2007- What a year for bonus points !!!

[lovetravellingoz]

When I joined this forum it was part of looking around to maximise my points.

Back then on first discovering Flyertalk before this Aussie site I soon was cough after all the bonus points (those in addition to the standard earn rates per flight or cc spend etc) that those living in the USA seemed to be able to pick up by being in the know about various deal...but which did not seem to be avaialable to those in Aus.


2007 however has proven to be for those in Aus a very fruitful year...or at least it was for me as there were many deals about.

Two lots of Qantas Premium Cards for my wife and I = 70,000 points (Cards free each time)

Earth bonus for my wife and I = 30,000 points (Cards free)

Maximiser joining bonus 3000 (card free)

Maximiser 10 point Dec bonus = 94000 points (plus the normal 1.5 earn of course)

So a very handy 197,000 points for not really going out of way much at all

Add to this that I was able to upgrade some cheap Jetsar Launch Bali flights with a a very cheap upgrade to Starclass offer.....with another 20,000 ponits thereby gained very economically..

So for me about an extra 220,000 bonus points in 2007.



All this gained from reading this forum or by being trained up from using the forum to take some initiaves myself such as double dipping on QF Card....or working out that the The Good Guys Gift Card could be paid for on Amex to thus gain access to TGGs cheaper cash prices but by using my Amex!!

To the above 220,000 add another chunk as I was now using the Citibank Free for Life VISA with its higher earn rate of 1 rather than my earlier 0.5 from my altitide Card.

All in all (and I can only estimate what my exact point balance was at jan1 2007) and I have earned about 350,000 points in 2007 when points from my flights, hotels, cc spend (ie the normal 1.5 to 1 earn rates and not the extra 10 bonus).

So my 130,000 points were supercharged up to 350,000 ....and if I had not discovered this forum my 130,000 would most likely have been less (ie probably no Citibank VISA).

So firstly thank you to all who post here....and secondly lets hope that 2008 has as many bonus deals as 2007.

 

[dajop]

Well congratulations on your bonus points, there's plenty of generous offers if you know where to look!

and secondly lets hope that 2008 has as many bonus deals as 2007.

I don't know about that .... when it comes to QFF and linked CC programs, the more that is given away , the more points in circulation (so to speak), the more difficult points are to use, and furthermore the more likely it is that there will be "enhancements" that effectively devalue points (and I think we're in for one h#lluva enhancement this year ...). Personally (a bit selfish I know) , I'd rather that noone gave away bonus points, as it just devalues the whole thing.

But nevertheless, good on you for taking advantage of it!!!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Well congratulations on your bonus points, there's plenty of generous offers if you know where to look!



I don't know about that .... when it comes to QFF and linked CC programs, the more that is given away , the more points in circulation (so to speak),

I would not be too worried...as most people simply are not interested to exploit all the loopholes...assume that it is not worth their while or hassles...etc.

True frequent flyers also gain extr benefits from staus etc....

For say a few hours of my time I have made say an extra $6000 before tax...say $10,000 in 2007. Not a bad return

I used to suggest to others to take advantage.....but in the main got blank stares or incredulous looks.....so these days I do not bother apart from a select few.

The same people also normally say I am lucky to holiday overseas so much!!!!

I am off to New Caledonia next March with a redemption as a family of 5. Bali last year using the very very low Jetstar launch Fares, Thailand/Singapore the year prior as a redemption for 5. Middle East and Thailand 2 years prior to that (though a lot of that was due to flight hotel earn as back then I was a truly frequent flyer).

Lucky? No. Informed and proactive? Yes

 

[Alanslegal]

I would not be too worried...as most people simply are not interested to exploit all the loopholes...assume that it is not worth their while or hassles...etc.

I used to suggest to others to take advantage.....but in the main got blank stares or incredulous looks.....so these days I do not bother apart from a select few.

I definitely agree here...

just like chasing status or chasing ff points, chasing bonus points is exactly the same thing some of us including me do................ we all use creativity, imagination and sometimes the so-called "loophole" to earn the biggest possible benefit.........

thanks to the various 2007 promotions, i did quite well, probably earning 4x the amount of points i would have normally received based on my normal spend per annum......

so i will definitely be opening my arms wide open for any good 2008 promotions.....

 

[oz_mark]

I don't know about that .... when it comes to QFF and linked CC programs, the more that is given away , the more points in circulation (so to speak), the more difficult points are to use, and furthermore the more likely it is that there will be "enhancements" that effectively devalue points (and I think we're in for one h#lluva enhancement this year ...). Personally (a bit selfish I know) , I'd rather that noone gave away bonus points, as it just devalues the whole thing.

I don't know what arrangements exist between the banks and Qantas, but I would assume that the points get paid for somehow, they are just not given away.

 

[dajop]

I don't know what arrangements exist between the banks and Qantas, but I would assume that the points get paid for somehow, they are just not given away.

Oh I'm sure Qantas get their penny out of it, in fact in non-linked programmes (eg MR, Altitude) they just go into a pool for a variety of uses. Still think though in the long run they just devalue rewards programmes overall.