Business Class with no FF points/Status or Economy with FF points/Status

[browski]

A recent development has meant that for the next 12 months I can avail myself of unlimited heavily discounted J staff fares at an international airline - depending upon seat availability - however obviously there would be no accrual of FF points etc.

My work dictates that I travel internationally on a very frequent basis - however, only ever in Economy.

So, for these work-related trips, would it be more advantageous to continue to fly economy and accrue FF points/Status OR would I be better off just flying J wherever possible and forget about banking points?

My gut feeling is to just take the latter where possible, but I was curious as to the opinion of others.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

would it be more advantageous to continue to fly economy and accrue FF points/Status OR would I be better off just flying J wherever possible and forget about banking points?

No brainer for me - J all the way if someone else is paying.

I spend half my life chasing ff points so I can sit up the pointy end - but all travel costs come out my pocket.

 

[winfred]

Can I get them as well as I love heavily discounted J class airfare with or without FF points.

For your question, I would look at the total amount of travel and find out if it is possible to qualify for WP or equivalent for another alliance and whether the travel will continue past the initial 12 months. If it is possible it may be the better way to do it as you can use points to upgrade or get yourself some free airfares. Any travel in excess of the qualifying requirement can be done on those heavily discounted J class.

Back to my question - can I get those "heavily discounted J tickets?

 

[simongr]

Hmm - tricky one. Personally if you are travelling in J and able to access lounges and other benefits I might skip the FF points. It all depends on the flights and frequency.

If lots of long long haul (UK/US) then I would fly in J for the comfort. If lots of short haul flights then maybe suck it in and fly in whY.

 

[winfred]

I just noticed that you are SG already so it may be even more tempting to try to qualify for WP.

Travelling in J is tempting if you do long haul such as flights to US or Europe but for trips under 8 hours it is bearable.

 

[markis10]

I would take Y with no need to worry about being on Standby anyday, compared with the option to get a J seat subject to load, been there down that before and its not the best, I was often in the jump seat which had no commercial loads, still a PITA .

 

[browski]

I would take Y with no need to worry about being on Standby anyday, compared with the option to get a J seat subject to load, been there down that before and its not the best, I was often in the jump seat which had no commercial loads, still a PITA .

I've been there too, and been burned
Those seats you speak of are typically the standby ID90 seats; fortunately these ones are the guaranteed ID50 J seats.

All flights are in excess of 8 hours.

 

[newformula]

I know we all love the points here on AFF, but I think (assuming this is long haul international J) that for the sake of personal sanity and comfort, I'd take the staff fares.

At least you'll be enjoying life sitting up the front, and thinking about all the poor folk suffering back in Y as a comfort to the lack of points / status being accrued.

 

[straitman]

I've been there too, and been burned
Those seats you speak of are typically the standby ID90 seats; fortunately these ones are the guaranteed ID50 J seats.

All flights are in excess of 8 hours.

If it is ID50 and guaranteed then that is worth a try. Be aware that these still can have issues on occasions.

 

[markis10]

I've been there too, and been burned
Those seats you speak of are typically the standby ID90 seats; fortunately these ones are the guaranteed ID50 J seats.

All flights are in excess of 8 hours.

50% off J makes it a tough choice, one I would find hard to make, I suppose you need to work out the cost of what you are loosing re status etc.

 

[DTM1]

to me, it's also a no brainer - take the J seats.

Even if you were able to achieve WP (which you have not, so far) and access the F lounge etc, it's still not worth flying Y long haul if you don't have to.

As one of the earlier posters pointed out, the reason we chase points and status is so that we can enjoy the pointy end of the plane when we have to self-fund our travel. Look at it as if you are simply taking a year off the points race.

Worst thing, you call QF at the end of your membership year, tell them that your travel pattern changed this year and ask for an extenstion. even if you don't get it, the worst thing you have to do is pay for qantas club for 12 mths while yo uget back to SG.

can't see a downside here (other than the discomfort of sitting in Y when you don't have to!)

