So I need 60 points to get SG by 31st July - Advice please

[Taezar]

Hi y'all.
I have a fair bit of travelling coming up, but am going to fall 60 points shy of my SG (31st July).
I would rather do it all in one hit to cut back on auxillary expensives (airtrain/bus etc).
My thought is as follows:
Flight 1
Sat16 Jul 11 06:00 Brisbane07:35 Sydney Qantas flightQF501
08:20 Sydney09:15 Canberra Qantas flightQF7873
Flight 2
Sat 16 Jul 11 10:15 Canberra11:20 Melbourne Qantas flightQF763
Flight 3
Sat 16 Jul 11 13:15 Melbourne14:20 Canberra Qantas flightQF812
Flight 4
Sat 16 Jul 11 19:05 Canberra19:55 Sydney Qantas flightQF884
21:05 Sydney22:35 Brisbane Qantas flightQF5563
This comes in at $465 for 60 SCs (or $7.75).
Yes there are cheaper per SC flights, but to do all in one day is hard.
Open to suggestions on how to get the 60 points for less.
My available dates are:
June:
11th
12th
19th
July:
3rd
9th
10th
16th
17th
23rd
24th
I am flying out of BNE. I do not have the points to JASA.
Patiently waits for advice from the boffins.
XOXO
Taez

 

[markis10]

Have you looked at spending a little bit extra and doing the NAN J status run one way, let me explain my thinking, what you do is book BNE-MEL with a stopover in Melbourne with the MEL-SYD-NAN leg for your next status year and when you want to go to NAN! It will cost $750, you will get 60 SC now for the BNE-MEL leg and have a J trip MEL-SYD-NAN in the bank to use when you can which is another 120SC!

 

[Taezar]

So you are suggesting I book BNE-MEL in sale now. Then book out of MEL-SYD-NAN in J for $750?
I honestly don't get how spending more money for what I don't need then still having to spend more to make up the balance.

 

[markis10]

So you are suggesting I book BNE-MEL in sale now. Then book out of MEL-SYD-NAN in J for $750?
I honestly don't get how spending more money for what I don't need then still having to spend more to make up the balance.

No, for $750 you can book BNE to NAN via MEL and SYD, the fare allows one stopover in Australia, so you take that up and make it MEL, then you use up the balance of the fare/trip when you want to go to NAN!

 

[Taezar]

I typed up a really long response but then the site crashed. So to summise:
By the time I factor in all the other costs associated with doing a one way NAN J Status run it equates to approx $1785 which equates to $7.00 per SC.
Unless I am missing something obvious, I fail to see any benefit in doing this at all.

 

[samh004]

I typed up a really long response but then the site crashed. So to summise:
By the time I factor in all the other costs associated with doing a one way NAN J Status run it equates to approx $1785 which equates to $7.00 per SC.
Unless I am missing something obvious, I fail to see any benefit in doing this at all.

You book a BNE-MEL-SYD-NAN for $750. You choose to stop in MEL, and thus fly back from MEL in this membership year, leaving the MEL-SYD-NAN for another time. This will give you 60 + 15 SC.

You can then book an economy return (direct NAN-BNE) in the future to coincide with a holiday to NAN (whenever you do decide to pick up the rest of the trip), which gives you 120 SC towards your next year re-qualifying for Gold (plus the 15 SC to MEL and 20 SC back from NAN, so 155 SC total and 445 SC away from re-qualifying for Gold).

Overall, the ticket gives you far more than just this year, for only a little bit more extra than what you’d pay to visit all those cities, and I’m not sure if you have been diving there, but it’s a wonderful place to do it

I can however understand a reluctance to this routing if you’re planning a DONE4 for next year, which would likely completely eclipse the extra 120SC gained from such a routing.

P.S. And yes, what’s with the site outages lately, it keeps going down strangely!

 

[markis10]

Here it is in pictures :

Use the multicity tool and select BNE-MEL one leg and MEL-NAN the next leg, in this case I have selected one of your dates and suggested NAN might be nice in Jan

Then the new multi city tool offers you its recommended flights and costs, and you can change the flights!

So for $775 you have your SC run and a trip to Fiji in Jan!

 

[Taezar]

Yes - I get that but...
I have to pay to get back from MEL this time. Pay to get back to MEL next time, pay to get back to NAN next time.
Sam informed me via The Twitters I don't have to stay ON in MEL, but I will have to in NAN.
That pulls it down to $6 per SC. Yes I will get bonus points next time round given I will be SG, but I honestly just don't see how this is any better than spending a day doing $58 fares to Gladstone and back all day - other than I get to fly INTL in J.
Is it the FF points that makes it so much better?

 

[markis10]

Yes - I get that but...
I have to pay to get back from MEL this time. Pay to get back to MEL next time, pay to get back to NAN next time.
Sam informed me via The Twitters I don't have to stay ON in MEL, but I will have to in NAN.
That pulls it down to $6 per SC. Yes I will get bonus points next time round given I will be SG, but I honestly just don't see how this is any better than spending a day doing $58 fares to Gladstone and back all day - other than I get to fly INTL in J.
Is it the FF points that makes it so much better?

