QFF Status run Europe

[SwaussieJon]

Living in Sweden currently and looking for good one world partner status runs for QFF within Europe.

 

[RooFlyer]

Welcome to AFF @SwaussieJon

I can't come up with any specific suggestions, sorry, but I guess you know about the QF points/SC calculator?

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/calculators.html#/ Note you can vary the airline in the results to see how the earn changes.

Of course for a good status run, the cost of each flight is important and that'll need someone with experience in Europe. Paging @Flashback to the white courtesy phone

 

[SYD]

The BA “upgrade” offers used to be good value. Unlike QF and VA here, when you prepay for a EuroBiz upgrade, you earn J SCs.

This FT thread can be useful. More likely to have Euro / US offers than Oz based.

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How do you maintain your 4x QF flight segments to maintain / attain status?

 

[Flashback]

The BA “upgrade” offers used to be good value. Unlike QF and VA here, when you prepay for a EuroBiz upgrade, you earn J SCs.

This FT thread can be useful. More likely to have Euro / US offers than Oz based.

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How do you maintain your 4x QF flight segments to maintain / attain status?

The QF segments will be the challenge. Being close to HEL your best option is to bounce through there or MAD/LHR realistically.

ARN-LHR-SOF/BUD etc. is probably one of your better / cheaper options but I must admit I'm not on top of the QFF earning side of things, only BAEC.

 

[SYD]

The QF segments will be the challenge. Being close to HEL your best option is to bounce through there or MAD/LHR realistically.

It would be interesting to know what codeshare options are out there that can help non Oz residents earns some “squiggles” (QF segments) besides jumping on QF2 & 1 (rinse and repeat). Normally short hop codeshares are only bookable in conjunction with an inbound QF longhaul flight.

Although once in SIN, a couple of short hops on 3K (MAX fares) would help.

I note that QF won’t sell anything originating in ARN (rewards only….).

 

[Flashback]

It would be interesting to know what codeshare options are out there that can help non Oz residents earns some “squiggles” (QF segments) besides jumping on QF2 & 1 (rinse and repeat). Normally short hop codeshares are only bookable in conjunction with an inbound QF longhaul flight.

Although once in SIN, a couple of short hops on 3K (MAX fares) would help.

I note that QF won’t sell another originating in ARN (rewards only….).

Indeed, you'd probably be looking for any fifth freedom flights.

 

[offshore171]

Not a lot of info in the first post. How many credits do you need? And do you already have the 4 qualifying QF flights? Can you book EK to Dubai on a QF8xx_ flight number from a european point of origin?

 

[kangarooflyer88]

One thing you should keep in mind is whether it is even worth maintaining QF status. First depending on when your "year" ends with Qantas Frequent Flyer you may very well be up for a 1 year extension without having to set foot on any planes. Second, and I think most important is whether you will actually be in a position both to use the benefits afforded by QFF and OW status for that matter and to earn the status credits to maintain frequent flyer status. A move like yours is generally a great time to reflect on that! From my own personal experience, I decided to ditch my United Premier Gold status and not even bother with Star Alliance status. Why? Because there aren't any Star Alliance airlines that serve Australia, where I do much of my flying! At the same time, running the numbers it was determined that it would be infeasible to hit the high (and continually increasing) bar to retain Premier Gold status which would likely involve me having to fork out $10,000 a year on United base fares to earn the sufficient PQP to maintain Gold.

Looking specifically at your situation, being based in Sweden, I'd actually argue that Star Alliance might be your best bet for status. Star Alliance partner Scandinavian dominates this part of the world, and looking further afield, Star Alliance member the Lufthansa Group (consisting of Austrian, Brussels, Lufthansa, LOT, Croatia Airlines, Swiss, EuroWings to name but a few) holding an extensive European network along with Aegean being your connection to the Mediterranean to say nothing of Turkish Airlines connecting Europe and Asia, United and Air Canada connecting Europe and North America along with Singapore, ANA, Thai, it seems like a no brainer.

