VA2.0 International Partners

[HS-TQE]

You say “devalued” but for those of us with a very large stack of VFF points I’d say it’s a massive win if it comes off

I'd have to agree to some extent.

Most would be happy for it to back even if the possibility of a devalued rate eventuates.

Ultimately Velocity has to be a run as a business, and if the former rate is considered unsustainable under Bain, then many would have to accept the possiblity of changes out there.

 

[MooTime]

All points & reward seats get devalued overtime so as expected IMO.

Also I believe it's little easier accumulating points these days, double dip on each shop, credit card & the churning of them if one desires.

Maybe they'll have a max transfer per 12months.

 

[antycbr]

All points & reward seats get devalued overtime so as expected IMO.

Also I believe it's little easier accumulating points these days, double dip on each shop, credit card & the churning of them if one desires.

Maybe they'll have a max transfer per 12months.

Flybuys has turned into quite a nice little earner in the last few months - thanks to the 10k/4 week shops.

 

[jakeseven7]

Maybe they'll have a max transfer per 12months.

I would prefer this to a devaluation

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Not forgetting it was a 1 to 1 transfer rate between points transfer of VFF and KF in the start of it a few years ago.
If it comes back it might possibly be 1 VFF point to get 0.34 KF mile, or 0.5.

 

[Mattg]

Not forgetting it was a 1 to 1 transfer rate between points transfer of VFF and KF in the start of it a few years ago.

I don't think this is true? It was 1.35:1 in both directions originally.

 

[Colesmore]

First redemption booked. 36k points and $80 business one way from Boston to Montreal with Air Canada for 2 adults + lap infant mid next year. Cash fare economy w/bags was $700 and business was $1400. Apart from EY the redemption options are niche atm, but working for me. Ex-UK to AUH one way business for two at 106K points and $1000 is tempting too. I guess that's a side affect of getting used to BA redemptions where a large cash/tax component is the norm. I see $500pp + points as a bargain!

Early days, but very happy I didn't buy toasters and gift vouchers.

 

[Mattg]

Apart from EY the redemption options are niche atm, but working for me.

That's a good way to put it

 

[jakeseven7]

That's a good way to put it

It’s a very enhanced word, love it

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

First redemption booked. 36k points and $80 business one way from Boston to Montreal with Air Canada for 2 adults + lap infant mid next year. Cash fare economy w/bags was $700 and business was $1400. Apart from EY the redemption options are niche atm, but working for me. Ex-UK to AUH one way business for two at 106K points and $1000 is tempting too. I guess that's a side affect of getting used to BA redemptions where a large cash/tax component is the norm. I see $500pp + points as a bargain!

Early days, but very happy I didn't buy toasters and gift vouchers.

Maybe try to get something out out the UK by rail, EuroChunnel eg, and then do something slow to AUH, to avoid the UK APD.
J and F redemptions out of the UK will suck a lot of $/GBP due to their APD.

 

[andye]

Maybe try to get something out out the UK by rail, EuroChunnel eg, and then do something slow to AUH, to avoid the UK APD.
J and F redemptions out of the UK will suck a lot of $/GBP due to their APD.

As long as it's not on the same ticket, it's OK to take a cheap positioning flight to another European airport

 

[RAM]

I think the F rewards are pretty good value and even J isn’t too bad.

Can thoroughly recommend F rewards through to Munich. Went in late May pre-Covid and we had the F cabin to ourselves.

Chef offered to make anything we could suggest, after having well & truly enjoyed the F lounge at Abu Dhabi - we weren't that hungry so left it up to the chef who came back 90 minutes later with a Hungarian biscuit offering. We couldn't let any go to waste.

At Munich, given then they threw in a chaufeured limo to your accomodation, we weren't in a rush to get off. The steward seemed slightly anxious & asked a couple of times if we needed any help. Odd we thought, until after 6 or 7 minutes as we walked to the door we saw that the entire plane's other passengers were being held back to allow us a clear run. Oops! Many unfriendly looks in our direction.

Even worse, they obviously held them longer as it was around 90 seconds before we could hear any noise behind us - we were already in the terminal and heading down before the next people appeared.

Service was impeccable (even when others sharing the cabin out of SYD) even though the SYD lounge wasn't anything to write home about (apart from the Wagyu burgers). Good use of VFF points in our view.

Coming back used SIA, visited the Private Room (for 13 hours all told - 6 hours more than long enough, but did go on half day tour of Singapore thanks to Singapore Tourist Authority).

Whilst the extra cash costs of EY are much higher than with SIA - it was good to compare what's offered. Tick another on the bucket list.

 

[RAM]

First redemption booked. 36k points and $80 business one way from Boston to Montreal with Air Canada for 2 adults + lap infant mid next year. Cash fare economy w/bags was $700 and business was $1400. Apart from EY the redemption options are niche atm, but working for me. Ex-UK to AUH one way business for two at 106K points and $1000 is tempting too. I guess that's a side affect of getting used to BA redemptions where a large cash/tax component is the norm. I see $500pp + points as a bargain!

Early days, but very happy I didn't buy toasters and gift vouchers.

