Do you have an annual Points target?

[PointsTravel]

Thx for all the great responses! Being new to the game I had set my target at 500k. But the more research I have done, and all the tips that I've picked up on the forum (Thx Everyone!), have meant that I have adjusted the target to 750k. If all goes well I may even crack 1mil for the financial year - fingers crossed! Jul/Aug have been on target - 150k so far.

I'll post another thread EOFY to see how everyone went with their targets for the year...happy (Points) hunting everyone!

 

[daveozsydney]

I'm interested as to why only QFF?

They are one of the worst currencies by my calculations in terms of spending power when compared to others - interested why you selected QFF out of all the point and miles currencies out there?

Is that mainly through flying or do you actively seek to go out and earn QF points using QF earning cards as opposed to flex programmes like say Amex MR?

I only accumulate QFF points and try to maintain a minimum balance of 1,000,000 points, currently 100,000 below target

 

[tizey]

Thx for all the great responses! Being new to the game I had set my target at 500k. But the more research I have done, and all the tips that I've picked up on the forum (Thx Everyone!), have meant that I have adjusted the target to 750k. If all goes well I may even crack 1mil for the financial year - fingers crossed! Jul/Aug have been on target - 150k so far.

1mil a year - is that as an individual, or as a couple combined? If its as an individual - what means do you rely on? Do you have a big spend, fly a lot, sign up bonuses?

 

[Dr Ralph]

I'm interested as to why only QFF?

They are one of the worst currencies by my calculations in terms of spending power when compared to others - interested why you selected QFF out of all the point and miles currencies out there?

Is that mainly through flying or do you actively seek to go out and earn QF points using QF earning cards as opposed to flex programmes like say Amex MR?

I don't agree that they are one of the worst currencies. I target QFF as well and have found them very useful for how I have planned to spend them.

Conversely I have found Velocity points impossile to use so far.

 

[tizey]

I don't agree that they are one of the worst currencies. I target QFF as well and have found them very useful for how I have planned to spend them.

Conversely I have found Velocity points impossile to use so far.

I value velocity points much higher than QFF. Granted, I haven't made a single redemption other than MEL-HBA direct with velocity, but the link to Krisflyer has paid massive dividends for me as SQ availability has always come through for me 12months out, yet QFF is really hit and miss. Any opportunity I get to burn QFF and hold on to velocity/krisflyer, I will. Even if it means QFF fuel surcharges on EK and cancellation costs with KF as the availability is much harder in/out of Aus with QFF than it is with KF.

Once out of Australia, I think QFF has good value (eg Europe to USA, USA to Asia, Europe to Asia), but getting in/out is the hardest part to find availability.

 

[cove]

We run with Kris Miles, QF points ,VA points and AA Miles.
We seem to have enough to do anything we want so we don't worry about any targets.
The ATO thread has been a big help.

 

[get me outta here]

No target, unless I'm a hair's breadth from a reward. Always looking to acquire VA and have 600K+. All VA goes to SQ. QF I only seem to only acquire slowly as I don't pay for flts.

 

[daveozsydney]

I don't agree that they are one of the worst currencies. I target QFF as well and have found them very useful for how I have planned to spend them.

Conversely I have found Velocity points impossile to use so far.

Ok that's just my personal valuation based on them relative to other miles or point currencies. VFF would be near the bottom of my list too.

I'm just keen to find out what uses of QFF make it your FF currency of choice compared to all the others out there.
The high YQ plus poor availability of J and F via QF generally makes them hard to use for me personally when there are other cheaper options available with better product. The QF product in F pales compared to SQ, EK and EY.

So I would value AA, Thai Royal Orchid, Krisflyer, Asia Miles, Avios and Etihad miles all ahead of both Qantas and Velocity to name just a few with sweet spots for J or F in Europe, Asia and domestic J.

So here's why I have come to that conclusion and my favourites ex Australia:

Europe - Thai, Singapore preferred in that order (SQ product better though). Both products arguably better than QF. See table on this page for Europe miles required and charges to demonstrate this Travel Hacking Business and First Class Travel in Australia - CreditFlyer

Asia - Asia Miles or Lifemiles preferred

Short haul domestic and intl (NZ) - Etihad for VA J or Avios for QF J.

