Plat and 100000 points

[davem]

Hi,
I'm in the early to mid planning of a holiday for myself.

Determining what kind of benifits i can get will depend on what option i choose.

Option 1 is boring and most likely non qantas - only 1 destination (budget)

Option 2 - This is the holiday of a lifetime that would earn me Plat, and 100000 ish points.

Now to fully explore option 2 i'm exploring all the one world FF programs.

I'm startign with Qantas because in in Brisbane

Firstly what to do with 100000 points
from the calculator that is 1 trip to Frankfurt
or
1 trip to chicago (plus 20k left)

Not exactly what i was hoping for


somethign that i cant find on the qantas site is information about upgrades.
Upgrading from Ecconomy to Business from say BNE to LAX would be approximately how many points?

Also with Plat level.
What exactly do i get with this?
- Lounge access (not that i plan to travel in the year after this trip)
- And ???

Any other benifits that i don't know about ?

Thanks
- David

 

[Rick93]

David,

Get back to your computer! It's all there, on the Qantas website!
Look at all the various links up the top of the main page.... where it says 'frequent flyer' etc.
All your questions can be answered by looking them up yourself. (sorry if this sounds harsh... )

regards,

 

[davem]

Ok,

I'm back looking for the upgrade rewards


and i allready know the listed benifits.

However are there any unlisted benifits?

EDIT
Ouch look what i found
I'm asuming it would be either zone 4 or 5
I imagined they would be less than this, from the stories i hear of people usign points to upgrade every flight.

Zone Upgrade
Credits Points Points Points

1 1 9,000 5,000 5,000

2 2 14,000 8,000 8,000

3 3 45,000 25,000 25,000

4 4 70,000 45,000 45,000

5 5 90,000 55,000 55,000

 

[Rick93]

It's not good news... is it!
Qantas aren't 'giving it away' anymore....

Anyway, at least you found what you were looking for.... even if it's not good news....

regards,

 

[QF WP]

davem, I presume that between the answers here and on your same topic in the QF Forum on Flyertalk you should be able to get your answers.

 

[davem]

Ah yes

I got a very good response there

so my plans are kind of on hold

i thought is the points had a little more value then i could afford the trip now,
however since they arn't i guess i should start saving again and try in a year or two.

 

[Rick93]

Back to your original post / question.... what made you think that you could get 100,000 points from the one trip anyway? You wouldn't get anywhere near 100k for a round the world trip.... (remember, one mile = one point on QF, and less that that on BA.... now, how big is the Earth?)

Realistically, try looking at Qantas's round the world (RTW) fares (on the webpage, try the SPECIALS link). You'll find a budget RTW fare for about $2,600. that would get you (if correctly planned) a good number of SC and probably as much as 30,000 - 35,000 points (maybe more, but I think this would be the upshot)

So, you will need to be realistic with your plans. If you are still at Uni. is it a good idea to be jetting off around the world anyway? I hope you've got some money behind you somewhere...

all the best...

 

[davem]

Round the world first class fare from Egypt

Following a similar itinerary of someone else (70k miles) + then the 50% bonus on the miles for flying first.

Realisticly i did my sums and it's a little off what i though it would be.

6 grand AUD it was
now if this was 2 trips to USA (like i though it was)
Trip to USA is about 2200 peak season
6000 - (2200 x 2) + 1600
Plus i had to get to cairo ( about 1500 at studentflights)

so 3100 was great
but this is not realistic


I thought that QF programe might have rewards similar to United air,
60 k points for a round trip to Anywhere in america 90 in business.

so if it was 60k too, the points from the trip to cairo + the RTW points was about 120000 ish.


Plus i have family in alot of places.
So only 2 of the places i planned to visit needed accomodation. (2 or 1 nights each)


But i will save my plans on my computer,

so that mabey in the future i can take this trip

- David

 

[Rick93]

Hang on a minute....
Are saying, that a RTW fare IN FIRST costs $6,000. ???
That's how I read your last post....
No way! Also.... RTW itineries (with Qantas anyway) can't be longer than 35,000 miles. So, talking of a RTW trip of 70,000 miles.... FORGET IT!
As I said earlier... have a look at Qantas webpage links (for prices, QFF rules etc.)
RTW First will cost about $14 - 16,000.
Business about $9 - 11,000.

