Hi from Sydney :)

[Koalamanx]

Hey guys,

I have been collecting QF points for a bit. Also some other airlines, but those expire in Nov 2023.
Looking to fly business with my Fiance sometime between May - Aug in 2024.

Any idea where I could post a thread asking for help on booking and when to book etc to get business class or better. Newbie here.
Pleasure to be part of this forum.

Cheers

 

[craven morehead]

Hey guys,

I have been collecting QF points for a bit. Also some other airlines, but those expire in Nov 2023.
Looking to fly business with my Fiance sometime between May - Aug in 2024.

Any idea where I could post a thread asking for help on booking and when to book etc to get business class or better. Newbie here.
Pleasure to be part of this forum.

Cheers

Welcome to the AFF forum,

It might help if you advise where you want to fly from and where to in Business Class (J) and whether you have status with any airline FF program.

 

[Koalamanx]

Welcome to the AFF forum,

It might help if you advise where you want to fly from and where to in Business Class (J) and whether you have status with any airline FF program.

Oh of course! Sorry, still half asleep.

We want to fly from Sydney to Hamburg return anytime between May to August 2024 for roughly 4 weeks. Business or better.

I have no QF status, just bronze with about 500k points atm and Asia Airmiles about 85k, these expire in Nov 2023 unless I do something.

 

[Human]

Welcome to AFF!

I write this as someone who, not too long ago, was a newbie myself and who found this site huge and intimidating. It's absolutely true that all the information you need is here, but it's squirrelled away in forums, threads, posts, articles and generally hard-to-find places. Your best bet really is to ask directly for help, as you have done, as there will be plenty of people here who will be willing and able to help you.

I may be shouted down for saying this (I'm still too inexperienced on this site to know what people will think of what I'm about to write) but if you want to do your own research and grow your own knowledge, you should also be aware of the Point Hacks website where (in my humble opinion) the information you need is a little more accessible to a newbie. Point Hacks owns AFF. AFF absolutely blows PH out of the water in terms of the information available. It's just that PH is a little more user-friendly. That's what I found, anyway.

 

[Koalamanx]

Thank you so much, you pretty much hit the nail on the spot on how I am feeling. ;-)
I will keep reading and trying to educate myself ongoing. PH is a great page.

 

[craven morehead]

Thank you so much, you pretty much hit the nail on the spot on how I am feeling. ;-)
I will keep reading and trying to educate myself ongoing. PH is a great page.

And owned by the same company as AFF

 

[Dr Ralph]

Welcome to AFF.

 

[SYD]

Oh of course! Sorry, still half asleep.

We want to fly from Sydney to Hamburg return anytime between May to August 2024 for roughly 4 weeks. Business or better.

I have no QF status, just bronze with about 500k points atm and Asia Airmiles about 85k, these expire in Nov 2023 unless I do something.

Are you hoping to do it all on points or a combo of points and cash? The later opens up a bunch of strategies to both burn points but also earn some new points along the way taking advantage of really cheap biz fares to Europe from Asia and other places (and avoid what many refer to the "Australia Tax").

If you're hoping to just use points in theory you ought to be able to get 2x biz there an back (or pretty close).

The window for redeeming for flights in the May-August period will start to open in a couple of months - so in theory, plenty of time to use the Asia airmiles. Although, that is straddling the peak travel season. Noting what's happening this year and QF reward availability, I would be thinking to bring those 4 wks to the earlier period within the May thu July period.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Welcome aboard

We want to fly from Sydney to Hamburg return anytime between May to August 2024 for roughly 4 weeks. Business or better.
I have no QF status, just bronze with about 500k points atm and Asia Airmiles about 85k, these expire in Nov 2023 unless I do something.

Just try for anything in central EU and a train to Hamburg.

A map from the Great Circle Mapper

A map from the Great Circle Mapper

www.gcmap.com

HAM may restrict your options (or not as BA, AY, EK & AF fly into the airport)

Hamburg Airport - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You will be astounded by carrier surcharge (=airline profit)

 

[Koalamanx]

Thanks for your thorough reply @SYD . I am mostly hoping to use points, however am open to spending a few hundred on top if absolutely necessary or of there is some mad deal that would let us fly First class.

My issue is that travel will be sometime between May and August 2024 - I have no idea how or where to start looking to utilise my QF points and or what to do with my Asia Miles that expire not next year when I want to travel, but this year in Nov 2023.

Post automatically merged: Jan 18, 2023

Just try for anything in central EU and a train to Hamburg.

A map from the Great Circle Mapper

A map from the Great Circle Mapper

www.gcmap.com

HAM may restrict your options (or not as BA, AY, EK & AF fly into the airport)

Hamburg Airport - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

You will be astounded by carrier surcharge (=airline profit)

You're right. I am happy to fly into any other European major city as they are all roughly just 1hrs away from HAM and then, fly economy to HAM.

 

[SYD]

Thanks for your thorough reply @SYD . I am mostly hoping to use points, however am open to spending a few hundred on top if absolutely necessary or of there is some mad deal that would let us fly First class.

My issue is that travel will be sometime between May and August 2024 - I have no idea how or where to start looking to utilise my QF points and or what to do with my Asia Miles that expire not next year when I want to travel, but this year in Nov 2023.

Ah, but if you redeem the Asia miles this year for travel next year - you're ok (so long as those plans don't go pear shaped of course).

I'm not sure how far they'll go but it might get 2x to Asia and then onward flights with QF to Europe. Or they ought to be easily able to book some intra Europe flights.

Failing that, just book a domestic QF flight or NZ or something? It would be a shame to lose that many.

Anyway, you still have a few months, but the sooner you can firm up that 4 wk window - but be prepared to have some flexibility to fly slightly earlier or later - the more likely to snag the flights you want or work the best.

 

[drron]

Welcome to AFF @Koalamanx . Yes a lot of info here but search function is OK. just don't use popular words such as qantas. Way too many answers.
To find out when you start searching go to your points hack page and search -when award seats are released

 

[Koalamanx]

Welcome to AFF @Koalamanx . Yes a lot of info here but search function is OK. just don't use popular words such as qantas. Way too many answers.
To find out when you start searching go to your points hack page and search -when award seats are released

Thank you yes, definitely trying to educate myself here, appreciate the warm welcome

 

[Quickstatus]

Welcome @Koalamanx

flexibility in departure and arrival dates and departure/arrival airports is very important when playing the points lottery

Hamburg is close to a number of airports
AMS,CPH,FRA.....

Sometime departing from another Australian airport

Do you have points stashed in credit cards like Amex?

 

[Koalamanx]

Welcome @Koalamanx

flexibility in departure and arrival dates and departure/arrival airports is very important when playing the points lottery

Hamburg is close to a number of airports
AMS,CPH,FRA.....

Sometime departing from another Australian airport

Do you have points stashed in credit cards like Amex?

I did have points stashed and moved them prior to Covid from Amex over to Asia Miles they are sitting there and will expire on 31/08 this year 2023.

 

[Quickstatus]

moved them prior to Covid from Amex

The important thing to do is to not let the Asia Miles expire.
When did you transfer from Amex to AsiaMiles?

 

[Koalamanx]

The important thing to do is to not let the Asia Miles expire.
When did you transfer from Amex to AsiaMiles?

Not sure, I think around April 2020.

 

[Quickstatus]

April 2020.

If I recall correctly (IIRC) any points transferred since Jan 2020 can be preserved/kept alive so long as you transfer some points over from Amex once every 18months or so.
Others can confirm.