Which FF programme for 25yo Sydneysider?

[modandm]

Im 25 and will be travelling to europe return this year + a few domestic and maybe a trip over the ditch. I think I will do a trip like europe south america or usa about every year or so for the foreseeable future. All flights will be self funded so economy.

I would love some advice on what FF programme to join and how to maximise the benifits.

Re credit cards I am not a big spender (probabally $100pw on credit card) so don't imagine I would earn much with one but would get one and use it if it helped towards the programme. Particulalry the ones with a joining bonus may help with getting points/status. I also don't shop at woolies.

Should I be pursuing status first - to earn at a higher rate? Or is earn and burn more important? What is earn and burn?
What should be my objectives?
What other questions should I be asking?

And finally what programme should I join?

[JohnK]

Welcome to AFF!

Very difficult questions.

The most important question is which airline (or alliance) do you want to fly?

If the answer is Qantas and Oneworld carriers and you want status quickly then probably best to join AA and sign up for the AA Platinum Challenge (I think it costs US150 maybe more). AA also has good earn and burn rates early on but you need to be veyr careful of the fares you book for domestic travel. It does not sound like you will have enough to get status on Qantas with the amount of flying you will be doing.

If the answer is Singapore or Thai then probably best to join something like Aegean Airlines to get status quickly but the burn rates are not that good. If interested in credit card points as well then perhaps Singapore Kris Flyer is a consideration but points do expire after 3 years so need to be used regularly.

I am not going to go into the intricacies of FF programs as that information is on their respective websites and AFF threads so start researching what is best for you.

As for credit cards which flavour do you want? You will not be able to transfer credit card points to Aegean or AA (unless you have Diners). For that type of spend maybe the Qantas Amex Discovery card with no annual fee would be the best option.

P.S earn and burn refers to the rate at which points are earned and spent on awards. Some programs have generous rates on earning but then very high rates when it come to awards while other may have poor rates omn earning but generous rates when it comes to awards. You need to determine what you want to do with your points and then find the best program for you. But that will take time.

[modandm]

Hi John - thanks thats helpful.

I think I would prefer to go star alliance carriers than Oneworld so maybe Aegan is suitable for me.

I have read the benifits of being *gold and lounge access would be nice but id rather try and earn points for upgrades as I was told by a travel agent that this is the best 'value' (point for dollar) from points. Does this mean I should worry less about status and focus on 'earn and burn'?

Also as I won't be flying that much do i need the ability to buy points?

[JohnK]

Again it is hard to answer as what is best for me is not necessarily best for you.

I don't care about upgrades and the most important thing for me is domestic flying with some international (mainly QF) and this way I can get status and earn QFF points to redeem Oneworld awards in economy for 140,000 QFF points.

I also have an Amex credit card and I can switch those points SQ KrisFlyer or VS Flying Club to get cheap awards to SE Asia.

I don't quite understand how *Alliance works when it comes to upgrades. I believe you can upgrade any carriers flights with miles/points from any FF program. If you are also going to earn points from credit card then it makes sense to go for a FF program with good burn rates.

And yes if you are not going to be flying much then you also need to consider how quickly you will earn points and use them. You don't want to be in a FF program where your miles become orphaned if not used in 3 years.

So yes I would focus on earn and burn and try to find a balance between the two.

Sorry I can't be more specific but hopefully someone will answer on the benefits of choosing a *Alliance FF program.

[modandm]

thanks john - I understand it might be a tough q for you if you are a oneworld man yourself.

Since jetstar is now oneworld maybe i should consider oneworld. Is qantas the usual one people used so they can get wow and credit card points too?

Do you think Jetstar wil have its own points systme or will it join QFF?

[JohnK]

Since jetstar is now oneworld maybe i should consider oneworld. Is qantas the usual one people used so they can get wow and credit card points too?