As for "studentflights" to Cairo for $1,500. well..... is that by Aeroflot?
You won't get a Qantas or BA flight from Australia to Cairo for that price.
Who is the carrier (as quoted by "studentflights")

David.... come back to Earth!

MORE RESEARCH..... LESS DREAMING!!!

 

[thadocta]

Hang on a minute....
No way! Also.... RTW itineries (with Qantas anyway) can't be longer than 35,000 miles. So, talking of a RTW trip of 70,000 miles.... FORGET IT!

Whilst I agree with you, you also need to factor in status bonuses - starting from scratch, nothing until he gets to PS, then 25% until he gets to SG, then 50% until he gets to the giddy heights of WP, then 100% bonuses.

I normally put in a few extra side trips as seperate itineraries when I do these sorts of things so that I can get a few extra sectors which the DONE* doesn't allow.

So I get more than the base miles, but then I am starting from SG level, and get the J class bonus.

Still, 100K points on the one trip seems a bit of a stretch....

Dave

 

[davem]

That RTW trip was based on someone elses figures.

Heard from 3 different people that 70k is the max possible, (on the continent explorer tickets , not the milage based ones)

Studentflights in the Myer centre in Brisbane has in the front window cairo 1525 inclusive of taxes.

EDIT and yes i know that that kind of fare costs alot here
But i am getting figures from that oneworld comparison website,
something to do with the currency changes and the wage in egypt,

anyway it doesn't work out for me

mabey one of you will take the trip ;-)

 

[QF WP]

Hang on a minute....
Are saying, that a RTW fare IN FIRST costs $6,000. ???
That's how I read your last post....
No way! Also.... RTW itineries (with Qantas anyway) can't be longer than 35,000 miles. So, talking of a RTW trip of 70,000 miles.... FORGET IT!
As I said earlier... have a look at Qantas webpage links (for prices, QFF rules etc.)
RTW First will cost about $14 - 16,000.
Business about $9 - 11,000.

Cough, ahem, Gordon, you are about to eat your words....

You have obviously never been onto FlyerTalk's Oneworld Forum... or seen this website by Steady-EDI who is currently doing exactly the trip that Dave is talking about, for exactly the price that he is talking about. I was fortunate enough to meet Steady-EDI in BNE recently (as you'll read) and heard the story firsthand...make sure you read his background first.

I have been reading about these fares for over 15 months (since joining FlyerTalk) and only wish I had organised one before CAI prices went up 40% (but even at the inflated prices, they are still cheaper than buying in UK or Australia).

As for "studentflights" to Cairo for $1,500. well..... is that by Aeroflot? You won't get a Qantas or BA flight from Australia to Cairo for that price. Who is the carrier (as quoted by "studentflights")

Very conceivable and it really doesn't matter too much who gets you there..after all, the loss of FF points on this return trip doesn't really matter after your RTW F trip

David.... come back to Earth!

MORE RESEARCH..... LESS DREAMING!!!

Gordon, do yourself a favour before you jump all over somebody's comments next time, MORE RESEARCH...LESS DREAMING (tongue firmly in cheek, fireproof jacket firmly on )

 

[davem]

Here is proof of the cairo fare

http://www.studentflights.com.au

It's listed as 1555 for non students. (including tax) It's on the front page.
They don't have the student price listed, but i can tell you that at the store i was at it was 1525.

I would show you some stuff about the RTW trips but flyertalk is down .

I did do some research.
Just the one thing that I didn't understand too well was the frequent flyer programs.

Just one more think i need to find out is the redemption prices for the finair program
I was told in a chat by someone that i can get 2 flights for the points that would be earned. But i am yet to see proof.
Unfortunately the finair site is cough.

