How did you become a Qantas Frequent Flyer

[Mardi]

Is it worrying that this was my favourite line? Someone who has more cats than us! (We have six ) And yes, I hear you in the house-sitting - we live out away from anyone we know, so for a few days the cats are fine by themselves, maybe five days at most (in the temperate months), but longer than that just isn't really viable without someone checking on them.

The dog is the biggest problem - cats are pretty self sufficient and could probably survive with someone coming in each day to feed, water and check their litter trays. But the dog needs company and a routine and she is an anxious doggie so gets too stressed in kennel environment.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Dad earns a few hundred thousand every year through work, and I occasionally use his points to fly, so in the end I come out ahead anyway.

As if to illustrate my point, I just used 36k of Dad's points to book a classic award return to SYD

Now before the establishment start going on about a YASA, I know, I know...but this is only a tentative booking for the possible Sydney vs West Coast game in Sydney on Friday the 21st. Classic award is the best way to get away with cancellation - only lose 5,000 points (which Dad treats as a more than acceptable risk considering how expensive flights get during finals time). On top of this my QFF year ends on 30 September and I have qualified PS (for the first time!) with 385sc, so no chance to get to SG.

 

[harvyk]

There was two things for me,

A few years back QF lost my bags on a BNE-xMEL-ADL. Now I didn't really mind as it simply meant that QF would hold my bags for me in ADL (rather than me finding a locker for the day) as I was flying ADL-CBR that evening, but I still made a bit of a fuss and asked that I be given entry into the QP as compensation, which they did. That night whilst flying back to CBR I decided I'd join QP before I flew again (which I did).

My decision was backed up by the fact that in the previous year, I was doing much more flying, and I had realised that had I joined QFF at the start of the year, (and then flew QF only, as there was some DJ and AirNZ in there which would have meant I'd have just missed out) I would have made PS.

At the time I was not overly concerned with points, for me it was more that I wanted to use the QP before flying, and that by default gave me QFF as well.
Of course my outlook on points changed about the same time I received my first J upgrade, (it was an ADL-CBR flight funnily enough) I still remember the check in agent handing me my boarding pass and saying "I see your flying at the comfortable end this evening Mr Harvyk" Of course, that was a massive mistake as I now knew what life flying at the pointy end was like, and I wanted more, more MORE!!!

 

[samh004]

I had previously been flying to Hong Kong often and tried a few programs, but was a Marco Polo Club Silver, which gave me lounge access on Cathay Pacific, but not on Qantas. I was however flying less to Hong Kong and more on Qantas, and wanted lounge access. A lit searching found me this forum and their generous corporate club scheme, so I signed up, and got my membership.

I'd worked out how much I needed to drink in the lounge to make the membership worthwhile, so had to start flying more than I was. I didn't get Silver the first time I had a shot at it, as the consensus was that it wasn't worthwhile on the board. However in the space of about a year I aimed for Silver, was offered double status credits and hit Gold, followed by Platinum.

Double status credits this year has put me on the edge of my requal, with plenty of time to spare. I was joking about a run to P1 earlier this year, but decided to spend less instead!

JASA's have been a big help in my continuing need to collect SC.

This year I'm 3 airports away from flying to every QantasLink port in QLD...

 

[tocal]

JASA's have been a big help in my continuing need to collect SC.

Forgive my obsequiousness, but just to clarify how a JASA works - you get Qantas Frequent Flyer "Any Seat Award" in Business class which costs you points (not cash), but also gives you points and SCs for buying it?

 

[Princess Fiona]

Forgive my obsequiousness, but just to clarify how a JASA works - you get Qantas Frequent Flyer "Any Seat Award" in Business class which costs you points (not cash), but also gives you points and SCs for buying it?

Yes, can also use minimum points plus cash. The good value ones are where a classic award is available on the same flight.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Yes, can also use minimum points plus cash. The good value ones are where a classic award is available on the same flight.

and you can also hunt for bargains - some can be much lower points than others.

