We’re launching a Qantas Status Run service + free giveaway

[Bolt]

We’re pleased to announce that AFF is launching a new service that we think will be useful to some of our members: assistance with building the optimal Qantas status run!

If you need a few more status credits to earn or maintain Qantas Frequent Flyer status, this personalised service will find a Qantas status run that best meets your needs while earning the amount of status credits that you need.

Prices will start at around $199 for status runs of up to 250 status credits (or $299 if you need up to 500 status credits), and we may offer AFF member discounts.

We’re also looking at launching a Velocity Status Run service in the near future. We’ll reveal more details in the coming weeks.

We’d love your feedback

Before we open this service to the public, we’d love to get feedback from the AFF community.

Therefore, we’re offering this service free of charge to two AFF members! In return, all we ask is that you provide detailed feedback on how you found the service and/or any suggestions on how we could improve it.

How to participate

If you would like to go in the running to get free Qantas Status Run assistance, please leave a comment in this thread by 11.59pm on Sunday, 11 August 2024. In your comment, please make it clear that you’d be interested in trialling the service.

We’ll then randomly select two AFF members who’ve commented in this thread to receive this service for free.

Got any questions or feedback?

If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions about this service, please feel free to comment in this thread.

I'd be very interested in trialling this service. I've been looking for a status run for a while. The key for me is whether or not it represents sufficient value to me to purchase as a whole, rather than the cost of the service. I work a status run flight into my existing plans and travel desires rather than just having air-time. I have a hard time hitting the buy button unless it's actually taking me in the general direction of somewhere I want to go. Right now I want to make a trip from Asia to Australia, but the recent Red Tail Sale missed me completely, as the promo flights had to originate from Australia. I'd rather get the offer in my e-mail along with QANTAS fares going on sale as opposed to engaging a team Also, there are other competitors in this industry.

 

[RooFlyer]

When AFF was bought out by the big corporate $$$

so, when did this happen?

 

[flyguy77]

so, when did this happen?

Bit of googling....

Damien Waller and Edward Alder, owners of Australia's largest frequent flyer publisher, Point Hacks (not sure when this sale happened)

Points Hacks then bought AFF in 2022

They also own Pay.com.au - which is why you see promotion of it on PH/AFF

Damien previously founded iSelect - hence all the referral links and push for credit cards etc.

Nothing wrong with people making money & employees being paid - just think it's important forum users posting information be aware that AFF is owned by multi-multi millionaires now with a background in referrals/advertising etc etc.

 

[kpc]

AFF was bought by Point Hacks for a 7 figure sum in 2022. I guess the new owners of AFF want to maximise the return on their investment! The info posted by us is GOLD for them....just saying

Point Hacks was bought from its founder, Keith Mason some years earlier fyi.....everything posted by Point Hacks is designed to generate revenue...just saying again.

 

[arollke]

Definitely keen to trial this offering. Agree with the others who have mentioned having different optimisation options would be great

 

[RooFlyer]

Bit of googling....

Yeah, I knew all that - I was more querying your characterisation of it as 'big corporate $$$'. I just thought it was a bit over the top.

I mean, if you read the forum here, there is very, very little cross promotion to PH. The 'extra services', yes, but you don't see rampant posts with links to PH articles or 'driving clicks there'. I don't think I've ever posted with a PH link, but have done many with a link to Executive Traveller. There's no restriction or prohibition on that, which is good. I wouldn't give a rats if AFF was owned by Twiggy Forrest - if we can still share info, post opinions etc, without the owners pushing themselves on us, who cares?

As to 'commercialising' status runs, I can't see that either. They offer a service to find these, people can use or not. Like the 'Concierge' award booking finding service. Some people love the hunt of finding good awards; other people like me value their time and have paid them to find a chain of awards which I can book. Yet PH don't censor award-finding tips here to try to drive traffic to Concierge.

 

[StevoQFtraveller]

Keen to trial this offer. Obviously, since we are in Australia, status runs, frequent flyer programs, etc are predominantly Qantas, Virgin and a dash of Singapore airlines. Many of us are members of foreign FF programs, such as Turkish, Garuda, Lufthansa etc. Would be nice to have a bit more information on these programs and how best to use them.

