Qantas Club - Can I Justify the Cost?

[uzza]

Ok Guys,

I'm struggling here and would appreciate some input from you seasoned FF's!

I am tempted to join up to QP using the AFF Corp system (so $555 plus the $50 gold membership = $605 total outlay on my behalf). Although I'm having some difficulty justifying the cost to myself. Here's my definite travel plans for '09:

Quick HBA-MEL-HBA for a footy weekend, can easily go Jetstar to allow QP access at either airport.

Then: HBA-MEL-LAX, returning MIA(AA - does QP give you access to Admirals when flying AA?) - LAX - AKL - MEL - HBA in December all in Y with no upgrades possible except the final leg to HBA which has exhausted all upgrade seats in J so far.

In the coming years I can see a couple of flights per year mainly domestic and occasional Intl and a couple domestic for work at least. Obviously the following years renewal cost will be lower (~$300 year is that right?)


We have 4.5 hrs in MEL on way out, 2.5 - 3 in LAX, 4.5 in MEL on way home and the 1hr or so stopover in AKL on return flight.

If we look only at this years two confirmed flights do you think that the cost is Justified ay my end? Do the extra benefits (ie. check in lines, priorty seating allocation (is that any good on Bronze QP?), and any other I've missed) make a huge difference on Intl flights?


Theres Part of me that's saying do it! And another part telling me that around $100-$150 per entry this year is too much!

Any help or personal advice would be greatly greatly appreciated!

Cheers,

Alex

 

[Cyclogenesis]

IMHO... YES!
And yes you get access to AL when flying AA
Having scored it I can not go back... I nearly bough membership for TropicalCyclone (Mrs Cyclogenesis) but her work ended up providing it...

For me the big advantages have been:

• Hot showers when traveling internationaly
• A comfortable place to wait for the flight with announcements
• When in the US I found having access to the Lounge attendant in the Admiral's club very valuable... as I found the check in staff pretty sub par and the LA fixed all my seat allocations
• using QC/J bag drop is very nice..
• 7/10 times the priority tags on luggage actually work

And since you are flying via LA (TBIT I assume?) the value is increased further due to the horridness of the terminal (so the lounge seems that much nicer albeit a bit small and crowded)

 

[Travel Guru]

IMO, aside from all of the possible benefits, being able to use the QP/J checkin lines and avoid the often long drawn out process of lining up with everyone else in Y is worth the membership 10x over, even before you step foot in the door of any of the QP's.

You'll also find you'll move up the scale on the seating pecking order so will fare better than the average joe on obtaining a "reasonable" seat.

Depending on how much you use it for work, and you need to see professional advice, but you may be able to claim some/all of the cost as a tax deduction offsetting a large portion of it.

In the end, it's something only you can decide whether its value for yourself or not, it comes down to more than benefits, but also affordability and whether the money would be better spent elsewhere or whether you're happy to spend it on lounge access.

TG

 

[uzza]

IMHO... YES!
And yes you get access to AL when flying AA
Having scored it I can not go back... I nearly bough membership for TropicalCyclone (Mrs Cyclogenesis) but her work ended up providing it...

For me the big advantages have been:

• Hot showers when traveling internationaly
• A comfortable place to wait for the flight with announcements
• When in the US I found having access to the Lounge attendant in the Admiral's club very valuable... as I found the check in staff pretty sub par and the LA fixed all my seat allocations
• using QC/J bag drop is very nice..
• 7/10 times the priority tags on luggage actually work

And since you are flying via LA (TBIT I assume?) the value is increased further due to the horridness of the terminal (so the lounge seems that much nicer albeit a bit small and crowded)

Thanks Cyclogenesis!

If we get access to AL on AA (we have MIA-LAX on an AA flight (AA flight cod but it's on our Qantas booking) that's an extra bonus and would be great in MIA!

A few further Questions!

• Do priority bag tags get put on on Intl flights or only Domestic?

• Do you need a QC guest card (I think they are ~$260/year) to get the guest in or is that only if the quest is traveling alone?

• Any experience with getting better seating allocations? I'd love exit rows but logic would have it that those good seats are given on a scale of "important to plebs". Does QC give you seating preferences as good as QP or is it only like a Silver/Gold?

