What's YOUR QFF goal?

[tocal]

After a thought-provoking post from dajop here, and my current desire to learn as much as I can about earning/redeeming QFF points, I was wondering what your aim is with your points.

Do you spend a lot on DOM flights so you can use points for INT flights?
Is your main goal SCs?
Do you redeem points frequently for flights, like *ASAs, or do you save up for big trips?
What percentage of your flights are paid in cash compared to paid for by points?
What's your favourite way to use your points (I know a lot of people recommend *ASAs)?
If you pay cash, do you usually flight Y, J, or something else? Ditto for when you fly points.
Are you a sole-player in the QFF game, or do you have a partner/family?

Lots of questions - it kind of follows on from my post about how you became a frequent flyer (http://www.australianfrequentflyer....-program/how-did-you-become-qantas-43013.html), but this is more about your current habits and goals.

 

[Limewood]

Do you spend a lot on DOM flights so you can use points for INT flights? INT.
Is your main goal SCs? YES
Do you redeem points frequently for flights, like *ASAs, or do you save up for big trips? NO POINTS FROM CC SPENDING
What percentage of your flights are paid in cash compared to paid for by points? 20%
What's your favourite way to use your flights (I know a lot of people recommend *ASAs)? JASA
If you pay cash, do you usually flight Y, J, or something else? Ditto for when you fly points. BOTH
Are you a sole-player in the QFF game, or do you have a partner/family? BOTH QFF

 

[simongr]

For me there are [-]two[/-] three goals of being a FFer:

- To see the world both for leisure and work - I get bored easily being in the same office every day
- To do so in comfort
- To be able to take the family on some of those journeys also in comfort

So my strategy around that is:

- Get the right job with the right travel policy (not as easy as it seems)
- Plan my travel strategically so that I maximise the benefit to me whilst remaining within the travel policy and controlling costs
- Plan what I want to do and where I want to go and align that with my earning

At the moment I am savings points for a three person J trip to what was going to be the UK and Cyprus and now due to the change in QF/EK arrangements will be Cyprus with a stop in DXB for a few days.

 

[Christoo]

Interesting thread tocal,

I think you will find many FFers are wired the same way, they long to scale "Mount Status Credit" because it is there... Deep huh?
My motivation is primarily two and a half goals:
1: To stay Platinum for the additional perks such as the Business & First Lounge, Priority Boarding (HA!), International Express Departure & Arrival cards and Status bonuses
2: To accumulate enough FF points for my wife and I to continue to holiday internationally once a year.
2.5: To say to people I'm a Platinum with a cheesy grin that slowly fades as they give me the look you reserve someone talking about their stamp collection.

 

[Limewood]

My wife likes the idea I can take her into lounges when we travel QF and consortium airlines, was not impressed with AA lounges in USA last month though.

 

[Deleted member]

Hi Tocal, I too am new to this ( not good as I am a bit older now) but anyway i am a self funded flyer and rely on CC points to augment my golas in that area, Mrs GPH and I enjoy travel, so anything we can do to build up points and SC's to make the experience that bit more enjopyable the better
I dont think there is any wrong way to do this, some are fortunate to have regular flying as part of their Job.
the preference we have is JASDA for long hauil international, and pay for as much shorter stuff as possible. made Plat for the first time doing it that way

 

[Bundy Bear]

My short term goal is to reach Qantas Life Time Silver, currently 1,300 SCs away.

My long term goal is to reach Qantas Life Time Gold, but Qantas may change the rules before I get there.

I have a couple of destinations I want to get to, Egypt, Hawaii, Alaska and there are a few destinations I would like to go back to and actually spend a few days or even a week. Places like Germany, Sweden and Ireland.

I am Qantas Club Life member and I am currently Qantas Platinum I will happy just to reach Qantas Gold,

 

[ozmille]

Very short time goal is LTS (will get there next year with booked travel)
Long term goal is LTG but not sure when (if ever) that will happen)

We are mostly self funded WPs (wife wholly self funded for me there are some work trips as well) and the goal of our FF points is just not to have to pay for domestic travel so with our once or twice a year J class trips to Europe we get enough points to do all our domestic trips as JASAs.

*edit*
and Flounge

 

[Princess Fiona]

For me there are [-]two[/-] three goals of being a FFer:

- To see the world both for leisure and work - I get bored easily being in the same office every day
- To do so in comfort
- To be able to take the family on some of those journeys also in comfort

So my strategy around that is:

- Get the right job with the right travel policy (not as easy as it seems)
- Plan my travel strategically so that I maximise the benefit to me whilst remaining within the travel policy and controlling costs
- Plan what I want to do and where I want to go and align that with my earning

.

