10kg extra baggage allowance with Silver/Qantas Club

[bondiben]

Hi, I'm a bronze member with 240 status credits, and 16,500 Qantas Points.

I'm flying Sydney-Vienna on Emirates in May (not yet booked)
-then back from Athens to Sydney in October.
(I'd choose the Qantas codeshare, but they charge $180 each way for the exit row seats - I'm 6'6")

I need the extra 10kg which Silver/Qantas club gives for both airlines. (I'm travelling with a bicycle and other gear)
Any suggestions on the cheapest/best way to obtain this?
Paying excess will cost me about $1,000 each way.
Posting 10kg via Aust Post is about $260 each way ($520 total) (slightly cheaper via third party, but less reliable)
Qantas club will cost me $660 plus $75 membership here.
-I've looked into ANA & JAL which offer 46kg checked baggage (2 x 23) but their routes/flying times don't work.

Any thoughts?

 

[Sporky]

I need the extra 10kg which Silver/Qantas club gives for both airlines.

One option would be to pick up the 60 status credits needed to qualify for silver and get the extra 12g allowance if you are open to flying beforehand.

The question then becomes whether this is more cost effective than some of the other options you've already mentioned.

There's another thread dedicated to status run options: http://www.australianfrequentflyer....program/best-qf-status-run-options-46552.html.

Where are you based? Since you are flying Sydney-Vienna, assuming Sydney is your home port you could do a quick domestic trip. However it will still cost a few hundred dollars.

If you are willing to spend this amount of money, I'd suggest looking into the Qantas club membership as it will also get you into airport lounges on top of the luggage allowance (provided you are flying on a QF code). There are occasional deals and discounts that can lower the cost of joining.

 

[BD1959]

The question then becomes whether this is more cost effective than some of the other options you've already mentioned.

I'd suggest the question becomes which is the more use to you through the coming 12 months (or whenever your membership year falls).

With Silver, you'd get the baggage allowance and priority check-in at Athens on the return plus the bonus QF Points whenever you fly as silver. You'd also get the one Lounge voucher to use on SYD-DXB.

With the QC you'd get Lounge access whenever you fly with a QF code (which may or may not apply to your DXB-VIE flight, you only seem to talk about ATH-DXB as ano-no for the codeshare) for the following 12 months.

Regards,

BD

 

[bondiben]

One option would be to pick up the 60 status credits needed to qualify for silver and get the extra 12g allowance if you are open to flying beforehand.
Where are you based? Since you are flying Sydney-Vienna, assuming Sydney is your home port you could do a quick domestic trip. However it will still cost a few hundred dollars.
If you are willing to spend this amount of money, I'd suggest looking into the Qantas club membership as it will also get you into airport lounges on top of the luggage allowance (provided you are flying on a QF code). There are occasional deals and discounts that can lower the cost of joining.

Thanks for the response.
I'm based in Sydney.
I don't fly enough really to warrant the membership (twice a year usually - often with Jetstar, so no points)
The cost of a flight to accrue the points would cost me about the same price as the Qantas Club Membership.
So, it really comes down to spending $250 postage for 10kg, or spending another 10-15 hours each way in transit to fly with JAL, ANA, or China Eastern, who all offer 2 x 23 kg luggage vs 30.
(The actual fares are fairly similar in price)

 

[bondiben]

I'd suggest the question becomes which is the more use to you through the coming 12 months (or whenever your membership year falls).

With Silver, you'd get the baggage allowance and priority check-in at Athens on the return plus the bonus QF Points whenever you fly as silver. You'd also get the one Lounge voucher to use on SYD-DXB.

With the QC you'd get Lounge access whenever you fly with a QF code (which may or may not apply to your DXB-VIE flight, you only seem to talk about ATH-DXB as ano-no for the codeshare) for the following 12 months.

