Lifetime Silver/Gold - Shortest time to reach

[coyote25]

Well I've achieved the 6,000 mark now, so 4 years 9 months with the average up to 105 SC per month so given that pace it's looking like August next year (5 years 7 months) which is a little faster than I originally thought.

That expensive (not) piece of paper isn't so far away

Well I finally achieved the LTS status so I can get that piece of paper telling me about the 25% status bonus. Hopefully I'll never be in a position of having to use LTS, at least not until I'm LTG (if it still exists).

Average was 108 status points over 5 years and 5 months. If I kept up this pace only another 5 years 5 months so December 2013!! Seems a long way away and my flying is likely to decrease a lot in the future. After a 2,200 status credits last membership year this one might just get 1,200 and then it's downwards from there and hoping QANTAS extend WP for at least one year when I don't qualify

 

[Febs]

Still a ways to go...but I'm currently on ~60% of LTS after 2yrs and 4 months. I joined QFF in Feb'06....so an average of ~149SC's per month...not too bad given I don't really feel like I fly all that much.

Cheers,
- Febs.

 

[AnonymousCoward]

Still a ways to go...but I'm currently on ~60% of LTS after 2yrs and 4 months. I joined QFF in Feb'06....so an average of ~149SC's per month...not too bad given I don't really feel like I fly all that much.

Likewise - I don't think I fly that much (well, sometimes I know I do, but not that much at other times). In Nov 2004 I had 100 SCs. Looking at my forward travel plans, I'll hit 7000 around Nov/Dec this year, so about 4 years at 140SCs/month.

AC

 

[dot]

Well - I am currently at 10998 tier credits and have been a QFF member since May99 - thats an average of 130 teir credits per month.

A big chunk of that has come in the past 12 months - I have accrued 3460 teir credits in that time. A lot of the recent activity is due to a role change to be part of a WorldWide team rather than just having a A/NZ territory prior to that.

I don't remember exactly when I got lifetime Silver, but I guess it was around January last year which would have seen me take 5 years and 7 months (ish) to get to Silver on mainly Y class domestic and NZ flights. That's an average of 104 Tier Credits per month. To give you an idea of how much domestic and NZ flights (all Y) I was doing in my old role - for the year May2005-May2006, I easily got partner Gold status with only one international flight (J class) across the pacific and back (MEL-LAX-DFW-RDU-DFW-LAX-MEL).

(FYI. My company has a policy of all economy travel except if a leg exceeds eight hours, so most international travel from MEL is J class except to NZ, SIN and BKK)

Regards,

Dot

I've realised that I hadn't updated this thread since hitting LTG back in Feb08 (flying HKG-BNE for the FT AGM) - which means 14000 SCs in 8 yrs, 9 months or 133 SC/month average.

 

[AnonymousCoward]

That's nothing compared to the pain of those of us that look on, wishing we had jobs that guaranteed them the amount of business travel that many of you guys get that gives you your status!

I once saw an excellent Diners Club ad. It said something like:

"People who don't travel for work envy those that do.

We know better"

Which is the honest truth. Travelling for work isn't much fun (well, maybe it is if you fly in F and have a chauffer etc). But for most business travellers there are the 5am wakeups to get to the airport, the crowds on Monday mornings, the full days (or more), living out of a small carryon bag in a hotel, missing out on all your friend's/relatives/family events back home, waiting hours for a taxi at Sydney airport on a Friday afternoon, the inevitable plane delays, reroutings, jet lag etc, etc, etc. It gets pretty tiring, pretty quickly.

What's worse is my company's policy is Y everywhere (which is fine for all the US based employees, but not so good for those in far flung places that need to visit HQ in Seattle) :-(

Status certainly helps make travel easier. And the points have come in very handy for personal travel. But usually I think I would give away the status if I could have less (or no) travel as a quid pro quo.

 

[QF WP]

Well, some of us (like me) are a little slower than others to reaching Lifetime Gold . Looking back on my earlier post (22 Oct 07), I had hit Lifetime Silver in early Oct 2007. At the beginning of June 2008, I'm now at 7742 (so say 7,750 for rounding). So just under the 100 SC's per month since then (92.75 to be exact)...but it's along way to Lifetime Gold at that rate (67.5 months, or just over 5.5 years). That seems such a long way ahead ....

 

[serfty]

I'm now within the final 10% of the SC's needed for LTG. Earning just over 1400+ in November last year was a great assistance.

It's 13 months since my first post in this thread; back then I was on 8,900 SC's; 'tis now just over 12,600 so that's over 280 per month since then. I expect to reach LTG by the end of this year.

 

[JohnK]

I now have 4,315 SCs so I have accumulated 1,425 SCs since my post in this thread in May 2007. Averaging ~120 SCs/month in the past year and my overall average is ~72 SCs/month.

