Need help choosing which program to transfer points to, for someone moving to Australia soon!

[incdus]

Would love some help here. Apologies if this is not the right place but I really couldn't think of where else. Looking forward to learning from and sharing with this community over the next few years, as you will see from my post, I do love myself a good points game

Context - I am moving from Singapore to Sydney in less than 2 months. I've been collecting miles here for a few years, and I am trying to decide which of those miles would be most useful to me in Australia. I will need to close my credit card accounts so need to make these transfers soon, before leaving - which makes it tricky since I need to choose my programs before really living in Australia

I currently have ~830,000 miles and expect to get another ~120,000 miles in SUBs before I leave. 160,000 of these miles are already stuck in Avios, and 170,000 in Krisflyer. The possibilities of putting the remaining 600,000 points into possible programs are:

All 600,000 are eligible for Krisflyer and Asia Miles

480,000 are eligible for transfer to Avios

480,000 are eligible for Qantas

No option to transfer to velocity

Factors to consider:

1. I will not have status with any airline, and do have much work travel lined up so will never have (I believe this is bad for Qantas redemptions?)
2. I will look to redeem at least 1 round trip in J to Dubai every year to visit family (for a few years until they go back to the UK). This is 99k on Krisflyer, 80k Avios on Qatar. Apart from that, I'm not quite sure.

Questions to you guys:

Which programs in Australia are easiest to add miles to, and to redeem in business class. Is it worth it investing in Qantas points right now and building on it? Will I be able to get any redemptions without status? Or should I stay far away for now, and start from scratch in Sydney?

Avios redemptions on Qatar Airways from Sydney seem hopeless as well, everything sells out the day of release. Is it always so dire? Qatar does have a tie up and good redemptions with both Qantas and Velocity for domestic flights, that's hopefully useful for the 160k miles I already have stuck in there. Which means maybe I don't need Qantas points for a while? What about Asia Miles, any thoughts?

Or is Krisflyer basically my best (or only) option? The points there do expire in 3 (or 3.5 really) years, so I feel wary about putting almost 800,000 points there. Though I can actually foreseeably use up these miles in 3-4 years by ensuring one round trip redemption every year. An option to convert those KF miles to Velocity at 1.5:1 in the end remains.

Is there any other factor I should consider, something I might be missing entirely?

Thanks in advance

 

[levelnine]

I'd personally transfer them to Asia Miles/Krisflyer/Avios as they are the hardest to earn in Australia.

KrisFlyer is going to have the best availability to Dubai if booking far in advance, so they'd be my pick.

 

[incdus]

I'd personally transfer them to Asia Miles/Krisflyer/Avios as they are the hardest to earn in Australia.

KrisFlyer is going to have the best availability to Dubai if booking far in advance, so they'd be my pick.

Thanks! I hadn't really considered Asia Miles, let me spend some time to see if there's some good redemption options there

But yeah Krisflyer might just be the best option maybe, with some Avios perhaps

 

[levelnine]

Thanks! I hadn't really considered Asia Miles, let me spend some time to see if there's some good redemption options there

But yeah Krisflyer might just be the best option maybe, with some Avios perhaps

The main benefit of Asia Miles is expanded CX availability, so it really depends on if you would make use of that. If not, I probably wouldn't bother.

 

[RooFlyer]

My 2 cents worth:

Which programs in Australia are easiest to add miles to, and to redeem in business class. Is it worth it investing in Qantas points right now and building on it? Will I be able to get any redemptions without status? Or should I stay far away for now, and start from scratch in Sydney?

Both Qantas and Virgin points are very easy to earn, especially via credit card churning. Some cards (?HSBC?) allow SQ points accumulation.

I guess you mean international redemptions? The hardest bit is getting out of Australia. SQ Krisflyer is by far the best program to use for this. I transfer my Virgin points to Krisflyer and have always been able to find a Saver redemption ex ADL, SYD or MEL, with Silver status only.

