The true value of status - why NOT to spend to seek status...

[Boca68]

Has any of the previous posters in this thread actually seated themselves in a chair in the normal gate area before a flight for more than five minutes?

@wandering_fred are you serious?... do you think we are all silver spooned, educated at Eton, watch polo?

Myself, I spent many, many years, (if you bothered to read my post) before I ever knew of status or lounges. I've slept overnight in airports in the past. Been taken to the airport in a jalopy that I feared would kill me. Flown in dreadful planes that wouldn't pass inspection here.

As I said, I don't do it for the 'lounge' time, but I appreciate it. Also, I'd appreciate if you read the entire thread, before summation. Ta!

 

[ozjuice]

Has any of the previous posters in this thread actually seated themselves in a chair in the normal gate area before a flight for more than five minutes? The lounge chairs are nothing to write home about (well maybe that they need re-upholstering) but they are a great deal more comfortable. And while the quiet may not be deafening, most lounges would be quieter than an airport concourse.
And now that QF won't check you in on separate PNRs, perhaps the value of business class check-in has been seriously reduced. But when 96% of your flights are international ex-Australia, avoiding the lines which you see for economy seating (yes there are a number of smaller seats towards the rear of the plane even if they are not observed by most posters here) is greatly appreciated if you do not wish to spend time standing in (slow moving) lines. And besides, one of the high points of my recent trip with a land based relative was seeing the long lines and then avoiding them.
As well given the price of beer or wine (or coffee) in hotel environments, I would suggest the savings benefits of the lounge is rather more than previously mentioned.

But perhaps I am wandering (too much)
Fred

Not entirely sure if you're serious here or not so will assume it's a tongue in cheek comment. Answer = Yes, but you've lost me a bit with your post.

 

[sudoer]

I earn lots of points from churning Credit Cards. There's not a lot of point doing that if I don't have the status to have a realistic chance of being able to use them.

This is my exact situation. My partner and I had saved approx 800k points when I realised it was near impossible to book premium cabin awards during high season unless you have status.

We haven't done an immediate-turnaround status run, but we have explored a few Asian cities for a couple of days on cheap MH fares - largely attracted by the good SC earn rate - to help boost status. We also started flying indirectly and making good use of DSC. Previously we'd earn 400-600 SC on average (mostly domestic Y), these changes to our flying have seen us both qualify for WP this past year and we will re-qualify this coming year.

It does require planning, careful reading of fare rules/permitted routings, and a lot of patience, but compared to where I was (PS) it's worth the trouble.

 

[serfty]

@wandering_fred are you serious?...

I initially reacted to that first sentence of the post similarly but the rest of the post belied that.

I suspect most of us have used a gate lounge seats for longer than five minutes.

 

[Pushka]

Not entirely sure if you're serious here or not so will assume it's a tongue in cheek comment. Answer = Yes, but you've lost me a bit with your post.

Phew. Thought it was me after just one glass of wine.

 

[nutwood]

It's an interesting question and one I often ponder. For many years, I mainly flew award flights. No status at all.
Back then, I explored the airports. Went for walks outside. Within the airport, I found empty gates where one could sit in peace.
Nowadays, I have status. I come into Melbourne on a Friday evening. Make a bee line for the business lounge. Spend ten minutes wandering about trying to find a seat. Dump my bag, visit the loo. Grab a very basic meal and a glass of mid range wine and sit listening to other people's phone calls.
I do it, so I suppose it must be an improvement, but I do wonder if it's just habit? I think I agree with earlier posters. If you evaluate status in terms of lounge access, it's not worth it. Better service, such as premium queues, premium boarding (if it worked!), premium call service, a WP shadow. These are the things that make it worth it.

 

[drron]

We often spend more than 5 minutes in the gate area even when travelling F.Earlier this year flying ANA F SFO-NRT we spent 30-40 minutes sitting by ourselves in the empty gate area next to the ANA gate.Knew we were going to get better food and wine onboard and the gate area was much quieter.

 

[mviy]

WP shadow

Even that is somewhat diminished in that if you know the system if you have lower status you can sometimes benefit from a WP’s shadow by sitting at the other end of the same group of 3 or 4 seats in the same row.

I do like the WP shadow but as I also like to sit in row 4 I don’t get it nearly as often as I otherwise might.

 

[juddles]

One rock coming your way now. There is a need to to sit relax and work on your computer. Maybe get something to drink non alcoholic and not be disturbed by anyone. Have a shower, use the toilet and wait for your next maybe even delayed flight.
That makes a difference. The difference between the normal QF lounge and the Business lounge is not all that great and I go to where less people are.

