The WP shadow

[serfty]

That is very impressive, QF.

Someone somewhere in Mascot is actively looking after valued P1 as it should be.

(Not that I will ever get there)

I don't think many regulars of this forum, if any, fly as much as Jobu ...

 

[JohnK]

If the flight is full, no one gets a shadow

Too many shadows on a full flight. I had another one this afternoon. Absolutely chockers.

 

[Jobu]

Today I'm flying in 1J and 1K has that nice "X" on it, will have to see if it lasts.

For completeness, my shadow disappeared and a nice, bronze-FF gentleman took its place on this flight. J-class ended up full, so I imagine a few ODUs handed out.

That is very impressive, QF. Someone somewhere in Mascot is actively looking after valued P1 as it should be. (Not that I will ever get there)

It can be hit and miss. Last week I landed in SYD, and my flight was delayed on the tarmac and immigration was packed, so I knew it would be a close call for my domestic connection. I arrived at the transfer hall 25 mins before my flight and as they looked at my BP they said, too late, you will have to change flights - go to desk. I said that surely I would make it and couldn't I just try as I had no check-in luggage, at which point I received a lecture about arriving late and told to go straight to counter. So I rolled my eyes (possibly my downfall) and complied. At the counter the much nicer lady said she would see what she could do. She ran around for 2 mins looking for a supervisor, at which point I said, "look, why dont you just let me go to the domestic terminal, and if I miss the flight I will change it in the qantas lounge" - she said ok. As I get to the bus, the bus driver gets an instruction on his walkie-talkie to hold the bus there for 10 more minutes. I hear him asking why as there is another bus arriving, and he is told he cannot leave for 10 minutes due to a passenger. He responds saying another bus has arrived and can take the passenger, but gets told not to leave. So he contacts the other bus and tells them that he can't move as he has been instructed to hold. Of course this caused me to miss my flight, and whilst I have no idea why he was told to hold, it did make me wonder...

I don't think many regulars of this forum, if any, fly as much as Jobu ...

I am hoping to slow down, but can't see the light yet. This week I will hit 250,000 miles (~400,000 km) YTD. I really hope that I never catch up to ChrisGibbs lifetime SCs!

 

[danny09]

I am hoping to slow down, but can't see the light yet. This week I will hit 250,000 miles (~400,000 km) YTD. I really hope that I never catch up to ChrisGibbs lifetime SCs!

Out of curiosity Jobu how many segments would you fly per membership year?

 

[Jobu]

Out of curiosity Jobu how many segments would you fly per membership year?

From memory between 80 - 150 per year.

 

[danny09]

From memory between 80 - 150 per year.

Sweet. I do between 100-150 segments per year & would just get 200,000km, so 400,000km is wicked :mrgreen:

 

[Jobu]

Sweet. I do between 100-150 segments per year & would just get 200,000km, so 400,000km is wicked :mrgreen:

400,000km is for half a year. I've done more than 70 flights so far this year. Most of my flights are international.

 

[Kangol]

From memory between 80 - 150 per year.

Do you credit them all to QFF? Surely there would be an alternAAtive progrAAm you'd consider?
That is, if you want to use your points/miles to buy even more flights!! Don't blame you given how much time you already spend on a plane and in an airport!

 

[Jobu]

Do you credit them all to QFF? Surely there would be an alternAAtive progrAAm you'd consider?
That is, if you want to use your points/miles to buy even more flights!! Don't blame you given how much time you already spend on a plane and in an airport!

I've been planning to look into other programs, particularly the one you refer to. I have membership with several programs (but only QF for oneworld). My focus is not points maximisation but more about comfort and who will look after me. For example, if I started crediting to AA would I ever qualify for CK given I don't fly AA often, and would that be comparable to P1 in terms of service? My sense is not. Similarly I've been flying alot with EK lately since QF has reduced their flights in favour of EK, and as far as I can see they dont recognise P1, so have been wondering if I should make them my prime FF program.

 

[kempvet]

My focus is not points maximisation but more about comfort and who will look after me.

There is a lesson in this for all the points gurus on this site, maximum points does not necessarily mean maximum pleasure and comfort when you fly.

 

[markis10]

There is a lesson in this for all the points gurus on this site, maximum points does not necessarily mean maximum pleasure and comfort when you fly.

Depends on who pays the bills for flying and how you use your points!

 

[Kangol]

I've been planning to look into other programs, particularly the one you refer to. I have membership with several programs (but only QF for oneworld). My focus is not points maximisation but more about comfort and who will look after me. For example, if I started crediting to AA would I ever qualify for CK given I don't fly AA often, and would that be comparable to P1 in terms of service? My sense is not. Similarly I've been flying alot with EK lately since QF has reduced their flights in favour of EK, and as far as I can see they dont recognise P1, so have been wondering if I should make them my prime FF program.

Ah, fair enough - at the end of the day only you know what's in your best interests for points, service and whatnot.
I was more referring to crediting to AA after requalifying for P1 - nothing to stop you changing your FF no at the lounge before boarding. 250,000 miles is hardly pocket change and from what you describe it's likely that you would qualify for both QFF P1 and AA EXP. CK on the other hand may not be totally comparable with P1, I'd be thinking it's along lines similar to CL.

What do you spend your points on anyway? 250k is a lot of WW gift cards, vacuum cleaners or toasters!

 

[JohnK]

There is a lesson in this for all the points gurus on this site, maximum points does not necessarily mean maximum pleasure and comfort when you fly.

