Is Platinum the Holy Grail?

[parksie]

Hi,

I am wondering if Platinum with Qantas is the holy grail that everyone really aspires to?

For example I am interested to know answers or comments to questions like;

1. Are there many platinum members participating on this site?
2. Is it really hard to qualify (there are a lot of posts to status runs)
3. Is Platinum status really revered on this site?

FYI, I have Platinum status with Qantas and I really do think that it has major benefits over Gold.

I travel regularly but mostly in PE.

I check this site daily and I get a lot of great information from everyone that participates on the site, so thank you to all who roll up their sleeve and get involved.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

[samh004]

To someone that doesn’t fly a lot , but likes to fly when they can I’d say, if you live next to the airport and consider yourself an alcoholic, WP would be useful for the anytime access.

Then again, if you travel around the world regularly, it’d be useful for the F lounge access.

And if you travel exclusively in J or F, I doubt WP would make much of a difference (other than F lounge access occasionally).

But if you’re in the first category and aren’t a big drinker, nor live close to an airport with a QP, it’s not that useful.

 

[moa999]

Personally LTG is more of a goal than keeping Plat year in year out.

But advantages of Plat...
- Higher points accrual
- First Class lounges
- Dom Business lounges - whilst I would like to see more differentiation in food, it certainly is a lot quiter
- Better seats - row 4 in 737s, front in the 767/330s
- The ocassional op-up

 

[JohnK]

I don't think Platinum status is the holy grail but it does still have some useful benefits although these are eroding quickly. For some it is relatively easy to attain but still requires a lot of flying. I will route the long way to a destination for the extra SCs if the value is there.

Don't forget that Platinum probably accounts for <1% of QFFers. Possibly even less with Everyday Rewards.

For me some of the important benefits are

• Ability to get better seats on most flights
• Using first class/premium check-in for international flights and then express customs/immigration when returning
• Greater chance of op-ups and some of us do get quite a few in the course of the year (nothing better than to sit in a business class seat on a cheap red e-deal)
• Anytime lounge access can also come in handy for those long transits

I have to agree. AFF is a great site and I am still learning....

 

[david870mdg]

Great Question.
Ive reached Wp and am waiting until Im next up for renewal to truly assess the answer.
Some might give a straightforward NO answer when compared to other airline programs, but others may swear by it.

 

[PineappleSkip]

Platinum probably accounts for <1% of QFFers

Interesting point. Anyone know what percentage of QFFers are SG, what percentage PS, and so on.

I aspire to Platinum but never been there. Perhaps because I have fond memories of AN Diamond, and lots of upgrades.

Cheers skip

 

[parksie]

Personally LTG is more of a goal than keeping Plat year in year out.

But advantages of Plat...
- Higher points accrual
- First Class lounges
- Dom Business lounges - whilst I would like to see more differentiation in food, it certainly is a lot quiter
- Better seats - row 4 in 737s, front in the 767/330s
- The ocassional op-up

Good point - I had forgotten about Life time Gold

How long does this take on average to obtain?

Do many people have this?

 

[parksie]

Interesting point. Anyone know what percentage of QFFers are SG, what percentage PS, and so on.

I aspire to Platinum but never been there. Perhaps because I have fond memories of AN Diamond, and lots of upgrades.

Cheers skip

Skip,

What is PS, and SG?

Ta

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Short answer, NO.

 

[parksie]

Short answer, NO.

Just wondering if you have time to share the long answer?

 

[samh004]

Interesting point. Anyone know what percentage of QFFers are SG, what percentage PS, and so on.

I recall a couple-few years ago the numbers were published, or least estimated, but recently with all the Woolworths customers joining up I’d imagine there’d be vastly more low-level (NB) members. Not there weren’t before of course.

Skip,

What is PS, and SG?

Ta

There’s a thread somewhere, and at one stage you could hover your mouse over the acronyms, but they are:

NB: Nuthin’ Bronze (Bronze)
PS: Plebian Silver (Silver)
SG: Scum Gold (Gold)
WP : Wanker Platinum (Platinum)
CL: Choice Liquor (Chairmans) (acronym for this still)

All levels in the QFF (Qantas Frequent Flyer) program, but with slang names.

Good point - I had forgotten about Life time Gold

How long does this take on average to obtain?