- I think i'm just trying to make stuff to complicated.
So i guess i'll just simplyfy things by deciding that my next trip is on the 1200 dollar fare to los angeles
and then i'll book a domestic flight to chicago when i'm in USA

2 weeks at my relitives

then back to los angelas and then back home.

If i save half of the money i earn at my part time job i should easily cover the airfare and have plenty of money to spend in Chicago.

 

[Rick93]

Lindsay,

I had a look at those links you quoted, and yes, a very interesting story. I'm not sure about the individual 'steady - edi' ..... is he the stand up comedian with cerebral palsy? (or am I completely off track?)

It seems to me, that his achievements are due to a 'mix & match' of airlines, during the (world wide?) off peak season. For one to obtain a similar result, you would need to be travelling at just the right time of year.

As for "eating my words..." well, I'm not so sure about that. I viewed the situation as a RTW trip, using Qantas / BA. Not going via China Airlines, or Korean, or Pakistani etc. etc. When I had a look at DAVEM's link to Studentflights, I noted the "from" $xx_x references, and then did the search. The results show the airlines offering the 'best' fares at the time, for a particular date. When I typed in Syd. to Cairo..... the 'cheapest' fare was $1577. with China East Airlines. Now.... if anyone wants to travell with China East Airlines from Syd. to Cairo.... then good luck to you! The same search showed the Qantas fare at about $2200. What was in between, was airlines like Vietnam; Malaysian; India etc. Again... not my personal choice for 'safety' & 'security'.

Another point, is, the original post by DAVEM was regarding FF points and getting SC to Platinum level.... is this going to be possible using a selection of airlines, such as Air Vietnam or China East, or any of the Star Alliance carriers?

I made my response (admittedly, a bit harsh, and perhaps unresearched), from the point of accruing QFF points & SC with a view to "Plat & 100,000 points".

I accept, I might have to bite / chew / swallow / choke / gag on some of my words (from time to time)..... but it's reassuring to know, that if I 'swallow my tongue' and lose consciousness...... there will be you guys out there to roll me over into the 'recovery' position; tilt my head back, and maintain an open airway..... all so I may 'pull through' and live to write another post, another day!

(smirk)

regards....

 

[davem]

look,

I don't want to cause any trouble,

so lets just put this issue behind us.

Just to explain one more thing

The stuff i posted was what i was told on another forum.

I did some checking and the prices quoted seemed about right, and quite a few people were saying 70+k miles (plus then cabin bonus) is easy on one of these tickets.
Oneworld Airlines only,

I then went to find out how much it would cost to get to cairo,

so i had estimate costs with me at this stage.

Then i came here to ask
what i could do with 100k points and plat,

The answer is not exactly what i was hopeing so i decided not to investigate further.

But i'll keep my eye on teh frequent flyer boards to see if there are any similar deals i could do.

- David

 

[QF WP]

Gordon, Steady-EDI is his FlyerTalk name - yes, I told him about his namesake here in Australia Steady Eddy (yes, the comedian) - but I'm sure that you know that EDI is the airport code for Edinburgh. His real name I do know, but irrelevant fof this post.

As I was fortunate enough to meet him on his trip (when he stopped over in BNE with another two FT'ers we took him to The Breakky Creek for a steak and beer off the wood) and I asked him all about it. The cost for his Oneworld RTW trip was ~ 3,000 GBP (when converted back from Egyptian pounds), therefore just less than $8K AUD (about the same price as a OW J RTW ticket - here's an example). Sorry, no Korean, China Eastern here - only OW airlines (if you read his site closely enough)

The price of the ticket has more to do with the published fare in Egyptian pounds by the applicable exchange rate. The published fares for RTW don't fluctuate anywhere near Economy flights (because of the premium services).

Indeed the 100K FF points plus Plat is very achievable. Think about it - from a standing start (i.e. no status) it would be a little harder to achieve - like Steady-EDI is doing); but if you have some OW status (say Gold or Plat already), then you'd be getting all bonuses (flown miles + cabin bonus (First) + status bonus (FF level). I don't have the time to do a calculation for his flights now (I'll post them this week for his trip), but believe me it's very possible.

