How do you do it? SG, WP, WP1 etc [Mainly Domestic Oz travel]

[bismarck]

As I am tackling my first ONE4 at the end of the year, and have recently begun a new job that could involve regular travel interstate, I've begun thinking about how I might be able to attain WP to enjoy some of the nicer lounges as we jet around the world.

Work will happily pay for full Y fares for interstate travel but by my calculations it would take 35 weeks of travel (assuming fly out Monday and back Thursday/Friday between SYD and MEL, CBR, BNE) to achieve WP on the business dime alone.

Acknowledging that this can be supplemented by JASA's, DSC's, international trips etc I'd be interested to know how people have achieved WP or higher using primarily domestic travel. Do the majority of people just travel this much? Do you do multiple trips in a week? Are you based in PER and doing longer-haul domestic.

In particular, I'd love to hear from anyone who does it deep discount Y, as that would seem to require a helluva lot of flying!

 

[adrianb]

I'm a JASA status run away from WP (booked for 22nd June) without having left the country with all the work-related flying completely in discount Y.

For me it was basically a lot of flying for work away from home (Melbourne) flying out Monday mornings and back Thursday evenings or up/back day trips. Almost all of it was MEL-SYD-MEL / MEL-ADL-MEL / MEL-CBR-MEL except for two intense weeks during a project late last year with a flight every day (MEL-SYD-PER-MEL-SYD-MEL). Otherwise there's been a couple of trips to see family in PER which I've done as a JASA in one direction for a few extra SCs.

I've also had a DSC which I've been able to squeeze in 3 or 4 business day trips into as well as my upcoming status run and a weekender red-e-deal to ADL and the Barossa.

Without the couple of JASAs to Perth and the DSC and status run I'd never have made WP even with very regular business flying in discount Y. Without this forum I'd never have heard of a JASA or a status run and would have ended up with all that flying not resulting in the hard-earned status bumps I've gotten, so I am very grateful to the knowledge and wisdom of the AFF family

 

[boomy]

I managed to climb all the way to P1 from mostly Dom in Y. I fly 3-4 times a week mostly to east coast cities. Usually I book a mixture of red-e-deal & flexi.

If you won't fly as much then you can look at more flexi or J or just taking non direct routes to accumulate more SC.

Good luck and happy traveling!!!

 

[BD1959]

Hi bismark,

Most of my business travel is deep-discounted Y between MEL/SYD/ADL.

My WP status largely came courtesy of "my own dime" two MEL-KUL-LHR discount-J returns on MH (first got me SG, second WP).

Regards,

BD

 

[ashleyn]

I had 6 months of PER-SYD and PER-BRN flights with a client who only bought fully flex fares. Add to that 3 months of DSC and I went from NB to WP.

 

[Nizar]

Hi bismark,

Most of my business travel is deep-discounted Y between MEL/SYD/ADL.

My WP status largely came courtesy of "my own dime" two MEL-KUL-LHR discount-J returns on MH (first got me SG, second WP).

Regards,

BD

May I ask how much you paid for those MEL-KUL-LHR discount J ?
And how many points and SCs did you earn ?

Cheers

 

[bismarck]

I managed to climb all the way to P1 from mostly Dom in Y. I fly 3-4 times a week mostly to east coast cities. Usually I book a mixture of red-e-deal & flexi.

If you won't fly as much then you can look at more flexi or J or just taking non direct routes to accumulate more SC.

Good luck and happy traveling!!!

Where are you flying from Boomy? Perth? WP1 in Domestic Y must've involved 3-4 flights per week every week of the year!

 

[BD1959]

May I ask how much you paid for those MEL-KUL-LHR discount J ?
And how many points and SCs did you earn ?

Cheers

Sure ... cost was approx $5600. I'll let you know the earn as soon as the QFF site is back !!

Regards,

BD

 

[CaviAck]

May I ask how much you paid for those MEL-KUL-LHR discount J ?
And how many points and SCs did you earn ?

Cheers

Sure ... cost was approx $5600. I'll let you know the earn as soon as the QFF site is back !!