Qantas (and VA) would be near my bottom of the list. I still collect them and they have their place but high YQ versus many of the ones listed above means I rarely choose to redeem QF for awards.

Exceptions off the top of my head would be if I can fuel dump ex HKG or GRU and use for Emirates F or a RTW trip or Starclass where only Jetstar flies direct and you're flying with an infant so want a direct flight over comfort, and a few one offs like Fiji, Noumea, and domestic islands where QF is the only option or JQ redemptions. None of those rate highly for me hence my personal valuation of QFF points.

I generally try to earn MR wherever possible as a flexible currency and I would almost never transfer them to QFF points. I would rather keep them there and see which airline is the optimal solution for the specific redemption in mind and lowest taxes and miles combination.

So getting back to the thread's question, it's not necessarily about a target of a quantum of points earned per year but also about their utility of redemption and the quantum of associated costs when making that redemption.

So you could set a target of 1,152,000 million QF per year for three return F flights to Europe, or achieve the same travel goals with better ground service and lounges by only earning 510,000 Royal Orchid Miles.

But I generally set no target and spend time on the framework:

1. setup of having optimal flexible point earning cards and maximise bonus categories for spend; and
2. Effect a number of card signups each year - because I can - and where the annual fee is zero or is worth paying for the benefits and points received.
3. Setting the guidelines on when to pay the surcharge, generally at the 1c per point level so makes the maths easier - 3% on a 3 point per dollar earning card is ok with me but if no surcharge for visa I'd use visa/mc. I'm happy with that level as my value of redemptions far exceed that level
4. Implementing and scaling MS opportunities as and when and if they occur like the BW 1c hack, stuff like eharmony avios etc etc where points earned is way greater than the cost (if any) involved and others. Some are automated, some manual. If I can scale something up to 1 mill points then I don't stop just because my target is lower but I do get lazier as the point balance gets higher.

As our family grows it complicates matters as infant charging is a black art with no consistency across airlines - some free, some 10% of miles, some 10% of fare or more. Then simply getting the seats for 3 adult seats is a factor on where to book so again the flexible point programme wins hands down over being tied to QFF (or any other single scheme).

I do earn QFF as it's so easy but don't go out of my way to earn them over other currencies.

Would be interested to see your valuation and how you can justify QFF as sole programme and whether there's something we can learn here.

 

[PointsTravel]

In answer to a few questions...

Earning as a couple. I would love to earn 1mil points on my own but that's just not possible for me - unless I want to spend a lot of money on stuff I don't need! Approximately 600 from CC sign ups - we are lucky as we both have good income, low debt, high Veda scores - all of which allow us to churn the CC's. The rest mostly from combo of CC spend, Woolworths rewards, shopping on the online mall etc. Only a small amount from flights/hotel stays (on average 1-2 domestic holidays a year and 2 holidays into asia). Neither of us travel for work. We take a big trip every 18months-2yrs (due to limited annual leave) but those flights are in J on points.

As for the question of why qantas - mostly because our current spend patterns line up better with qantas. We do have velocity as well but we find that most of our major expenses earn better points with qantas. Additionally we started really focusing on accruing points becuase we have friends in Orlando that we want to visit regularly, and as we have our son in tow it's a good opportunity to have a family holiday in Disney. Travelling with a toddler we felt it was easier to do one stop with longer flight times instead of 2 stops with shorter flights. From Perth EK is the only single stop itinerary to Orlando. It times well with a 0600 flight out, by the time we land in Dubai and reach the hotel it's his bed time. We get 10hrs at hotel to sleep before next flight to MCO. So far we have also found that we have no issues finding J seats with Emirates from PER to USA return - even when looking for 3 seats - which is handy for us. So there are a number of factors that have led us to focus on Qantas. I know the taxes are higher but given that our preference is to fly EK (for the previously mentioned reasons), it is either Qantas or Emirates Skywards (which we are also members of). With Qantas offering more opportunity for earning points within Australia (as opposed to Skywards) it was an easy choice for us.