 

[levelnine]

Yet PH don't censor award-finding tips here to try to drive traffic to Concierge.

The issue doesn't bother me (I only share things I'm happy to end up in a PH email blast — I keep the gems to private groups), but what occurs in practice is precisely the opposite of what you suggest.

They want members sharing more tips and tricks (incl award release drops) so they can monetise them by, eg, sending them to potential clients.

 

[flyguy77]

Yeah, I knew all that - I was more querying your characterisation of it as 'big corporate $$$'. I just thought it was a bit over the top.

We can have different opinions on that (I was giving a genuine response to your question as sarcasm doesn't work well online).

I think KPC raised some valid points and concerns around monetising every single thing - having a background of ownership helps to understand why this is a trend.

 

[RooFlyer]

They want members sharing more tips and tricks (incl award release drops) so they can monetise them by, eg, sending them to potential clients.

Well, sure, that's the quid pro quo; anything posted on-line is free for anyone to pick up. And yes, saving the juiciest tips for off-line has long been the practice. I discovered that attending AFF events is the pest place to discover these, talking personally to some of the better informed members. (And then ply them with alcohol in an attempt to get them to spill more )

We all know if there is no charge, then we are the product, but I've also found so many benefits just ordinarily on-line here that I'm happy to also pay the subscription fee to avoid ads and enjoy the ride.

 

[levelnine]

Well, sure, that's the quid pro quo; anything posted on-line is free for anyone to pick up. And yes, saving the juiciest tips for off-line has long been the practice. I discovered that attending AFF events is the pest place to discover these, talking personally to some of the better informed members. (And then ply them with alcohol in an attempt to get them to spill more )

We all know if there is no charge, then we are the product, but I've also found so many benefits just ordinarily on-line here that I'm happy to also pay the subscription fee to avoid ads and enjoy the ride.

It is also the dynamic that ultimately leads public forums to die. And by die, I don't mean lose all activity, but die in the sense that all the very good stuff disappears and it simply becomes a place occupied by complainants and newbies.

This is where the US scene has gone. No one serious about award hacking shares anything good on FlyerTalk anymore and no one serious about credit card churning shares anything good on r/churning anymore. All the serious action occurs out of the view of web scrapers and monetisers.

 

[citrusb]

Agree with much of the stated posts above, but I am genuinely interested in the service...Anything out of Perth would also be of interest....but I'm sure it will still be more economical to transit to eastern states and commence from there when the DSC are on offer....Doing the BNE - SYD - AKL usual run in Oct...

 

[Russell Lewis]

We’re pleased to announce that AFF is launching a new service that we think will be useful to some of our members: assistance with building the optimal Qantas status run!

If you need a few more status credits to earn or maintain Qantas Frequent Flyer status, this personalised service will find a Qantas status run that best meets your needs while earning the amount of status credits that you need.

Prices will start at around $199 for status runs of up to 250 status credits (or $299 if you need up to 500 status credits), and we may offer AFF member discounts.

We’re also looking at launching a Velocity Status Run service in the near future. We’ll reveal more details in the coming weeks.

We’d love your feedback

Before we open this service to the public, we’d love to get feedback from the AFF community.

Therefore, we’re offering this service free of charge to two AFF members! In return, all we ask is that you provide detailed feedback on how you found the service and/or any suggestions on how we could improve it.

How to participate

If you would like to go in the running to get free Qantas Status Run assistance, please leave a comment in this thread by 11.59pm on Sunday, 11 August 2024. In your comment, please make it clear that you’d be interested in trialling the service.

We’ll then randomly select two AFF members who’ve commented in this thread to receive this service for free.

Got any questions or feedback?

If you have any questions, feedback or suggestions about this service, please feel free to comment in this thread.

What a great idea. After a few years of no flying, I have dropped off Silver status, and have just booked a few status runs. Turns out I got lucky and may have picked good options. However this type of initiative would suit perfectly. Will definitely use it.

