Hey! I'm Wil and I'm 16

[JohnM]

hey Mattg

this is very much along the lines of what I would like to do but quite frankly it seems very far fetched for me at this point, any tips for me as a minor would be really appreciated

I can assure you that Mattg is your peer for helping you bring your hopes and dreams to reality!

 

[bsb]

I did enjoy the 777 (I feel as if this is an incredibly naive response). As for Airlines; on the purely sentimental factor that they have QANTAS still holds my heart, evenings spent sitting on the hood of the car by the airport watching planes taxi and take off are solidified in the red roo.

well be confident in your response and they're good choices

I was obsessed with the L1011 at your age, but never got to fly one. I was into Air NZ, loved the colour of the livery and Pan Am, because it flew everywhere and seemed exotic. Loved flying on their 747SP

 

[Mattg]

hey Mattg

this is very much along the lines of what I would like to do but quite frankly it seems very far fetched for me at this point, any tips for me as a minor would be really appreciated

I would certainly be able to give you a few pointers. By the time I was your age, I had been working for several years and was well on my way to saving up for a post-high school trip around the world. I'd basically decided when I was about 14 that that was what I wanted and I worked hard to make the dream a reality. Indeed I managed to save up enough and a month after graduating I took off for a 4 month trip across Asia, Europe and North & South America. The trip was incredible - in four months I made a heap of new friends and got to experience some amazing new countries and cultures. I learnt a lot too, including picking up bits and pieces of quite a few languages. Most importantly every single day was fun and an adventure. (Well, maybe except for getting food poisoning a couple of times, but I try not to dwell on that. )

I enjoyed the first trip so much that I decided to do it again, the next time going for twice as long and living/working in Germany for more than half a year along the way. Australia has partnerships with quite a few countries that allow young people (aged 18-30) to "work and travel". Germany is one of those countries; I believe others include the UK, Japan, New Zealand, Chile and the Netherlands - I'm sure there are others too.

I have absolutely no regrets and I would encourage you do some travelling too. I guess the main piece of advice I would give you is that your dreams can become reality if you set your mind to it and are prepared to work hard.

In terms of frequent flyer points, I started out collecting Qantas points about 5 years ago. Originally I didn't know what I was going to do with them exactly. After the first RTW trip (where I flew pretty much exclusively on Qantas and oneworld, accumulating a decent amount of Qantas points) I had enough points to effectively pay for my second trip. So for my first QF award flight redemption, I blew 140,000 points to fly around the world again on a oneworld award. It was worth every point. Obviously you won't have 140,000 points to blow straight away, but there are definitely benefits to collecting frequent flyer points. A domestic flight can be had for as little as 8,000 Qantas points.

If you want to get into the frequent flyer point game, then you've definitely come to the right place. And I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

 

[JohnM]

I would certainly be able to give you a few pointers. By the time I was your age, I had been working for several years and was well on my way to saving up for a post-high school trip around the world. I'd basically decided when I was about 14 that that was what I wanted and I worked hard to make the dream a reality. Indeed I managed to save up enough and a month after graduating I took off for a 4 month trip across Asia, Europe and North & South America. The trip was incredible - in four months I made a heap of new friends and got to experience some amazing new countries and cultures. I learnt a lot too, including picking up bits and pieces of quite a few languages. Most importantly every single day was fun and an adventure. (Well, maybe except for getting food poisoning a couple of times, but I try not to dwell on that. )

I enjoyed the first trip so much that I decided to do it again, the next time going for twice as long and living/working in Germany for more than half a year along the way. Australia has partnerships with quite a few countries that allow young people (aged 18-30) to "work and travel". Germany is one of those countries; I believe others include the UK, Japan, New Zealand, Chile and the Netherlands - I'm sure there are others too.

I have absolutely no regrets and I would encourage you do some travelling too. I guess the main piece of advice I would give you is that your dreams can become reality if you set your mind to it and are prepared to work hard.

In terms of frequent flyer points, I started out collecting Qantas points about 5 years ago. Originally I didn't know what I was going to do with them exactly. After the first RTW trip (where I flew pretty much exclusively on Qantas and oneworld, accumulating a decent amount of Qantas points) I had enough points to effectively pay for my second trip. So for my first QF award flight redemption, I blew 140,000 points to fly around the world again on a oneworld award. It was worth every point. Obviously you won't have 140,000 points to blow straight away, but there are definitely benefits to collecting frequent flyer points. A domestic flight can be had for as little as 8,000 Qantas points.

If you want to get into the frequent flyer point game, then you've definitely come to the right place. And I would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

The only thing that Mattg failed to mention is that he gets along very well with elderly people - aka moi :shock: - especially over grosse pork knuckle and even grosse biers :mrgreen:.

 

[Flying Fox]

Welcome.

Only 16; good luck to you as I wish I had started collecting lifetime SCs and points at such a great age!

As a responsible parented, I stated my twins at 6mths old!

 

[Mattg]

One more thing.. you mention that you haven't joined any frequent flyer programs yet. When you sign up for Qantas, do it through the Woolworths Everyday Rewards program so that you don't have to pay the $89.50 joining fee.