In terms of getting mid to top tier status, it should be a cakewalk with partner Aegean Airlines (which will give you lounge access, additional baggage, priority benefits when flying all Star Alliance. For instance, it takes roughly 36,000 miles flown to earn Aegean's top tier Gold status, provided you fly 4 segments with them (i.e. a simple trip from Stockholm to Rhodes or Skiathos on Aegean in economy should do the trick). A travel vlogger I based in the UK actually has put together a series of videos documenting how to earn the status for £1000.

It would be interesting to know what codeshare options are out there that can help non Oz residents earns some “squiggles” (QF segments) besides jumping on QF2 & 1 (rinse and repeat). Normally short hop codeshares are only bookable in conjunction with an inbound QF longhaul flight.

One key thing to keep in mind is that the 4 segments can be taken on Qantas or JetStar Asia, JetStar Japan or JetStar operated flights. For JetStar options, though, you need to be booked on a fare that attracts Qantas Frequent Flyer benefits such as Starter Plus, Starter Max or Business Max fares.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

There are no code shares available - as stand alone flights - to gain the four squiggles in europe. Intra-europe code shares are for connecting pax only.

BA’s club europe fares can be excellent value for high yield SCs. I saw LHR-VCE for £225 return earlier this year. I found it by using google flights, origin London and ‘blank’ in the ‘to’ field. This brings up prices for all destination on the map.

 

[RichardMEL]

As per above. no QF codeshares that don't transit to/from a QF metal flight so you'd at least have to go QF to SIN to make this work.

I tend to agree with kf88's point regarding the value of it. Of course if living in Sweden is a relatively short term thing that's very different to long term living in europe in which case a much closer FF home to either BA, or potentially LH (covering LH/LX/OS) could definitely work.

It also obviously comes down to projected medium term travel. I mean is QF status even helpful being based in a place with limited OW connections out. I guess it depends definitely on the intended use of the status, anticipated travel paterns from Sweden - destinations and thus potential routing options etc.

Only you can make these subjective decisions based on your situation, needs and projected medium (or long) term goals/needs.

 

[ABC]

Can you book EK to Dubai on a QF8xx_ flight number from a european point of origin?

This used to be a great way of getting the 4 QF coded flight if based in Europe, but unfortunately I don't think it is possible anymore to get an Emirates flight from Europe terminating in Dubai under a QF code. I think this option seemed to disappear about a year or so after QF stopped serving LHR to DXB on their own metal.

BA’s club europe fares can be excellent value for high yield SCs. I saw LHR-VCE for £225 return earlier this year. I found it by using google flights, origin London and ‘blank’ in the ‘to’ field. This brings up prices for all destination on the map.

For finding the cheapest Club Europe fares from London on BA, speedbird online is a useful resource. Avoid the really short flights (i.e. less than 250 miles) as they only earn 20 Status Credits each way - from memory these include Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Manchester and Jersey. Most others are 40 SCs, but the sweet spot is if you can get a good fare on a longer flight (over 750 miles) e.g. LHR to MAD, as it is 60 SCs.

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[MEL_Traveller]

That’s a brilliant site! Thanks!

 

[waz22]

Best option for 120 SC is LHR-Warsaw, Prague, Sofia etc. If on sale can get for £200. Alternatively for 200 SC LHR-MAD-PMI/BCN for £320. (Might work from Stockholm)
For 4no. QF flights could probably get code share to Aus via DXB. Other option is Jetstar Flights in Asia.
BA upgrades don’t seem to earn Business SC anymore… last 2 times have been rejected and needed to call. All agents keep stating I only get the original credit.
Agree the Speedbird website is great, I download the excel and filter by length and add QFF rates for best earn.

 

[ABC]

Best option for 120 SC is LHR-Warsaw, Prague, Sofia etc. If on sale can get for £200. Alternatively for 200 SC LHR-MAD-PMI/BCN for £320. (Might work from Stockholm)
For 4no. QF flights could probably get code share to Aus via DXB. Other option is Jetstar Flights in Asia.
BA upgrades don’t seem to earn Business SC anymore… last 2 times have been rejected and needed to call. All agents keep stating I only get the original credit.
Agree the Speedbird website is great, I download the excel and filter by length and add QFF rates for best earn.

