FF Program Loyalties and card selection

[fiBer]

Hi All


This issue has been driving me up the bend lately and I thought I would engage some valuable member feedback…


Current situation:
Have approx 650k Qantas Points.
Cards: Amex Qantas Ultimate / ANZ FF Plat / WOW EDR
Use 2 additional card holders on Amex Ultimate
Earn about 150,000 points per year through Amex, 30-40,000 through EDR


I have been very loyal to QF for the past few years but have recently become disillusioned due to the difficult redemption rates (compared to say DJ) and my falling status (work commitments have changed).


My concern at the moment is I am worried about lumping all my points with Qantas. I have no Virgin points but have been doing some bookings for staff at work through Virgin and noticed how much better the points/cost ratio and availability is. However I read all the time of people who lost Ansett points and hence go back to my Qantas thinking...


My original proposal was to cancel the Amex Ultimate and just stick with the ANZ FF Plat and EDR combo (I like the travel insurance on the ANZ FF Plat). But along came the Citibusiness Gold, its 1.25 pts/$ and transfer to QF/DJ/CX/SQ and the spanner was well and truly lodged.


So I guess the question I am asking is how do members prioritise their earn and where it goes? I would not be accepted for Citi Select/Signature so those higher cards are out. In an ideal world I would have attempted for Amex Plat Charge Card (when it was still 1.5 pts/$), parked my points with Amex and transferred at will to the right FF program…and used WOW EDR for non-Amex purchases.


Or I could just continue my loyalty to QFF.


Would love to hear your thoughts!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

While all of our circumstances vary, and hence one has to analyse what is best for one's own circumstances and desires (or how you can earn, and how you wish to burn) one of my best decisions in recent years was to switch from the QFF camp to the KF camp combined with thinking "alliance" and not just airline.

I certainly would not have had anywhere near the number of J and F international flights if I had not jumped.

The icing on the redemption cake has been the much easier availability of J/F.

So my advice is to think about what flights you wish to take, for how many...and then cough which earn/burn combinations are best for you.

PS: I still rack up QFF points when there are earn opportunities, that I cannot get to SQ. When I can find the time for a longer trip I intend to book RTW Onewolds in J due to their superior burn rate to most other QFF redemptions..