Value Status Runs

[justinbrett]

Tomorrow I am going on my first ever status run.

My flights are:

QF605
0605 BNE
0925 MEL

QF679
1020 MEL
1110 ADL

QF764
1650 ADL
1915 SYD

QF552
2005 SYD
2035 BNE

They were booked as BNE - ADL return, as two pairs of connecting flights (which is what made it cheap). And as it's all in one booking I should be OK if there is a delay or cancellation.

The trip will give me 50 SCs at a cost of $366 - working out at about $7.30 per point. That's better than SYD - CBR in J, which is about $7.50 (which was my first idea).

I plan to get a bus into the city for a few hours and then go back to the QP for some drinks and do some work.

Would have been cheaper to book both flights via MEL, but I wanted to stop by SYD on the way home for a) variety and b) to pick up some Krispy Kreme's. It was only $10 extra.

My question is - is it normal to feel like an idiot going on a status run? I have no reason to go to Adelaide (I have friends there but they will be at work, didn't have time to stay overnight). I need these points to achieve gold by March (which now I'm pretty much assured to do) and that will come in handy in May when I go on a RTW trip with QF/BA/AA.

And just heard on the news it will be 40 degrees in ADL tomorrow - just my luck!

 

[Febs]

justinbrett - Although my first reaction to "status runs" was "You can't be serious?!", IMO in certain circumstances it's perfectly justified - one of these being when you're just short of gold.

Do you do a lot of international travel? If so, then that $366 has paid for your access to any OW Business lounge around the globe (more or less), in which case it's very much worth it. If was 50sc short, and did a lot of international travel (I do a bit), I'd do the same.

Personally for a few hundred dollars to get all the extra benefits, I'd go for it. I'm going to fall short of Plat this year (guess I can't complain, it's also my first year as a QFFer and the first year I've taken more than one trip away ), but if I was only a few hundred dollars short, I'd probably do what you're doing.

Cheers,
- Febs.

 

[Evan]

Never done a pure status run myself, but may very well have to in a month or 2 for the same reason as you, but i have paid a hundred or so to make up the difference between my corperate best deal and the airline i wish to fly (for miles and status).

Pity you couldn't have more than a couple of hours i would have booked a wine tour or something or just looked for a cheap rental car and picked up a few nice bottles

Evan

 

[serfty]

... My question is - is it normal to feel like an idiot going on a status run? I have no reason to go to Adelaide (I have friends there but they will be at work, didn't have time to stay overnight). I need these points to achieve gold by March (which now I'm pretty much assured to do) and that will come in handy in May when I go on a RTW trip with QF/BA/AA. ...

It's considered quite normal for many people who frequent this forum and those similar.

Many Frequent Flyers to do extra trips to ensure continued status; Lounge access make the difference between PS and SG considerable. Hence the terms Mileage Run and Status Run.

Enjoy you flights tomorrow; FWIW, a taxi into Adelaide is inexpensive when compared with other Australian ports (~$14 e/w)

 

[justinbrett]

Do you do a lot of international travel? If so, then that $366 has paid for your access to any OW Business lounge around the globe (more or less), in which case it's very much worth it. If was 50sc short, and did a lot of international travel (I do a bit), I'd do the same.

Not normally, however this year I will be, doing an extensive round the world trip. This has been my main motivation to get gold - not just for the lounge access, but the other features such as the extra points (50% bonus) priority boarding and better seat preferences will all come in handy after flying 30,000 miles. It's a trip of a lifetime (going with a good mate) and it will just make it even better (hopefuly).

I also got my first op-upgrade a few weeks ago (DEC 22) to business class flying DRW - BNE. I thought that was pretty good, especially only being silver. One can only hope being gold will increase my chances. I fly a lot in QF domestic, normally long haul domestic (mostly to/from DRW).

Evan, nice idea about the wine tour- but I was only in Adelaide a few months ago so happy to give it a miss. Mind you, a wine tour followed by waiting at both the ADL and SYD QPs, and being weekday cityflyer flights that's more drinks - I'd probably get kicked off the aircraft!

Being 40 degrees outside, I'm half tempted to stay in the airport (don't mind the new terminal).