 

[ozmille]

For me it started when we moved to Australia 5 years ago, as it was our honeymoon we decided on J class (and have been doing that since as it is only marginally more expensive to do a BRU-SYD-BRU in J on QF then it is to do SYD-BRU-SYD in whY on QF) a couple of trips a year back to the family (13 so far) and some sporadic work travel have me reaching LTS next year and we are both WP

Try to keep the CC spend low as we both are not on high incomes... I did apply for one of the CCs last year, bought one DVD and cancelled the card, 16000 QF points or a JASA to MEL.

 

[cove]

My affliction started in the seventies with an American Express card. It just got worse over the years and the affliction has spread.
We may need to get medical help.

 

[Grooba]

Started a new job in 2006, involved heavy travel, QP membership was included.
6 months later hit WP. Crossed over LTG in June this year. Closing in on 1,000,000 BIS miles.
Luckily the better half can accompany me regularly on work trips!

 

[Kangol]

Started a new job in 2006, involved heavy travel, QP membership was included.
6 months later hit WP. Crossed over LTG in June this year. Closing in on 1,000,000 BIS miles.
Luckily the better half can accompany me regularly on work trips!

Have you decided to AAim for something else, now that you have LTG?

 

[Grooba]

All work trips booked in eligible classes are credited to an alternative progrAAm.
I've also just found the USDM thread... can't believe I've missed that one for so long.

 

[Ricardo]

I have been a QFF member since 1995 when my wife and I got married and did a few honeymoon trips to the US and Europe which netted us a number of points that we used to travel from NZ to Aust to visit my in-laws who moved from NZ to Aust just after we got married. I then switched between QFF and Air NZ depending on who was best for redemptions at that time as most of the trvel was to Aust from NZ. I also did some travel with a role I had in NZ during the late 1990's until 2002, I also had a Corp Amex (and private one) which helped with points that I sent to my QFF account to use for travel to various places.

 

[ozmille]

The dog is the biggest problem - cats are pretty self sufficient and could probably survive with someone coming in each day to feed, water and check their litter trays. But the dog needs company and a routine and she is an anxious doggie so gets too stressed in kennel environment.

The dog is a bit of a pain when travelling, so far we have been able to take him back to the breeder for every holiday we have taken, there he gets to spend time with lots of other Whippets. When we get back he sits in the back of the car ignoring us the whole way back to Sydney

 

[Walter_Plinge]

Only if they purchase Qantas Club membership.

Partly true. I'm a bronze member. I've just returned from Europe and used the lounges in Melbourne, HK, Frankfurt and Singapore. But I was flying business class. On points, all accumulated through credit cards used for business transactions.

 

[tocal]

Partly true. I'm a bronze member. I've just returned from Europe and used the lounges in Melbourne, HK, Frankfurt and Singapore. But I was flying business class. On points, all accumulated through credit cards used for business transactions.

Completely off topic, but as an aside, are you perhaps a Pratchett fan?

 

[Awesom Andy]

I became a member when the Woolworths Everyday Rewards thing started. It was like: ooh... free QFF... and that was before I even started flying.

A couple of years later, I moved to SIN for work, and then started flying a lot more. And for SIN-SYD non-stop flights, BA/QF were consistently the cheapest (in Y), and I dug out the QFF card. After that, I started to find out about the wonderful world of status...

 

[dajop]

We also don't have much interest in travelling to Asia, which I suppose is the cheapest international destination excepting NZ, so that also means any international flight we're looking at $3k plus (on a good day!) for the pair of us.

Just be warned that you can save and save your QFF points for that elusive international flight and you may end up paying $2k anyway in surcharges/taxes for the two of you PLUS all of your hard earned points!

Many of us here have the means (to travel ourselves) or the jobs (that travel a lot) or a business (that allows truckloads of points to be earnt through credit cards). I myself started with modest earning in Ansett's program due to personal travel coupled with credit cards and was able to accrue enough to travel to NZ and back (this was in 1999, when you needed less points and fares to NZ where still relatively expensive). In 2001, I switched jobs that meant I travelled a lot more, and switched largely to Qantas to earn, as they were our preferred carrier. 11 years on I am in a different country, still flying, but QF aren't really part of the equation so I have different programs to keep me happy now, and do have the means to travel more myself.

