My Personal Valuation of Qantas FF and Velocity Points

[knasty]

I also generally value QFF ~.01 and Vff ~.015. On Friday made a purchase from the qantas store for a retail product (something I said I'd never do - no not a toaster!) because it was half price during the.current sale and the value worked out approx. 008. It sounds poor value but given I have miles excess to requirements for the near future I decided to take a hit to QFF vs my bank account.

 

[burmans]

I'm confused. You buy McDonalds Cheese Burgers In one of the most exciting food destinations in the world?!!

+1 on that....

 

[Renato1]

Thanks, I hadn't though about Cathay. They were excellent last time I flew with them, and Hong Kong is great (except that cheeseburgers in McDonald's are made of pork).

I'm confused. You buy McDonalds Cheese Burgers In one of the most exciting food destinations in the world?!!

Don't you ever get a bit peckish when walking around just after a plane flight?
At least the French fries were the same as back home.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[ozbeachbabe]

One way award flights can be useful if you only need to fly one way eg SYD/SIN and cruising back and a commercial airfare was more than half the return fare which they often are, particularly on full service airlines vs the LCC fares that are available on a way way basis.

For legacy carriers, although they may display the forward and return fare components separately, being able to pay the lowest fare is often on the proviso that you book and pay for the forward and return sectors at the same time.

Another instance where a one way award ticket may come in handy is if you travel quite a bit to a particular city eg SIN and you want to 'nest' fares to capitalise on the fact a SIN/SYD/SIN fare is cheaper than a SYD/SIN/SYD.

In that case you could do an award ticket SYD/SIN then purchase the round trip ticket ex SIN on the local (SIN) website of the airline concerned whereby the forward flight of that ticket gets you back to Aust and the 'return' flight SYD/SIN becomes your outbound leg of your next trip so you always have a SYD/SIN coupon in the bank.

This will only work if you know what date you'll be travelling SYD/SIN as the fees for any date changes may well negate any savings made from nesting the tickets.

 

[JohnK]

I'm confused. You buy McDonalds Cheese Burgers In one of the most exciting food destinations in the world?!!

Exciting to who?

I am glad I found lamb cutlets in the BKK Emirates lounge last week on the way home. I had just about had enough of the smell and the occasional taste of Thai street food. My fiancee loves it. I can't stand it.

 

[Deleted member]

Don't you ever get a bit peckish when walking around just after a plane flight?
At least the French fries were the same as back home.
Cheers,
Renato

No, never "That" hungry, I would rather some street food from Wanchai

 

[Deleted member]

Exciting to who?

I am glad I found lamb cutlets in the BKK Emirates lounge last week on the way home. I had just about had enough of the smell and the occasional taste of Thai street food. My fiancee loves it. I can't stand it.

Sorry, I meant the Hong Kong in China not Thailand

and I agree about the Lamb cutlets !

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Exciting to who?

I am glad I found lamb cutlets in the BKK Emirates lounge last week on the way home. I had just about had enough of the smell and the occasional taste of Thai street food. My fiancee loves it. I can't stand it.

I've got a funny feeling you can expect to be eating a lot more of Thai food in the years to come JohnK.

 

[Renato1]

I also generally value QFF ~.01 and Vff ~.015. On Friday made a purchase from the qantas store for a retail product (something I said I'd never do - no not a toaster!) because it was half price during the.current sale and the value worked out approx. 008. It sounds poor value but given I have miles excess to requirements for the near future I decided to take a hit to QFF vs my bank account.

Thanks, interesting to see that our personal factors have led to very similar valuations.

As for buying stuff - well, as you say there may be something useful there on sale which may be worth a try, and be a serendipitous purchase. My wife once got me to buy her a Bosch vacuum cleaner which was discounted at the CBA Awards site, and it turned out to be the best vacuum cleaner she's ever had - all her Dysons are now hardly used.
Regards,
Renato

 

[Renato1]

One way award flights can be useful if you only need to fly one way eg SYD/SIN and cruising back and a commercial airfare was more than half the return fare which they often are, particularly on full service airlines vs the LCC fares that are available on a way way basis.

For legacy carriers, although they may display the forward and return fare components separately, being able to pay the lowest fare is often on the proviso that you book and pay for the forward and return sectors at the same time.

Another instance where a one way award ticket may come in handy is if you travel quite a bit to a particular city eg SIN and you want to 'nest' fares to capitalise on the fact a SIN/SYD/SIN fare is cheaper than a SYD/SIN/SYD.

In that case you could do an award ticket SYD/SIN then purchase the round trip ticket ex SIN on the local (SIN) website of the airline concerned whereby the forward flight of that ticket gets you back to Aust and the 'return' flight SYD/SIN becomes your outbound leg of your next trip so you always have a SYD/SIN coupon in the bank.

This will only work if you know what date you'll be travelling SYD/SIN as the fees for any date changes may well negate any savings made from nesting the tickets.

That hadn't occurred to me, but I suspect it may be useful to me in future, thanks.

I'm not a big fan of Singapore like my brother is - but I may indeed be going back there more frequently. Before landing there two years ago, I had been going to physiotherapists and a podiatrist for 8 months - because I couldn't walk much more than 200m due to a back issue and a tendon which I had damaged. I landed in Singapore and was instantly cured. I walked all over the place and all around the night zoo, mystified as to why I was cured.
Regards,
Renato

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Don't you ever get a bit peckish when walking around just after a plane flight?
At least the French fries were the same as back home.
Cheers,
Renato

Maccas Hong Kong actually have two different products... they have a ham'n'cheese burger, and regular hamburgers/cheeseburgers (100% beef). I don't know how often they have the ham'n'cheese on the menu, but the regular hamburger has been there for as long as I can remember (I was living there in 2008).

