Best way to use QFF points

[Nick-]

I'm pretty new to FF Points. I started collecting QFF points a few months ago and have amassed some 90,000 points already so I'm now considering what would be the best way for me to use these points.

On the surface the free flights sound great, but then I note the hefty fuel and tax charges which are levied on top. This devalues the offer of "free" flights somewhat and so I'm considering if this is indeed the best way for me to spend my points.

I guess I have a number of options:

• Purchase flights and pay the taxes
• Purchase flights and use points for an upgrade
• Continue to save points for one world RTW ticket
• Use points for online mall purchases etc,

I note there is a mix of experienced and inexperienced QFF's on here and so I'm hoping some of you more experienced members could give some advice to me as to where I will get the best return for my points. Is it on flights? Upgrades? Or something else that I'm missing? Also are there any locations outside Australia that you know of where taxes/fuel charges are sufficiently low and therefore worthy of spending points to visit?

Advice welcome

 

[JohnK]

The answer won't be the same for everyone.

Oneworld awards sounds like a great idea. Toasters are not so great idea.

I generally find upgradeable airfares are expensive and then you need to be able to get the upgrade anyway.

The secret for me and it is not going to work for everyone is award flights to/from HKG and MNL for their very low taxes and surcharges. From there grab a cheap(ish or not) airfare to/from BKK.

 

[Doctore1003]

I agree with JohnK - go for the oneworld award.

I also like to use points upgrading PER-MEL flights to J in the new suites. I fly it a lot for leisure and it's only 20k to upgrade from cheap red-e-deals - great value for money.

 

[incumbent]

Things you can do without modifying your behaviour too much are best.

Difficult to recommend trying to use points for an upgrade, because you have to spend more for an upgradeable ticket and have no guarantee that it will come through (*).

Given that you mentioned upgrading, I assume you have at least some interest in flying in business class, in which case I'd recommend using points for a Business Class fare rather than hoping for an upgrade.

The 280k RTW ticket is something good to aspire to, albeit complicated.

Beyond that, where do you want to go? The alliance with Emirates has at least made some good options available.

(*) Internationally

 

[showstopper]

Do you have any upcoming or future plans in mind? Also, do you plan to use your points for one or multiple travelers?

Personally, I'd be using for either outright purchase or RTW.

Different airlines have different fees/taxes. Try redeeming award seats on CX, they generally have pretty low fees/taxes

 

[exceladdict]

As others have asked, it depends on what you like to do. Your employer might put you on a red-eye PER-SYD or vv and you could use 20k points to upgrade Y>J and a flat bed. Or you might be looking for mainly overseas trips. Let us know

 

[Nick-]

Things you can do without modifying your behaviour too much are best.

Difficult to recommend trying to use points for an upgrade, because you have to spend more for an upgradeable ticket and have no guarantee that it will come through.

Given that you mentioned upgrading, I assume you have at least some interest in flying in business class, in which case I'd recommend using points for a Business Class fare rather than hoping for an upgrade.

The 280k RTW ticket is something good to aspire to, albeit complicated. \

Beyond that, where do you want to go? The alliance with Emirates has at least made some good options available.

I've not actually travelled business class before. I'm from Ireland so most of my previous plane journeys tend to have been 3-4hrs maximum until I moved to Sydney, and therefore business class never really been necessary before. I've also done a fair bit of travelling since leaving Ireland (3 years ago) - Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand and Cambodia and I'm eager to add more countries to this list.

I've been home to Ireland once since moving here and I do find the long plane journey uncomfortable, so I've had two thoughts 1) using points to make my visits home more comfortable 2) using points to visit countries that I've not been to before in any class, taxes and fuel costs permitting

 

[Nick-]

Thailand/Vietnam in February is my next trip

And all the points will get spent on me, I don't like sharing lol! I didn't know I could redeem on CX, I thought the redemptions were only for QF flights Interesting!

 

[incumbent]

Going back to Ireland: a combination of a 280k fare and nested fares bought abroad more cheaply than here is a good use.

Travelling elsewhere: Basically, Emirates has more options covering more places than Qantas for the same points. So look at those, too.

If you tend to travel solo, there are usually more options.

But there is no single Holy Grail.

