Qantas FF Silver - Gold

[excell]

I am 150 points short of reaching Gold status.
I am toying with the idea of doing a J class return SYD-NAD Approx $1200.00
At the moment I have 550 status credits which will expire Sept. 10
I have a corporate membership of Qantas club already and partner membership as my family do fly regularly to Europe and Asia ie once or twice a year.

Am I wasting my money or is it worth it. ?

PS I am new to this forum an appologise if there is already a thread relating to this.

 

[JohnK]

Welcome to AFF.

In my opinion unless you fly a lot then Gold is not going to offer much more than Silver other than complimentary lounge access, 50% bonus QFF points and placing you higher in the upgrade waiting list.

You may also be worse off as your Qantas Club membership will go on hold and I am not sure if you can have Qantas Club partner membership with a Qantas Club membership on hold. So effectively as a Gold you are allowed 1 guest into the lounges where as the 2 Qantas Club membeships allow you both 1 guest each.

Save the $1200 and use it towards Qantas Club membership.

 

[markis10]

Why not book and hold a BNE-SYD-MEL-NAN flight departing before or on Sept 10 then return after sept 10, thats 180 SCs for qual and then 180 SCs for requal, by holding you have the flexibility of not going ahead if unexpected flying occurs that reduces the SCs required.

 

[markis10]

Welcome to AFF.

In my opinion unless you fly a lot then Gold is not going to offer much more than Silver other than complimentary lounge access, 50% bonus QFF points and placing you higher in the upgrade waiting list.

Op already has 550SCs, if that is a regular yearly pattern then Gold should be easy and would indicate they are likely a fairly frequent flyer. You also missed another much more important benefit, preferential seating assignment/preselection, thats a biggy as you would know.

A SG can have a partner QP member, as SG by its nature includes QP membership. My partner has it!

 

[medhead]

What flights do you have planned between now and the end of September?

I would pick what extra flying based on what you plan to do. Otherwise you risk over spending.

 

[markis10]

If you have points you might want to consider an Any Seat Award as opposed to spending the cash?

You anniversary date does fall on a Friday which is handy should a weekend in Fiji be on the cards, and dont forget the QP price rise last week to $425 for renewals.

 

[JohnK]

Op already has 550SCs, if that is a regular yearly pattern then Gold should be easy and would indicate they are likely a fairly frequent flyer.

We have not established a yearly pattern. I merely pointed out if they are likely to be flying a lot then Gold may be worthwhile. If the OP is contemplating a status run then it would suggest that 550 SCs is a stretch and possibly once off.

You also missed another much more important benefit, preferential seating assignment/preselection, thats a biggy as you would know.

Most people do not care.

A SG can have a partner QP member, as SG by its nature includes QP membership. My partner has it!

As part of a corporate Qantas Club scheme? Still there is money required for the status run and then partner Qantas Club on top of that.

You anniversary date does fall on a Friday which is handy should a weekend in Fiji be on the cards, and dont forget the QP price rise last week to $425 for renewals.

They are part of a corporate scheme which I assume would be a lot less than normal Qantas Lounge membership.

Also the reassessment date would have to be September 30, 2010.

Which ever way you look at it a $1200 status run to achieve Gold status is a little over the top considering the OP already has Qantas Club and Partner Qantas Club membership from a corporate scheme. Status just for the sake of having status?

 

[futaris]

A SG can have a partner QP member, as SG by its nature includes QP membership. My partner has it!

I have OW Sapphire status, AA Platinum. AFAIK, My wife is not entitled to be a partner QP member. Likewise, if you are QF Gold, with no associated QANTAS Club membership, I don't see how your partner can join.

Fly - The Qantas Club - Membership Types

To be eligible for Partner membership, the Primary member must have a current membership and you must both reside at the same address.

For the OP, I don't think it's worth doing the QANTAS Gold status run, unless you're spending points on an Any Seat Award.

 

[cmon0005]

Also don't forget priority boarding for Gold's..