A few benefits of lounges missed there, I think.....!

marki and rooflyer, I am NOT saying lounges aren't great! I would hate to travel without the benefits. But my original post (as I thought I made it clear), was that the benefits for someone who doesn't fly enough to get status are just not worth forking out $1000's to gain.

 

[juddles]

Why buy a BMW when a Lada gets you from A to B?

etc etc

ermen, actually great parallel - so I will use your post to highlight my argument.....

The audience I am targetting are people who seem to want to spend (say) a $100,000 to buy a BMW which they will only drive a couple of times a year. They could rent the the car for those few trips at much less the cost.

I am not saying the BMW is not a damn fine car. But would I buy one if I knew I would only drive it two weekends each year? No way.

 

[juddles]

.....The shower has a value way in excess of its $$$ cost when you're about to jump onto a long haul flight....

Very true, if you travel frequently. But for those paying many dollars just to attain status to get a shower for one or two flights a year???

 

[JohnK]

Your value of lounges is much higher than mine. Personally I wouldn't value a lounge visit including SYD F lounge at more than $15-$20 which is the most I'd pay for a couple of beers if I didn't have lounge access.

Most of my domestic lounge visits are <30 minutes and may have a couple of Coke Zeros + some food.

A few points from me

- I love flying and often fly for the fun of it
- I travel with golf clubs and with 4-6 return trips to SE Asia and domestic trips the cost can add up considerably
- Travelling in bulkhead or exit row makes flying more enjoyable

 

[La Mouette]

I accidentally flew as an NB a year or two ago. My ticket was booked under the wrong name, and I didn't realise it until I went to check in. I suppose I should have tried to change it, but it was only a short domestic flight and I was running late, so I just risked it ...

Anyway, I had the ample choice of two rows at the rear of the aircraft. As I was late, I went straight to the gate, and was greeted by a "paging RR" announcement instead of the usual "paging LM". Instead of the normal welcome back LM, they warned me never to be late again! I went to my seat at the back - the front was packed, every seat full with CBR status types, while I had a toilet shadow. I got the same snack and drink as everyone else, albeit maybe 15 min later. It took a while to get off the plane at the end. But apart from the rude behaviour at the beginning, I don't think my experience was that different enough to justify $1000.

NB: long haul international is a completely different kettle of fish, and I'd be a psychological mess on the flights I do without status. But that's earned P1 status as opposed to bought status!

 

[opusman]

It's easy to get used to the benefits of status, to become blasé about it and declare it's not worth chasing.

I find a quick trip on a LCC to remind yourself how the other half lives is a good way to increase your appreciation of it

 

[serfty]

We often spend more than 5 minutes in the gate area even when travelling F.Earlier this year flying ANA F SFO-NRT we spent 30-40 minutes sitting by ourselves in the empty gate area next to the ANA gate.Knew we were going to get better food and wine onboard and the gate area was much quieter.

This reminds me of a specific case where I indeed spent more than five minutes at a gate lounge and when status was very useful.

A year or two ago my 8:30pm flight LAX-LAS on AA had been delayed to an estimated 11:30pm - I found out on arrival off another flight at 430pm.

The fare buckets for all other flight from 7pm were showing 0's. There was a 6:30pm flight with a few seats left.

I went to the Flagship Lounge in T4 and was put on standby for that the 6:30pm flight, unprompted I was told I was #1 on the list due to being a disrupted Emerald. I went to the FQ First lounge for a bite then back to the FL for a bit.

At 5:30pm I headed to the T4 gate and sat down - 15minutes later they began to process standbys and I was called first.

So, again forgetting the lounge, status has it's perks and while I can optimise my travel to retain status, I will continue to do so.

 

[amaroo]

We're about to find out. Have started the great migration of point accumulation towards others - mainly SQ. Will still hold onto QF Plat due to a few million sitting in the QF bank, if it all goes to plan we'll burn those over the next couple of years and drop back to LTG.

Hopefully, my cunning plan will see status achieved over at SQ and others via award redemptions in suites and first.

 

[RooFlyer]

marki and rooflyer, I am NOT saying lounges aren't great! I would hate to travel without the benefits. But my original post (as I thought I made it clear), was that the benefits for someone who doesn't fly enough to get status are just not worth forking out $1000's to gain.

Sure, yes, my intention was to compliment your post and agree with you.