If you can take advantage of the time in NAN so be it, its a cheap holiday and one that allows travel in J (what a chore). Sam is not correct in that you could do it as a pure status run, you would need to change the MEL-SYD-NAN to MEL-NAN which is a redeye then catch the SYD service back two - four hours after arrival. And yes there are positioning flights, but lets put it in perspective:

BNE-MEL - NAN in J $775
MEL-BNE-MEL $160 ($80 is common on JQ/DJ)
NAN-SYD-MEL-BNE in J $492

Total SCs and points:

So for $1427 you are getting 340 SCs assuming no overnight in NAN, 60 this SC year and you have 280 banked for next year, or close to half SG requal.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

How much is a DONE4 if starting the journey in NAN if in fact they sell them ex NAN?

Was thinking that you could do a BNE/MEL/SYD/NAN status run on a one way fare then commence your DONE4 in NAN eg NAN/BNE/SIN/LON or is this wasting too many stopovers when you could just buy a one way ticket NAN/BNE?

 

[docjames]

When qf next have a sale, bne-mel can usually be had for approx $110 e/w. Times 4 gives exactly 60scs. You may not have time to wait for a sale of course.

Look also at flights ex bne into glt where qf have just dumped capacity and prices to fight strategic. May be able to get a good 10scs each way for cheap. Tsv can sometimes get decent sc's at cheap rates, but fluctuates quite a lot.

 

[markis10]

BNE to MKY via ROK could be had for $90 at times, though not at present.

When qf next have a sale, bne-mel can usually be had for approx $110 e/w. Times 4 gives exactly 60scs. You may not have time to wait for a sale of course..

$119 at the sale thats on presently during school hols.

 

[Taezar]

Thanks all.
Markis10 I might do the NAN run in the future - not this time though.
I did pick up the super cheap Gladstone fare earlier in the year but taking it in September.
I guess I am loath to lock myself into something so far out as I am a/ planning a RTW (DONE4 I have just learnt) and b/ that leave isn't approved yet. Finally I travel enough for work to make me not want to spend two days solidly in flights - even in J. I day of lots of short flights I can suck up with the lounge lubins in between but whole chuncks? urgh Personally I can only think of 3 things worse. 2 days in Y, 2 days in Y on JQ and 2 days in Y on TF.
Forgot to say - seems like QF is on perma sale now - which is handy but every time I receive an email I think of the turkish rug sale ads on the teev in the 90s
Oh second edit - I moved past 100 posts. Me = no life.

 

[serfty]

How much is a DONE4 if starting the journey in NAN if in fact they sell them ex NAN? ...

Not available as xONEx require *O flight numbers on *O(/JQ¹) metal.

xGLOBnn are available.


¹ QF flight numbers only

 

[Taezar]

Hey Markis10 I thought you would like to know that I have decided to do what you suggested.
Doing a trip to MEL to see a friend and get some southern culture in me. And since I can't get a large amount of leave approved, I am going to do 2 weeks in Fiji in January - all organised - included a week diving off a 5* liveaboard.
Cheers
Taez
PS though - anyone know how I get the AirPac subsidiary flights onto the same ticket as I will be lugging dive gear and don't want to get hit for excess luggage. I pay for tix on Thursday next week.

 

[shambles]

60 this SC year and you have 280 banked for next year, or close to half SG requal.

Hi Markis10 - sorry to hijack the OP's thread but noticed your comment and I never realised that your SC earned over the retain/qualify level get "banked" as such? Can you explain further as I assumed they just got burnt by qantas and you go back to donuts once your anniversary kicks over
cheers

 

[markis10]

Hi Markis10 - sorry to hijack the OP's thread but noticed your comment and I never realised that your SC earned over the retain/qualify level get "banked" as such? Can you explain further as I assumed they just got burnt by qantas and you go back to donuts once your anniversary kicks over
cheers

SCs dont get banked, but you can split a ticket so that the SCs apply to the most appropriate year by nesting them or in this case, using the stopover provisions as in this case. So a trip BNE-MEL-SYD in J gets 100 SC, you take a break (and presumably head home), then when the next year starts you commence the rest of the journey by flying to SYD and taking that NAN holiday when it suits!

 

[shambles]

SCs dont get banked, but you can split a ticket so that the SCs apply to the most appropriate year by nesting them or in this case, using the stopover provisions as in this case. So a trip BNE-MEL-SYD in J gets 100 SC, you take a break (and presumably head home), then when the next year starts you commence the rest of the journey by flying to SYD and taking that NAN holiday when it suits!

Ahhhhh... "I see" said the blind man
thanks again

 

[Taezar]

I dread to think how exhausted I am going to be doing SUV-NAN-SYD-MEL-BNE (mind you doing SUV-NAN the evening before but still).
Yeah Shambles - I am doing part of the trip in July (BNE-MEL) then the rest of it in January. Hence "banking" for next SC year. Sneaky pants is our Markis10.

 

[markis10]

Dont forget you can stopover in SYD or MEL on the way back as well!