+1 Exactly my thoughts.
My short term aim is LTS ( will achieve this next month)
Long term is LTG, and I'd love to hit P1 just once.
I keep enough QFF points for a rainy day ie. enough for a short notice redemption seat in Y+ or above to go back to the UK where my extended family live.
I use my points for JASA's and upgrades from J-F.
The majority of my CC spending points go to Shrek's account and will be redeemed for 2 x 280K One World Explorer tickets next year.

 

[dragonman]

The real joy for me of AFF is the discovery of OneWorld fares. I have done 2 now (in business) and used the points for a RTW award trip in J.

In November I will do my first AONE4 and this will get me very close to LTG. The lounges, priority boarding, instant access on the phone have all been great for me at various times.

Sometimes its just the tips like the cheap J fares on Cathay out of Taiwan or the riddle talkers and their YUPPS.

 

[simongr]

+1 Exactly my thoughts.
My short term aim is LTS ( will achieve this next month)
Long term is LTG, and I'd love to hit P1 just once.

LTS - check
LTG - February next year (possibly June)
P1 - check Not feeling that special yet...

The real joy for me of AFF is the discovery of OneWorld fares. I have done 2 now (in business) and used the points for a RTW award trip in J.

Totally agree - in my prior role with a reason to visit the US this meant a huge difference to me - I was able to surprise my mum in Cyprus by just turning up one day on my way back from the US

 

[Blackadder]

For me simply maintaing my self funded WP status, unfortunatly my line of work doesn't call for flying so it is mostly done on my 5 weeks A/L ever year.

 

[QF Wally]

I was aiming for P1, until my last trip when I did the sums; currently sitting at 3,460 SC's, however only ~1,400 on QF's. I really don't think its going to be worth it, so I'll probably focus more on getting to Tier1 with Star Alliance in tandem in the future. Can't rave about WP enough though; better service, better lounges, all in all a better program than I know of other airlines.

Off to EU with my wife tomorrow (3 weeks driving around the French countryside), at which point I'll be LTG (yay?). Not an aspiration to any degree, but hey, I'll take it.

Absolute best reason for QFF and best use of points is that I haven't bought a bottle/case of wine for the past 9 months. Generally acrue the points faster than I can drink the wine, and I can't substantiate not drinking free wine for the sake of upgrading myself to First. In saying that, My wife has a return First Class trip on my points tomorrow, and is extremely chuffed, so that in itself is worth every 'penny'.

Au Revoir!

 

[deejo77]

I don't care about SC as I only fly once - sometimes twice a year. I am self funded and provide the FUNDS for the other 3 tickets in my house hold.

I will try and buy the cheapest Y ticket I can - eg - Brisbane - Sydney - Dallas - Brisbane in August cost me $5200 and going to New York in March for around $4000. When I can pay for seat selection and get the back end of the plane with the 2 seats to a row this give me very good value. I also don't want to pay for Y+ or J because I feel that as soon as they have had a taste it would be hard to put them all down the back end of the plane again!!!

So I pay for flights in cash.

I have only ever redeemed points once - and that was to fly my father to Sydney for medical treatment - it was not the best value to redeem but my father needed to go.

I am currently saving to do 4 x Y RTW tickets - I hope to have the required points by this time next year

I have everyone in the house enrolled in QFF however I am the only one eligible for the CC sign on bonus that I have been using to boost the points.

 

[richie9x]

My travel is quite unpredictable so not sure if is worth having set goals. But would like to maintain platinum or better. If not gold would do.

Like others LTS is a short way off and LTG is further down the track. So just accumulating towards them.

Accumulating points as I want to go first class somewhere for honeymoon. Hopefully the tie in with Emirates will open up a few more options.

 

[markis10]

I dont have any QFF goals, I have no interest in P1 while having LTG with QF and Plat with DJ to cover my domestic needs, internationally I have *G and also Etihad Gold if needed to supplement QF and DJ status as required. I like being able to pick who I fly with knowing I will get good seats etc, Friday sees me on three different carriers as a result for the one trip, where timing and cost were more important than frequent flyer benefits.

 

[serfty]

Do you spend a lot on DOM flights so you can use points for INT flights?

No International flight earn this WP more points far more easily (e.g. MEL-DFW returns earns 35K)

Is your main goal SCs?

My main earning goal is indeed SC's, but with xASA now eligible, earning points have become more fascinating.

Do you redeem points frequently for flights, like *ASAs, or do you save up for big trips?

My *ASA's are generally "big trips" (International) - much domestic travel these days is with Virgin Australia.

What percentage of your flights are paid in cash compared to paid for by points?

In segment terms about 80% paid.