However, I'm with you. I love macdonalds, it's great for breakfast in HK and late night/early morning snacks!

 

[Renato1]

No, never "That" hungry, I would rather some street food from Wanchai

But I did buy the best beef and vegetable dish in our hotel that I've ever eaten - the menu said it contained "secret ingredients". I never figured out what was in the dish, but when it came time to eat the next night, I said to my wife that I was having the secret ingredients again.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[ozbeachbabe]

The greatest value was in upgrading with Qantas from economy to business but the rules changes and that became too hard.

What is it that you find "too hard"?

If anything it's easier as more seats are available for points upgrades rather than being rationed.

Then there was the introduction of 'opting-in' for an upgrade at the airport on the day, so if your upgrade hasn't cleared ahead of time you get a second chance if there are J class no show pax when the flight closes for checkin.

At the time of booking when you're deciding on the fare to book, if you click on the rules if will state whether that particular fare is eligible for points upgrades or not.

Try SYD-BKK.

Are you just talking about SYD/BKK being hard to get in J from the outset as a Classic Award or as an Classic points upgrade where you find out the day prior or even at the airport if you 'opt-in'? Have you ever used your WP status to request a "U" class seat be released for a Classic award? How much success did you have with upgrades prior to the changes?

My understanding of davdent's post was that they found it was easier to do a points upgrade prior to the recent changes than it is currently yet I find the opposite to be the case.

 

[Renato1]

Maccas Hong Kong actually have two different products... they have a ham'n'cheese burger, and regular hamburgers/cheeseburgers (100% beef). I don't know how often they have the ham'n'cheese on the menu, but the regular hamburger has been there for as long as I can remember (I was living there in 2008).

However, I'm with you. I love macdonalds, it's great for breakfast in HK and late night/early morning snacks!

This was back in 2009, I just walked down Nathan Road, saw the McDonalds and wandered in. There was nothing on the board or on the menu sheet to indicate there were two types of Cheeseburger - I looked hard for such information after my first couple of bites.

McDonald's is best in London where it is the prime place for getting a decent meaty meal at reasonable cost - particularly from their "healthy" menu. The rolls were as meaty as Subway is over here. I was getting as much meat for 5 pounds at McDonalds, as I was getting in roast beef meals in pubs for 35 to 40 pounds.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[JohnK]

Sorry, I meant the Hong Kong in China not Thailand

and I agree about the Lamb cutlets !

LOL. I know someone who went to the Hong Kong Sevens for a week and ate loaves of sliced bread and McDonalds only.

I've got a funny feeling you can expect to be eating a lot more of Thai food in the years to come JohnK.

Believe it or not she actually loves my cooking. And she loves mums cooking even more. She didn't think too much of lamb when she first got here but she loves it now.

And last week in the village I cooked Honey prawns JohnK style and the Thais loved it. And while we were at it we had battered squid as there was leftover batter. Shame I can't remember too much after that.

Plan to do it all again next trip in September and stay away from that Thai food. Trying to find decent lamb that isn't frozen is not that easy. You need to know where to look.

 

[cove]

QF points tend to save me about 5 cents per point on domestic J bookings so that is their worth to me.

 

[Renato1]

QF points tend to save me about 5 cents per point on domestic J bookings so that is their worth to me.

Do you travel at peak period?
Regards,
Renato

 

[Deleted member]

LOL. I know someone who went to the Hong Kong Sevens for a week and ate loaves of sliced bread and McDonalds only.

I went to the HK sevens about 10 years ago with the family. A friend recommended we go to "Fat Angelo's " for dinner.
I exclaimed " Tony, I'm going to Hong Kong! Why would I want to dine Italian?" HK was buzzing with all of the international rugby players and fans. The Kids were tired of Chinese food do one night we relented and booked a table at the Kowloon Restaurant. What an amazing night. Great food HUGE serves and full of rugby players and fans.
On another note, I have always promised myself a visit to the "Orange Tree " restaurant , but never made it. I wonder if it's still even there?

 

[cove]

Perth to Sydney,Brisbane or Melbourne on QF take 36,000 Points each wayplus some cash to go a Classic J redemption Renato so it has been easy to pick up 5 cents a point. I have my lovely red Virgin loyalty card if there is no availability on QF.
When there is a major event like an AFL grand final you have to plan almost a year ahead or fly to an adjacent city then fly to the real destination on a paid for ticket.
Qantas is not relevant for flights out of Perth for international and you basically have to use one of their "partners" so we don't bother doing that.
My two sons travel to sport events regularly and tend to use AA miles or my Virgin points or sometimes their QF points. I guess that means I don't always get 5 cents for every point used.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Perth to Sydney,Brisbane or Melbourne on QF take 36,000 Points each wayplus some cash to go a Classic J redemption Renato so it has been easy to pick up 5 cents a point. I have my lovely red Virgin loyalty card if there is no availability on QF.

When there is a major event like an AFL grand final you have to plan almost a year ahead or fly to an adjacent city then fly to the real destination on a paid for ticket.

Isn't Mrs Cove P1? Have you ever called up QF and asked for a "U" class seat to be released?