One last an potentially stupid question:

• Does QP give you any OneWorld status? (ie. priority boarding)

Thanks again! The more encouragement I get the more likely it is I'll part with my cash!

 

[Cyclogenesis]

• Do priority bag tags get put on on Intl flights or only Domestic?

I can only speak from experience, when checked in by QF staff I have always had some sort of tag (either business or priority)

• Do you need a QC guest card (I think they are ~$260/year) to get the guest in or is that only if the quest is traveling alone?

No, you always get one guest, the guest card just increases the number of people you can guest to 2

• Any experience with getting better seating allocations? I'd love exit rows but logic would have it that those good seats are given on a scale of "important to plebs". Does QC give you seating preferences as good as QP or is it only like a Silver/Gold?

Yes... Made even better by getting access to the lounge person... It may have been an aberration but I had exit rows for almost all my internal AA legs... For QF I have heard QC being some what equivalent to Silver
One last an potentially stupid question:

• Does QP give you any OneWorld status? (ie. priority boarding)

No... One reason why Im trying to get enough points to get to silver! (35 by 30june)

 

[uzza]

IMO, aside from all of the possible benefits, being able to use the QP/J checkin lines and avoid the often long drawn out process of lining up with everyone else in Y is worth the membership 10x over, even before you step foot in the door of any of the QP's.

You'll also find you'll move up the scale on the seating pecking order so will fare better than the average joe on obtaining a "reasonable" seat.

Depending on how much you use it for work, and you need to see professional advice, but you may be able to claim some/all of the cost as a tax deduction offsetting a large portion of it.

In the end, it's something only you can decide whether its value for yourself or not, it comes down to more than benefits, but also affordability and whether the money would be better spent elsewhere or whether you're happy to spend it on lounge access.

TG

Thanks TG,

I see the check in lines and seating are my two biggest benefits aside from lounge access.

Personally the Tax benefits would be pretty minute for me, but even an apportioned amount is a reduction of the membership (like you said it's something to check through with a tax professional)

The money is not a big deal for me really in the long run - whilst it certainly isn't an insignificant amount, it isn't an amount that's going to cause me to have to forgo part of the my trip or something else to pay for it - for me it's about seeing the value for money that it'll bring.

It's certainly my decision in the end but the thing I find is that whilst it's great to read the QF site with all the benefits layed out in front of you, it still doesn't beat the personal experiences that others have had with it and what they value most of all and how the reported benefits actually translate to real world benefit (if tat makes sense, i think it does!) .

I don't reckon there's a better place around with such depth of knowlege like AFF! I look forward to a time when I can be the one giving out the advice, not just absorbing it like a sponge!

Thanks again!

 

[Cyclogenesis]

Oh but let me say one negative thing...
By buying QC you kinda lock yourself into flying QF/AA/BA... as otherwise you have no lounge access... so in your cost benefit analysis you need to consider the likelihood your decisions on carriers may incur a cost

 

[uzza]

Oh but let me say one negative thing...
By buying QC you kinda lock yourself into flying QF/AA/BA... as otherwise you have no lounge access... so in your cost benefit analysis you need to consider the likelihood your decisions on carriers may incur a cost

Very true!

Domestically the difference between J* and VB cost wise is normally minimal if anything at all espeically ex HBA I've found.

Intl is different, more competition so more chances to shop around and QF might not be the cheapest on the flights. I see your point

Interesting side note: It was cheaper by over $500 (actually it was more like $650-700) to fly QF over VA HBA-LAX when we booked - I was very shocked!

 

[NM]

While the benefits have been well stated above, compare these with the other things you can do with the same money. Then its a matter of which is more important to you, and that is a personal decision and not one I or any other member can make for you.

 

[mannej]

Uzza, I was in the same position as you at the start of the year. I forked out for it and haven't regretted it. First QF flight this year was delayed by 10 hours. Whilst QF were deciding what to do, people on the outside were left to rot. On the inside, there is access to free food, drink, showers etc, which makes the wait more bearable.

That one experience made it worth the initial outlay from my perspective. It is really your call at the end of the day.

 

[tuapekastar]

The other posters have summed it up pretty well uzza.