Based on current averages I should reach Lifetime Silver in March 2010 (6 years and 10 months since joining) and Lifetime Gold in February 2015 (11 years and 8 months since joining). Getting closer but still a long way away....

 

[Dave Noble]

Which is the honest truth. Travelling for work isn't much fun (well, maybe it is if you fly in F and have a chauffer etc). But for most business travellers there are the 5am wakeups to get to the airport, the crowds on Monday mornings, the full days (or more), living out of a small carryon bag in a hotel, missing out on all your friend's/relatives/family events back home, waiting hours for a taxi at Sydney airport on a Friday afternoon, the inevitable plane delays, reroutings, jet lag etc, etc, etc. It gets pretty tiring, pretty quickly.

I travel for work and find it great fun. Fly down at the beginning of the week and fly back on friday lunchtime ( or after the weekend if I choose to stay for the weekend ). I don't work late nor do I take v early flights

On top of this , getting paid extra for it too - perfect

Dave

 

[Harpoon]

Hypothetically speaking...for curiosity purposes only...

Based on current prices, what's the cheapest way to earn 14,000 SCs?

Would it simply be 'X' amount of RTW in F or J? And what sort of RTW itinerary would yield a 'very high' SC earn?

There's some homework for you RTW experts

 

[Reggie]

On top of this , getting paid extra for it too - perfect

Dave

Perfect? I thought it was priceless, or is that breaking a trademark or copyright?

 

[JohnM]

I'm currently on 13143 SCs (94% LTG). Joined QFF in August 1994, so the earn rate has not been a high monthly average taken over the full term. However, it's cranked in the last 3 years with 4 DONEx's. This September-October's 20-sector AONE4 will take the total to the LTG threshold in the first few days.

It could have been better except for my then employer (a federal government organisation) having a domestic travel contract with Ansett and an international travel contract with Qantas (go figure). At that time I was doing heaps more domestic travel (including the last Ansett flight MEL-PER the night Ansett collapsed in Sept 2001 - in J with only a plastic cup of water). And several hundredK F/F points went down the chute that night :evil:.

 

[serfty]

... Based on current prices, what's the cheapest way to earn 14,000 SCs?

Would it simply be 'X' amount of RTW in F or J? And what sort of RTW itinerary would yield a 'very high' SC earn?

There's some homework for you RTW experts

YUP! 'twould be easy; all you require is several weeks and ~AUD30K for flights.

Yup! that's less than $2¼ per SC!

 

[Harpoon]

YUP! 'twould be easy; all you require is several weeks and ~AUD30K for flights.

Yup! that's less than $2¼ per SC!

Is F or J RTW more cost effective for SC earning?

 

[Evan]

Is F or J RTW more cost effective for SC earning?

For the $$ J is better since some flights have no F and in the USA if you book well then all your 6 internal flights can all be on F.

E

 

[AnonymousCoward]

I travel for work and find it great fun. Fly down at the beginning of the week and fly back on friday lunchtime ( or after the weekend if I choose to stay for the weekend ). I don't work late nor do I take v early flights

I don't think this applies to the average corporate/business traveler. Great that you are having a good time. But the vast majority of corporate pax don't have this option. And to return to the point, rather than you talking up your lifestyle, the average corporate drone is what Beardoc is comparing his situation to.

 

[AnonymousCoward]

Hypothetically speaking...for curiosity purposes only...

Based on current prices, what's the cheapest way to earn 14,000 SCs?

Would it simply be 'X' amount of RTW in F or J? And what sort of RTW itinerary would yield a 'very high' SC earn?

From this forum, it seems you can get 2200-2400 SCs for a J RTW (including booking into F in the US). Of course the routings are a bit insane, and you spend a lot of time sitting in an airplane seat, rather than actually enjoying the world.

Assuming you can get 2500 SCs - you're still looking at 6 RTW trips. At $10k each, that's about $60k (and many hours sitting in a plane).

My question would be - what are you trying to achieve. If you just want access to a lounge, and the ability to avoid the economy checkin lines, then pay for QC membership.

 

[winetraveller]

No quite on topic, but last I reached the 100,000 miles necessary to renew my LH SEN status in the first 19 days of the year. All of this was on LH and Swiss.

 

[Harpoon]

Assuming you can get 2500 SCs - you're still looking at 6 RTW trips. At $10k each, that's about $60k (and many hours sitting in a plane).

My question would be - what are you trying to achieve. If you just want access to a lounge, and the ability to avoid the economy checkin lines, then pay for QC membership.

Not trying to achieve anything, was just curious

 

[Evan]

Not that much really is it ?
A lot have long suspected lifetime gold will go away at some point in time but then again not that many people would make it there. I am sure a lot more LTG here than average.

Winetraveller, if you can make LH SEN in 19 days you must do eve more flying than i thought !! thats a lot of miles in a short time. And LH SEN is worth having from what i see with the guys i work with.

E