With your amount of flying (I think I got the picture) then probably best to join AA as they have a generous earn and burn rate for most airfares but more importantly allows you to get status quickly with Platinum Challenge which then multiplies the earn rate by 50% for Gold and 100% for Platinum. Hope I got that right.

I suspect though that most Jetstar airfares will still not be earning FF points in most FF programs.

Keep credit card points in Amex or Citibank (or what ever you choose) and then use these for awards on a number of airlines or put them across to QF and use them for upgrades on QF metal.

Do you think Jetstar wil have its own points systme or will it join QFF?

It is already part of QFF but personally I would prefer it if Jetstar wasn't anywhere near QFF as I would have more to lose than gain. And yes I know that some people think Jetstar deserves to be highly rated and treated seriously.

[oz_mark]

thanks john - I understand it might be a tough q for you if you are a oneworld man yourself.

Since jetstar is now oneworld maybe i should consider oneworld. Is qantas the usual one people used so they can get wow and credit card points too?

Do you think Jetstar wil have its own points systme or will it join QFF?

Jetstar is not part of oneWorld. There are some interline and marketing agreements, and if these are useful to you, then well and good. But at the moment, standalone flights, booked under JQ can only credit to QFF (and then only some fares). We still have to wait to see how the mechanics of the new agreements will work.

[lovetravellingoz]

Should I be pursuing status first - to earn at a higher rate? Or is earn and burn more important? What is earn and burn?
What should be my objectives?

Ok...if I have read between the lines correctly you will not actually be flying that often, and when you will be it will be on a cheap fare. ie discount economy.

If so, then worrying about status is not for you as status is mainly of benefit when you fly a lot..plus in Y you have to fly a lot to get status in the first place.

Furthermore your spend is also not that high. So your total "earn" capacity is not going to be high.

If so then I would suggest:

• 1/ Focusing on buying as cheap a flight as possible given where you want to go, and not worrying too greatly about what FF points it earns. This will most likely give you immediate benefit upfront...and in many cases is actually a better deal than a more expensive flight with points anyway.
• 2/ However collecting points in a program that does not expire quickly when you can...but keep in mind 1/.
• 3/ Even though *A redemptions (burn) are better than QFF, your ability to earn *A points will be limited. So QFF will probably be best. AA while having good burn rate will be difficult for you to acquire many points too compared, whereas QFF will have deals like the Everyday Card that you can latch on to, including the current 16K sign-on bonus if you are quick.

[lovetravellingoz]

I have read the benifits of being *gold and lounge access would be nice but id rather try and earn points for upgrades



Also as I won't be flying that much do i need the ability to buy points?

As per my last post...if you do not actually fly much then status will be hard or impossible to gain.


Also note that without status that in many programs that upgrades can be hard to come by as higher status FF members get preference.

So if you area low status flyer..as is likely...then you are best off redeeming in the class you want in the first place.

[modandm]

Ok...if I have read between the lines correctly you will not actually be flying that often, and when you will be it will be on a cheap fare. ie discount economy.

I think you guys have got me here. Im a bit of a tightwad and save my ass off so yeah you will see me walking past you to the back...

3/ Even though *A redemptions (burn) are better than QFF, your ability to earn *A points will be limited. So QFF will probably be best. AA while having good burn rate will be difficult for you to acquire many points too compared, whereas QFF will have deals like the Everyday Card that you can latch on to, including the current 16K sign-on bonus if you are quick.

If *A burn is best i might go down that route because I like to fly NZ and there are more options for cheap *A flights to europe than there are OW. Eg. china airlines and thai airways). Are there any good credit cards that work with good *A programmes or would I have to go with krisflyer which may not be good as hard expiry and maybe burn not that good. TBH I don't think i will earn much through the credit card anyway besides the join up bonuses.

Sorry guys I guess you must think this is pretty noob... It seems like it is quite hard to work out what programme to go with as an low status flyer

oh and lastly if im not going to earn that many points - don't i want to be in a programme where I can buy points at reasonable rates (specials etc) so that I can buy tickets through point redemptions?