Best use of points

[freakie]

I am sure this questions has been asked a thousand times and responses are hidden in the annals of the postings on this site, so if someone could help me find the answer rather than start a whole new discussion I would appreciate it.
Am I better (in terms of point value) to use QFF points for short haul flights (BNE-SYD-BNE) or save them for something longer - considering I still need to pay taxes, fuel surcharges etc on top of the points?

Is there a specific fare which represents the breakeven of where it is better value to use points than to purchase a ticket or vice versa on a BNE-SYD-BNE round trip.

Thanks to the guru's out there who will point me in the right direction.
Freakie (QFF Gold, soon to be Plat)

 

[Dave Noble]

It really depends; a good value award is one where you feel you get good value. Sometimes this can be a long flight , others a short one. I used 18k miles for a LHR-TIP flight which would otherwise have cost GBP400 ($1000) so seemed a v good value use for me.

The best use of your points will be that which you find to be good rather than trying to use them in a way that others would think is good. Look at the points vs $ and use them when you think its good.

Typically, I would say that the short flights such as SYD-MEL/SYD-BNE etc tend to be bad value for economy awards where something like a $100 saving for 8000 points is often achieved

Dave

 

[kelpie]

I am sure this questions has been asked a thousand times and responses are hidden in the anals of the postings on this site, so if someone could help me find the answer rather than start a whole new discussion I would appreciate it.(QFF Gold, soon to be Plat)

You don't have to search that hard to find the answer. But I suppose I was a bit anal to pick you up on that typo.

 

[NM]

Dave is correct that it really depends on your own situation. I believe the best use of points is for long-haul international upgrades, but that really requires some level of QF FF status to get far enough up the waitlist priority order.

When I have used points for award flights it has been for flights that I would otherwise be paying cash to purchase. I would not use points for an award flight that I would otherwise not take if paying cash. In that way I see my points as saving me money rather than seeing my points as giving me something for nothing.

 

[JohnK]

It is different for everyone. Very hard to put to a $value on FF points.

I am happy if I can get around 2-3 cents per FF point. eg a return award SYD-BKK around Christmas would require 60,000 points for a net airfare of $1,470 @ 2.45 cents/FF point (total airfare $1,800 - taxes & surcharges $330). A RTW economy class award with 5 stopovers requiring 140,000 FF points would also be very good value.

Many members on AFF get a better value on FF points by using them for business class upgrades. I feel business class is overpriced so the return on FF points would be worth less to me.

YMMV

 

[drron]

As the other posters have said it depends on your situation.As you will have status then international upgrades may very well be the best use of points.As I have no status then I use my points for international J awards.If I didnt use points I would be purchasing J tickets as mrsdrron says anything over 4 hours must be in business class.I still havent heard the last when i made her fly Y to KL 2 years ago.
Interesting aside-6year old granddaughter at family gathering heard other family members talking about flying economy and her reply was "whats economy".She has had ~6 international J flights.

 

[parsonstrish]

I'm hoping to go to London and then over to the states next yr, stopping in New York and DFW and then out through LAX.
JohnK. could you tell me if this would meet the RTW using award points of 140,000 you mentioned?
Thank you for any assistance as I appreciate everyones' expertise.
trish

 

[JohnK]

I'm hoping to go to London and then over to the states next yr, stopping in New York and DFW and then out through LAX.
JohnK. could you tell me if this would meet the RTW using award points of 140,000 you mentioned?
Thank you for any assistance as I appreciate everyones' expertise.
trish

Absolutely. Book online and it is 140,000 FF points plus taxes and surcharges or if you use telephone assistance then add another 2,500 FF points. With the OneWorld RTW award you are entitled to 5 stopovers so with stops in LHR, JFK and DFW you can also add another 2 stopovers.

There are a few conditions. The main ones are to stay under 35,000 miles, if you use QF then must use 2 other OneWorld airlines (BA and AA are OK look Ok on your routing), if you do not use QF then 2 other OneWorld airlines is enough.