For those who suggest taking the miles and status, I (respectfully and humbly) suggest that they may have been blinded by the excitement in the forum and are missing the wood for the trees

 

[winfred]

I've been there too, and been burned
Those seats you speak of are typically the standby ID90 seats; fortunately these ones are the guaranteed ID50 J seats.

All flights are in excess of 8 hours.

More than 8 hours in economy on a regular basis is not fun. I would take J class and forget about the points or status.

 

[docjames]

I'd take J for sure.

Get all thise y ff points and hope for upgrades seems crazy when you have guaranteed j seating....

$0.02 = mine

 

[DTM1]

also, just think about how you'll feel as you get on the plane and walk through J down to Y, wishing that you were stopping in J, but are not, all for a few thousand FF miles...

it just isn't worth it.

 

[browski]

I know we all love the points here on AFF, but I think (assuming this is long haul international J) that for the sake of personal sanity and comfort, I'd take the staff fares.

At least you'll be enjoying life sitting up the front, and thinking about all the poor folk suffering back in Y as a comfort to the lack of points / status being accrued.

I agree with you in the main; but here's the thing.............

All those work paid flights of mine in Y would earn Mrs Browski (and I) an international Y flight or 2 per year. So, if I take all the work travel in staff J, then I will have to pay from my own pocket maybe an extra 10K per year (let alone Lounge membership). Hence the dilemma.

 

[simongr]

Just to follow up my earlier comments it does depend on how many points you could earn/be missing out on. If all travel is on say QF then your earn could be substantial. If however on discount whY on other carriers then your earning on QFF may low to minimal anyway...

 

[Cruiser Elite]

I know I am a simple person but might be prudent for OP to state which airline and to which destination / s to get meaningful responses.

 

[wingspan]

As one of the earlier posters pointed out, the reason we chase points and status is so that we can enjoy the pointy end of the plane when we have to self-fund our travel. Look at it as if you are simply taking a year off the points race.

I think this debate is another one of those "it really depends on your own values" dilemmas. For me, although travel in business might be nice, I find travel in economy to be just as nice - just in a different way .

I value points accrual because it is a more long-lasting benefit than any one particular flight. It enables you to earn FF points which means an extra trip or two - and for fun. And it enables you to earn SC so you can still have a number of the benefits you might want - including earning a higher rate of FF points and therefore can travel even more! However, a flight in J - with no status or point earning opportunities - seems like a waste to me. And what do you get for it? It's work travel so you don't even have your SO to share the journey with. It's just a lonely trip in J for which you earn nothing.

Earn the points, spoil your SO, and enjoy the people you meet in economy class!

 

[JohnK]

Not an easy one to answer.

Assuming all travel in economy was QF or Oneworld then I would definitely take the FF points and status until I got sick of collecting FF points and status.

More important to me is to be able to collect FF points for free travel in the future especially as someone else is paying. Economy travel is not that bad anyway and there is not a huge level of difference in comfort levels from an economy seat to a business class seat.

By the way the travel in economy I did to Thailand via MEL and SIN and then return via SIN and PER during the new year has been totally forgotten but I have a load of QFF points I can use later on a QF Oneworld award.

 

[Alanslegal]

As mentioned in previous posts, I would assess how many points I am forfeiting by flying J and then work it out from there. If travel is very frequent, and you also need to collect points (so you can use them for future premium cabin, personal travel redemptions ) then sucking it up for work may be the choice to make.

Let's give some examples, if flying primarily QF, then SYD-HKG return is 9,162 miles. Fly one of those per month and that's 109,944 base points + other bonuses you may get along the way. Fly SYD-LAX rtn is 14,796, so once per month works out to be 177,552 per year and add so on.

J class partner award redemption there, 35K miles + 5 stops, starts looking very close , and much more comfortable for that personal holiday.