Yes, status greatly assists, although Qantas has been doing some releases in bulk 'bursts, where its first in, best dressed. Also, they now have 'Classic Plus' rewards - more expensive, but also more abundant (but still not plentiful to popular destinations). Qantas only, not partners (like Emirates).

QF of course do have 'classic' redemptions available on Emirates - which will suit you going to Dubai, so definitely some points to go to Qantas Frequents Flyer; hopefully you can plan ahead for the once-a-year trip

Avios redemptions on Qatar Airways from Sydney seem hopeless as well, everything sells out the day of release. Is it always so dire? Qatar does have a tie up and good redemptions with both Qantas and Velocity for domestic flights, that's hopefully useful for the 160k miles I already have stuck in there. Which means maybe I don't need Qantas points for a while? What about Asia Miles, any thoughts?

Again, look to get to SIN and then use Avios from there or QFF on Emirates

Or is Krisflyer basically my best (or only) option? The points there do expire in 3 (or 3.5 really) years, so I feel wary about putting almost 800,000 points there. Though I can actually foreseeably use up these miles in 3-4 years by ensuring one round trip redemption every year. An option to convert those KF miles to Velocity at 1.5:1 in the end remains.

Krisflyer is a great option, but I wouldn't put all the eggs in that basket; warehouse some in Velocity now, if you can get them into Velocity now.

Also, I've never done it, but have you looked at transferring to a hotel program for warehousing? ?Marriott Bonvoy?? Others could advise here.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Welcome to AFF & Aussie

Would love some help here. Apologies if this is not the right place but I really couldn't think of where else. Looking forward to learning from and sharing with this community over the next few years, as you will see from my post, I do love myself a good points game

Context - I am moving from Singapore to Sydney in less than 2 months. I've been collecting miles here for a few years, and I am trying to decide which of those miles would be most useful to me in Australia. I will need to close my credit card accounts so need to make these transfers soon, before leaving - which makes it tricky since I need to choose my programs before really living in Australia

I currently have ~830,000 miles and expect to get another ~120,000 miles in SUBs before I leave. 160,000 of these miles are already stuck in Avios, and 170,000 in Krisflyer. The possibilities of putting the remaining 600,000 points into possible programs are:
All 600,000 are eligible for Krisflyer and Asia Miles
480,000 are eligible for transfer to Avios
480,000 are eligible for Qantas
No option to transfer to velocity

Factors to consider:

1. I will not have status with any airline, and do have much work travel lined up so will never have (I believe this is bad for Qantas redemptions?)
2. I will look to redeem at least 1 round trip in J to Dubai every year to visit family (for a few years until they go back to the UK). This is 99k on Krisflyer, 80k Avios on Qatar. Apart from that, I'm not quite sure.

Questions to you guys:
Which programs in Australia are easiest to add miles to, and to redeem in business class. Is it worth it investing in Qantas points right now and building on it? Will I be able to get any redemptions without status? Or should I stay far away for now, and start from scratch in Sydney?

Avios redemptions on Qatar Airways from Sydney seem hopeless as well, everything sells out the day of release. Is it always so dire? Qatar does have a tie up and good redemptions with both Qantas and Velocity for domestic flights, that's hopefully useful for the 160k miles I already have stuck in there. Which means maybe I don't need Qantas points for a while? What about Asia Miles, any thoughts?

Or is Krisflyer basically my best (or only) option? The points there do expire in 3 (or 3.5 really) years, so I feel wary about putting almost 800,000 points there. Though I can actually foreseeably use up these miles in 3-4 years by ensuring one round trip redemption every year. An option to convert those KF miles to Velocity at 1.5:1 in the end remains.

Is there any other factor I should consider, something I might be missing entirely?