What's your favourite way to use your flights (I know a lot of people recommend *ASAs)?

Flights? Did you mean points? If points then iInternational JASA are the sweet spot.

If you pay cash, do you usually flight Y, J, or something else? Ditto for when you fly points.

Cash domestically is 95% economy, with points it 95% J.

Are you a sole-player in the QFF game, or do you have a partner/family?

Partner appreciates the bennies of status when she flys.

Site note:

LTS - check
LTG - check
P1 - Not interested (out of my budget)

(I have over 22K LT SC - which do not include the over 200 flights taken 1994-1996.)

I took a trip in April this year which involved 14 flights, 1 QF, 4 AA, 2 NZ, 7 US.

 

[chrispy3276]

*Puts on best Ryan Bingham voice*

Let's just say that I have a number in mind and I haven't hit it yet.

 

[freepyjamas]

After a thought-provoking post from dajop here, and my current desire to learn as much as I can about earning/redeeming QFF points, I was wondering what your aim is with your points.

Do you spend a lot on DOM flights so you can use points for INT flights?
Is your main goal SCs?
Do you redeem points frequently for flights, like *ASAs, or do you save up for big trips?
What percentage of your flights are paid in cash compared to paid for by points?
What's your favourite way to use your flights (I know a lot of people recommend *ASAs)?
If you pay cash, do you usually flight Y, J, or something else? Ditto for when you fly points.
Are you a sole-player in the QFF game, or do you have a partner/family?


Lots of questions - it kind of follows on from my post about how you became a frequent flyer (http://www.australianfrequentflyer....-program/how-did-you-become-qantas-43013.html), but this is more about your current habits and goals.

Do you spend a lot on DOM flights so you can use points for INT flights?
Pretty much, yes.

Is your main goal SCs?
Yep. I fly Y Dom, so the J lounge + priority seat selection from WP status makes life a lot easier. Don't care about lifetime status, not banking on QF being around that long.

Do you redeem points frequently for flights, like *ASAs, or do you save up for big trips?
Mostly use points on Int upgrades, the rest of the points get banked up for int ASA's.

What percentage of your flights are paid in cash compared to paid for by points?
95% cash.

What's your favourite way to use your flights (I know a lot of people recommend *ASAs)?
Yep, ASA's.

If you pay cash, do you usually flight Y, J, or something else? Ditto for when you fly points.
Mostly Y. But I'll pay cash for QF J if it's discounted - too expensive otherwise.

Are you a sole-player in the QFF game, or do you have a partner/family?
Family.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Do you spend a lot on DOM flights so you can use points for INT flights?

No more the other way around - we love overseas trips and want to see the whole world before we die (or as much as possible). This + CC spend then gives us points to spend domestically - it is quite easy to get award flights domestically.

Is your main goal SCs?

It has become a fun thing to do - mainly from hanging around this board and wanting to keep up with the Jones I try to be sensible though e.g. I elected to book a J flight SYD to Papeete with Air Tahiti, rather than Qantas. Exactly the same planes, but half the price - the status credits/points didn't seem worth paying the extra money - it was an extra $3k each.

I am LTS now and would like to get to LTG, but more just because it is there, rather than it is worth that much to us given we predominantly fly J/F anyway.

Do you redeem points frequently for flights, like *ASAs, or do you save up for big trips?

I would generally spend points quite rapidly on domestic JASAs.


What percentage of your flights are paid in cash compared to paid for by points?

Taking value of flights, rather than no of flights, I would say 75% cash and the rest points. Our travel is all self funded.

What's your favourite way to use your flights (I know a lot of people recommend *ASAs)?

Addicted to ASAs - can't resist paying points for something (and a bit of cash) and then getting more points and status credits.

If you pay cash, do you usually flight Y, J, or something else? Ditto for when you fly points.

Usually J and F, although if we are doing the CBR-SYD hop then it is Y as it is crazy to pay for J for a few minutes in the air! Same for points.

Are you a sole-player in the QFF game, or do you have a partner/family?

Mr FM has become interested in status and points, but not to a great extent - he is platinum and a flight or two off LTS. Our oldest daughter DR FM, is pretty addicted to travel and status. She is only silver and is maintaining that but only afford Y travel, although I know as soon as she can afford to she will up to J. I have given her many lectures about having to pay off houses and build investments before she starts squandering money on premium travel. She has life time QC membership and is pushing towards LTS. Master FM likes travel, but doesn't really care about status - he has LT QC membership as well, but hasn't been above bronze for some time. The youngest one is platinum at the moment, but I suspect will never have the money to indulge in much travelling. She is off to Fiji in December and Thailand in July - plans to make maximum use of the First lounge before she loses her platinum status - she is very close to LTS.