When should I join the QF FF?

[AJtheTJ]

I recently joined a project where I will be travelling once in 2-3 months. Is that frequent enough to earn some benefits from the $85 QF FF program?

 

[craven morehead]

I recently joined a project where I will be travelling once in 2-3 months. Is that frequent enough to earn some benefits from the $85 QF FF program?

So you will be travelling 4-6 times per year? :mrgreen:

 

[medhead]

I recently joined a project where I will be travelling once in 2-3 months. Is that frequent enough to earn some benefits from the $85 QF FF program?

IMO travelling once every 12 to 18 months is enough to join. That keeps the points alive.

Also you can avoid the joining fee by signing up to woolworths everyday rewards which includes free membership of qantas frequent flyer.

 

[AJtheTJ]

IMO travelling once every 12 to 18 months is enough to join. That keeps the points alive.

Also you can avoid the joining fee by signing up to woolworths everyday rewards which includes free membership of qantas frequent flyer.

Thanks!! That helps.

But does the points ever expire? I have a British Airways FF but thier points expire every year or so (that one was a free one though). Also unfortunately, I cannot tranfer the points over to QF, although they are part of Oneworld.

 

[NM]

As medhead has said, if you live in Australia then you can avoid paying the $85 Qantas FF joining fee by collecting an Everyday Rewards card at any Woolworths, Big W, D!ck Smith, BWS store, activate it on-line and joint Qantas Frequent Flyer program for free. You can also earn Qantas FF points through the Everyday Rewards program to supplement the points earned from flying.

 

[medhead]

Thanks!! That helps.

But does the points ever expire? I have a British Airways FF but thier points expire every year or so (that one was a free one though). Also unfortunately, I cannot tranfer the points over to QF, although they are part of Oneworld.

If you have no activity then the points expire after 18 months. If you do have activity then the points don't expire.

I didn't consider the possibility of living overseas. In that case I believe it is free to join anyway.

 

[Australian]

one word of advice, if you have a predictable annual 'cycle' for flying, and there's a period that is esp heavy (eg, jun-aug) consider joining up at a time just before you'd normally be doing most of your flying (eg, apr/may) -- that way, if you hit the next tier early within your membership year, you have it for the remainder of that membership year AND the next (ie, the year within which you qualified, plus the 'actual' year) ... if you're flying near the END of your membership year when you get 'bumped' up (eg, you're flying heaps in jun/july, but your membership year ends in sept), you really only get the 'new' year.

that said, no one knows their future for sure so take that with a grain of salt

 

[Australian]

actually, now that i see that in print ...

that said, no one knows their future ... so take that with a grain of salt

(how do i do strikethru! ) cheerz.

 

[NM]

Thanks!! That helps.

But does the points ever expire? I have a British Airways FF but thier points expire every year or so (that one was a free one though). Also unfortunately, I cannot tranfer the points over to QF, although they are part of Oneworld.

In which country do you live?

If in Australia, avoid the joning fee via Everyday Rewards.
If live outside Australia and New Zealand then the $85 joining fee does not apply.

As you have noted, there is no mechanism to transfer points between FF programs within OneWorld. In fact, once points are in the QFF program, they can only be used to redeem awards from within the QFF program. They cannot be transferred out to any other program. But so long as you have some form of activity on your QFF account within 18 months, the points do not expire.

 

[samh004]

(how do i do strikethru! ) cheerz.

Usually it would be: text here, but admin hasn’t turned on that element of BBCode, assuming he can. I really do wish it was available though

 

[harvyk]

IMHO yes, once every 2 to 3 months is enough to join. As others have said, that's 4 to 6 trips per year. Whilst you haven't said what sort of flying you'd be doing, looking at worst case senario (eg a simple SYD-MEL vv trip every 3 months), you'd earn 2000 points each time.

If your business purchases full fare eccon tickets, you need 5000 points to upgrade one of your flights to business class, even discount fares (provided your on an upgradable ticket) is only 8000 points.

Of course, if your going further afield, then you get more points.

 

[PineappleSkip]

IMHO yes, once every 2 to 3 months is enough to join.

+1. Don't need many points to get some benefit.

I'd take the approach that hardly ever flying is enough to join QFF. As noted earlier, there's always a way to join for free. And if you get nothing back, you've still broken even.

I joined BI Royal Skies even though I've only flown one sector with them. Unlikely to fly many more given the disappointing drinks selection. But hey, they sent me an attractive looking piece of plastic, to put with all the others, for free.

Cheers skip.