 

[serfty]

As an aside, have you checked in yet (OLCI) for your flights?

You really only have time to go to town; if you are into Cricket you could check out the Bradman Museum at the Adelaide Oval.

It's open tomorrow 'til 1pm, you could get an hor there.

From the oval it's a nice walk to the casino taxi ranks to get back to the airport.

 

[justinbrett]

As an aside, have you checked in yet (OLCI) for your flights?

You really only have time to go to town; if you are into Cricket you could check out the Bradman Museum at the Adelaide Oval.

It's open tomorrow 'til 1pm, you could get an hor there.

From the oval it's a nice walk to the casino taxi ranks to get back to the airport.

Yeah, did that this morning (it's good that only the first flight has to be within 24 hours - and as the return was within 12 hours of the outbound, I could check in for all four.

Depending on how early I get to Brisbane airport tomorrow (aiming for about 0530 for a 0605 depature - no bags obviously) - I plan to ask for exit rows for the remaining three flights at the BNE QP. I figure it's a pretty good chance at 0530 in the morning.

I think I'll just go into the city and have lunch somewhere - do a bit of shopping (I live in Darwin, so I make the most of capital city shopping trips, even if it is Adelaide ). And aim to return to the airport around 2 or 3. I do uni part time on top of work and have a few assignments to work on, so the QP will come in handy.

 

[JohnK]

My question is - is it normal to feel like an idiot going on a status run?

I don't know whether it is normal or not, but I feel like an idiot every time I pay money to fly just for the sake of achieving a certain status level!

 

[Love2Fly]

I don't know whether it is normal or not, but I feel like an idiot every time I pay money to fly just for the sake of achieving a certain status level!

Being relatively new to this site, I am glad I now feel a little less an idiot for some of my past trips--for exactly the above--I am not alone!

 

[oz_mark]

I don't know whether it is normal or not, but I feel like an idiot every time I pay money to fly just for the sake of achieving a certain status level!

Hmm, you must have had that feeling a lot lately <grin, duck, run>

 

[Altair]

Hmmm. My plans to acheive SG hinged on gaining the required SC by June. The problem, my QP ends at the end of February and I have a honeymoon that has flights in Business Class on Thai but there are 4 Iberian flights that do have some lengthy connections. The soontobeMrs Altair was wondering if we would have lounge access but unfortunately not on these IB flights, IB Business Class on short haul is beyond a joke.
So should I do a status run to "save" the QP membership costs and gain the required status? Well with 8 weekends to go :shock: one of which is taken up with the stag weekend or the fact that the budget is as balanced as the US governments I do not think so.

 

[Shano]

When I first approached the SG threshold I started forking out the extra $$ for flexisaver fares over supersaver for personal travel to gain the extra SC to make sure I reached Gold. This probably cost me well over $500.

At the time I did not know of this forum, so the thought of taking extra flights just to gain the SC never crossed my mind.

Fortunately my paid for business travel has taken me to WP status. Having experienced the benefits of higher status, would not hestitate to consider SC runs in the future to try and maintain status.

 

[Skyring]

I don't know whether it is normal or not, but I feel like an idiot every time I pay money to fly just for the sake of achieving a certain status level!

I've done it twice (more or less), and felt good about it both times.

The first was this time last year when I was booking a RTW ticket. I'd worked out my 20 flights and ran the itinerary through one of those points tools, noting that I'd easily retain PS, but if I went Business, I'd get to WP in one trip. The difference was about $6 000, and I got a DONE4 and had a whale of a time. For the comfort on that trip and the privileges I gained (and still have over a year left of), yeah, it was probably worth it.

That took me to SG because there were a couple of legs on one-class aircraft that I hadn't counted on, and two flights apparently had no seats up front at time of booking. I was 45 points short. Still, it got me to SG and that was nice when I did another RTW on points a month or two later.

The second time was when I booked flights to and from Adelaide for my wife and I. I used points to pay for her ticket and real cash money for mine, because I wanted those status credits! Points aside, the difference was about $100, once you figured in all the taxes and fees.

