Is My Memory Accurate about Fees,Taxes and Carrier Charges on FF Point flights?

[Renato1]

Back in 2005 we flew to London, Paris, Rome, Venice and home using Qantas Frequent Flyer points.
Back in 2009 we flew to Rome, Madrid, Venice, Hong Kong and home using the QFF points.

My memory from back then was the number of points needed was 110,000 to 120,000 points each for a return trip to London.

So today I thought I'd check what Qantas FF points gets you nowadays, and checked the return trip to London. The number of points was 128,000 each, which was okay - everything costs a little more nowadays.

But the fees, taxes and carrier charges came to $1878.84 for the both of us. This really surprised me, that's a lot of money, and I don't remember paying anything like that amount on my last two trips. That amount is dearer than what I was quoted for a return trip for one to Venice with Emirates on my next trip. I'm pretty sure I'd remember such poor value had it been the case back then.

So is my memory inaccurate, or have those fees blown through the roof in recent years?

While I was mucking around at the Qantas FF site, I also noticed that it costs $460 to buy 15,000 top up points, and that I can then go and spend those 15,000 points to buy a $100 Myer Gift card.
There seems to be a deficit in value there.
Regards,
Renato

 

[NM]

everything costs a little more nowadays.

While that may be true for some things, like utilities, fresh food, fuel etc, there are some things that are cheaper now that they were 10 years ago, such as ... airfares (in many cases).

The carrier-imposed fees and charges added by QFF for the privilege of redeeming your hard-earned FF points on long-haul international flights has become a real joke as far as I am concerned. For the routing I flew to the USA and return last month, QFF wants $816.85 per person. AAdvantage, for the same flights, required US$116.90 per person. And of course the miles/points requirement was an interesting comparison too (128K for QFF verses 75K AA miles).

So yes, your memory is good, but the redemption value is poor.

I now use my QFF points exclusively for upgrades as the co-payment requirement makes it very unattractive for flight redemptions these days.

 

[Renato1]

While that may be true for some things, like utilities, fresh food, fuel etc, there are some things that are cheaper now that they were 10 years ago, such as ... airfares (in many cases).

The carrier-imposed fees and charges added by QFF for the privilege of redeeming your hard-earned FF points on long-haul international flights has become a real joke as far as I am concerned. For the routing I flew to the USA and return last month, QFF wants $816.85 per person. AAdvantage, for the same flights, required US$116.90 per person. And of course the miles/points requirement was an interesting comparison too (128K for QFF verses 75K AA miles).

So yes, your memory is good, but the redemption value is poor.

I now use my QFF points exclusively for upgrades as the co-payment requirement makes it very unattractive for flight redemptions these days.

Thanks for confirming my recollections.

So effectively Qantas FF points seem to only really be good for paying just over half the cost of a trip.
I can see why you think it's a joke. I concur.
Regards,
Renato

 

[11sjw]

Thanks for confirming my recollections.

So effectively Qantas FF points seem to only really be good for paying just over half the cost of a trip.
I can see why you think it's a joke. I concur.
Regards,
Renato

QFF redemptions for Y seating aren't the best value. The redemption into J/F are of better value. The problem with the is the availability.

 

[Renato1]

QFF redemptions for Y seating aren't the best value. The redemption into J/F are of better value. The problem with the is the availability.

Thanks, but you have me lost. What is Y seating and J/F, please?
Regards,
Renato

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Thanks, but you have me lost. What is Y seating and J/F, please?
Regards,
Renato

Y is standard code for economy. J for business, F for First.

As you have seen, in many cases, for just a few hundred dollars more than Qantas charges in fees for redeeming an award, you could buy a ticket outright on another airline, and perhaps even fly on a more direct route to your intended destination.

120,000 points is a business class return ticket to Asia... perhaps a better use of award points if you intend to holiday there at some point in the future.

 

[There'sOnlyOneJimmy]

120,000 points is a business class return ticket to Asia... perhaps a better use of award points if you intend to holiday there at some point in the future.

Or for 140.000 points a OneWorld Classic Award in Yconomy, or 280,000 in Business...

 

[Renato1]

Y is standard code for economy. J for business, F for First.

As you have seen, in many cases, for just a few hundred dollars more than Qantas charges in fees for redeeming an award, you could buy a ticket outright on another airline, and perhaps even fly on a more direct route to your intended destination.

120,000 points is a business class return ticket to Asia... perhaps a better use of award points if you intend to holiday there at some point in the future.