HA availability seems excellent across Y & business for Aust/HNL. You could see what it is for US mainland to HNL if that appeals.

Totally agree with you about not using up the points buying over-priced items as so many 'sky is falling' types were egging others to do - especially in the media.

All the forecasts, including by AJ until complaints made to ASIC reeled him in, were nearly as accurate as Federal Treasury predicting recessions.

 

[Colesmore]

Maybe try to get something out out the UK by rail, EuroChunnel eg, and then do something slow to AUH, to avoid the UK APD.
J and F redemptions out of the UK will suck a lot of $/GBP due to their APD.

I'm always looking at this, but with EYs delightful carrier charges in business the maths don't quite stack up for the hassle, particularly given their schedule at the moment. Having a hunt around Europe it seems only Frankfurt and London have double daily departures, with the rest just the one around lunchtime. As I won't be HBO for safety that'd necessitate a night stop on the way out (I'm currently Manchester based). Coming back everything gets in breakfast time so no problems separate ticket same day. In this case the $300pp saving quickly evaporates when booking return LCC flight w/bags and a night in a hotel.

I think the Euro positioning is more effective on cash fares? One of of the reasons (ok, the only one) I've got my dad flying SIN-AUH-MUC in business next year with EY, $2700 instead of the $3700 to fly two hours further to Manchester.

 

[Mr H]

Coming back used SIA, visited the Private Room (for 13 hours all told - 6 hours more than long enough, but did go on half day tour of Singapore thanks to Singapore Tourist Authority).

I would struggle to keep myself entertained for an hour there. A four walls room with some not especially comfortable chairs and giant screen TVs - with some food and drink served quickly in an adjacent dining area. Much better to head into the city and find a hawker market.

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

**((but with EYs delightful carrier charges in business the maths don't quite stack up for the hassle))**

Ah, so this is where some say carrier charges can differ between airlines.
So EY charges less than the real cost they have to bear, for flying in their premium cabin, out of the UK to AUH.
Didn't know that one (info) that deep.
Ta.
Not that I have enough points to use EY all the way to the UK.

 

[Colesmore]

It seems the difference between UK departures and EU is only the APD (~$330/£180), and in the case of MAN vs AMS/CDG/MUC it's not even the full APD value, presumably due to the countries other fees.

With all of Europe being between 2000-3000 miles from AUH there's no opportunities for reduced points spend either. Interestingly MAN & LHR seem right on the boundary (MAN just beyond in fact), which sees DUB despite the reduced fees less attractive as an option.

Fees ex-AUH all the same to Europe (before I got bored of searching)

		to AUH	from AUH
Origin/dest	Points (Min)	Fees (AUD)	Fees (AUD)
LHR	53000​	695​	313​
MAN	53000​	653​	313​
CDG	53000​	450​	313​
MUC	53000​	345​
AMS	53000​	330​	313​
BRU	53000​	320​
FCO	53000​	306​
VIE	53000​	305​
BCN	53000​	303​
ZHR	53000​	290​
DUB	65000​	283​	313​

 

[RAM]

After reading many posts on AFF about how good The Private Room is/was - we decided to give it the full treatment - breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Food was pretty good, service great, and between perhaps 45-75 minute periods we had it more or less to ourselves. Never that busy - was always 2/3 or more seat blocks available.

Having a couple of 'snooze rooms' would be a massive improvement, it did have several phone call rooms. Good view of the airport runways for takeoffs & arrivals.

Next SIA redemption & we'll be there but only for a few hours respite.

 

[Mr H]

After reading many posts on AFF about how good The Private Room is/was - we decided to give it the full treatment - breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Food was pretty good, service great, and between perhaps 45-75 minute periods we had it more or less to ourselves. Never that busy - was always 2/3 or more seat blocks available.

Having a couple of 'snooze rooms' would be a massive improvement, it did have several phone call rooms. Good view of the airport runways for takeoffs & arrivals.

Next SIA redemption & we'll be there but only for a few hours respite.

As I said earlier, I just don't get the love for The Private Room.

It's a square room that is a long walk through the lounge complex. It is nearly always empty, silent and as dead as a graveyard. The seats are not especially comfortable and I don't particularly remember the view - although having windows is an advantage over the other lounges. The food is designed to look luxurious (nice plates, prawns) but is not that amazing. My laksa tasted like it was an instant sachet. And it comes quickly and in tiny quantities - so really just snacks to relieve the boredom of sitting in a waiting room. And the faffing with sitting in a restaurant, being given starched napkins etc just to eat a snack really limits the number of snacks you'd ever want.

I can't understand why anyone would spend more time there than they had to - certainly nothing measured in hours! I prefer to go backwards and forwards on the monorail or look at the shops, TBH.

I don't know exactly what I want from a lounge, but I know The Private Room is not it.

 

[dajop]

Irrelevant anyway the Private Room of old is dead. Who knows what the experience in the new one will be like.

I suspect it will still be fairly silent and dead as a graveyard (isn’t that the point?). Which is bliss IMHO. The busier lounges are there for those who want a bit of noise and atmosphere.