Hello ;-)

[shagnome]

Hi Everyone,

Short time reader, first time poster.

I am new to this, so bear with me as I learn the ropes.

In the past few weeks I have taken the plunge to start earning free flights using Frequent Flyer and other Rewards programs.

So far I have only been focussing on the Qantas Freqent Flyer program, however I plan to investigate Velocity and other programs as I get my head around all the complexities of these rewards programs.

I earn an average income (around 75k) and was thinking I could generate 70k points every 2 years and get a free return flight to SE Asia. This was from the idea of just using my Commbank Platinum Credit Card and Woolworths Every Day Rewards program.

From reading these forums and other sites, I gather there are ways you can seriously increase the number of points you generate every year, way beyond my initial estimates.

I have started by doing the following:
1. Opened a Qantas Frequent Flyer account (free through the Sunrise website). Now I am on awesome Bronze status!!
2. Obtained a Commbank Platinum Amex ($1=1.5QFF) and Mastercard ($1=.5QFF) Credit Card (free with my existing home loan) and linked it to my QFF account. This will be used for my main spending.
3. Signed up for Woolworths Everyday Rewards and linked to my QFF account (free). Obvious use.
4. Obtained a Qantas AMEX Discover card ($0 annual fee, 5000 QFF points for spending $300 in first 3 months and extra 2500 QFF points for first eligible Qantas spend). Will use this until I get my points then cancel it. I wonder if this card can be churned and at what frequency?
5. Obtained a Woolworths Every Day Rewards Credit Card ($89 annual fee and 20k QFF points on first eligible spend). Same as point 4.
6. Obtained a Qantas Credit Union VISA Platinum Credit Card. (first annual fee waived, 30k QFF points by making initial eligible spend and 1 eligible spend per month for the first 5 months). Same as point 4.
7. Telling my friends and family about any of the ways to get free points and adding 'If you don't think you will use your points, you can transfer them to me if you like'.

I would love to hear any tips people have.

Kind Regards,

Shagnome

 

[markfitz1]

Hi there shagnome,welcome. My trick is to pay all my families bills with my card and they just give me the cash.

 

[Mwenenzi]

welcome to the forum

...In the past few weeks I have taken the plunge to start earning free flights using Frequent Flyer and other Rewards programs.........

Award flights on Qantas and most other airlines are a long way from "free"

The credit card annual fees may not be worth the value of points earned, especially if you have multiple credit cards (with high $$$ fees)

QF points can only be transferred to/from eligible family members.

 

[shagnome]

welcome to the forum
Award flights on Qantas and most other airlines are a long way from "free"

Be gentle, I am only new to this.

However, I do see the error in my statement. There are taxes and booking fees, credit card fees and time and effort involved with managing everything..... and probably other things I haven't thought of and am yet to encounter.

Thanks for the reality check though.
/removes head from clouds

 

[SeatBackForward]

Be gentle, I am only new to this.

However, I do see the error in my statement. There are taxes and booking fees, credit card fees and time and effort involved with managing everything..... and probably other things I haven't thought of and am yet to encounter.

Thanks for the reality check though.
/removes head from clouds

No thats not quite it either. They aren't free in the sense that to earn those points you are spending $ on something else. And the reality is that merchants who offer points are usually more expensive than those who don't.

Ultimately if your goal is to fly somewhere, its probably better to just pay for the ticket with cash, then to make unneccesary purchases elsewhere just to earn FF points.

 

[shagnome]

No thats not quite it either. They aren't free in the sense that to earn those points you are spending $ on something else. And the reality is that merchants who offer points are usually more expensive than those who don't.

Ultimately if your goal is to fly somewhere, its probably better to just pay for the ticket with cash, then to make unneccesary purchases elsewhere just to earn FF points.

hrmm...

I wasn't planning on making unnecessary purchases.
Until a few weeks ago, I wasn't using any FF rewards programs at all and was directing all my spendings through my savings account.