Thanks for the thorough explanation.

Back when in 2005 when I had half a million points or so, the cost of Business Class was three times the price of economy, while using points Business was only double the cost of economy - thus points were better value. Only problem was I found it impossible to book business seats to Europe when I wanted to go.

Anyhow, I don't have that many points now and was thinking of going to Aukland - where the flight is 3.5 hours and the fees and taxes are over $500 for a couple. But If I travel 4 hours in the opposite direction to Perth, the fees and taxes are only $136.

So I think Qantas Frequent Flyer points now only make sense for local travel. Which is still okay, but a bit of a shame compared to when I used to use them.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[NM]

Thanks for confirming my recollections.

So effectively Qantas FF points seem to only really be good for paying just over half the cost of a trip.
I can see why you think it's a joke. I concur.
Regards,
Renato

QFF points can also be used for, lets see, buying toasters, gift cards or car rentals. In many cases, those may actually be better value in monetary terms - providing you actually need a toaster, that is.

As noted, I use mine for upgrades now. But even that is not great value. MEL-BNE upgrade from a non-flex fare cost me 15,000 QFF points. A full business class redemption ticket for Mrs NM to travel BNE-PER-BNE next month cost 35,000 AA miles plus A$34.49. For the same redemption, QFF wanted 72,000 points and $71.64 in extras, so almost double the points/miles and more than double the fees.

On my Visa card I earn 1 QFF points per A$ spend. On my Amex, I am generally earning better than 1.8 AA miles per A$ spend. So better earn rate and better burn rate. But of course it does not always work out better for everyone. These numbers only reflect my own personal situation and experience.

 

[Renato1]

QFF points can also be used for, lets see, buying toasters, gift cards or car rentals. In many cases, those may actually be better value in monetary terms - providing you actually need a toaster, that is.

As noted, I use mine for upgrades now. But even that is not great value. MEL-BNE upgrade from a non-flex fare cost me 15,000 QFF points. A full business class redemption ticket for Mrs NM to travel BNE-PER-BNE next month cost 35,000 AA miles plus A$34.49. For the same redemption, QFF wanted 72,000 points and $71.64 in extras, so almost double the points/miles and more than double the fees.

On my Visa card I earn 1 QFF points per A$ spend. On my Amex, I am generally earning better than 1.8 AA miles per A$ spend. So better earn rate and better burn rate. But of course it does not always work out better for everyone. These numbers only reflect my own personal situation and experience.

Thanks for that - though I won't let my wife see what you wrote, or she'll clean out my points by shopping the way she does with my Commonwealth Awards points.

I haven't been focusing on upgrades, in case my wife gets a taste for them - so I'll now be focusing on domestic flights with the FF points.

I wonder if the disparity in points between one scheme and the other one relates to the points per dollar spent. While my Amex Visa card gets a point per dollar, and Qantas Cash gives half a point per dollar, I've just noticed that other Amex cards sponsored by my Association gives 3 points a dollar at supermarkets. Which would ultimately inflate the number of points needed per flight - at the expense of those on the free cards.
Cheers,
Renato

 

[NM]

I've just noticed that other Amex cards sponsored by my Association gives 3 points a dollar at supermarkets. Which would ultimately inflate the number of points needed per flight - at the expense of those on the free cards.

That is what I use for earning AA miles through credit card spending. About 50% of my monthly credit card spend can be laundered through my Amex earning at the 3:1 rate for supermarket spending. So those Amex points get laundered via SPG to AAdvantage, resulting in around 1.8 AAdvantage per A$ spend. The spend that does not go via Amex "supermarket" category goes to a 1:1 earning QF sweep Visa card for my QF flight upgrade opportunities (will be in 1A this evening courtesy of 7500 QFF points).

 

[Renato1]

That is what I use for earning AA miles through credit card spending. About 50% of my monthly credit card spend can be laundered through my Amex earning at the 3:1 rate for supermarket spending. So those Amex points get laundered via SPG to AAdvantage, resulting in around 1.8 AAdvantage per A$ spend. The spend that does not go via Amex "supermarket" category goes to a 1:1 earning QF sweep Visa card for my QF flight upgrade opportunities (will be in 1A this evening courtesy of 7500 QFF points).

I'm not exactly sure what some of that means - but you sure know how to achieve your goals, I'll be getting one of those Amex cards for the supermarket.

A trip or two domestically each year should be pretty good and easy to get, as we're both retired and very flexible.
Cheers,
Renato