 

[incumbent]

I thought the redemptions were only for QF flights Interesting!

At the risk of being repetitive, Emirates

 

[cove]

Avoid points plus pay for business class. If you qualify get another credit card with a big sign on bonus (provided you can handle credit and can pay the balance to zero each month).

 

[grussellt]

Hi Nick. I would recommend that you have a look at the sticky on oneworld awards. Then have a dummy run (looking at Y because there is more availability) and see the possibilities. It is fairly easy to plot trip from Australia to America (North or South) and then into DUB. You can then return via Asia or the Middle East. That should open up some new countries for you. To book a trip in J you will have to plan and book well ahead but the award (which may seem complex at first) offers lots of flexibility.

 

[opusman]

The best value is in premium cabins, either through upgrades or outright award flights. Not usually worth redeeming points for economy because of the taxes and charges you still have to pay.

The problem with upgrades is that internationally they're not guaranteed, and if you have no status they are difficult (although not impossible) to get. You also have to pay extra to get an upgradeable fare.

Personally I use points almost exclusively for domestic upgrades (since these can be confirmed at the time of booking) or domestic J award flights.

 

[2infinity]

I find using the point for economy flights is a waste of points. you end up paying for 2/3 of the flight in fees and surcharges as well as using all those points. A recent example: QF had a 5 day special last week (50% points to USA in economy). I thought, whoa half price awesome, so I plugged in my fare. 48K return BNE - LAX + $730 in fees/surcharges (Imagine paying $730 + 96000pts). The week before QF advertised BNE - LAX for $1043, which would give me a few thousand more points + status credits.

I have found the best way is to make life more enjoyable by using them for business class. Buying a business class fare with money costs about 5 times the cost of an economy ticket, but only costs twice as many FF points as economy. So above example would be $730 + 192000pts for business or $6000. I'm not wealthy enough to pay $6000. Going business class not only gives you a nicer experience in the air, but on the ground you also get priority check-in, boarding, free chauffer car transfers in some cities and access to the QF/Oneworld Lounge. It makes the journey part of the experience of your holiday. You can also try buying an economy fare and use points to upgrade to business, but there are no guarantees you'll get it as you only get told a day or two before the flight if you are successful (international), but there is no additional cash outlay. Upgrades to business domestically are easy and doable plenty in advance.

Obtaining a business class ticket or upgrade is reasonably easy domestically, but just be aware business class is difficult to get internationally on QF especially on some routes like USA and UK. Not to say they don't come up, its just hard to get half way what you want. They seem to be easier on partner carriers like Cathay Pacific.

The other option is the Round the World ticket at a cost of 140000 pts economy or 280000 business or 420000 first. This is a Oneworld offering not specific to QF. There are certain rules you need to meet which are spelled out in other threads on this site. I'm currently saving 840000pts for 3 RTW tickets business class. Going to be hard to find 3 together, but I did a search for 11 months out and found them. yay for me. Still need 200000pts in case someone wants to donate them to me I do note that none of the fares that I found included QF. QF seems to be a bit stingy when I comes to using points other than in economy.

Hope this helps.

 

[kitkatff]

I'm in favor of the upgrade route - but they key is to time your travel a bit, eg. mid-week, avoiding holidays or special events (forget getting an upgrade to Singapore just before the grand prix there, etc). If you're solo, the world is your mollusk in terms of planning trips ... That said I've been lucky with my international upgrades (all granted so far), so I'm biased

And the RTW fare seems the best deal, but as mentioned needs a lot of planning. But when you see BNE-LAX costing 192,000 points, another 90K for a RTW trip is a much better deal.

An issue with upgrades is that they only work on QF metal, so that does limit reach a fair bit. I'm surprised nobody said "dump QF and go Emirates instead" in that regard

Check the forum on credit card promotions, always a few around. Join the mailing lists of airline programs to see what's coming. Some also offer lounge access, hotel status, etc. Just make sure you pay them back ...