I'm sure that over time both our expenses and preferred holiday destination will change. As they do we will re-evaluate which program is best suited to our needs. While we are members of several FF programs we also choose to focus on Qantas so we don't end up with points all over the place, otherwise it would take us a lot longer to accrue enough points for 3 J's!

 

[cove]

We enjoy all of the points and miles. AA has become more difficult to use.

 

[kort]

1. Look out for credit card promotions offering points bonuses (just be mindful this will affect your credit score)
2. Hope and pray AMEX stuff up and do a "5 transactions for 5,000 points" promotion like they did about 10 years ago
3. Threaten to cancel your card nearer to when the annual fee is due. If your monthly spend is "up there", in many cases they will waive the annual fee to keep you (in my experience some banks will only half the fee).
4. Don't bother using points to buy white goods, etc from the Qantas Shop. Huge waste of point - flights earn best bang for buck.
5. We have thrown our lot in with the OneWorld Group (ie Qantas, AA, Cathay, etc). It would be nice to spread out to other programmes but I find it easier to manage by dedicating to one programme only.

In the past 20 years I have probably paid for about 3 overseas flights (then used points to upgra de) - the rest have been on points (primarily business, premium economy). Would have saved well in excess of $150k in flight tickets and redeemed >2,000,000 points without changing spending habits.

Everything I buy goes on credit cards aligned to accumulating points. If a place only accepts cash, I go elsewhere. My amex is 1.5 points/$1 spend with the VISA/MC 1 point/$1 spend as backup.

 

[Bnmaus]

We earn as a couple but our points earn comes mainly from credit card spend, we carefully manage the spend on Amex (1.5/$1) but all business expenses go through the card, Amex Corporate Platinum. We accrue around 1.5m points a year. We focus on Qantas and use their Business Direct and Business Rewards programme when we book a business trip. The earn rate can get as high as 7 points per $1 spend. Also keep an eye on specials from Qantas for bonus points for trips booked in time windows. We use the Woolworths buy to accumulate points too.
Regarding using the points, Qantas classic reward seats open up 12 months in advance, so we plan 12 months in advance where we want to travel and book well in advance. We book multiple trips over the year, even if we are not 100% sure if we will use it. Cancellation is only 6000 pts!
We have found tickets easily available on code share airlines, Emirates and Cathay especially, we have always got First on bookings. Flew last year to Vancouver (Qantas), Los Angeles(Qantas), London(Emirates) and South Africa(Emirates)
One tip, when booking online, not all available seats are displayed, you must call Qantas, they have many more seats available and can make small itinerary changes to ensure points flights.
I always have at least 600k points available to take advantage to seats.

 

[geoffs]

I also try to earn as many QFF points as possible. We returned home from USA in January 2013 Business class award flights.with less than 30K points left in my Qantas account. Since then I now have 1.222 million QFF points despite using 80k last year and 50k this year and my wife has 37K points. While I don't have a business to help accrue points I use my Amex Qantas Ultimate card where possible (1.5 points/$1) and a Visa or MasterCard where Amex is not an option.
Each month I have two bills to pay - Amex and MasterCard/Visa.. By channelling all your spending to earn points they add up very quickly. We are planning two round the world business class trips over the next two years - one through USA and Canada as well as a trip to Europe the year after and of course being able to book well in advance gives more chance of success in an award seat. Make sure you use the Qantas Online Mall, Kogan.com and all the other ways to earn more points.

 

[cove]

Lots of people think folks having a business are lucky. It is true that we get more opportunities to earn lots of points and miles and I wouldn’t like not having a business or two. Our biggest points generator is still from the ATO and the fiscal fiend now wants 38 payments a year just for one of our enterprises.

 

[CaptJCool]

Lots to learn. Thanks for sharing. Pity my ex doesn't give FF Points for child Support. Nor the dang bank for fast-tracking mortgage repayments. Taxes are paid when it's earnt on payday so no ATO POINTS either.
Employer does a deal so no points for business travel. Muses.