Thanks in advance

Any reason why you cannot keep some or all your credit card accounts alive?
Have you made arrangements to open Au credit cards of the same brand?
Will take some time to get a (good) AU credit history~score

What will your flying profile and spending (cc) profile?
VA is a partner of SQ, QR Qatar, UA, EY and others
QF is a partner of EK, BAEC, CX Asia Miles, QR Qatar and others. But QF flights credited to QRPC is nil~poor. Better to credit to BAEC, then move the avios.
For a while suggest have SQ Krisflyer and QR PC as the base freq flyer programs. Look again in 12 months.

You have many points/avios/miles now. Do you use them? Or always on the edge of expiry.

For only a few years in AU, would not get too invested in AU credit cards and local ffp's.
However many people come to AU for "a few years", but are still here decades later.

 

[incdus]

The main benefit of Asia Miles is expanded CX availability, so it really depends on if you would make use of that. If not, I probably wouldn't bother.

Yeah good call. Honestly I haven't ever used Asia Miles for redemptions so will need to research a bit on availability. Might just be useful for some routes, though probably not for Dubai

 

[incdus]

My 2 cents worth:



Both Qantas and Virgin points are very easy to earn, especially via credit card churning. Some cards (?HSBC?) allow SQ points accumulation.

I guess you mean international redemptions? The hardest bit is getting out of Australia. SQ Krisflyer is by far the best program to use for this. I transfer my Virgin points to Krisflyer and have always been able to find a Saver redemption ex ADL, SYD or MEL, with Silver status only.

Yes, status greatly assists, although Qantas has been doing some releases in bulk 'bursts, where its first in, best dressed. Also, they now have 'Classic Plus' rewards - more expensive, but also more abundant (but still not plentiful to popular destinations). Qantas only, not partners (like Emirates).

QF of course do have 'classic' redemptions available on Emirates - which will suit you going to Dubai, so definitely some points to go to Qantas Frequents Flyer; hopefully you can plan ahead for the once-a-year trip



Again, look to get to SIN and then use Avios from there or QFF on Emirates



Krisflyer is a great option, but I wouldn't put all the eggs in that basket; warehouse some in Velocity now, if you can get them into Velocity now.

Also, I've never done it, but have you looked at transferring to a hotel program for warehousing? ?Marriott Bonvoy?? Others could advise here.

Thanks for taking the time!

None of my cards can transfer to Velocity, so that is a no go (nobody uses Velocity in Singapore). But I think I can change KF to Velocity (with a big hit) if the KF miles start expiring, so I'll probably end up doing that

Don't have access to Bonvoy either.

 

[incdus]

Welcome to AFF & Aussie

Any reason why you cannot keep some or all your credit card accounts alive?
Have you made arrangements to open Au credit cards of the same brand?
Will take some time to get a (good) AU credit history~score

What will your flying profile and spending (cc) profile?
VA is a partner of SQ, QR Qatar, UA, EY and others
QF is a partner of EK, BAEC, CX Asia Miles, QR Qatar and others. But QF flights credited to QRPC is nil~poor. Better to credit to BAEC, then move the avios.
For a while suggest have SQ Krisflyer and QR PC as the base freq flyer programs. Look again in 12 months.

You have many points/avios/miles now. Do you use them? Or always on the edge of expiry.

For only a few years in AU, would not get too invested in AU credit cards and local ffp's.
However many people come to AU for "a few years", but are still here decades later.

I'm leaving the country permanently, so I think I will need to shut the accounts down at some point - though maybe you're right, let me see if I can the accounts going for a while. Didn't think about that possibility!

As for your question, yes I absolutely use them all, I've burned at least 500k miles in the last couple of years visiting Dubai and Europe a couple of times each, and redeeming tickets for my mum as well. But I don't expect to travel so much in the future, this was a lot of post-Covid revenge travel. Tbh it's really easy to earn miles in Singapore, I'll miss it all. Seems way harder in Australia apart from sign-up bonuses. Earning 4 miles per dollar spent here in SG is quite easy to achieve.

 

[I love to travel]

I would use KF. Far too hard to get QF out of Australia.