Prague I think is just under the distance so would only be 80 SCs but is a great destination and you can often get hotels at a good price. I recall a few years ago seeing a fare at under £200 return on IB from LGW to BCN via MAD (similar to a route you have suggested above) which would have earned 200 SCs at an amazing price. Totally unscientifically just picking some random dates in January it came out at £336 when I looked now.

I agree that if not planning on travelling to Australia then the Jetstar flights in Asia probably provide the easiest option for those of us in Europe to get the four required flights.

BA paid upgrades earn business class tier points in BA Exec Club, but I have no experience of crediting upgrades to QF. In the past when I credited those to BA, upgrading changed the booking class to U which is the same as the BA reward business class. I have therefore never tried upgrading since I switched to QF in case QF insisted they were BA reward flights and therefore not eligible for SC.

I've had enough trouble getting QF to credit my BA flights at all over the last few years without adding the complication of an upgrade to the mix.

 

[SYD]

BA paid upgrades earn business class tier points in BA Exec Club, but I have no experience of crediting upgrades to QF.

They used to credit as J to QFF in the past in my experience but I’ve not had the chance to try it recently.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

They used to credit as J to QFF in the past in my experience but I’ve not had the chance to try it recently.

I can second what others have said, having booked a cheap economy fare from DUB to MAN (which would ordinarily only get 5 tier points) but then upgraded at check-in for €55 which ended up crediting as Business Lowest (R,I) on Avios for 40 tier points.

I would also like to bring to your attention of the terms & conditions for these upgrades:

Members of the British Airways Executive Club are eligible for Avios and Tier Points associated with the higher cabin. In the event that these are not credited at the time of the flight, they can be claimed retrospectively within six months through ba.com once travel has been completed. Customers who upgrade from a redemption ticket are not eligible for Avios or Tier points in either the original or upgraded cabin.

-RooFlyer88

 

[SYD]

I can second what others have said, having booked a cheap economy fare from DUB to MAN (which would ordinarily only get 5 tier points) but then upgraded at check-in for €55 which ended up crediting as Business Lowest (R,I) on Avios for 40 tier points.

I would also like to bring to your attention of the terms & conditions for these upgrades:


-RooFlyer88

I’ve only ever done it online at ba.com. As a registered user (don’t need Exec Club) you’d often get the option to upgrade, usually weeks out. But the catch was the booking would become “inflexible“ once upgraded. Obviously less of an issue if upgrading at checkin.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I’ve only ever done it online at ba.com. As a registered user (don’t need Exec Club) you’d often get the option to upgrade, usually weeks out.

I think you are right there as most airlines would be more than happy to sell J upgrades to anyone with the cash. Whether it is a good value really depends on the additional status credits earned versus what you would initially have. In any event, per the T&Cs shared, it seems clear that BA does change the booking code so that you will earn additional status credits be it on BA or elsewhere.

But the catch was the booking would become “inflexible“ once upgraded. Obviously less of an issue if upgrading at checkin.

I mean aren't most bookings in economy inflexible anyway? In any event, it wouldn't matter in the event of IRROPs, which we should all hope for when travelling anyway since IRROPs make all inflexible bookings flexible!

-RooFlyer88

 

[waz22]

They used to credit as J to QFF in the past in my experience but I’ve not had the chance to try it recently.

Agree, until recently it has been fine. Most recent upgraded flight credited as 0 noting as classic rewards and when I called I got the usual you only get the original sc for upgraded flights blah blah. Gave up arguing after 20 mins.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Agree, until recently it has been fine. Most recent upgraded flight credited as 0 noting as classic rewards and when I called I got the usual you only get the original sc for upgraded flights blah blah. Gave up arguing after 20 mins.

So are you saying that now upgraded BA flights earn 0 status credits since they are classed as a classic award (i.e. not even the base status credits earned)? If so, wow that's scary!

-RooFlyer88