 

[markis10]

John

Whether people care about their seats is irrelevant, its a part of status that is different to the benefits of QP, care factor maybe 0 for some but its still a benefit, and one that does get a lot of discussions here at times.

The OPs care factor will determine if they are wasting their money, corporate QP is around $350 a year to renew, if by spending $1200 in one hit to save that for a year and have a good amount of SCs for requal, that might well mean value by their standards.

Agree with the date though, it must be end of month by definition of the t&c's of the FF program, requiring a thursday departure at the latest to split the SC's across two years.

 

[markis10]

I have OW Sapphire status, AA Platinum. AFAIK, My wife is not entitled to be a partner QP member. Likewise, if you are QF Gold, with no associated QANTAS Club membership, I don't see how your partner can join.

Fly - The Qantas Club - Membership Types


For the OP, I don't think it's worth doing the QANTAS Gold status run, unless you're spending points on an Any Seat Award.

SG includes QP membership as a benefit, its just complimentary, its why there is a QP logo on the back and why SG/WP members joining a new corporate scheme count towards the minimum numbers required.

http://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn/program/statusPrivileges

SG = QP + extras - there is no difference re partners or entitlements.

 

[JohnK]

The OPs care factor will determine if they are wasting their money, corporate QP is around $350 a year to renew, if by spending $1200 in one hit to save that for a year and have a good amount of SCs for requal, that might well mean value by their standards.

The OP asked a simple question "Am I wasting my money or is it worth it?".

I was simply stating my opinion based on the facts presented by the OP. With the overseas travel mentioned (as a family) they are much better off with 2 Qantas Club memberships than 1 Gold membership.

Again I ask the question. Status just for the sake of status? I know this is AFF but it is not always the right answer although as you say that is for the OP to decide.

 

[markis10]

The OP asked a simple question "Am I wasting my money or is it worth it?".

I was simply stating my opinion based on the facts presented by the OP. With the overseas travel mentioned (as a family) they are much better off with 2 Qantas Club memberships than 1 Gold membership.

Again I ask the question. Status just for the sake of status? I know this is AFF but it is not always the right answer although as you say that is for the OP to decide.

Its not status for the sake of status unless the extra benefits mean nothing to the OP, which you understated. It might well be a simple question, but its not a simple answer, what value does the individual put on those benefits, is there a monetary value in being able to select a seat thats better rather then running the guantlet of the seat lottery further down the back, and lets not forget the lounges you cannot access unless you are a SG or better in Europe and Asia where QP benefits are negligible in terms of lounges available and priority tagging on other OW partners for instance.

Its pretty easy to assign a lower value to benefits when you are on the inside looking out, especially when you are a top tier member who can easily take for granted what they are getting, that yearly trip to Europe may be a lot more pleasant as a SG than a QP making the status run worthwhile!


Put simply, $1200 investment will give the OP priority boarding, seat selection, access to lounges overseas that do not have reciprocal QP access rights, negate the need to spend $300-400 on QP renewal, access to better classic award availability, more points earned and a shiny gold card of inferior quality to those issued in the past. I would do it, but its not my money! The points from that run will also give you close to a one way J ASA award SYD-MEL which may also be of value to the OP.

 

[serfty]

...
You may also be worse off as your Qantas Club membership will go on hold and I am not sure if you can have Qantas Club partner membership with a Qantas Club membership on hold. So effectively as a Gold you are allowed 1 guest into the lounges where as the 2 Qantas Club membeships allow you both 1 guest each. ...

... A SG can have a partner QP member, as SG by its nature includes QP membership. My partner has it!

...
As part of a corporate Qantas Club scheme? Still there is money required for the status run and then partner Qantas Club on top of that. ...

I have OW Sapphire status, AA Platinum. AFAIK, My wife is not entitled to be a partner QP member. Likewise, if you are QF Gold, with no associated QANTAS Club membership, I don't see how your partner can join. ...

SG includes QP membership as a benefit, its just complimentary, its why there is a QP logo on the back and why SG/WP members joining a new corporate scheme count towards the minimum numbers required.