 

[WilsonM]

My 2 cents: I'd personally stay open to a mix of KF and Avios, as you can always transfer Avios around their network to redeem for QF via BA, if you need domestic travel, or if you want to fly to the Middle East you can always use QR via DOH. The main disadvantage of KF, of which you're already aware, is the punitive 3-year hard expiry - doing some mental maths on whether you can spend all the miles is probably a good idea.

Asia Miles does have some extremely attractive redemption rates and better transfer ratios than KF for Australian-based flexibile currencies such as AMEX, as well as decent availability on its own metal. But mile-for-mile, KF is better for specifically Dubai (at least at saver level - 99,000 KF miles vs 110,000 Asia Miles).

 

[incdus]

My 2 cents: I'd personally stay open to a mix of KF and Avios, as you can always transfer Avios around their network to redeem for QF via BA, if you need domestic travel, or if you want to fly to the Middle East you can always use QR via DOH. The main disadvantage of KF, of which you're already aware, is the punitive 3-year hard expiry - doing some mental maths on whether you can spend all the miles is probably a good idea.

Asia Miles does have some extremely attractive redemption rates and better transfer ratios than KF for Australian-based flexibile currencies such as AMEX, as well as decent availability on its own metal. But mile-for-mile, KF is better for specifically Dubai (at least at saver level - 99,000 KF miles vs 110,000 Asia Miles).

Yeah agreed, I think this might be the way. Thanks!

 

[Seat0B]

QF of course do have 'classic' redemptions available on Emirates - which will suit you going to Dubai, so definitely some points to go to Qantas Frequents Flyer; hopefully you can plan ahead for the once-a-year trip

Just my 2c worth - we try to get J classic rewards on QF (on EK metal) to DXB once a year to see our son who lives there. I'm a Platinum, and have zillions of points and we can never get award J seats to DXB no matter how I try. So I'm not sure how you would go with that. There are some Y rewards from time to time.

I just searched for 2 x J SYD DXB departing 1 May 25 and returning 6 July 25 (so as far out as possible) and there are no seats.

Edit: this search was for just 1 J seat
30 April 25- 3 July 25 (it said my other dates were not available) - computer says no! Same screen.

 

[Seat0B]

I just did a "flexible with dates" search and there are a few Y awards in May 25 but none in June or July - and that is even after I searched for Business - all that is there is Y .

 

[encryptededdy]

QF of course do have 'classic' redemptions available on Emirates - which will suit you going to Dubai, so definitely some points to go to Qantas Frequents Flyer; hopefully you can plan ahead for the once-a-year trip

Do beware of the surcharges & fees when redeeming EK, even if they still are the easiest option to DXB

 

[Neil64]

Would love some help here. Apologies if this is not the right place but I really couldn't think of where else. Looking forward to learning from and sharing with this community over the next few years, as you will see from my post, I do love myself a good points game

Context - I am moving from Singapore to Sydney in less than 2 months. I've been collecting miles here for a few years, and I am trying to decide which of those miles would be most useful to me in Australia. I will need to close my credit card accounts so need to make these transfers soon, before leaving - which makes it tricky since I need to choose my programs before really living in Australia

I currently have ~830,000 miles and expect to get another ~120,000 miles in SUBs before I leave. 160,000 of these miles are already stuck in Avios, and 170,000 in Krisflyer. The possibilities of putting the remaining 600,000 points into possible programs are:

All 600,000 are eligible for Krisflyer and Asia Miles

480,000 are eligible for transfer to Avios

480,000 are eligible for Qantas

No option to transfer to velocity

Factors to consider:

1. I will not have status with any airline, and do have much work travel lined up so will never have (I believe this is bad for Qantas redemptions?)
2. I will look to redeem at least 1 round trip in J to Dubai every year to visit family (for a few years until they go back to the UK). This is 99k on Krisflyer, 80k Avios on Qatar. Apart from that, I'm not quite sure.

