Points top up, is it worth it?

[Spacetravel]

I'm about 20 - 30k short of a Oneworld Award Flight I want to book within a week 2 so I am considering taking advantage of this as I'll need the points sooner than a credit card sign up will give. This thread has raised some good alternatives though that I'll look into first.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Hi, so yesterday I received an email from Qantas offering points top up to purchase. At the top level they are offering 50% bonus points. I’m pretty sure this is happened in the past but I haven’t been in a financial position to take advantage of it. At the moment I am in such a position. Compared with many of the people on this forum I know nothing and I’m seeking your advice. The way I see it if I bought 150,000 points it would cost me $4000 and I would get a bonus 75,000 points. This would seem to be enough for a first class one-way classic rewards flight to London from Melbourne which would normally cost a great deal more than $4000. Now I know that nobody in their right mind would want to fly to London at the moment but I’m hoping I’ll be alive for a few more years and that that will become a possibility again. So this seems too good to be true and such things usually are. Please tell me what’s wrong with my thinking here. TIA.

In terms of buying points, the recent Air Canada Aeroplan sale would have got you first class return to Europe on Etihad for $4079 (plus about $200 in taxes). One way on Qantas means you still have to get back.

Availability for QF premium can be an issue. BA sometimes has seats, but fuel surcharges are hefty. Japan Airlines or Cathay would be good choices for First class.

I'd be waiting for another sale from Aeroplan.

 

[mviy]

I currently have enough points for multiple trips so personally I don't see myself even considering a points top up for some time. Forward planning can help a lot with building a points balance, but there's always the risk of devaluations of points.

 

[Lynnelanne]

In terms of buying points, the recent Air Canada Aeroplan sale would have got you first class return to Europe on Etihad for $4079 (plus about $200 in taxes). One way on Qantas means you still have to get back.

Availability for QF premium can be an issue. BA sometimes has seats, but fuel surcharges are hefty. Japan Airlines or Cathay would be good choices for First class.

I'd be waiting for another sale from Aeroplan.

Thanks. I was planning on cruising one way so I only needed the one-way airfare. We had this all booked before Covid and I’m hoping that one day it might still come off. I’m only a member with Qantas, if you are a member with Air Canada can you buy points if you don’t have any other activity with them? Thanks for the tip.

I have done first class on Japan airlines before and it was excellent, so would happily use it again, same applies to Cathay although I’ve only been to business class with them. In my opinion both are actually better than Qantas.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks. I was planning on cruising one way so I only needed the one-way airfare. We had this all booked before Covid and I’m hoping that one day it might still come off. I’m only a member with Qantas, if you are a member with Air Canada can you buy points if you don’t have any other activity with them? Thanks for the tip.

I have done first class on Japan airlines before and it was excellent, so would happily use it again, same applies to Vathay although I’ve only been to business class with them. In my opinion both are actually better than Qantas.

Yes, you can buy points in Aeroplan with no previous activity. I don’t know if there is a minimum time your account needs to be open before being allowed to buy points... to prevent fraud some airlines require your account to be open more than 30 days for example. Anyway, Aeroplan is free to join, so you might as well sign up now and if you need it later, all sorted.