 

[UP4014]

It could be a good service, but it’s designed to make money for the web site owner of the day.

Let’s wait and see. Personally I don’t find it that hard to work out a few flights and SC results. This could work for private owners of the site as people are lazy, let’s face it.

 

[RooFlyer]

It could be a good service, but it’s designed to make money for the web site owner of the day.

Let’s wait and see. Personally I don’t find it that hard to work out a few flights and SC results. This could work for private owners of the site as people are lazy, let’s face it.

You don't have to be 'lazy' to want to use it - just to value your time. I have used their 'Award flight finding service' in the past and, while some might say I'm lazy, it was more because I have better things to do than spend hours and hours on a computer, and checking every day, trying to find rare award flights. Especially on a complex itinerary, where things have to join up on certain days, +/-. I think they have priced this service a bit high now, though.

As for help with finding good SC runs, again there are people with experience in doing this and know the ins and outs, like yourself. Then there are others who aren't, and are happy to pay someone to point out the good runs and allow them to maximise benefits rather than spending time getting up to speed and even then not making the right choices, which would cost them more per SC. Not a matter of being lazy at all; I mean, I could detail my car, but I'm always going to pay someone to do it properly while I enjoy myself doing what I'd rather do.

 

[Daver6]

I don't see the issue here. Folks are still free to discuss in the forum and figure it out themselves. Others are time poor and would rather pay someone to do it. A bit like a DIY job at home. Some enjoy that type of work, others see it as a chore.

I think people quickly forget that websites/online platforms aren't there as a charity to the general public. There are costs involved and they're generally there to make money for their owners. It's a bit like people complaining when social media platforms monetise your information. How else do you think they are meant to cover costs and make money. Charge you a fee? People would complain too.

 

[Dmac59]

You don't have to be 'lazy' to want to use it - just to value your time. I have used their 'Award flight finding service' in the past and, while some might say I'm lazy, it was more because I have better things to do than spend hours and hours on a computer, and checking every day, trying to find rare award flights. Especially on a complex itinerary, where things have to join up on certain days, +/-. I think they have priced this service a bit high now, though.

As for help with finding good SC runs, again there are people with experience in doing this and know the ins and outs, like yourself. Then there are others who aren't, and are happy to pay someone to point out the good runs and allow them to maximise benefits rather than spending time getting up to speed and even then not making the right choices, which would cost them more per SC. Not a matter of being lazy at all; I mean, I could detail my car, but I'm always going to pay someone to do it properly while I enjoy myself doing what I'd rather do.

Totally Agree @RooFlyer
As a relatively new member of AFF I am amazed at some of the SR achievements posted on the Master Status Run Thread by experienced members.
As for CR seats, a very time consuming task in itself for the more complex OS trips.

 

[aikman]

I get the impression that you pay the fee and then you get what you're given. What you're given may not be better than what you've researched yourself. This service is better suited to those who wants to do zero research themselves. I hope you can at least set your own criteria like weekend only departing SYD maximum of $7 per SC.

 

[RooFlyer]

I get the impression that you pay the fee and then you get what you're given. What you're given may not be better than what you've researched yourself. This service is better suited to those who wants to do zero research themselves. I hope you can at least set your own criteria like weekend only departing SYD maximum of $7 per SC.

Well, I guess we'll find out, won't we. With the Award finding service, you definitely get to set search criteria - airlines preferred, avoided, timing/date tolerance, alternative airports. However, the more restrictive the criteria you place, the more difficult it is for the search to be successful and sometimes they decline the job because they know they would be taking your money for a low chance of success. I expect the same will be in the Status Run search requests.

If you were to put in a request saying "Weekend of 25 August, departure from MCY, want SCs on Qantas at <$3/SC", then they might, before taking any money, say: sorry, not really possible, can't help, as they do with the Award flight search.

 

[henrus]

I’d be keen to try it but more interested in Velocity rather than Qantas. If I did make the request I’d love for it to be public and the response to be public to allow everyone to see the results.