Best use of altitude points to fly to the U.S.?

[newbieflyer22]

Hi
I need to fly 4 adults Melbourne to San Fran, anchorage, then Vancouver Melbourne in June - July 2016. I have lots of altitude points but don't want to spend them all. I have Virgin membership but no status, but could join other FF club eg Koru if better. I usually fly Qantas but have this card from years ago and really need to consolidate....
What is the best option to use altitude points? Who do I transfer to?

 

[Mattg]

You're probably best off transferring points across to Virgin Velocity. There is usually reasonable availability on VA to the US and no fuel surcharges which is a big bonus. Don't even think about transferring them to Air NZ - that would have to be one of the worst FF programs around.

 

[Mark3000]

Yes definitely not Koru

 

[newbieflyer22]

You're probably best off transferring points across to Virgin Velocity. There is usually reasonable availability on VA to the US and no fuel surcharges which is a big bonus. Don't even think about transferring them to Air NZ - that would have to be one of the worst FF programs around.

Thanks for your input....seems not to be worth going Air NZ although flights are good - avoid LA.....

Best value for Virgin? My husband insists on business, but kids and I have done QF to europe in economy and lived to tell the tail....Comparisons?

 

[Mattg]

Thanks for your input....seems not to be worth going Air NZ although flights are good - avoid LA.....

Best value for Virgin? My husband insists on business, but kids and I have done QF to europe in economy and lived to tell the tail....Comparisons?

My criticism of Air NZ is the frequent flyer program, not the airline. If you wanted to fly Air NZ you could transfer to SQ and book through KrisFlyer, but I doubt you would find availability anyway as NZ are quite stingy with that.

Transferring to Singapore Airlines you could also fly another Star Alliance carrier, or of course Singapore Airlines itself. From MEL you could fly SQ via SIN and HKG (Hong Kong is just a refueling stop, the same aircraft continues to San Francisco). This costs 100,000 SQ miles return in economy, but you get a 15% discount for booking online and can get a free stopover in Singapore or Hong Kong if you want. The only problems I see there are (a) finding 4 award seats on the same flights and (b) SQ charges rather high fuel surcharges.

Just by way of comparison, MEL-SFO would cost 94,000 points return in economy with Virgin, but no fuel surcharge (just ~$150 in taxes). You could also use 110,000 KrisFlyer miles return to fly another Star Alliance airline like Asiana or Thai Airways or 130,000 Velocity points to fly Hawaiian Airlines via Hawaii. All these amounts are for economy, return.

In terms of business vs economy; I would go business class if you had the points as it's only double the cost (whereas it's usually more like 5x the price when paying cash) and the product is much better. Business class award seats are harder to find though, so keep that in mind.

 

[DaveB]

Wife and I booked next May from Syd - Anc using combination of VA and DL points though could have just used VA.
Currently have 3 returning tonight in J on DL17 using DL points for availability at short notice. 350,000 points per person is the premium for booking them only last month.

 

[cove]

We have been going on SQ to LAX. Split into two twos to get Saver Suites,First or business class. This is a very nice way if you don't want to go Velocity / Delta.

 

[newbieflyer22]

Thanks Matt G, DaveB and cove
.
I have never used VA. On VA, availability is not good for our days, as cost seems to be more like 200000 points for economy....at a conversion rate of 2 WA for 1 VA, not a great option....perhaps left it too late...(late booking seems to be allowed with points on VA, but the cost is not very economical.....we have nearly 2 million WA points which would barely cover 4 of us to the US at these rates....not a very good use of points...need to plan better...

Do VA release their flights 11 months in advance? Seems that beyond July 11 flights not released....but no flights back on that day....use date combination....

....Maybe better to use hubby's WP QFF status and go Qantas as there is more availability on those dates....

Problem with SQ is that travel time 10+ hours longer....

I'm asking too much - need to be more organised, so ready to pounce as soon as flights released.....

 

[Mattg]

Thanks Matt G, DaveB and cove
.
I have never used VA. On VA, availability is not good for our days, as cost seems to be more like 200000 points for economy....at a conversion rate of 2 WA for 1 VA, not a great option....perhaps left it too late...(late booking seems to be allowed with points on VA, but the cost is not very economical.....we have nearly 2 million WA points which would barely cover 4 of us to the US at these rates....not a very good use of points...need to plan better...

Do VA release their flights 11 months in advance? Seems that beyond July 11 flights not released....but no flights back on that day....use date combination....

....Maybe better to use hubby's WP QFF status and go Qantas as there is more availability on those dates....

Problem with SQ is that travel time 10+ hours longer....

I'm asking too much - need to be more organised, so ready to pounce as soon as flights released.....

The problem with QF is that you can't transfer Altitude points to Qantas Frequent Flyer. But if you have QF points anyway then you might as well use those if you can find suitable availability and are prepared to pay about $500 each extra in fuel surcharges.

The VA flights should be 94,000 points plus some taxes. Business class would be double that, so ~200,000 points would seem about right. You need to make sure you're looking for Reward seats, not Points Plus Pay which will be infinitely more expensive.

VA release award seats at midnight AEST 330 days or so out. There is generally better availability through Brisbane, though through Sydney you can also choose the Delta flight to LA for the same price.

If you can't find 4 seats on the same flight, try splitting up and search for 2 seats each on 2 flights (if that works for you).

 

[newbieflyer22]

Thanks Mattg

Each frequent flyer thing to their own....seems it is only points plus pay at this stage....

Kris Flyer issue is that need to allow many weeks for transfer, so need to be right on time....as otherwise they will expire.....

 

[Mattg]

Thanks Mattg

Each frequent flyer thing to their own....seems it is only points plus pay at this stage....

Kris Flyer issue is that need to allow many weeks for transfer, so need to be right on time....as otherwise they will expire.....

If the dates you're looking at are during school holidays, then there is unlikely to be availability. I can see lots of dates in June with 4 economy reward seats on VA. Not as many during July holidays but there are some. Just keep looking.

Keep in mind too that VA (and QF) are currently doing MEL-LAX return for just over $1000 so if you're planning to go in economy, it may almost be better to book with cash and save the points for other things.