Frequent Flyer - About the Program - Benefits & Privileges - Status Privileges

SG = QP + extras - there is no difference re partners or entitlements.

Fully agree about being able to have a Partner QP membership as an SG.

I had QP membership 2004-2006 since then I have been SG and WP (or their equivalents as it varied through the year) and WP PG since 2006.

So I have had QP membership both complimentary and paid throughout that time. Between 1995 and 2006 Jenny was a Partner QP member with paid renewal every year. Since 2006 she has had PG status via me.

 

[serfty]

I am 150 points short of reaching Gold status.
I am toying with the idea of doing a J class return SYD-NAD Approx $1200.00
At the moment I have 550 status credits which will expire Sept. 10
I have a corporate membership of Qantas club already and partner membership as my family do fly regularly to Europe and Asia ie once or twice a year.

Am I wasting my money or is it worth it. ?

PS I am new to this forum an appologise if there is already a thread relating to this.

Welcome to AFF excell

Status is only worth it if you travel; you are already silver so have the benefit of seat selection, albeit limited on Qantas.

SG will certainly give you better seat selection, increase your status bonus, complimentary Qantas Club membership etc.

It appears you do travel, indeed Europe and Asia once or twice would certainly make attaining SG seem a reasonable aim.

As to the cost? Only you can decide that.

With "only" 150 SC's to earn, there may be less expensive ways to garner those 150 SC's. Although the idea of splitting the NAD travel over an anniversary had good value.

DO you have any other planned/booked travel between now and September?

 

[JohnK]

Its not status for the sake of status unless the extra benefits mean nothing to the OP, which you understated.

I did not understate the benefits. I simply stated some of the more common ones.

Put simply, $1200 investment will give the OP priority boarding, seat selection, access to lounges overseas that do not have reciprocal QP access rights, negate the need to spend $300-400 on QP renewal, access to better classic award availability, more points earned and a shiny gold card of inferior quality to those issued in the past.

I am not questioning the reasons behind your opinion. I am looking at the facts presented by the OP. They travel 2-3 times a year as a family (assuming more than 2 people) to Europe or Asia. Having Gold membership can indeed get access to other lounges not available to a Qantas Club member but it is very much useless if trying to get more than 1 guest into a Oneworld partner lounge.

What you and I will do to get status should be irrelevant to the OP. Anyway not sure we are achieving much with this debate.

 

[markis10]

What you and I will do to get status should be irrelevant to the OP. Anyway not sure we are achieving much with this debate.

I dont know about that, its always good to have a reminder as to the entitlements one has, and obviously some members are now aware that SG = QP membership and partner membership is possible What we do to get status is not irrelevant if it can be replicated to the benefit of others, be it cheap status runs or ways of keeping SWMBO happy. The value of status is also significantly increased if one flys for a living, having room to do work on the plane is a big plus!

 

[serfty]

Of course, an SG travelling RT on Qantas (/BA) between SYD and LHR twice a year would earn at least an additional 10½K QFF points more than a PS.

 

[Dave Noble]

I am 150 points short of reaching Gold status.
I am toying with the idea of doing a J class return SYD-NAD Approx $1200.00
At the moment I have 550 status credits which will expire Sept. 10
I have a corporate membership of Qantas club already and partner membership as my family do fly regularly to Europe and Asia ie once or twice a year.

Am I wasting my money or is it worth it. ?

PS I am new to this forum an appologise if there is already a thread relating to this.

$1200 is a lot of money to get what may well be only a small benefit. Since you have Qantas Club membership anyway, the only lounge access benefit that you will gain over that which you already have is when travelling on OneWorld airlines other than BA,QF and AA. I would say that the extra benefits are unlikely to be worth $1200. Even if you were silver without a paid membership, I would be more inclined to recommend purchase of Qantas Club membership than spend that much

Dave

 

[blueflamenco]

There are plenty of benefits to be had but those are some expensive status credits!

I would say let it go. Unless you have planned travel and you can tie in some cheaper ways to earn the SC.