I'll go back and look at my RTW First ticket in 2002 - I was Gold at the time (thus 50% status bonus and 50% Class bonus applied until I was Plat, when it became 100% status and 50% Class bonus) and my ticket was:

BNE/SYD/BKK/HKG/LHR/ARN/LHR/MUC/LHR/JFK/LAX/LAS/LAX/DEN/STL (ground) DFW/LAX/AKL/CHC/SYD/BNE.

J class for BNE/SYD, LHR/ARN/LHR/MUC/LHR, AKL/CHC/SYD/BNE
F class for SYD/BKK/HKG/LHR, LHR/JFK/LAX/LAS/LAX/DEN/STL, DFW/LAX/AKL

QF BNE/SYD - 1,250
QF SYD/BKK - 9,368
CX BKK/HKG - 1,596
CX HKG/LHR - 8,987
BA LHR/ARN - 1,135
BA ARN/LHR - 1,135
BA LHR/MUC - 735
BA MUC/LHR - 735
BA LHR/JFK - 5,160
AA JFK/LAX - 4,935
AA LAX/LAS - 500 (AA)
AA LAS/LAX - 1,250 (QF codeshare)
AA LAX/DEN - 1,680 (and with this flight, qualified Plat)
AA DEN/STL - 1,953
AA DFW/LAX - 3,078
QF LAX/AKL - 16,293
QF AKL/CHC - 1,250
QF CHC/SYD - 2,973
QF SYD/BNE - 1,250
TOTAL = 65, 263 FF points

There is a heap of difference between my flights and Steady EDI's. I wasn't looking at absolutely maximising my points/SC's - I was visiting places I needed to for work plus some extra sectors for leisure.

If you were already Plat or chose more flights with F class service, I'm sure I could crack 100K points.

BTW, I can get SYD/SIN/CAI for much less than you - I can get SYD/SIN for $1186 AUD return on BA in WT+ then I'm sure I could get some cheap flights SIN/CAI/SIN - one always needs to do one's homework

 

[davem]

wow thanks for that

but as i said before i'm not going to attemp this trip.


but about what you were saying about buying one ticket and then buying another to get to the destination.
I found out that there are no reduced fares to chicago out yet. (for 20 november onwards)
However i found that there is a 1199 deal to los angeles, flying Air New zealand that expires on the 15th of november.

However the travel agent said that they would be prepared to offer me this fare for travel up to mid december, he said that AirNZ usually extends the offer and that he had allready booked trips at that price for some people .

so now i just got to get from LAX to ORD
I'm not familiar with the domestic market there, so i now am waiting for flyertalk to come back so that i can find out if i should book domestic now, or wait till we are closer to the date.

- David

 

[Rick93]

David,

Nobody is causing any trouble here.... it's all good fun, even if it may seem that people are having a bit of a joke from time to time. You just happen to be in the 'wrong place at the wrong time'.

Still, you got some interesting responses.

Lindsay,

Yes, I take your point (pun). There are many combinations fares and destinations for 'milage runs'.

I'll leave it there.... unless anybody else is going to continue with this one?

It sounds like it's all been said and done now....

regards,

 

[QF WP]

Gordon, to finish off - I said I'd look at Steady-EDI's mileage. Well, here it is here

According to my calculations (yes, I know it's based on a BA EC membership programs mileage, still somewhat ssimilar for credited miles in F), it works out to be 67,073 for his trip (not inclusing the *A miles earned in other program). If you add the additional positioning sectors, then it's 77,462.

Not too shabby!! If you want me to work out based on a QF program (Bronze to start), I'll probably get to that on the weekend.

 

[Rick93]

Thanks for that link Lindsay....

As a side issue... does Qantas monitor this site? looking for loopholes that QFFs have identified?

Is there any risk to a person's QFF membership (plus QC) if Qantas 'spooks' pick up your name, in association with identifying what they may call 'rorting' the system?

regards,