 

[Hvr]

Welcome to AFF wil and now you're here there's a way.

 

[BettyB]

Welcome Wil, I'm not a lot older and I know that I have a lot to learn here.

 

[Cube]

Welcome Wil. Great to see a young person getting onto the game nice and early.
If you haven't already got one, you could apply for a QANTAS Cash Card (it is a debit card that is on the back of your QFF card, so you are OK to have one at 16 yo and you are only spending your own money) and if you are not a QFF yet you can join without having to pay the $89.50 joining fee. See here, https://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/do/dyns/joinffp?code=QANTASCASHJOIN

The Q Cash Card will earn you 1 point per $2.00 that you spend in Australia which is as good as most of the bank Visa/MCard credit cards. I hope this info is useful to you.

 

[wil]

One more thing.. you mention that you haven't joined any frequent flyer programs yet. When you sign up for Qantas, do it through the Woolworths Everyday Rewards program so that you don't have to pay the $89.50 joining fee.

Thanks so much! I was hesitant about opening one with QANTAS for that reason. I am now set up and so it begins!

 

[Steady]

If you haven't already sign up to Velocity as well. If you are still at home maybe your parents fill up at BP and your card can be swiped getting you some more points

 

[Danger]

Wil, given your age, you might be particularly interest in the blog One Mile at a Time. It is run by one of the most successful points bloggers out there, Ben Schlappig (or Lucky as he is commonly known), who actually started in the game around the same age as you.

 

[puppysparkes]

Thanks so much! I was hesitant about opening one with QANTAS for that reason. I am now set up and so it begins!

Hey Wil, welcome! It looks like qantas have waived their usual joining fee for their program.

https://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/do/dyns/joinffp?code=FAMILYFREE

 

[CaviAck]

I'm a complete and utter newbie to the concept of working the frequent flyer system, however already love the concept. I am only sixteen so I am working through my parents mostly but ultimately I aim for a great family holiday by the end of next year. My love of planes, airports, and all things aviation has been there for as long as I can remember and one day I hope to Jet-Set across the globe just for the love of being in the air.

Oh and I'm from Sydney

Hello and welcome.

Ah working through your parents, I know the concept well. Soon you'll be finding cheap deals that send you halfway around the world only to have your parents say no because they think you're made that you're taking the flights just because it was cheap and you can hahaha, you'll know you're a true addict when that occurs every other week.

 

[Radio8tiv]

Hi Wil and welcome, you can earn points without spending anything,
look into getting the Qantas search toolbar on your computer and you can earn
1 point per search upto 150 points per month, also start saving for your holiday and open
a savings account at Qantas credit union and you will receive points for just having money in there,
and they give a competitive interest rate, I just got my daughter into this too.

 

[CaviAck]

Hi Wil and welcome, you can earn points without spending anything,
look into getting the Qantas search toolbar on your computer and you can earn
1 point per search upto 150 points per month, also start saving for your holiday and open
a savings account at Qantas credit union and you will receive points for just having money in there,
and they give a competitive interest rate, I just got my daughter into this too.

I wouldn't say their interest rate is competitive... 2%pa whereas I'm getting 3.06% with UBank, the 400 points per whole lots of $1000 isnt worth 1.06%.

 

[Radio8tiv]

I wouldn't say their interest rate is competitive... 2%pa whereas I'm getting 3.06% with UBank, the 400 points per whole lots of $1000 isnt worth 1.06%.

Ubank is actually 2.31% and they offer a bonus 1.06% with their ultra account so a total of 3.37%
its a great savings account, but I was just pointing out that points can be received from bank accounts
as another income stream for someone after points
i used my daughter as an example as she only had her money in one of the big four bank accounts offering very little.

 

[Danger]

Hi Wil and welcome, you can earn points without spending anything,
look into getting the Qantas search toolbar on your computer and you can earn
1 point per search upto 150 points per month, also start saving for your holiday and open
a savings account at Qantas credit union and you will receive points for just having money in there,
and they give a competitive interest rate, I just got my daughter into this too.

Be careful on that one. I'm not sure I'd want Qantas to know what I was searching the internet for at 16!

 

[wil]

Wil, given your age, you might be particularly interest in the blog One Mile at a Time. It is run by one of the most successful points bloggers out there, Ben Schlappig (or Lucky as he is commonly known), who actually started in the game around the same age as you.

I actually stumbled across this hobby because of a brilliant article in this months edition of The Rolling Stones Magazine, after finishing it I was excited beyond all. It's a great article and you can check it out here

 

[wil]

Hello and welcome.

Ah working through your parents, I know the concept well. Soon you'll be finding cheap deals that send you halfway around the world only to have your parents say no because they think you're made that you're taking the flights just because it was cheap and you can hahaha, you'll know you're a true addict when that occurs every other week.

Now I'm afraid that this is where I really sound like the newbie I am, what other reasons are there that I would be taking flights besides that they are cheap? (And obviously for the love of flying)