I don't think I could justify my membership in cold hard dollar terms (I could have when I first got it, as it was at a huge discount, but no longer - mine is now via AFF also and is at a reasonable discount) but I consider it an indulgence I'm happy to pay for.

For me:

Lounge Access is great (and yep you can access ACs when flying AA - and get drinks vouchers which even AC members aren't entitled to when flying domestically - and BA lounges when flying BA)

To back up TG, the priority checkin is right up there with lounge access as a benefit when you see the length of some of the Y checkin queues

Better seating options tend to open up (but cannot preallocate exits, that is a WP benefit)

I think priority tags is generally domestic only, and I find them a bit hit and miss anyway.

 

[simongr]

To back up TG, the priority checkin is right up there with lounge access as a benefit when you see the length of some of the Y checkin queues

This is something that I hadnt thought about too strongly but it is an absolute winner for me. I have been OWE for a couple of years now and the F checkin(J for you in this case) is a real joy.

 

[Cyclogenesis]

But that ya cant buy

If you can get to OW Emerald there is 0 value in QC membership..

QC membership is for those that do not fly enough (at a high enough earning class) to make OW Sapphire status...

 

[uzza]

Thanks for all the help everyone! I think ive heard everything i wanted to hear to convince me to do it! From anyones personal experience whats the timeframe from getting gold access and the details for the aff corp membership to getting access to qp? How long does it take to process the application at aff's end and qf's end? Id love to have access for my footy trip in about a month!

 

[Batesy]

All of the upside have been highlighted, the only downside is the money may be spent on other things.

Biggest upside is that your guest gets all of the same things. So really if you travel with your partner all of the time, divide the cost in half.

The first time I took Mrs Batesy in to the domestic QC I was a paid member. She had a cold so I sat her down in a comfy armchair, got her a cup of tea and she instantly christened the QC "The Happy Place".

Being able to access QC/Oneworld benefits has saved us hours in queues, made some significant delays more bearable with a better location to wait/eat/shower/drink and generally made the travel experience better.

I am off to the UK in August and plan on having the halfway shower at the Singapore QC, make the next leg much more comfy by being cleaner and having a decent stretch.

Upsides are all good. Go and get it!!

 

[simongr]

But that ya cant buy

If you can get to OW Emerald there is 0 value in QC membership..

QC membership is for those that do not fly enough (at a high enough earning class) to make OW Sapphire status...

I am fairly aware of the place of QP... I was just agreeing/reflecting on how important to me the perceived relatively "minor" benefit of bypassing queues had become...

 

[Warks]

Another thing in its favour is if you are an "early arriver" for flights. I've always been a bit panicky about missing flights and with luggage you have little leeway these days (after 30 minutes before the flight you're off). By arriving ridiculously early (so it seems sometimes) at least I can go somewhere nice and comfy in the mornings. At one stage I was jumping out of bed and going straight to the airport to shower and break my fast there!

If you are doing less than 10 flights a year it might not be worth it but you never know when you may really need it with a cancellation or somesuch.

 

[samh004]

Thanks for all the help everyone! I think ive heard everything i wanted to hear to convince me to do it! From anyones personal experience whats the timeframe from getting gold access and the details for the aff corp membership to getting access to qp? How long does it take to process the application at aff's end and qf's end? Id love to have access for my footy trip in about a month!

Upon paying for Gold, access is given within 24 hours, though probably less.

Details are then easily found, simply download the form provided, print it out and fill it in. I used a CC when I sent mine in, but you can use a cheque too apparently.

When received in VIC the turn around time by AFF is minimal, probably a day, and from then it takes about a week for Qantas to give you status, about 2 weeks to get the membership pack.

I got my QP membership recently, just a couple weeks ago. Haven't used it yet, but will be soon.

 

[Cyclogenesis]

And it should be noted that the status is all you need... show the a a boarding pass with QC on it and that is all that is needed...

SWMBO's passed through Qantas in less than 2 working days... I dont know how long mine took...

 

[tuapekastar]

Better seating options tend to open up (but cannot preallocate exits, that is a WP benefit)

I neglected to mention that on one occasion (possibly two?) I've gone to OLCI at T-24 for a domestic flight and found myself already allocated an exit row.

Of course for international flights (for the time being at least) still need to be WP to pre-allocate exits.