Is Platinum worth it?

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calmelb

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Hi all. I am reaching platinum by the end of my membership year (may) and I was wondering if it is worth it to try to renew it again next year. I am only 16, 17 in May and I travel a lot on my own so the F lounge at MEL is out of the question and I'm going to be flying MEL-SIN with QF in J.


Sorry if anything doesn't make sense, I'm typing on mobile.


Thanks, calmelb
 
Hi calmelb an interesting question from a younger person's perspective. Wasn't aware you couldn't enter the F lounge, can you enter the J lounge on your own?

I guess the better seat choices may be worth it but ultimately it is up to you to decide. Of course it will be easier to requalify than get it again later in life so this may affect your thinking. And of course you get the extra points and lifetime SCs.
 
I can't access any lounge full stop in MEL or anywhere in Aus because of liquor licensing laws. And in Singapore it's one lounge as far as I know and I'll be gold anyway so no problem for that.
 
I recall some of your earlier posts. Anyone travelling J regularly has little use for status, except at the extremes (a bit higher up the pecking order for seats, re-scheduling etc).

I suspect you may be less stressed than many on seat choices (but again, if you are in J you get that anyway) so I would tend to think that 'chasing' WP isn't so important, especially with no lounge access. If you can mix up the alliances that you fly, you could probably get Gold status on both; that would be really handy.
 
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Unless you are really close to requalifying I would say don't bother, other than F lounge access the benefits of WP over SG are marginal at best (and getting worse all the time, thanks to QF's focus on WP1s).
 
Hi all. I am reaching platinum by the end of my membership year (may) and I was wondering if it is worth it to try to renew it again next year. I am only 16, 17 in May and I travel a lot on my own so the F lounge at MEL is out of the question and I'm going to be flying MEL-SIN with QF in J.


Sorry if anything doesn't make sense, I'm typing on mobile.


Thanks, calmelb

its ts quite sad that airlines can't offer you anything in lieu of lounge access, at least vouchers for eating and drinking or similar.
 
I know SQ and CX give me a voucher for food at the airport, not sure about QF but it could be because I was in J. I don't think they offer me anything for status
 
Can you enter the F Lounge with a "responsible adult"? If yes, you could always guest somebody in and say they are the responsible adult.
 
I recall some of your earlier posts. Anyone travelling J regularly has little use for status, except at the extremes (a bit higher up the pecking order for seats, re-scheduling etc).

I suspect you may be less stressed than many on seat choices (but again, if you are in J you get that anyway) so I would tend to think that 'chasing' WP isn't so important, especially with no lounge access. If you can mix up the alliances that you fly, you could probably get Gold status on both; that would be really handy.

I agree. I've spent quite a bit, as a self funded flyer, with QF and Oneworld, to gain and then maintain WP. However all of my International flying is done in J, although Dom is largely discount Y. It's now harder and more expensive to retain WP on any meaningful QFi flights, especially from PER. I figure I lose First lounge access (limited number of ports), better seat selection (mainly affects the few dom flights), upgrade opportunities (again mainly dom), and the extra points earn. Against that, I forgo lower fares, better flight choice and better destination options.

So farewell WP. That's simple (and fair to me!)
 
Unless you are really close to requalifying I would say don't bother, other than F lounge access the benefits of WP over SG are marginal at best (and getting worse all the time, thanks to QF's focus on WP1s).

what focus would that be? Im not trying to be smart, but really, whats the "focus"? apart from partner WP it hasn't changed since its foundation.
 
An interesting perspective. To be honest I don't think the benefits are particularly useful to you unless you travel frequently abroad where Emerald is going to be better than Sapphire.

When you turn 18, and develop a love for Champagne, nice food and wine, then maybe WP has some benefits above SG. Although even as an adult (*cough* senior citizen *cough*) Qantas Platinum doesn't seem to be as special as it once was... The benefits and treatment of Golds and Platinums seem to be getting closer and closer, with P1s being marginally above, although I have personally found P1 to be quite over-rated.
 
what focus would that be? Im not trying to be smart, but really, whats the "focus"? apart from partner WP it hasn't changed since its foundation.
Diluting original Platinum benefits and now marketing those benefits exclusively to Platinum One.

We are not all blind and can see right through what Qantas is doing. And I do think that focus is wasted on such a small group.
 
Ive been entering the lounges by myself since 15 (was QFF gold, now plat)... I'm now 22 - have the rules changed!?
 
Ive been entering the lounges by myself since 15 (was QFF gold, now plat)... I'm now 22 - have the rules changed!?

Qantas won't let anyone into their lounges by themselves if they are under 18. Although I'm over 18 now I look quite young and have actually been ID'd by QF a couple of times. Don't know if this policy has changed but it was the case ever since I made Gold last year.
 
Hi all. I am reaching platinum by the end of my membership year (may) and I was wondering if it is worth it to try to renew it again next year. I am only 16, 17 in May and I travel a lot on my own so the F lounge at MEL is out of the question and I'm going to be flying MEL-SIN with QF in J.


Sorry if anything doesn't make sense, I'm typing on mobile.


Thanks, calmelb

As the main benefit of Gold and Platinum status is lounge access IMHO, it doesn't really make sense to go out of your way for higher status if you cannot enter the lounge. And if you're flying J anyway, then I think status will make even less of a difference to your flying experience - which should already be very good.

Still, congratulations on making Gold at the age of 16. I'd love to know what kind of travel you've been doing to achieve that? :)
 
I have been flying overseas 4 times a year in J so I maintain gold easily! Thanks for all your replies, I guess I'll be happy to have the platinum for one year and then I'll just let it drop.

Also for the lounge, when I was in the F lounge in December (with my mum CX diamond) I saw on the wall one of the liquor licensing posters saying "no entry to under 18" so I assume it's becuase of the free flow of alcohol.
 
Also for the lounge, when I was in the F lounge in December (with my mum CX diamond) I saw on the wall one of the liquor licensing posters saying "no entry to under 18" so I assume it's becuase of the free flow of alcohol.

That's a standard liquor licencing poster, and it may just mean you're not allowed to "approach the bar". I would double-check with Qantas rather than just assuming you're not allowed in.
 
May not be able to enjoy all the benefits of Platinum, but contribute towards LTG as who knows when your flights dry up
 
That's a standard liquor licencing poster, and it may just mean you're not allowed to "approach the bar". I would double-check with Qantas rather than just assuming you're not allowed in.

I've been explicitly told by the QF lounge staff on more than one occasion that under 18's aren't allowed in by themselves. I don't believe there is any reason they couldn't guest an adult though?
 
I'm happy because I should be able to access the new CX The Pier first class lounge when I transit through HKG and then when I end up flying out of SIN there is no OW first lounge and I can't make SQ PPS so even Virgin gold or platinum or any *G is out of the question becuase they go to SQ's gold lounge which I've heard is bad. I guess gold is good for what flying I do and I manage to get priority boarding/ Lounge/ check in and for the express cards MEL is soon smart gate so that won't be a problem for departures.
 
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