Regards,

BD

It seems Qantas offer prebooked exit row seats, while Emirates offer them on a first come, first serve basis.
With a codeshare flight, would this mean I have less chance of getting an exit row?
(This is my only reservation)
Qantas club also gets me access to Emirates Business Lounge in Dubai

 

[Sporky]

With a codeshare flight, would this mean I have less chance of getting an exit row?
(This is my only reservation)

I don't believe it will make a difference to your chances of getting an exit row seat.

For some codeshares (QF/LAN for example), the seatmap is divided into QF / LAN sections only so you'd only have access to separate sections depending on which carrier you purchased the ticket from.

However QF / EK do not make this distinction as far as I'm aware, so its first come best dressed.

There are apps that allow you to see live seatmaps (e.g. Expertflyer), someone on the forum may be able to check for you if you have specific flight details.

 

[bondiben]

I don't believe it will make a difference to your chances of getting an exit row seat.

For some codeshares (QF/LAN for example), the seatmap is divided into QF / LAN sections only so you'd only have access to separate sections depending on which carrier you purchased the ticket from.
However QF / EK do not make this distinction as far as I'm aware, so its first come best dressed.
There are apps that allow you to see live seatmaps (e.g. Expertflyer), someone on the forum may be able to check for you if you have specific flight details.

That's news to me - handy information - I'll look into it.
The problem is, if Qantas are selling exit seats when people book, there's a chance i could turn up to the airport with no legroom seats left on the emirates flight.

 

[GoldCanyon340]

Hi Bondiben and welcome to AFF. Qantas Club membership will only give you access to the EK DXB lounge if you are travelling on a QF flight number.

 

[bondiben]

Hi Bondiben and welcome to AFF. Qantas Club membership will only give you access to the EK DXB lounge if you are travelling on a QF flight number.

Whoops - I missed that on the webpage - thanks.

 

[Deleted member]

It strikes me that the Qantas club route is your best bet, you get the lounge access (where available) and the baggage allowance you crave. By your calculations you will be better off by $1400 (roughly).
It could cost you a similar amount to get silver by doing a stays run, and still no lounge access .
In any event your travels will get you silver anyway. As BD1959 says, it depends on what offers the most value in the coming 12 months / membership year.
So my vote goes to Qantas club membership.

 

[thegeekinasuit]

Consider if any of your credit cards will give you a discounted Qantas Club membership. For example the ANZ Frequent Flyer Black states it will give you a $475 saving on a first year Qantas Club membership. As a bonus the card first year annual fee is waived and you can also get a bonus 75,000 bonus Qantas points.

 

[bondiben]

It strikes me that the Qantas club route is your best bet, you get the lounge access (where available) and the baggage allowance you crave. By your calculations you will be better off by $1400 (roughly).
It could cost you a similar amount to get silver by doing a stays run, and still no lounge access .
In any event your travels will get you silver anyway. As BD1959 says, it depends on what offers the most value in the coming 12 months / membership year.
So my vote goes to Qantas club membership.

So the question is then, where's the best deal for Qantas Club?
Through membership here, or are there any other current deals?

 

[bondiben]

The end result is I'm booking with Korean Air.
Cheaper flight, (although no A380) and it's $130 USD for an extra 23 kg of luggage.
Plus a 33" seat pitch, if I miss out on the exit row (at airport, no charge)

 

[timster]

The end result is I'm booking with Korean Air.
Cheaper flight, (although no A380) and it's $130 USD for an extra 23 kg of luggage.
Plus a 33" seat pitch, if I miss out on the exit row (at airport, no charge)

Make sure you check in early to maximize your exit row chances. Airlines that don't charge for exit rows are pretty good at giving them to the people that need them - that is tall people - just for asking, unless they've already been allocated to their elites. And some airlines just have less savvy (and shorter) pax when it comes to asking for exit rows - Korean should be one of these.

Join their FF program so you've got some minimal credentials.

Familiarize yourself with the seat map so you can ask "is row x taken ?". And also to be prepared if they think they are being helpful by giving you a bulkhead row number, which will likely be extremely uncomfortable.