bonds through Qantas the other month when it was 12 points per $ spent.
I will be trying my best to purchase stuff more through these ways. Do you know from her experience what airlines seem to offer the better ways of earning points in this way? SQ/VA/QF etc.

The answer is all!. The reason being is that all have specials when points may be magnified. ie Doubled or 10 point/$ special.

So when about to buy I just quickly check both. One may have ebay at say 2 points per $ and the other 4. So I )or she) just with the the airline program who has the best rate at the time.

Caveat: For any online purchase I also just google and see where the best price is. If I can gain cheaper elsewhere sans-points I will take the cheaper price. Points are only cheap when you do not overpay for the good/s service.

Tips:
Points add up. Sometimes the earn is small and sometime large. Keep doing it over time and you will end up with a usable balance.

While some people stick to one program, I find running multiple programs allows one to garner the most opportunities at the best earn rates. On making redemption's different programs can have different cots too, and importantly availability in premium cabins, or even just route selection. You can use different programs to fly one way in different redemptions.

- For example :

I redeemed points from my Amex on a transfer special to Velocity to redeem a flight on Etihad in J from MEL to Nairobi in Africa. This at the time required less effective Amex points than booking Oneworld via Qantas (On Qatar) and with less taxes and charges as well . In addition the flight times were better.

To return from Johannesburg to MEL I redeemed via Qantas as the flight was almost direct and availability was very good. For QFF taxes and charges were reasonable at $350 in J. Star Alliance options were very hard to get out of JNB and total flight time a lot longer as flights were indirect.

 

[brown891]

WOW = Woolworths. . And QFF points are back, though at a reduced earning rate. however your spend is lower the new system may be better for you as the $30 minimum has been removed and plus points are now gained on fuel purchases.



The answer is all!. The reason being is that all have specials when points may be magnified. ie Doubled or 10 point/$ special.

So when about to buy I just quickly check both. One may have ebay at say 2 points per $ and the other 4. So I )or she) just with the the airline program who has the best rate at the time.

Caveat: For any online purchase I also just google and see where the best price is. If I can gain cheaper elsewhere sans-points I will take the cheaper price. Points are only cheap when you do not overpay for the good/s service.

Tips:
Points add up. Sometimes the earn is small and sometime large. Keep doing it over time and you will end up with a usable balance.

While some people stick to one program, I find running multiple programs allows one to garner the most opportunities at the best earn rates. On making redemption's different programs can have different cots too, and importantly availability in premium cabins, or even just route selection. You can use different programs to fly one way in different redemptions.

- For example :

I redeemed points from my Amex on a transfer special to Velocity to redeem a flight on Etihad in J from MEL to Nairobi in Africa. This at the time required less effective Amex points than booking Oneworld via Qantas (On Qatar) and with less taxes and charges as well . In addition the flight times were better.

To return from Johannesburg to MEL I redeemed via Qantas as the flight was almost direct and availability was very good. For QFF taxes and charges were reasonable at $350 in J. Star Alliance options were very hard to get out of JNB and total flight time a lot longer as flights were indirect.

That's Awesome! yeah I'm definitely finding spreading out your earn over the different programs is valuable. I'm going to the Maldives in November on Etihad so will be using velocity for that to get SC's and some points but i think its discount economy and if the singapore is anything to go by (0.1 conversion) then it won't be anything special.
Made a big mistake on my London trip with SQ that I just got back from though hahah oh well..

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Made a big mistake on my London trip with SQ that I just got back from though hahah oh well..

If the big mistake was not linking to a FF program you can claim retrospectively.

 

[brown891]

If the big mistake was not linking to a FF program you can claim retrospectively.

I posted it in the "made any travel mistakes recently" thread. Put velocity down and then changed it to Krisflyer,

I'm assuming i can't claim velocity SC's as i had kris flyer linked...?

 

[CaptJCool]

I posted it in the "made any travel mistakes recently" thread. Put velocity down and then changed it to Krisflyer,

I'm assuming i can't claim velocity SC's as i had kris flyer linked...?

i linked to Ansett for a dozen years. Can I put that on the missed take list ?

All those credits went West - well I did get a couple of trips to Europe from my points for my ex and me, and a business class to Perth to see my sister play in a grand final !