 

[parsonstrish]

JohnK, many thanks for your suggestions. I looked at the QF site under awards and I'm just a little confused. If I book Bne-Sin-LHR (stop)-NYork (stop)-DFW (stop)-LAX (unsure of stop)-Bne, this all include the 5 stops I'm allowed, doesn't it?
I'm sure that this is definitely under the allowed mileage.
Flying (BA) from LHR to LGA and then (AA) LGA to DFW counts as the 2 one world, doesn't it? I guess the AA can't be on QF code share then.
Sorry about this, but if I book online, I put in the dates and does that then show flights available on that particular date?
Once again thank you very much for your information and patience. I have found I get more accurate information from aff than calling an airline or ta.
trish

 

[PlutekPlutek]

JohnK, many thanks for your suggestions. I looked at the QF site under awards and I'm just a little confused. If I book Bne-Sin-LHR (stop)-NYork (stop)-DFW (stop)-LAX (unsure of stop)-Bne, this all include the 5 stops I'm allowed, doesn't it?
I'm sure that this is definitely under the allowed mileage.
Flying (BA) from LHR to LGA and then (AA) LGA to DFW counts as the 2 one world, doesn't it? I guess the AA can't be on QF code share then.
Sorry about this, but if I book online, I put in the dates and does that then show flights available on that particular date?
Once again thank you very much for your information and patience. I have found I get more accurate information from aff than calling an airline or ta.
trish

Your route sounds fine. When booking Brisbane-LHR, you don't have to put in Bne-Sin and then Sin-LHR unless you absolutely want to stop in singapore, and this will be regarded as one of your five allowed stops.

If you just search for flights from Brisbane to London for a particular date, it should give you a range of routings with Qantas, BA (via Sydney), and possible Cathay Pacific, via Sydney, Bangkok, Singapore or Hong Kong (off the top of my head). You can search as far as 330 days (I think) for Qantas, and 300 (I think) for other OneWorld airlines. You can pick whichever route you want, but bear in mind that each route will attract different surcharges and taxes. Once you select all your flights, the system will tell you how much you have to pay in taxes. I've tried numerous routes when booking my ticket two weeks ago to find the best connections to minimize taxes and surcharges. I've especially found that a for a transatlantic flight (NYC - London in my case) the taxes can vary greatly between flights . The difference was about $150 more if I flew with American Airlines rather than with British Airways. Same departure and destination airport, same dates, the flights were 30 minutes apart. So do you research and find a few different routes to minimize taxes. I also found that going through Hong Kong is more expensive in taxes than going through Bangkok. I ended up paying about $580 in taxes for the following route:

Sydney-Shanghai
Shanghai-Chicago-Miami
Miami-New York La Guardia
New York JFK - Heathrow
Heathrow-Warsaw
Warsaw-Heathrow-Bangkok-Sydney

BTW, I don't think you can fly from LHR to LGA. I've ever only been able to find connections to JFK and vice versa. When you fly LHR - JFK and then LGA-DFW, the stop in new york is counted as one.

Hope this helps.
Lukasz

 

[serfty]

The award booking engine automatically interprets any international connection where the scheduled departure time of the outbound flight is within 24 hours of the scheduled arrival time of the inbound flight as a transit.

e.g. You can arrive at HKG at 8pm and if you depart before 8pm the next day it is a transit. (Giving one time to give the markets a hiding if one is so inclined ). If the departure was scheduled any time after 8pm the next day in this example it would be classed as a stopover.

 

[JohnK]

JohnK, many thanks for your suggestions. I looked at the QF site under awards and I'm just a little confused. If I book Bne-Sin-LHR (stop)-NYork (stop)-DFW (stop)-LAX (unsure of stop)-Bne, this all include the 5 stops I'm allowed, doesn't it?

Yes you have only used 3 stopovers, 4 stopovers if you stop in LAX as well. A stopover is defined as spending more than 24 hours in the one place otherwise it is classed as a transit. So even though your trip is BNE-SIN-LHR, SIN is classed as a transit not a stopover.

I'm sure that this is definitely under the allowed mileage.

According to GCM the total mileage of BNE-SIN-LHR-JFK-DFW-LAX-BNE is 23,820 miles so you are well under the 35,000 mile threshold.

Flying (BA) from LHR to LGA and then (AA) LGA to DFW counts as the 2 one world, doesn't it? I guess the AA can't be on QF code share then.

With QF BNE-SIN or LAX-BNE and also BA and AA for trans-Atlantic and internal US flights then you are covered under the OneWorld RTW award condition on use of carriers.

You will have trouble going from LHR to LGA unless you go via Boston, Toronto, Chicago or some other transit airport. You are better off looking for flights to and from JFK.

Sorry about this, but if I book online, I put in the dates and does that then show flights available on that particular date?

Yes it does. So you would select the multi-destination option then from Brisbane to London-Heathrow with your date of travel and this should display a list of available flights. Once you select your first flight then you put in the next city pair with the date of travel e.g From LHR to LGA.

For some reason I was not getting any flights from BNE to London-Heathrow so try breaking the multi-destination into BNE to SIN and then SIN to London-Heathrow with the same date. SIN would still only be classed as a transit.

As Lukasz mentioned play around with the award booking engine as much as you like to find the right combinations of flights.