So hard to pick what airline to stack status on

[KingHuang]

Hey all,

Too broad of a question potentially.

QFF - I will try attain gold using status runs

Others - Taiwan/japan/korea/US/Europe - what would be the ideal airline to either chase, or have potential status match once QFF hits gold (or if higher if required)

Thank you

 

[Seat0B]

Sort of depends where you mainly want to fly, and assuming you want to use your status to make it easier to get award seats, how many people will travel with you, whether you want business or economy awards etc

 

[drron]

And I would wait until you have at least gold and see what offers are out there and how attractive they look.

 

[WilsonM]

Hey all,

Too broad of a question potentially.

QFF - I will try attain gold using status runs

Others - Taiwan/japan/korea/US/Europe - what would be the ideal airline to either chase, or have potential status match once QFF hits gold (or if higher if required)

Thank you

I think you need to take a step back, and ask what you need status for.

If you're only able to get close to Gold with status runs, chances are you're not flying enough to make use of status anyway. So questions like how many flights am I taking on QF/QF partners, and how much do I value these benefits are really important to consider when deciding to jump on the status bandwagon.

For example, if you're going to fly intermittently Economy between Sydney and Melbourne (say, 10 return trips in a year) and only want the lounge access, you're probably better off with a Qantas Club membership.

Also, are you going to be redeeming points for Business Class, or flying Economy? If you're flying Business Class for most of your long-haul flights, Gold status provides less incremental perks than if you were flying Economy.

If you're flying internationally, you need to take into consideration the airlines you're flying with - QF status is pretty useless if you're only flying Star Alliance overseas, but perhaps Virgin Australia Velocity Gold is a better match, or KrisFlyer Gold?

There are also credit cards that allow you to get lounge access via Priority Pass (such as the AMEX Platinum or the Citi Prestige), or straight Star Alliance Gold status via the HSBC Star Alliance card.

 

[KingHuang]

I think you need to take a step back, and ask what you need status for.

If you're only able to get close to Gold with status runs, chances are you're not flying enough to make use of status anyway. So questions like how many flights am I taking on QF/QF partners, and how much do I value these benefits are really important to consider when deciding to jump on the status bandwagon.

For example, if you're going to fly intermittently Economy between Sydney and Melbourne (say, 10 return trips in a year) and only want the lounge access, you're probably better off with a Qantas Club membership.

Also, are you going to be redeeming points for Business Class, or flying Economy? If you're flying Business Class for most of your long-haul flights, Gold status provides less incremental perks than if you were flying Economy.

If you're flying internationally, you need to take into consideration the airlines you're flying with - QF status is pretty useless if you're only flying Star Alliance overseas, but perhaps Virgin Australia Velocity Gold is a better match, or KrisFlyer Gold?

There are also credit cards that allow you to get lounge access via Priority Pass (such as the AMEX Platinum or the Citi Prestige), or straight Star Alliance Gold status via the HSBC Star Alliance card.

My intention (speaking in very basic not yet frequent traveller) point of view is.
- Book round the world trip with my partner in business class (points available just trying to find tickets - potentially feb/march next year)
- already points club plus member till June 2025
- want to use the perks such as lounge access (with as many one world partners or status match as possible)
- will fly potentially 4-10 domestic flights a year
- my main two airlines I use is, QFF due to reward seats, but also have slowly started stacking only 11k miles on China airlines
- other airlines I haven’t really looked into as much, but trying to fly as many direct flights as possible
- to add, would it be better to obtain platinum if I am going to travel more and utilise it for one world longer access instead of gold?

 

[WilsonM]

My intention (speaking in very basic not yet frequent traveller) point of view is.
- Book round the world trip with my partner in business class (points available just trying to find tickets - potentially feb/march next year)
- already points club plus member till June 2025
- want to use the perks such as lounge access (with as many one world partners or status match as possible)
- will fly potentially 4-10 domestic flights a year
- my main two airlines I use is, QFF due to reward seats, but also have slowly started stacking only 11k miles on China airlines
- other airlines I haven’t really looked into as much, but trying to fly as many direct flights as possible
- to add, would it be better to obtain platinum if I am going to travel more and utilise it for one world longer access instead of gold?

If you're already points club plus, you'll get lounge access on Qantas for domestic, so that's covered. Furthermore, if you want to book a round the world trip with your partner in Business Class, you'll get lounge access anyway by virtue of flying Business Class. I would note that while Feb-March isn't a super popular period for travel, the fact is that the seats for that period have been available for a few months now, so many seats have already been taken.

Yes, Qantas releases more seats on its own metal to those with Gold and Platinum. But these seats are generally either J to Asia (which you can find as a Bronze/Silver normally if you look hard enough), or PE/Y to LAX/EUR. The key benefit is that Gold and Platinum get access before Bronze and Silver only on Qantas, but on partner airlines, status doesn't matter at all in regards to access to award seats.

Based on what you've told me, you're probably not going to get close to status with your normal pattern of travel, and you'll have lounge access by virtue of points club plus (unless you're flying J domestically). You're much, much better off saving the $3-5k you'd spend on a status run to hit Gold, and spending that on your travel instead that you actually want to do. Platinum is even further out of reach, as it's double Gold - you're looking at spending over $6k just for a better lounge (if travelling in J) in a few airports.

Don't get too hung up on status - it's designed for the few, not the many, for a reason - as an example, lets say you're looking to go to Japan for a holiday in shoulder season. You can spend $3k on a status run to get to Gold, giving you lounge access on Japan Airlines. You then book Japan Airlines in Economy Class for $1k return - you get lounge access, priority boarding, extra luggage.

Alternatively, you book Business Class for $3k return - yeah, you get less status credits overall, but you have a much more comfortable trip, with all the same perks + the actual biggest benefit of Business Class, the lie-flat bed. And you save $1k!

The maths changes on a variety of factors of course. But if I were in your position, with the flying patterns you have, Qantas Club + Business Class reward seats are a good mix, that'll cover you in the majority of cases. If you value lounges differently, that's completely okay as well!

If you haven't already, AFF recently did a webinar on how to book a Oneworld Classic Award in 2024 (the RTW on points ticket) - highly recommend checking that out, as well as the Oneworld Classic Reward thread. IMO, they would help you a lot more than getting Gold will.