Do many people have this?

A few here have this, but at 14,000 lifetime SC’s it’ll take many years for even the most frequent of flyers.

 

[serfty]

Skip,

What is PS, and SG?

Ta

• See here: AFF Acronyms and Abbreviations

 

[parksie]

• See here: AFF Acronyms and Abbreviations

Skip,

That is really great!

i have been wondering about these acronyms for ages!!

 

[serfty]

...

1. Are there many platinum members participating on this site?
2. Is it really hard to qualify (there are a lot of posts to status runs)
3. Is Platinum status really revered on this site?

FYI, I have Platinum status with Qantas and I really do think that it has major benefits over Gold.

I travel regularly but mostly in PE.

....

1. Without checking this I estimate perhaps 20 regular posters or more are WP.
2. It's hard (costly) to Qualify if travelling mainly economy with Australian/South West Pacific travel. Maybe PE or J travel, but that's extremely expensive. The thing with Asian/USA "Status Runs" are that's it can be easily 25% less expensive to earn the same amount of SC's that you would in Oz.
3. WP (W@anker Plat) is not revered here. Like any forum, a history of accurate and informative posting gives credibility - In any case "Revered" is not the word for an Aussie forum.

 

[dajop]

Don't forget that Platinum probably accounts for <1% of QFFers. Possibly even less with Everyday Rewards.

There are two statistics - the proportion of QFF members that are platinum - that is bound to be <1%.

Then there is proportion of people on a given flight that are platinum - that is likely to be a much higher number, simply because platinums are more likely to fly more often. Particularly on routes like MEL/SYD at peak times. So being a platinum on a domestic flight is nothing special - it is on the ground where it counts. Internationally, I suspect the ratio of WP's in economy is a lot less than on domestic flights - many would be further forward than (or above) economy - and sometimes you do get a bit of special treatment in the air, but not always!

I have been WP now since 2002, and the 100% bonus is good, as is anytime lounge access and First Lounge access. Also the oneworld emerald benefits when travelling internationally are worth having.

Oh and the other really wonderful benefit is access to the "premium desk" call centre, the staff who work there are fantastic. Occassionally you get diverted to regular staff and the difference is quite astonishing.

 

[winfred]

Platinum status is good when flying QF internationally and GREAT when flying other OW airlines such as CX.

 

[bossreggie]

I have to agree. AFF is a great site and I am still learning....

OMG......

I have been a member of this site for years. I can not believe JohnK still has stuff to learn!

I'm TOTALLY nowhere compared to his knowledge!!

So..... From the time I joined..... I have always been in awe of the following members.

JohnK
Serfty
Lindsay Wilson
Simongr
NM aka Nelly Mobbs


More recently, the following have also proven to be a wealth of knowledge.

munitalP
notzac
anat01

Their collective knowledge along with their willingness to answer and re-answer questions from newbies (and others) makes AFF the great site it is.

bossreggie's "Holy Grail" would be to have a drink with each of them. They have ALL contributed to my knowledge of QFF and FF in general. Their tips have ensured that this weekend I will attain WP for the very 1st time and I thank them all for it!

Shaun

 

[HardieBoys]

I'm also curious about how many Platinum status frequent flyer members there are in general, and on this board. I'd thought there'd be more than 20. I was lucky enough to score Platinum in 2001 during a double status credit points deal, and have maintained it since then, by doing about 50 - 70 domestic returns per year, and 3 - 5 long hauls (some in economy, some in business). I think it's financially and practically easier to maintain Platinum through short-haul economy (e.g. SYD - CBR) than through long-haul business fares.

Also lifetime Gold from last year but this is a fall-back for when I lose Plat. Again, would be very curious as to how many lifetime golds there are in total, and how many on this board.

 

[Grooba]

Personally for me WP is great as I'm on a few flights most weeks. OP-UP's happen more often and the J lounges are generally less populated (except for BNE, gah I despise that place!).

As for the holy grail, I guess it depends on what is more important to each individual. Persoanlly, LTG is what I'm striving for!

 

[winfred]

With 1180 SC now, I will be WP by May for the first time with J return to NZ and PE to HKG in the next month.

I will post on this thread later and share my view on whether WP is the holy grail.