Some answers to your questions regarding status as a United Premier Gold refugee and now Qantas Gold member. How does status work? To gain status you need to earn a minimum of the specified number of status credits flying Qantas, JetStar, OneWorld airlines like American or BA, or partner airlines ticketed with a QF flight number such as WestJet or Emirates. The number of status credits you earn is based on two factors: routing and the fare class you are booked into. Generally, the cheapest economy fare will earn a base number of status credits (i.e. Sydney to Melbourne would earn 10 status credits) whilst more expensive fares such as Flexible economy will earn a multiple of that base number of status credits (i.e. Economy Flex on QF would earn 20 status each way for the same Sydney to Melbourne route). Status credits are earned on a segment by segment basis. For instance, flying Sydney to Canberra (via Melbourne) will attract more status credits than simply flying Sydney to Canberra nonstop. In addition, to the number of status credits you must earn in a program year to earn status (i.e. 300 for silver) you also must take a minimum number of flights (I think it's 4 flights) with Qantas or JetStar that earn status credits. Once you earn Qantas status it's good for the remainder of your program year and the following program year. So for instance, my program year ends on November 30th. If I were to accrue 1400 status credits (and take 4 Qantas/JetStar flights) by, say, September 15th I will have earned Qantas Platinum for the remainder of my program year (i.e. September 15 - November 30th) along with the following program year (i.e. December 1st 2022 to November 30, 2023). One last point here, you won't generally earn status credits on award flights booked using Qantas points.
One thing I'll point out, and something worth considering is how easy it should be for you to earn status at this point. Any Qantas domestic flight you take at this point will earn you 20 status credits on a return flight such as Sydney to Melbourne or Brisbane to Sydney, for instance. Certainly if you have a EK flight you can book with a QF flight number that too will easily earn you the 20 status credits, but a lil domestic flight will also do the trick too. Checking the Qantas site right now, I see that one could fly from Sydney to Byron Bay for $109 each way (i.e. $218 return) and that will earn 20 status credits there so there's a potential weekend getaway you could have for yourself.
So what do you get with Silver status? A couple things. First you have slightly better access to Qantas classic awards than a Bronze member. Second, you'd earn Qantas miles at a faster rate (i.e. 50% more miles) flying with Qantas, JetStar and American. You'd also receive complimentary seat selection on Qantas and OneWorld flights so if you're flying say American from Sydney to LA you'd be able to select a seat for free whereas you'd have to pay American for the same privilege if you didn't hold status. This is a huge benefit if you fly enough. Thee's a huge difference between an aisle and a middle seat! You also get priority (Business class) check-in when flying with Qantas and OneWorld airlines which can save you some time at the airport! There's extra baggage allowance when flying with Qantas which can be useful. Most importantly if Qantas, American or some other OneWorld airline cancels your flights (which is sadly becoming quite common these days) you will be treated better than some random person with no status. You'll be further ahead of them in terms of rebooking flights which can sometimes be the difference between having a non-stop versus connecting flight.
In terms of Silver benefits and is all of this airline status worth it. I think the answer is it really depends on whether you will be travelling a great deal with the airline (and/or its partners) that provide frequent flyer status. Some people chase United Premier 1K or Executive Platinum on American just for the prestige of saying they have it but don't put those benefits to good use. For me, it's largely a cold calculated matter: I put a price on the benefits I intend on using and compare it to the price I paid (in flights) to earn said status. For instance, with United pre-2020 about $2,500 USD on flights with United and Star Alliance airlines in a given year would earn me United Premier Gold status. For that I would receive 3 free checked bags (which I would use regularly travelling internationally to move items around as I was living abroad), free economy plus seating that offers 50" of legroom (which is a godsend when you are on 10+ hour flights with United), access to United and Star Alliances lounges, plus priority when it comes to things like check-ins and how I'm handled during flight cancellations. Overall, I would place the value I extracted from those benefits at around $2000 USD at the time. So overall, it made sense to chase United status.
-RooFlyer88
. Thanks for the tip about Amex, I didn't know that.