I already shop at the big 2 grocery stores and the big petrol stations, which all seems to be the same price as each other. So I thought I would funnel all my spending (bills, shopping, etc) into credit cards tied to FF rewards programs and be more conscious to use Woolworths affiliated stores to get the extra points there. (obviously pay off the cards from my statement account every month so I accrue no interest charges)

Then the big point earner (in the fantasy world I live in) is signing up for additional credit cards which give bonus FF points based on spending a realistic amount of money (for me) in a certain time, with either no annual fee or the first annual fee waived, or the first annual fee being substantially cheaper than the bonus points (assuming each bonus point is worth 1c). Currently I have spent $89 for 1 out of 3 cards I have signed up for and have the ability to earn 55k points by just using the cards in a discretionary manner without making any unnecessary purchases or changing the way or places I shop at.

You do mention 'merchant' though. Do you mean that it will be costing me more to use my credit card to make purchases than it would to use my savings account? I always ask if they charge more for Amex and when they say yes, I produce the MasterCard instead.

I feel my bubble slowly bursting

 

[SeatBackForward]

hrmm...

I wasn't planning on making unnecessary purchases.
Until a few weeks ago, I wasn't using any FF rewards programs at all and was directing all my spendings through my savings account.

I already shop at the big 2 grocery stores and the big petrol stations, which all seems to be the same price as each other. So I thought I would funnel all my spending (bills, shopping, etc) into credit cards tied to FF rewards programs and be more conscious to use Woolworths affiliated stores to get the extra points there. (obviously pay off the cards from my statement account every month so I accrue no interest charges)

If its not changing your existing behaviour, then its not a problem - unless you start thinking about all the points you've been *missing* out on...But the reality is that the FF points is a big profit maker for qantas, they aren't actually giving away something for free.

Then the big point earner (in the fantasy world I live in) is signing up for additional credit cards which give bonus FF points based on spending a realistic amount of money (for me) in a certain time, with either no annual fee or the first annual fee waived, or the first annual fee being substantially cheaper than the bonus points (assuming each bonus point is worth 1c). Currently I have spent $89 for 1 out of 3 cards I have signed up for and have the ability to earn 55k points by just using the cards in a discretionary manner without making any unnecessary purchases or changing the way or places I shop at.

Others on here are probably better to comment, but I would advise caution at going too heavily on the credit cards. A Credit history will be kept of the number of credit cards you've had, and a history of constantly opening and closing accounts wouldn't sit too well, not unless you are a high-net worth - in which case you wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place. Having too many credit cards at any given time is probably not a good idea either, particulary if you plan on getting any type of loan in the near future.


The other aspect to keep in consideration is that most CC that offer FF Points usually have an annual charge involved, you mention yours dont as you have them tied into your home lan, but if you have multiple CC's all with annual fees, is there any benefit in syphoning off points across them all?

You do mention 'merchant' though. Do you mean that it will be costing me more to use my credit card to make purchases than it would to use my savings account? I always ask if they charge more for Amex and when they say yes, I produce the MasterCard instead.

I feel my bubble slowly bursting

I didn't mean merchants in that sense, but merchants who offer points with purchase, for example, if you aren't interested in FF schemes, then don't shop at Woolies, go to Aldi.

 

[sutho58]

welcome to AFF "shagnome",, enjoy the lessons..

 

[shagnome]

welcome to AFF "shagnome",, enjoy the lessons..

all good advice thus far and none which I should not listen to.

Thanks

 

[robd]

Others on here are probably better to comment, but I would advise caution at going too heavily on the credit cards. A Credit history will be kept of the number of credit cards you've had, and a history of constantly opening and closing accounts wouldn't sit too well, not unless you are a high-net worth - in which case you wouldn't be having this discussion in the first place. Having too many credit cards at any given time is probably not a good idea either, particulary if you plan on getting any type of loan in the near future.

Yes, watch out for this. I applied for three cards (28 degree MC, Woolworths EDR CC & Amex Edge) within 2 months. The last application to Amex was rejected. I was told by Amex not to bother applying for another 6 months.

 

[Shelf]

Welcome, there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained from this site

 

[JohnK]

Welcome to AFF shagnome!

I think you are on the right track....