Have I chosen the wrong FF program? Is it too late to change?

[RTW2017]

Hi everyone,
My Husband and I decided this year that we would take a 12 month round the world trip starting in April 2017, exciting! With a bit of research suddenly a whole new world of FF points and programs became a new hobby (obsession?!) of mine and my goal is to collect enough FF points to get us both around the world using points (obviously excluding taxes etc). I immediately signed us up to Qantas FF and Woolies everyday rewards. I had never owned a credit card and now I have 3! We have accumulated around 170,000 points each since April. I decided to go with Qantas and One World as it seemed like that would give us good options for our big trip itinerary (Also because we generally flew Jetstar on domestic flights and shopped at Woolworths). My dilemma is that now I feel like my best ability to earn points without flying is with Velocity (also switching to flybuys) and the options to transfer points to say Krisflyer and the Star Alliance.
My question is, should I keep plugging away at my Qantas points with credit card bonuses etc or would it be wise to switch now and start again with the Velocity program. Has anyone had a similar dilemma and can offer me some suggestions or advice? I hope this isn't too silly a question. I'm still finding my feet in this new world of point collecting and I want to make sure I'm on the right track.
Thanks in advance
RTW2017

 

[Buzzard]

As you both already have enough for a Y redemption and J may not be that far away for you, I would stick with QF for this venture but reconsider my position for future trips.

 

[sergeyvzn]

stick with QFF. You're each only 70K away from a 240K business class RTW. Get yourselves an ANZ Black AMEX/VISA each and you'll be there

QFF is unique in that you can book a RTW trip with points, most other FF programs have either completely done with them (like American Airlines) or make it so expensive it's not worth it

 

[nickfromeastryde]

Personal opinion is that One World a much better option for a RTW trip so you should keep aiming for that especially as you aren't that far away from J. 170K each in points since April is a pretty good effort. Once you have got the points for this once in a lifetime event, then you can reassess which FF program to focus on

 

[burmans]

Agree with this summary. QF is not my preferred program but I do use it given it is so easy to get CC sign-on points with (and a few other easy points). Given you already have a decent amount of points I would certainly not give up on QF but agree you should consider diversifying for the future.

 

[RooFlyer]

Welcome to AFF, RTW2017 .

I agree with the others - stick with QFF, but also there is no harm in joining Velocity to credit when the purchase can't be credited to QFF.

BTW: You are planning a trip in April 2017, and that's a good planning horizon. If you are after 2 business class seats, you will have to be ready on the day, and at the hour that the seats are released for the day in April 2017 you want to fly. J seats are scarce! I think seats are released (made available on the web site) I THINK 330 days in advance, ??10am Eastern?? - others will clarify. If you want economy, there's more availability.

Also, be prepared for a significant cash component of your points trip, especially on Qantas sectors. Do some dummy bookings now (call Qantas if you like - no charge for enquiring) to see the charges involved. Don't let these put you off - but plan for them, and also plan to grab seats if you want J or have limited date flexibility.

 

[RTW2017]

Thank you everyone for your helpful advice I was really torn when I did my initial research and signed up to Qantas over Velocity and the more I have read and learnt about how everything works the more I have doubted my original decision. I will carry on focusing on Qantas and join Velocity as suggested to keep our options open when we reassess where we are at post RTW trip.
J class would be amazing and the ultimate goal but we will be travelling with our 4-year-old son so unless we can ramp up our point collecting efforts then I think we will have to settle for economy....
As for the trip I'm sure I'll be posting more as we start to really lock in our plans.
Thank you all again!

 

[Bajar]

Can I ask how people have booked these in the past? Have you called and gone from there, or is it possible online?

 

[Deleted member]

Can I ask how people have booked these in the past? Have you called and gone from there, or is it possible online?

Pretty Much as Roo Flyer described, on line early as possible and keep looking

 

[sergeyvzn]

However bear in mind that not all OneWorld airlines can be booked online, for example Japan Airlines or Malaysian Flights won't show on the QF search engine and you will need to call Qantas to book an itinerary including these flights
Also, the multi city search is full of bugs so be prepared to call QF anyway after you've put your dream itinerary together, clicked Proceed and got an error message

 

[andye]

I would focus on QFF until your RTW goal is reached. It is quite difficult to get masses of points from supermarket spend anyway and the usual big earners are the CC bonuses.
No harm in squirreling away a few FB/Etihad points after WW ditch the EDR.
Qantas Mall can be a pretty good earner especially at DJs.
Some people disagree but I think that a Veda subscription can help maximise the number of credit card applications you can make while minimising chance of rejection.
I suspect you won't have QF status handcuffs so you can re-evaluate your focus after the first trip

 

[blu]

Have you studied the OneWorld Award (140k/280k) thread, it explains everything that's relevant:
http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ogram/oneworld-award-140k-280k-420k-8228.html

 

[Dr Ralph]

Stay with QFF. You should be able to get 500000 points in a year no problems just via credit cards. But you need to be proactive and ruthless to do this. Churn and burn!

 

[RTW2017]

Stay with QFF. You should be able to get 500000 points in a year no problems just via credit cards. But you need to be proactive and ruthless to do this. Churn and burn!

Wow, that would be a serious effort! I guess the problem is that even though we have 18 months till we leave we will still have to have all of the points ready to go for when we book, 11 months before... Will do my best though Thanks

 

[RTW2017]

Thanks for the link, will have a good read!