 

[brown891]

i linked to Ansett for a dozen years. Can I put that on the missed take list ?

All those credits went West - well I did get a couple of trips to Europe from my points for my ex and me, and a business class to Perth to see my sister play in a grand final !

hahahah Ansett was before my time in terms of flying with them.....

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I posted it in the "made any travel mistakes recently" thread. Put velocity down and then changed it to Krisflyer,

I'm assuming i can't claim velocity SC's as i had kris flyer linked...?

Well if it went to KF that is a good thing IMO. Though it gives you 3 years to use them before they expire. (If not you can redeem on SQ for some VA flights as a Partner Award for less points and taxes than with VA direct ).

I doubt that you will be flying enough for Status Credits to matter. Personally I in the main only redeem in J or F for long haul internationals and do not buy, and so SC are irrelevant to me.

 

[brown891]

Well if it went to KF that is a good thing IMO. Though it gives you 3 years to use them before they expire. (If not you can redeem on SQ for some VA flights as a Partner Award for less points and taxes than with VA direct ).

I doubt that you will be flying enough for Status Credits to matter. Personally I in the main only redeem in J or F for long haul internationals and do not buy, and so SC are irrelevant to me.

Yeah that's pretty fair actually. But with a trip coming up soon through VA also, I just would have finally reached status haha. But thats okay! ill just have to travel singapore airlines a little bit more

 

[brown891]

Just having a look via United.com at hypothetically booking return First Class with TKK 747 SYD-BKK and A380 BKK-HKG. This has 10h layover. Reading the fare rules, it says I am allowed 1 free stopover. Want to do this in terms of experiencing the whole Thai Airways first class treatment etc. How would I go about adding in the stopover?? Do I have to book separate bookings from SYD-BKK and then a couple of days later book another flights from BKK-HKG??? Would want to avoid ringing United as you get charged for them doing stuff for you? or is it just going to be the easiest way....

Also, have noticed that having the A380 from BKK-HKG isn't available in months like April and June/July as far as I can tell... Have only seen it up until February next year. Wondering if they are removing it from this sector???? Or if its just too far ahead to book onto the A380 in April next year etc.

Thanks in advance.

 

[travelislife]

Stopover can be done online. Just use multi city.

 

[travelislife]

Stopover can be done online. Just use multi city.

Do not book separate flights as that will cost more. A stopover is anything >24 hours. With a 10 hour layover you can leave the airport and come back later.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Just having a look via United.com at hypothetically booking return First Class with TKK 747 SYD-BKK and A380 BKK-HKG. This has 10h layover. Reading the fare rules, it says I am allowed 1 free stopover. Want to do this in terms of experiencing the whole Thai Airways first class treatment etc. How would I go about adding in the stopover?? Do I have to book separate bookings from SYD-BKK and then a couple of days later book another flights from BKK-HKG??? Would want to avoid ringing United as you get charged for them doing stuff for you? or is it just going to be the easiest way....

Also, have noticed that having the A380 from BKK-HKG isn't available in months like April and June/July as far as I can tell... Have only seen it up until February next year. Wondering if they are removing it from this sector???? Or if its just too far ahead to book onto the A380 in April next year etc.

Thanks in advance.

As travelislife says, you can book it all on line using the multicity tool. You could, if you wanted, book the connection to HKG a day or two later, just enter all the dates you want into the booking from the outset. For example, SYD-BKK 1 Jan, BKK-HKG 3 Jan. But for the return you would have to fly straight through, so you just enter HKG-SYD [xx] Jan and select the TG F options. The return options may give you transits overnight which you can select if you want more time in Bangkok.

But you'd have to book that ticket before the changes come in on 6 October. No stopovers after that time (and no stopovers on one way fares, although you can still get a long transit in BKK in which you can leave the airport and come back the next day, just pick the flight combos you want).

If you want to do your first class trip 'on the cheap' you can take Scoot, Air Asia or Jetstar one way to Hong Kong and fly home from there on TG with a long transit in BKK. All up that should come to about $1300 aussie dollars. I'd book exHKG rather than exSYD for the first class trip if you're only doing it one way.