My focus is points maximisation.

I don't care if I sit in economy as long as I can get bulkhead then I am comfortable enough. As I pay out of my pocket I don't want to pay over the top prices for perceived comfort.

 

[Jobu]

My focus is points maximisation.

I don't care if I sit in economy as long as I can get bulkhead then I am comfortable enough. As I pay out of my pocket I don't want to pay over the top prices for perceived comfort.

Allow me to elaborate.

Points are good and I like to earn them. However I don't prioritise them, perhaps because I earn enough. I earn close to a million points a year on QFF and I spend them on family and upgrades. I tried to donate them to a non-profit but QFF wouldn't allow it.

But when it comes to deciding which airline I fly and which FF card I use, I am very focussed on safety, schedule, cost, comfort - not points. I am very focussed on cost. For example, I will wherever possible try to book a return leg rather than 2 one-way flights because of the cost (even though this is often inconvenient because of schedules). I will book EK if it is cheaper than QF (sometimes even for the exact same flight). I do book in economy frequently and use my points to upgrade.

I'll give you another example. Prior to the QF alliance, year when I travelled on EK I could not access the F lounge in Dubai, even though I had top "status" with skywards. I would visit the crammed J lounge and hope that the queue for a shower was less than 45 minutes long. When there was a problem with a flight, I received no advance warning or special treatment - there were only 3 levels in the FF program and it seemed everyone was on the top level. So notwithstanding that points redemptions were much easier with skywards than QFF, I opted for QFF and flights via Singapore whenever I could, as I knew I would get better, slightly more personalised service and comfort.

So from my point of view, it is not perceived comfort. It is real comfort. If QF removed F lounge access for Platinum FFs but allowed access if they paid a fee of 1000 points a year, wouldn't you pay it? Would that be prioritising comfort over points?

 

[Anna]

I said, "look, why dont you just let me go to the domestic terminal, and if I miss the flight I will change it in the qantas lounge" - she said ok. As I get to the bus, the bus driver gets an instruction on his walkie-talkie to hold the bus there for 10 more minutes.

I assume you mean the QF free bus. In the past I have had success a couple of times in getting to the dom terminal on the Virgin bus when the QF gate dragons at SYD are not co-operating. It costs $5 or so and there's a short walk on arrival but better than missing a flight. Also they are much more helpful at the dom terminal letting you switch to an earlier flight if there is one. Computer almost always seems to say no at international.

 

[Happy Trails]

I had the WP magnet on a lightly loaded 763 on Monday night.
With just 12 of the 30 seats in the J cabin taken and four empty rows, I was the only one lucky enough to be granted a seat-mate.

 

[Jobu]

Ah, fair enough - at the end of the day only you know what's in your best interests for points, service and whatnot.
I was more referring to crediting to AA after requalifying for P1 - nothing to stop you changing your FF no at the lounge before boarding. 250,000 miles is hardly pocket change and from what you describe it's likely that you would qualify for both QFF P1 and AA EXP. CK on the other hand may not be totally comparable with P1, I'd be thinking it's along lines similar to CL.

What do you spend your points on anyway? 250k is a lot of WW gift cards, vacuum cleaners or toasters!

Ah I see. I'm not sure how the AA tiers work but I re-qualified for P1 between month 3 and 4. So you would book with Qantas FF#, receive the benefits up to lounge access (incl preferential seat selection and possibly shadow), and then switch # at the lounge to get points on other program. But can you change your FF number in international lounges or does this just work in domestic lounges?

 

[Kangol]

Ah I see. I'm not sure how the AA tiers work but I re-qualified for P1 between month 3 and 4. So you would book with Qantas FF#, receive the benefits up to lounge access (incl preferential seat selection and possibly shadow), and then switch # at the lounge to get points on other program. But can you change your FF number in international lounges or does this just work in domestic lounges?

Yes, you could switch FF numbers at any time before boarding - INT or DOM. I'm not sure if you could do it at the gate but if you do so on your way out from the lounge that would be fine.

For AAdvantage, the area on this site has some good info:
American Airlines AAdvantage

In particular this thread:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ple-of-aadvantage-questions-newbie-28236.html

There's also these pages compiled from FT info:
Elite Status (AA) - FlyerGuide Wiki
Miles and Points (AA) - FlyerGuide Wiki

Basically there are 3 ways to gain status: miles, points and segments. Kinda complex at first but it depends on your booking class and flight number.

I won't go any more off topic but I'd say you'd be surprised regarding the points burn on QFF vs AA, esp on like-for-like long haul F award redemptions!

 

[JohnK]

So from my point of view, it is not perceived comfort. It is real comfort. If QF removed F lounge access for Platinum FFs but allowed access if they paid a fee of 1000 points a year, wouldn't you pay it? Would that be prioritising comfort over points?

I do see your point but I guess we are slightly different.

When I travel international I try to maximise my points points earn but also ensure I am comfortable and look for value for money.

The First Lounge is really nice but for me to use it in SYD it would mean travelling on an A330 to SIN which I will avoid if at all possible. So in a couple of weeks I am travelling SYD-BNE-SIN and bypassing the SYD First Lounge but flying on a 747. I guess I have prioritised aircraft and First lounge use.

So in answer to your question if I had to pay a yearly fee to use the First Lounge I would need to consider based on what that fee was going to be and how often I would have the opportunity to use the First Lounge.

 

[amaroo]

Lovely shadow on QF403 this morning