My main comment is just be careful not to be sucked into the hype you may get exposed to on AFF. Carefully consider your circumstances, and think about what you want to get out of a FF program. If you are outlaying considerable extra money to build up QF points and/or status you have to question it's worthwhile - with the fuel surcharges in place now internationally the real value in QF lies in doing business class redemptions - and they can be difficult to come by at times. You may be better saving the money to pay for tickets (I can see an extreme scenario where just $25 extra paid on SYD-MEL tickets to fly QF/accrue QF points could fund a business class ticket to Europe and back on a different carrier - vs an economy redemption using QFF points you could earn travelling between SYD and MEL).

Also QF are often not always going to be the best for credit card earning. I advised my parents a few years ago NOT to transfer their points to QF and to ensure they didn't lock themselves into a credit card that only gave QF points as an option. They have used their points now on other carriers - in business class - only for a little more than if they'd used QF points in economy - and at the time they were booking, QF didn't even have award seats available (other than via long ways round - I was trying to use my QF points for them without luck!).

Now the lounges .... sure they ease the burden of travel, but if you are not travelling that often, the burden isn't so bad. Sit in the public area of an airport 9 or 10 times a year, you will survive just fine (I say this as I travel a fair bit, and probably 1/3rd of the time I can't use a lounge for one reason or another). Travel 40 or 50 times a year, you will survive as well, but you will sure notice the difference having lounge access. Horses for courses, as the saying goes.

Anyway, good luck, plenty of stuff to learn from here!

 

[AVC]

We (Mrs VC and I) used to be very frequent (self funded) travelers until little Miss VC came along 5 years ago. Now we are back into it with a vengeance. Poverty Bronze right now, and little hope of achieving Silver before our anniversary date.

Next year though we should hit silver with ease.

Fortunately we both work in management positions and have only one child. So our means are there.

Ah yes, the dog. we have one stupid cat, and a Dalmatian. He's a big sook and they don't deal well with kennels, so we have to arrange a house sitter and also pay the pros to walk him every day. Our last trip to the US saw nearly a thousand bucks just to take care of the pets. Sheesh.

Not been here that long but I've learned much. And since our last trip over to the US in Y+, my wife insists that we're "never flying economy again". So I need as much points leverage as I can get.

 

[tocal]

My main comment is just be careful not to be sucked into the hype you may get exposed to on AFF. Carefully consider your circumstances, and think about what you want to get out of a FF program. If you are outlaying considerable extra money to build up QF points and/or status you have to question it's worthwhile - with the fuel surcharges in place now internationally the real value in QF lies in doing business class redemptions - and they can be difficult to come by at times. You may be better saving the money to pay for tickets (I can see an extreme scenario where just $25 extra paid on SYD-MEL tickets to fly QF/accrue QF points could fund a business class ticket to Europe and back on a different carrier - vs an economy redemption using QFF points you could earn travelling between SYD and MEL).

No, my husband is level-headed enough not to let me go spending *extra* money to get points - it's just a matter of adjusting how we do things so we get points for what we already do (having said that, I showed him Joshua's and sutho58's stories and he said he'd happily go scouting around the state for ways to get all the extra points with me, even though he's sick of me going on about points ). I don't yet understand how people find such good deals, like the (extreme) $25 case you spoke of, but our aim at the moment is to get a J OW RTW for each of us in a few years. It's something that we'd have trouble really sinking the money into at any period in time, but it's something we'd really like to do. Of course, it'll require lots of scouting for deals, because just being meticulous at the checkout isn't going to earn us 560,000 points, but if we manage to pull a sutho58 we'd have enough for one ticket at least, with the benefit that our cats are fed for a year (either that or we'd donate it).

From what I've seen, excepting international trips, I'm not too fussed about the lounges; I go to Hudson's for my coffee, healthy habits for a snack, and happily sit on the floor in the departure lounge until flight-time.

But definitely LOTS of stuff to learn here at AFF, and I'm trying to soak it all up!