 

[vitol69]

The other option is the Round the World ticket at a cost of 140000 pts economy or 280000 business or 420000 first. This is a Oneworld offering not specific to QF. There are certain rules you need to meet which are spelled out in other threads on this site. I'm currently saving 840000pts for 3 RTW tickets business class. Going to be hard to find 3 together, but I did a search for 11 months out and found them. yay for me. Still need 200000pts in case someone wants to donate them to me I do note that none of the fares that I found included QF. QF seems to be a bit stingy when I comes to using points other than in economy.

Its hell of job to accumulate 840000pts! Do you mind to share your route for RTW trip how much in taxes you reckon it would be?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Someone donating points to you, if family, is easy, but if not family, how does taht work?
Just make sure you don't "BUY" points off anyone!!!
If you are 85% short towards a reward, you can officially buy points from QF, but you can't buy off anyone else.
I think it was on here where the girl bought QF points off a certain website, and QF canned her, so to speak.

 

[2infinity]

Someone donating points to you, if family, is easy, but if not family, how does taht work?
Just make sure you don't "BUY" points off anyone!!!
If you are 85% short towards a reward, you can officially buy points from QF, but you can't buy off anyone else.
I think it was on here where the girl bought QF points off a certain website, and QF canned her, so to speak.

If not a family member, then you can run into complications, but didn't you know, you're my first cousin
This is the list of eligible family members:
Husband/WifeParent/Step-parent
Domestic Partner/De Facto
Child, including foster & step-child
Brother/Sister
Half Brother/Sister
Grandparent
Grandchild
Son/Daughter-in-law
Brother/Sister-in-law
Father/Mother-in-law
Uncle/Aunt
Nephew/Niece
First cousin

Buying points off Qantas is expensive and limited. I'll just sign up for a few more credit cards and get the bonus points.

 

[2infinity]

Its hell of job to accumulate 840000pts! Do you mind to share your route for RTW trip how much in taxes you reckon it would be?

Route will be something similar to this: (280000pts +$697.69). I just did a quick search on 1 person otherwise it would have taken me a bit longer to do the search for 3.

Flight 1	From	To	Flight	Travel Class	Reward Type	Baggage Baggage
Wed 10 Aug 16	12:45 Cairns Duration: 7h 10m	17:55 Hong Kong Stops: 0	CX146	Business	Classic Reward	Per Adult : 3 pieces
= Flight CX146 is operated by Cathay Pacific
Flight 2	From	To	Flight	Travel Class	Reward Type	Baggage Baggage
Wed 10 Aug 16	23:45 Hong Kong Duration: 12h 50m	05:35 Thu London (Heathrow) Stops: 0	BA28	Business	Classic Reward	Per Adult : 3 pieces
	06:45 Thu London (Heathrow) Duration: 3h 35m	12:20 Thu Athens Stops: 0	BA638	Business
	Total duration: 17h 35m
= Flights BA28, BA638 are operated by British Airways
Flight 3	From	To	Flight	Travel Class	Reward Type	Baggage Baggage
Sat 20 Aug 16	10:15 Barcelona Duration: 2h 20m	11:35 London (Heathrow) Stops: 0	BA473	Business	Classic Reward	Per Adult : 3 pieces
= Flight BA473 is operated by British Airways
Flight 4	From	To	Flight	Travel Class	Reward Type	Baggage Baggage
Sun 21 Aug 16	10:05 London (Heathrow) Duration: 7h 55m	13:00 New York (JFK) Stops: 0	AA101	Business	Classic Reward	Per Adult : 3 pieces
= Flight AA101 is operated by American Airlines
Flight 5	From	To	Flight	Travel Class	Reward Type	Baggage Baggage
Fri 26 Aug 16	10:00 New York (JFK) Duration: 16h 00m	14:00 Sat Hong Kong Stops: 0	CX841	Business	Classic Reward	Per Adult : 3 pieces
= Flight CX841 is operated by Cathay Pacific
Flight 6	From	To	Flight	Travel Class	Reward Type	Baggage Baggage
Mon 29 Aug 16	12:50 Hong Kong Duration: 8h 35m	23:25 Brisbane Stops: 0	CX157	Business	Classic Reward	Per Adult : 3 pieces
	07:00 Tue Brisbane Duration: 2h 25m	09:25 Tue Cairns Stops: 0	QF798	Business
	Total duration: 18h 35m
= Flight CX157 is operated by Cathay Pacific