Plenty of time shortly to get on-board all the wonderful travel hacks I've read about here.
Choose Day is the light at the end of the tunnel. Awardace.com. Bring it on !

 

[Deleted member]

My reasoning is as follows:
1. I live in Australia, and do the majority of my flying in Australia or trans Tasman
2. As a consequence of living here, I reckon I need to earn and burn here.
3. QFF offer a Life Time status option. VA do not.
4. The One world alliance gives me a good range of alternative code share options etc
5. Bearing in mind I don't fly anywhere near as far or as often as many on this site, I need to find ways to maximise my options.
6. While this isn't a deal breaker, courtesy of my previous life as a LT member of The Australian Airlines Flight D ck club, I was,( after the merger) automatically LT QP. So it was a no brainer for me. I buy a fair chunk of epiqure wines and with bonus offers, imcollect a good number of additional points.
But the secret for me is actually SCs bs Points.
I hope this helps a little bit.

I'm interested as to why only QFF?

They are one of the worst currencies by my calculations in terms of spending power when compared to others - interested why you selected QFF out of all the point and miles currencies out there?

Is that mainly through flying or do you actively seek to go out and earn QF points using QF earning cards as opposed to flex programmes like say Amex MR?

 

[ALH]

I try to keep around the 1,000,000 QFF Points in my account. You never know when you need urgent 2 x F to LHR

 

[Jeffrey O'Neill]

Suppose I've started on the Bonii signups a lot more since last year. It's a relatively easy way to grab lots of points.

Used to focus more on Velocity since the NAB Velocity premium Amex would give 1.5 points per $ which was like earning 1.11 SQ miles. Now it's more about earning Amex membership rewards points with the latest V/M card I've recently got a signup bonni spend requirement.

I see CX for Asia redemptions offering pretty good value.

Sadly buying points is becoming less of an option with the lower AUD and devaluations that are occurring.

I just have to hope that the signup bonii keeps flowing or...no I dare not think about long haul Y travel....it's too traumatic

 

[cove]

From the seventies to the early nineties I flew in economy to Los Angeles. A heart bypass operation helped me move up to higher classes but I don’t recommend that way of getting up front. While Kris Flyer Miles are wonderful they expire inside 4 years if you have no status. You can extend by 6 months but it costs quite a bit.

 

[woodyren]

Love travel. Just cant afford to do it at the pointy end..or I suppose we could but that would mean less travel on our available resources.

Until two years ago we pretty much just went for the cheapest option for flights. Still do at times.

I am the only wage earner and we have no business spend or corporate flights with which to accrue points. Work part time as I drift towards retirement but very flexible employer allows me to travel whenever I can/want.

Current strategy is to collect as many points in Velocity as we can. In the next 3-4 years I think that either a) I will no longer earn enough to get the high end cards or b) Card bonuses will not be at the levels they are now so getting in full tilt while we can. Have accrued over 1,000,000 since late 2015, mostly due to CC sign up bonuses. Cards almost all mine except for the occasional household income offer as the Mrs has only a low income.

We have burned around 350,000 so far on Singapore J from Beijing to Sydney (which was our first ever J flight) and our upcoming J flight again on Singapore Bangkok-Istanbul. Have around 900,000 in the vault at present. Love the J product but keep our pts for longer haul flights and revert back to the cheapest fares for flights under around 5 hours.

Have no cards I can apply for at present which qualify for Velocity or rewards B/Pts so during this short hiatus I have just applied for and been approved for two Qantas cards which will get me another pts haul of around 170,000. Will revert to these whenever we can within any T&C's that don't preclude us from Velocity BPts.

Top things up with normal spend with strategies to earn as many points as we can , E-rewards, any other bonus pts offers I see around etc.

Have spent around $2300 in annual fees so far. Much of this has been offset already with free domestic flights.

Very happy to be able to enjoy any flights in J and have our eyes on a few F flights in the coming years. For us it is very special and something we never really thought about to be honest. Only regret is that we didn't know about these things earlier in life.