new to AFF

[jojo05]

Hi all,

Only few days ago I came across email that introduced me to 'travel hacking'..... Wow, I didn't know that something like this existed let alone that it can be used for traveling advantage......
I love traveling and we (my family and me) go overseas nearly every year. Can be little bit hard to organise everything as we live in regional WA, but, we manage.
For example: I will be traveling to Mauritius next week for 10 days and am proud to say that return tickets were purchased from my Air Mauritius FF membership (it's so sweet to travel for nearly free..... hehehehe).
Another big trip is RTW in December, already booked and paid for..... Can't wait for this one!
Now I need assistance for all of you experienced and smart travels to guide in in right direction how to maximise my RTW trip e.g. which FF to join, what hotels to book, how to upgrade etc.....
ATM I am not a member of any FF programs (except Air Mauritius), but have quiet few points on my Flybuys account (not sure if this can be used for something useful as nobody ever mentions Flybuys!?)
So hopefully someone can point me in right direction and assist me in understanding these FF programs/points collecting/earning tricks of the traveling trade.

Much appreciation for all info.

Regards,

Jojo

 

[Hvr]

Welcome aboard jojo05.

 

[Steady]

Welcome to AFF jojo05

I am not up with RTW tricks but I suspect those who are will need to know what alliance it is with?

 

[JohnK]

Welcome to AFF jojo05!

 

[jojo05]

Not sure, Steady..... But, I will be flying with Qantas, Cathy Pacific, Hong Kong Airlines, Lufthansa, Croatian Airlines and Virgin America..... Is there an alliance between these airlines? Who can help?

 

[TomVexille]

Welcome aboard!

QF and CX are Oneworld. LH and OU are Star Alliance. HX and VX are not part of an alliance.

 

[Mattg]

Welcome!

To give you the best advice, I think we're going to need a little bit more information about which airlines you'll be flying. What kind of RTW ticket did you book?

Going off what's been said so far, it sounds like you're flying a mix of airlines across different alliances. You can credit the Qantas & Cathay flights to any oneworld program (e.g. Qantas Frequent Flyer). I would credit the Star Alliance flights (Lufthansa & Croatian) to Singapore Airlines' KrisFlyer program and the Virgin America flights to Velocity. Points can be transferred between Velocity and KrisFlyer, so you if you wanted you could choose a program of those two that you prefer and pool all of your points into the one program at a later point.

Speaking of pooling, if you're travelling as a family, have a look at Virgin Australia's family pooling scheme.

The reason nobody really talks about Flybuys is that it's really not the best value if you want a free flight. Flybuys points can basically only be used to buy Coles (or other retailers') vouchers, or to purchase flights through Webjet at a pretty dismal rate. A better strategy if you want free flights would be to shop at Woolworths, get an Everyday Rewards Card and link the Rewards Card to Qantas to earn Qantas points at Woolies. By the way, if you haven't already signed up to Qantas frequent flyer, I definitely recommend doing that via the link on the Everyday Rewards website as you'll be able to join for free that way, saving $89.50

Also, for a newbie like yourself, you might want to check out the Knowledge Centre. There are a number of guides there that explain these sorts of things in much more detail.

 

[Dr Ralph]

Welcome to AFF!

 

[jojo05]

Thank you Mattg for all the info...... Will sign up as you suggested as makes sense....
What about Mauritia airways? it seems that they are not a part of any global alliance. Am I correct?
Also, need advice/suggestions on hotels and how those points work. We will be staying in six big cities!?!
As of flybuys. .... I only have them cos I work for Coles and get staff perks. .... But, you right Mattg, you need lots of them to turn them into something good. .... Therefore, am open to suggestions on how convert these into something more rewarding?!?

 

[Mattg]

What about Mauritia airways? it seems that they are not a part of any global alliance. Am I correct?

That's correct. Unfortunately Air Mauritius are more or less on their own. Though I do notice that they are partners with Air France - which is in the SkyTeam alliance. If you fly Air Martitius from time to time, and can use those points (which seems to be the case) then you might as well keep using their program. But crediting to Air France is another possibility. Air France miles can be earned/used across all SkyTeam airlines. Admittedly, none of these airlines are based in Australia and many are airlines I would never fly on, but at least it's another option.

Also, need advice/suggestions on hotels and how those points work. We will be staying in six big cities!?!

I'm afraid I don't know that much about hotel loyalty programs, having not used any myself. But basically, if you stay with one "brand", you'll be able to accumulate points towards free hotel stays, and nights towards gaining elite status, which comes with various benefits by program such as free breakfasts, wifi, upgrades and so on. Note that different brands have multiple chains, e.g. IHG properties include Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, Intercontinental etc.

Could I recommend you ask a question in the hotel loyalty program forum and someone more knowledgeable than me will be able to give a better answer.

This thread may also be of interest to you: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....sion/whats-your-hotel-loyalty-path-69524.html

As of flybuys. .... I only have them cos I work for Coles and get staff perks. .... But, you right Mattg, you need lots of them to turn them into something good. .... Therefore, am open to suggestions on how convert these into something more rewarding?!?

I would reiterate my point that Flybuys isn't a great program. But if you already have points with them, you might as well convert them to Coles vouchers. With Coles vouchers you'll get about 0.5 cents per point in value. Webjet redemptions are about the same, except that you have to pay Webjet's outrageous booking fees on top of the cost of the flight and using points on the Flybuys store nets about 0.4 cents in value.

 

[jojo05]

Thanks Mattg..... I think am starting to understand all of this a little bit better! I have been spending some time on Knowledge centre..... Wow, lot's of info there....
Cheers everyone

 

[Lantern]

Hi fellow newbie -- looking forward to discovering the forum with others who are new like me. Cheers!

 

[prozac]

Welcome to AFF jojo05.