Hello and Help:)

[Mon24]

Hello first time on here. Posting from Melb.

I'm not even sure where to begin. I've read a bunch of posts from others and I don't even understand half the abbreviations being used. Is there a list somewhere I can check?

We are a family, 2 adults, 2 primary children and looking at travelling to Lapland for Christmas this year. Can leave anytime in December and back anytime in Jan. I know its peak time. We have 1.2 million Amex points and we are looking at not renewing our Amex platinum due to the fees. Eg Our last flights to the US cost $8k, fees for Amex for the year on each transaction added up to $8K so not work it in my opinion.

Anyway I don't even know if this is the correct place to ask but before we close our account we obviously need to transfer all of our points somewhere so we don't lose them. I don't want to spend them on gift vouchers or get stuck with one airline. Does anyone know what our best options would be? Or is this where OneWorld and Star Alliance come in and can points be transferred there and used with multiple airlines?

I also want to know if there is a professional service (in Australia) that I can get assistance from in booking our trip and best utilising/maximising our points? It's all so overwhelming. I see and hear people getting so much from their points and I have no idea how to do that. Our travel agent suggested to transfer our points to them and it sits there as a dollar value until we book something but I'm not sure if this is such a great idea.

Thanks in advance for any pointers, appreciate it.
M

 

[Steady]

Welcome aboard @Mon24

Have a look here

and here

 

[I love to travel]

I think Krisflyer with Singapore airlines will give you the most availability outside peak periods.

 

[Mon24]

Welcome aboard @Mon24

Have a look here

and here

Legend! Thanks so much

 

[Mwenenzi]

Mon24 Welcome to AFF

Hello first time on here. Posting from Melb.

I'm not even sure where to begin. I've read a bunch of posts from others and I don't even understand half the abbreviations being used. Is there a list somewhere I can check?

We are a family, 2 adults, 2 primary children and looking at travelling to Lapland for Christmas this year. Can leave anytime in December and back anytime in Jan. I know its peak time. We have 1.2 million Amex points and we are looking at not renewing our Amex platinum due to the fees. Eg Our last flights to the US cost $8k, fees for Amex for the year on each transaction added up to $8K so not work it in my opinion.

Anyway I don't even know if this is the correct place to ask but before we close our account we obviously need to transfer all of our points somewhere so we don't lose them. I don't want to spend them on gift vouchers or get stuck with one airline. Does anyone know what our best options would be? Or is this where OneWorld and Star Alliance come in and can points be transferred there and used with multiple airlines?

I also want to know if there is a professional service (in Australia) that I can get assistance from in booking our trip and best utilising/maximising our points? It's all so overwhelming. I see and hear people getting so much from their points and I have no idea how to do that. Our travel agent suggested to transfer our points to them and it sits there as a dollar value until we book something but I'm not sure if this is such a great idea.

Thanks in advance for any pointers, appreciate it.
M

Is there another Amex card, with lower fees, that you could open and transfer Amex MR points across to? Others here will know more about Amex cards. Best not to transfer until 110% sure can be used in that ffp.

At that time of year 4 awards Australia to Finland is a tough ask.

Helsinki Airport - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In the alliances can theoretically get awards on partner airlines. But award availability is not guaranteed and can vary between partners.
Also Emirates EK and Etihad EY are not in the major alliances, bur partners with other airlines. (QF & VA respectively)

This web site (AFF) has or used to have an award booking service for a fee. Unsure if still operating

 

[Dr Ralph]

Welcome to AFF.

In short, there are no easy answers to all of your questions. Being in the frequent flyer game means you need to commit MANY hours to working the system.

 

[Mon24]

Mon24 Welcome to AFF

Is there another Amex card, with lower fees, that you could open and transfer Amex MR points across to? Others here will know more about Amex cards. Best not to transfer until 110% sure can be used in that ffp.

At that time of year 4 awards Australia to Finland is a tough ask.

Helsinki Airport - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

In the alliances can theoretically get awards on partner airlines. But award availability is not guaranteed and can vary between partners.
Also Emirates EK and Etihad EY are not in the major alliances, bur partners with other airlines. (QF & VA respectively)

This web site (AFF) has or used to have an award booking service for a fee. Unsure if still operating

Ah good question, I will contact Amex and find out if that's possible. Might be a good option until we work out what we want to do with our points. I have just sent a request off to this sites concierge service (another user sent me link above)so will see what they come back with. Thankyou

 

[NM]

Hello first time on here. Posting from Melb.

Welcome, @Mon24

I'm not even sure where to begin. I've read a bunch of posts from others and I don't even understand half the abbreviations being used. Is there a list somewhere I can check?

At the bottom of all the forum pages there is a link to "Forum Help". That is basically a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions" link and on that page is a link to "Abbreviations & Explanations", which you can also jump to from this link:

Abbreviations & Explanations

A list of common abbreviations used on the forum.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

I also want to know if there is a professional service (in Australia) that I can get assistance from in booking our trip and best utilising/maximising our points? It's all so overwhelming. I see and hear people getting so much from their points and I have no idea how to do that. Our travel agent suggested to transfer our points to them and it sits there as a dollar value until we book something but I'm not sure if this is such a great idea.

Yes, there is. Its an AFF service called Frequent Flyer Concierge and can be found via this link:

https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/frequent-flyer-concierge/

Thanks in advance for any pointers, appreciate it.
M

Good luck and I hope you can make it to Lapland with the family for a memorable holiday.