Questions to you guys:

Which programs in Australia are easiest to add miles to, and to redeem in business class. Is it worth it investing in Qantas points right now and building on it? Will I be able to get any redemptions without status? Or should I stay far away for now, and start from scratch in Sydney?

Avios redemptions on Qatar Airways from Sydney seem hopeless as well, everything sells out the day of release. Is it always so dire? Qatar does have a tie up and good redemptions with both Qantas and Velocity for domestic flights, that's hopefully useful for the 160k miles I already have stuck in there. Which means maybe I don't need Qantas points for a while? What about Asia Miles, any thoughts?

Or is Krisflyer basically my best (or only) option? The points there do expire in 3 (or 3.5 really) years, so I feel wary about putting almost 800,000 points there. Though I can actually foreseeably use up these miles in 3-4 years by ensuring one round trip redemption every year. An option to convert those KF miles to Velocity at 1.5:1 in the end remains.

Is there any other factor I should consider, something I might be missing entirely?

Thanks in advance

Welcome to Australia! I would steer clear of Qantas Frequent Flyer unless you’re happy to pay thousands of dollars on Emirates redemptions. I think Krisflyer is very good value and I’ve never had issues with availability. I’d suggest Velocity but as you say, it’s not an option. However, I would definitely go for earning Velocity points over Qantas points if you have a points earning choice while you’re here. I’m winding down my Qantas points in favour of better biz class seat availability through other FF programs.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

As TG (Thai Airways) are not in any Aus FF program, its not worth flying via BKK.
Better to fly QF to SIN and then 3K to other parts of Asia, or fly SQ to SIN, and then SQ to other parts of Asia.
VFF has a tie in with UA.
QFF has a tie in with AA.
So, personally, I would, if I were you, keep the SQ KF miles account alive, with points in there.
You can start a VFF and QFF account, but unless you fly with these 2 a lot in a year, you will not get high status for any gains, ie, 300 VFF SC to get PS, or 350 QFF SC in the first year, to get QFF PS, ie, silver status with both.
Depending on the job you are going to be doing, and how much flying you are going to take in the first year while in Aus.
For both QFF and VFF, its easy to keep both accounts alive, even with not a lot of flying.
With SQ KF, you can fly back to Singapore on visits, with SQ, putting in your SQ KF #.
Some fares, putting your KF # into a VFF booking will not earn, found this out the hard way, after I flew VAd, with my KF # in the booking, the points claim got declined.
If you buy food at Coles/Woolworths here in Aus, you can keep both your VFF and QFF account points alive, by auto transfer the points to each FF program.
===
Coles and its liaison stores > VFF (via FB or Flybuys)
Woolworths and its liaison stores > QFF (via WWR or Woolworths Rewards)
===
SYD - DOH with QR, you can put in your VFF # or QFF #, as QR is in OW.
From DOH, you can take a short flight to DXB.
EK (linked to QF) is nice, and they now have their premY seats now bookable, and not too $$$, to get, but have to put in your QFF to earn QFF points and QFF SC, do not book the EK flight in the EK website, as you will very few QFF points and no QFF SC if you book under the EK website, if you want to fly SYD - DXB with EK.

 

[incdus]

I just did a "flexible with dates" search and there are a few Y awards in May 25 but none in June or July - and that is even after I searched for Business - all that is there is Y .

View attachment 398303

Thanks for sharing this. Basically confirms for me that I shouldn't bother with Qantas and will stick to Krisflyer, its better there for sure

Post automatically merged: Jul 25, 2024

Welcome to Australia! I would steer clear of Qantas Frequent Flyer unless you’re happy to pay thousands of dollars on Emirates redemptions. I think Krisflyer is very good value and I’ve never had issues with availability. I’d suggest Velocity but as you say, it’s not an option. However, I would definitely go for earning Velocity points over Qantas points if you have a points earning choice while you’re here. I’m winding down my Qantas points in favour of better biz class seat availability through other FF programs.

Thanks a lot for your reply. Yup I think I'll go with what you're suggesting!