Regards,

BD

Plug it into MilageMonkey and it turns out to be around 560SC and 15,786 points (21,048 actual miles flown but MH J earns at 0.75 for AUS-UK).

 

[BD1959]

Plug it into MilageMonkey and it turns out to be around 560SC and 15,786 points (21,048 actual miles flown but MH J earns at 0.75 for AUS-UK).

Thanks - there was also a double-points promo also for the first trip IIRC.

Will report the final figures.

Regards,

BD

 

[Ewing]

I'd be interested to know how people have achieved WP or higher using primarily domestic travel.

Initially: CBR-SYD and CBR-MEL, multiple times a week. Fortunately it was either flexi or J (and before anyone infers government, I'm in the private sector).

Yes it sucked. No I don't do it anymore

 

[bismarck]

Initially: CBR-SYD and CBR-MEL, multiple times a week. Fortunately it was either flexi or J (and before anyone infers government, I'm in the private sector).

Yes it sucked. No I don't do it anymore

Are you very senior in your firm? I ask only because I don't encounter many people whose firms will allow them to fly J for domestic flights (PER excluded)

 

[Ewing]

Are you very senior in your firm? I ask only because I don't encounter many people whose firms will allow them to fly J for domestic flights (PER excluded)

C-level, albeit at a relatively small company. I left that company in 2011 though.

I'm now an independent contractor.

 

[nonpop]

International premium cabins + mix of domestic Y = WP

No DSC for this little black duck ... can only hope one day

 

[ashleyn]

International premium cabins + mix of domestic Y = WP

No DSC for this little black duck ... can only hope one day

Hang in there nonpop, my first DSC was last year after waiting 20 years !

 

[bismarck]

Seems like quite the battle to make WP without premium cabins or a well timed DSC offer

 

[sjd]

Last year I went from PS to WP without leaving QLD (no not mining) flew every week bar only about 2 mostly on red-e apart from trips to LRE which are usually Flexi due to low availability. So Dash-8 300s have contributed more to my WP than international premium cabins that have contributed diddly squat (though I do have a JASA to SIN later this year that will tip over to WP for another year).

 

[boomy]

Where are you flying from Boomy? Perth? WP1 in Domestic Y must've involved 3-4 flights per week every week of the year!

I fly ex MEL and sadly I do fly 3-4 times a week on average (can be one week 2 flights and the next 5 flights) plus a few int'.

The way I see it you need to earn 70 SC per week on average to become P1 (70x52 = 3,640).
How to do it is up to you and depends on how much you are going to travel and also how big of an effort you are ready to make to get those SC.
It can be done by booking only flexi which gives you minimum of 20 SC or by booking longer routs to get from point A to B via C & D. A few int' trips will also help boost the SC.

If this number is too big for you at the moment then think about WP which requires earning less then 30 SC per week on average to qualify.

 

[cmon0005]

Usually 2-3 Y trips to either SIN or hkg and BOM. sometimes paid j intra-asia flights on MH or Qf codeshares. J to Fiji air pacific (qf code). J to AKL. 15~ dom return Y trips.

 

[Swanhaven]

I think the people who do it tough are those that travel domestic having to stick to a tight travel budget: I am P1, with 3000 current status points with 5 months to run - however, I am head of three family businesses with one office in Boston and a major business in Vietnam and I only fly Business and I stick with "One World". I know how hard it is to get the "QANTAS" metal for P1 - for those flying domestic and achieving Platinum you do it hard and you should be congratulated (as should your families). I try and upgrade (using points and I have 3 million to play with) to First on LHR-SYD and LAX-SYD but it is getting very tough and have only had one success in the last 4 months. The rest of the "troops" fly "the best price" domestically and business on international flights and I have 2 platinum staff and one gold. However, it takes a heap of earnings to maintain this level but I agree with another thread on international flights that at least you can "hit the ground running". Business Class can take 2 days off international business and when you take the cost of hotels and living then it often offsets the higher "J" costs. Anyway, a great thread and interesting and challenging comments.