 

[Deleted member]

An interesting range of responses to this equally interesting question.
I am coming up for 30 years as a QFF on August 31st.
Looking back at how my travel has changed I am reminded of how I came to be (in the first place) a QP life member.
The sister of a good friend of mine worked as an Australian Airlines ground staff person in Townsville. She encouraged me to buy an Australian airlines Flight Deck life membership. It was a big investment for me back then, and one which Mrs GPH didn’t really approve of at the time.
Living in Townsville back in those days did feel a bit like being on the outer fringes of the universe. I / we used to fly maybe 2 - 3 times per year, either to Brisbane for a conference or as a stepping off point to NZ to visit family.
It was a great advantage to us when Australian Airlines and Qantas merged, so all of a sudden as whY travellers we at least had basic lounge access. Both domestically and international, such as it was back then. We thought we were royalty!
Fast forward to 2011 and we discovered AFF. All of a sudden we had this whole new world of status, lounge access, pointy end travel hacks at our finger tips and life just gets richer.
However, we fall into the status trap, and fly to AKL for lunch on a DSC promo. We convince ourselves that it’s worth the effort, because we visit Mum and get a free bed for the weekend.
I am now about 2653 status credits away from LTG, my appetite for status chasing has waned and I may take longer to get there than I thought. It will be nice to have LTG under my belt, but even if I never achieve it I still have LTQP, the judicious use of a DSC booking in J to Europe once a year will see me eventually fall over the line anyway.
I suppose what I’m saying is that chasing status may not have been the smartest thing I ever did, I don’t fly or rather I don’t need to fly that often, but I have enjoyed the ride and don’t really regret the experience. Mrs H on the other hand is P1 and 1,000 short of LTG with no sign of slowing down.
A number of posters on this site lament the inability to book meaningful reward flights. They are usually without status and have restricted dates around their flying times. They are often left dissatisfied with the whole experience.
Having LTG will at least alleviate some of that pain for me in the future.
I think lounge access has been undervalued here, and drinks, food and the like aside, the ability to find a comfortable, quiet corner in a lounge when flying long haul, goes a long way toward making the journey that little bit more enjoyable, and of course the extras like a massage in the pier lounge in Hong Kong, followed by a hot shower and a change of clothes and then a nice lunch or dinner in their fab restaurant, who could put a low $ figure on all of that?

So aside from the fact that I am well and truly over SYD international airport and their OTT security screening process etc, the F lounge for me is well worth the visit, even without a shower or massage.
I like my wines and I am frequently rewarded with some lovely reds from the decanter, the champagne offering is above average and the food is generally tasty and of a good quality. So anything less than $100.00- $150.00 value for a lunch or dinner visit is under valuing the experience IMHO.
Breakfast is good as well, I still have a glass of champagne with my meal, and it sets me up for the rest of the flying experience.
I get to use the Dom J lounge as a WP (but usually fly in J anyway) so I find the offering a step up from the QP, even if my home port of BNE still persists with the substandard Mexican food offering :-(
That said the lounge staff and I have developed a great relationship over time and I am always made to feel that little bit special whenever I am there.
That puts the value somewhere closer to $50.00 for food and beverage alone for me, (depending on time spent in the lounge)
We fly to ADL a fair bit (buzz wine tours and the like) and I find the lounge to be perfectly fine, good food, nice staff, and it is of a decent size, so never seem to have difficulty in finding a seat .
On balance, I like lounge access and extra luggage allowance and all of those little extras that come with being a premium flyer.

Like the Ray Coniff song says , “happiness is different things to different people”

 

[boomy]

Very true, if you travel frequently. But for those paying many dollars just to attain status to get a shower for one or two flights a year???

But my original post (as I thought I made it clear), was that the benefits for someone who doesn't fly enough to get status are just not worth forking out $1000's to gain.

Agree 100%

I think many here missed the point of the thread and started arguing about the benefits of status from their point of view as frequent flyers. To be clear I think status makes HUGE difference when flying a lot for all the reasons members wrote in this thread. BUT I don’t get all those ppl who fly only few times a year and chose to spend thousands on status. Most don’t go for just any status but must be Platinum because Gold is not good enough, no access to F lounges once or twice a year.

If one needs 900SC top-up to make WP (the popular Noumena DSC run) how much flying will be done in a membership year to actually enjoy the benefits...
For someone who doesn’t fly very often I think it will be much wiser to spend their money on ways to fly J and F instead of buying status.

 

[VPS]

Interesting but I'm about 800 SC short of LTG and decided that the impetus to do some rushed and unplanned travel with the latest DSC just seemed too hard. I've been WP for the last three years and doubt I will get enough to retain this year but have just applied for 3 CC so will happily pay the "fee" if they offer it to me for the next year because I think the flying I do in 2019 will have me retain WP. And I still have 6 vouchers from the last DSC to use up so will use them for my next trip. I am looking forward to LTG because QF out of Adelaide is abysmal but after an EK flight in J on the 777 last year have no desire to do that again.

I have been to the F lounge in Sydney several times and although it's nice I think if that was a restaurant that I had to pay to eat at then I'm not sure I'd go back