Newbie planning a trip - advice on accumulating points and tickets

[rewn]

Hi!

So my partner and I are planning to go to Europe in 5 years or so and would love to use QFF points to purchase business class tickets. I do pretty much zero air travel otherwise.

I have a QFF account (with a measly 30k points) with the only points being accumulated being from Woolworths spends.

I guess I have 3 questions:

1. How to best accumulate points to my QFF account?
- I've seen on OzBargain offers for credit cards with bonus QFF points - should I (and my partner) sign up for these cards every year?
- Can you purchase points anywhere? Worth it?

2. Booking tickets?
- I've had a bit of a read and it seems like the best chance for tickets is to book a year in advance - that's no problem. What's the best pain free to go looking for relevant flights? We'd be fairly flexible with a little one in tow.

3. Is it all worth it ? (Using QFF points for seats?)

Grateful for any advice or pointers!

Thanks,

M

 

[AisleSeat]

Apart from credit card sign-up bonuses, there are a myriad of other ways to accrue points.

• Online shopping through the QF Mall (accrue points when shopping with select retailers)
• Red Planet Research (online surveys)
• Qantas Wine - wine purchases
• Deliveroo
• Qantas Insurance (if swapping from your current provider is worth it)
• Qantas Wellbeing app - (You can accrue some points if you're not a Qantas Insurance member
• AirBNB and some hotel chains
• Car rentals - Budget and Avis
• Taxi bookings (through specific apps)
• Uber (if going to/from the airport)
• Red Energy - utility provider
• etc.............

Check the full list: Frequent Flyer - Qantas Points and Partners - Earning Qantas Points

Do not under any circumstances purchase QF points from anyone.

 

[tdimdad]

Welcome to the forum, Rewn!
You certainly have your planning horizon set much further than some of us do.
Credit card sign-on bonus points is a way some accumulate extra points. If you are interested, you don't need to go through any Ozbargains or others but watch this forum and then sign up directly with the bank.

For flights, I often use Skyscanner to scout out options. Once I've found something that works well, some of the bookings I do directly through an airline and others through a travel agent, depending on how complicated it'd be and where I can get a reasonable price.

Your question of the value of using QFF points to buy flights is subjective. There are many calculations showing you'd get better monetary value by using the points to upgrade rather than buy the tickets. But buying tickets using points may be the best value to you if you wouldn't use the points otherwise. Just note that four years is a long time in the FF programs - many things can happen, including serious devaluation of points. What now might cost you 100,000 points may as well cost 150,000 when you're ready to book so I wouldn't place many bets on travelling on points in future. If you can book now, that's the best way to secure the value of your points.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

2. Booking tickets?
- I've had a bit of a read and it seems like the best chance for tickets is to book a year in advance - that's no problem. What's the best pain free to go looking for relevant flights? We'd be fairly flexible with a little one in tow.

3. Is it all worth it ? (Using QFF points for seats?)

Grateful for any advice or pointers!

Thanks,

M

you can book a year in advance... but only if you have the right status for Qantas. Otherwise you have to wait for a couple months after all those with platinum and gold get first crack at the seats. What's left is going to be pretty minimal. Uprades - pretty much forget it

I would not recommend anyone to go chasing points in the hope of buying a ticket, or even upgrading (unless you have top elite status).

I would certianly not recommend Qantas points. You'd need 256,000 per person to Europe - so over 500,000 for the two of you. If you can get seats. And if Qantas doesn't devalue the program in the next five years... which there is a very good chance of them doing.

PLUS... add another $1000 in Qantas fees and charges (not taxes) just to redeem your award seat. Qantas takes that as their 'fuel surcharge'.

There are some programs where you can simply buy points - Avianca Lifemiles is one example. AUD3450 will get you a return business class to Europe to anywhere Thai Airways flies. American Airlines sells points and under their current deal a return to Europe would be around $4500 per person.

Or you can just buy a mixed class fare (economy to Asia, business class from there to Europe) for around $2800 return.

Five years of slogging for 500,000 points, with any charges incured for getting those points, plus fuel surcharges, plus next to zero availability... I'd stay away.

 

[rewn]

Five years of slogging for 500,000 points, with any charges incured for getting those points, plus fuel surcharges, plus next to zero availability... I'd stay away.

i think i love you

 

[Scr77]

Nowadays, I tend agree with Mel_traveller.

But, why not start with easy/cheep points (credit cards $0 fee in the first year) and use for domestic business flights. FF points can mean you can have inexpensive local trips that you may not have been prepared to pay for in the past.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Nowadays, I tend agree with Mel_traveller.

But, why not start with easy/cheep points (credit cards $0 fee in the first year) and use for domestic business flights. FF points can mean you can have inexpensive local trips that you may not have been prepared to pay for in the past.

I was thinking along the same lines... can always use a smaller amount of points to fly from Australia to asia where you can pick up the cheap business class fares to europe (around $2200 return)

 

[rewn]

I was thinking along the same lines... can always use a smaller amount of points to fly from Australia to asia where you can pick up the cheap business class fares to europe (around $2200 return)

Yes, that sounds like the way to do it!

Thanks all for your responses.