All trips were necessary parts of my lifestyle - I didn't fly just for the sake of flying, but rather to meet people - so I didn't make the trips just to get points. However, if I hadn't needed to go to Adelaide, yeah I would have flown just to get those points. Probably J CBR-SYD-CBR as being the quickest and most convenient.

But in a wider sense, I made flights I didn't need to just to get status credits. Flying London to Birmingham via another country wasn't strictly necessary - it's a lot more convenient to take the train - but I wanted to add in those flights.

I'll continue to plan my trips so as to maximise the flights and distances. My next RTW, by way of simplified example, I plan to fly LHR-SFO-JFK-SYD when it would be a lot easier to switch the middle two around. However, this doesn't involve paying any extra money, just burning up time.

But the best thing about status runs is that you don't need to do them! The advice freely given here by some of the regulars is worth tens of thousands of airmiles and hundreds of status points.

Granted, you won't get WP out of a day trip to Brisbane, but you can certainly learn how to maximise the return from your existing travel plans, so long as you get the advice here before you book, and you do it well ahead of time.

 

[JohnK]

Hmm, you must have had that feeling a lot lately <grin, duck, run>

Exactly.

I don't see a problem with non direct routing when the cost differential is only marginal but flying just for the sake of achieving status is becoming painful. That money could be used for constructive things instead of sitting in an aircraft doing turnarounds.

 

[oz_mark]

Exactly.

I don't see a problem with non direct routing when the cost differential is only marginal but flying just for the sake of achieving status is becoming painful. That money could be used for constructive things instead of sitting in an aircraft doing turnarounds.

That's why I have done the former but not the latter (but did come close to the latter!)

 

[Shano]

Hmmm. My plans to acheive SG hinged on gaining the required SC by June. The problem, my QP ends at the end of February and I have a honeymoon that has flights in Business Class on Thai but there are 4 Iberian flights that do have some lengthy connections. The soontobeMrs Altair was wondering if we would have lounge access but unfortunately not on these IB flights, IB Business Class on short haul is beyond a joke.
So should I do a status run to "save" the QP membership costs and gain the required status? Well with 8 weekends to go :shock: one of which is taken up with the stag weekend or the fact that the budget is as balanced as the US governments I do not think so.

I believe that you would need SG status to access OW lounges, not QP membership. Doesn't flying IB business class gain access to business class lounges?

 

[Skyring]

I don't see a problem with non direct routing when the cost differential is only marginal but flying just for the sake of achieving status is becoming painful. That money could be used for constructive things instead of sitting in an aircraft doing turnarounds.

If the next level involves some significant reward, the most obvious being the QC membership included with the PS-SG move, then spending the money on the flights instead of buying QC membership at several hundred dollars should be worthwhile. That's a no-brainer if you plan on flying enough that lounge access is important.

There are other tangible benefits. Those 100% status bonus airmiles for a WP can add up. If (like me) you travel with a heavy load of luggage, then there can be a saving on excess baggage.

But, I think, the bottom line is that we can spend our money as we please, and if I choose to spend it on an otherwise useless flight instead of a widescreen television, then that's my choice.

Think about how many people have expensive hobbies. We've just had Summernats in Canberra, where a great number of folk spent tens of thousands of dollars on cars that are all but useless as practical everyday transport. Or Parkes, hosting hundreds of Elvis impersonators; some of those costumes must have been expensive, though I think they saved money on the wigs.

Frequent flying is a hobby like any other. We spend our money on what we want. So long as the kids don't go hungry or the wife barefoot, who cares?

 

[serfty]

... Frequent flying is a hobby like any other. We spend our money on what we want. So long as the kids don't go hungry or the wife barefoot, who cares?

That's right, you can feed the kids in the QP/Lounge and your partner can swan around in freebie hotel slippers.

 

[oz_mark]

That's right, you can feed the kids in the QP/Lounge and your partner can swan around in freebie hotel slippers.

I just wish I could afford your hobby

 

[Skyring]

That's right, you can feed the kids in the QP/Lounge and your partner can swan around in freebie hotel slippers.

By jingo, if my teenage son is around when they put out the party pies in the QC, you'd best be quick if you want more than a lingering smell in the air!