Best use for 50,000 QFF points? Upgrade or save for later?

Status
Not open for further replies.
F

FFGrey

Junior Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Posts
32
Hi there!

Firstly, thank you all for your great advice over the years, this site has been such a fantastic resource for my wife and I as we plan our next adventures!

OK - my question is - We are flying MEL > PER on Economy for our Christmas holidays.

I was thinking of surprising my wife by upgrading the flights over to Perth to Business Class for 50,000 QFF points.

Is this a good idea, or am I better off saving up more points and using them on a Melbourne to LA flight Economy to Business upgrade later on up the track? (how many points would I need to do this for two return flights?)

Just don't want to waste them but a longish flight like Melbourne to Perth would be nice in Business!

Thanks!

Graeme.
 
I know... Dr Ralph - tough choice haha!

We want to go to LA in a year or so, be good to upgrade to Premium Economy or Business on that (but not sure on how many points are needed)

I've put in my request for upgrade, I can always knock it back if I get an upgrade offer right?

Graeme
 
FFGrey said:
I know... Dr Ralph - tough choice haha!

We want to go to LA in a year or so, be good to upgrade to Premium Economy or Business on that (but not sure on how many points are needed)

I've put in my request for upgrade, I can always knock it back if I get an upgrade offer right?

Graeme
Click to expand...

Depending on your status, an upgrade to business class international can be extremely difficult. At least with domestic it's guaranteed.
 
If you have the points, I would go for it! Business class on the A330 is very nice :)

There's plenty of time to accumulate more points before your trip to the United States. (Although, as others have said, international upgrades can be pretty hard to get. You'd feel pretty silly if you passed up the opportunity to upgrade your flights to Perth, and then the international upgrade didn't come through!)
 
FFGrey said:
We want to go to LA in a year or so, be good to upgrade to Premium Economy or Business on that (but not sure on how many points are needed)
Click to expand...

As others have said, this is a risky strategy. If you aren't Platinum or higher, the chances of you getting a J upgrade (at least) to LAX is very slim, and you won't know until a few days out if you've made it (its called the upgrade lottery). And you have to buy an expensive version of Y or PE ticket to even be in the running.

Domestic business upgrades are confirmed (or not) at the time of application, so you can plan the experience in advance. MEL to PER is long enough for your wife to settle back and enjoy a few wines :). But beware - she may expect it all the time afterwards!
 
Struggling to Redeem Your Frequent Flyer Points?
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Thanks for your feedback everyone!

I've decided to use the points on the flight to Perth business class upgrade!
I submitted an upgrade request, the person on chat support said there are plenty spare on our particular flight.

I have flown a lot in my lifetime, but only ever in economy class so fingers crossed we'll get the upgrade and have a wonderful flight over!

I am doing this as a surprise for my wife.. I love that girl.

Thanks again :)
 
FFGrey said:
Thanks for your feedback everyone!

I've decided to use the points on the flight to Perth business class upgrade!
I submitted an upgrade request, the person on chat support said there are plenty spare on our particular flight.

I have flown a lot in my lifetime, but only ever in economy class so fingers crossed we'll get the upgrade and have a wonderful flight over!

I am doing this as a surprise for my wife.. I love that girl.

Thanks again :)
Click to expand...

I would check back regularly to see if business award seats open on your flight. This would give you a confirmed upgrade rather than a request, and subject to the upgrade lottery (with any higher status than yours trumping you, even if their upgrade is submitted last minute).
 
But surely domestic upgrade requests should be processed immediately if there is a seat available? Only if they are taken should you go on a waitlist.

Sometimes on-line upgrade requests do not process immediately, but that is a long standing glitch.
 
RooFlyer said:
But surely domestic upgrade requests should be processed immediately if there is a seat available? Only if they are taken should you go on a waitlist.

Sometimes on-line upgrade requests do not process immediately, but that is a long standing glitch.
Click to expand...

Good question... how does it work? Sounds like there are no more business award seats available and the OP has waitlisted. If QF subsequently releases award seats do those automatically go to those on the waitlist? Or does the OP have to be proactive?
 
FFGrey said:
I am doing this as a surprise for my wife.. I love that girl.

Thanks again :)
Click to expand...

And this, here, is why you made the right choice IMHO. It's a treat fo your wife (and you as well to start off lovely holiday time. The best use IMHO.

If the upgrade hasn't cleared yet apparently a lot of sets I'd either resubmit the request or ask QF.

If you can see 2 Business Class seats available for classic rewards your request should have cleared.. if not then hopefully it wil before the flight.

I hope you and "that girl" get to enjoy a lovely treat!
 
You can easily more than replace the 50,000 QFF points from sign-up bonuses from credit cards.

I try to more than cover my upgrades from sign-up bonuses + regular points earn for putting flights on credit card + points from doing the flights, ending up with a higher points balance after travelling than before deciding to travel even if the upgrades are successful.

If you can get your points balance very high then you can get the attitude I've got so many points I may as well put in the request. If I get the upgrades I'll still have enough points for my planned future use for them.
 
FFGrey said:
I've decided to use the points on the flight to Perth business class upgrade!
Click to expand...
Good choice in my opinion! Good luck that it comes through, I bet 'that girl' of yours will love every minute of it! ;)
 
Hi there!

An update - we didn't get an upgrade because our flight was bumped from an Airbus to a smaller Boeing 737-800 :-(

We were told by staff that the allocated Airbus had an aircon failure so the Boeing was a substitution, to their credit Qantas sorted all this with minimum fuss and delay, but the 737-800 is a pretty small and stuffy flight haha! To my relief. due to the limited Business class seating we were placed in Economy. it would've been a waste of points otherwise!

I knew something was up when I got the text around mid day to say we had been unsuccessful.... the lady on the phone the day before said there were plenty of seats available for upgrade.

All good, I get to keep my 50,000 points and we had a lovely flight over anyway, we've been really looking forward to this break.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Hope yours is a good one! And again - THANK YOU! :)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..

Recent Posts

Currently Active Users

Total: 1,088 (members: 36, guests: 1,052)
Back
Top