once again expiring points, cant do anything with them??

[mumof2sydney]

hi all- have a significant number of expiring points- 60K+...no raffles anymore, and "goods"are ridiculous... Found a flight to BKK from SYD - 60 K points PLUS $450 AUD in taxes!! Ridiculous when i can buy a ticket with airasia at any time less than taxes alone...thoughts? tips? cant find a way to extend their life..even transferring cots hundreds of dollars....help??

 

[dannnnn]

transfer them to me!
use them for a domestic QF reward flight
get a gift card

 

[JohnK]

Found a flight to BKK from SYD - 60 K points PLUS $450 AUD in taxes!! Ridiculous when i can buy a ticket with airasia at any time less than taxes alone...thoughts? tips?

Have you thought about business class one-way (~half the taxes and surcharges) and purchase Air Asia/Scoot for the other leg?

 

[Homer]

I just burn (read: waste) my Skywards miles on their online shop. A few weeks ago I used points for jewellery for Marge. Then last week Toll called me and asked for $115 because Customs wanted to open the package sent from the UAE! I told them to send it back...

 

[markis10]

hi all- have a significant number of expiring points- 60K+...no raffles anymore, and "goods"are ridiculous... Found a flight to BKK from SYD - 60 K points PLUS $450 AUD in taxes!! Ridiculous when i can buy a ticket with airasia at any time less than taxes alone...thoughts? tips? cant find a way to extend their life..even transferring cots hundreds of dollars....help??

Ring them up and book some domestic flights.

 

[mumof2sydney]

homer- you are hilarious
domestic flights it may be- booking a hotel stay is proving ridiculously difficult with no less than 3 emails, one compliant email and three calls to service centre since i posted this- all to no avail- this is nobodys department..oh not to mention long minutes spent on instant chat...more useless than anyone

 

[vnaz]

weekend away at the Wolgan Valley resort in the Blue Mountains...

 

[ColinD]

Hi,
I'm late to this discussion but had a similar issue with 250k pts. I had planned to pay for economy and use points for upgrade on a return European trip. I booked and paid for the economy flights the first day they were available (nearly a year in advance) but could not get any upgrades on either leg of outward or return trip. I was very flexible with the actual cities and also with the travel dates (3-week window in July 2014).

Since my points were expiring, I was forced to "buy" business class seats with points on the shorter legs of the journey, then got whacked obscene amounts for taxes and "airline charges".

Can't win: QF won't tell me until an hour before the flight if my upgrade request was successful (a bit late to change your plans then; how contemptuous). EK tells you before making the booking (good) but counters by not having any availability a year in advance. And you have to waste a lot of time with phone calls to discover this information.

Time for a change ...

 

[Dalescott]

Hi,
I'm late to this discussion but had a similar issue with 250k pts. I had planned to pay for economy and use points for upgrade on a return European trip. I booked and paid for the economy flights the first day they were available (nearly a year in advance) but could not get any upgrades on either leg of outward or return trip. I was very flexible with the actual cities and also with the travel dates (3-week window in July 2014).

Since my points were expiring, I was forced to "buy" business class seats with points on the shorter legs of the journey, then got whacked obscene amounts for taxes and "airline charges".

Can't win: QF won't tell me until an hour before the flight if my upgrade request was successful (a bit late to change your plans then; how contemptuous). EK tells you before making the booking (good) but counters by not having any availability a year in advance. And you have to waste a lot of time with phone calls to discover this information.

Time for a change ...

EK's rules governing the use of points for upgrade are very strict. No cheap fares, nearly alway only at the desk, for the Aus to Dubai leg (particularly for A380). I have used mine twice, both at the desk, did try to upgrade online and via phone. I can only speak for Melbourne, but the 0245 am flight might be the best option.

 

[Mwenenzi]

The problem you had is not new or unkown

Since my points were expiring, I was forced to "buy" business class seats with points on the shorter legs of the journey, then got whacked obscene amounts for taxes and "airline charges".

QF did not force you to do anything. It was all your personel choice
You could have easily extended the life of the points by 18 months. If in Aussie and close to a Woolworths supermarket sign up for Woollies everyday rewards and spend $31. Or ask QF to send you a new QF ff card at athe cost of 1000 points

 

[ColinD]

The problem you had is not new or unkown

QF did not force you to do anything. It was all your personel choice
You could have easily extended the life of the points by 18 months. If in Aussie and close to a Woolworths supermarket sign up for Woollies everyday rewards and spend $31. Or ask QF to send you a new QF ff card at athe cost of 1000 points

I was just following the original thread about Skywards...no QF involved in this transaction. Already extended to the max as far as I know by making the reservation a few days before expiration, for a travel date at the end of the maximum booking horizon.

 

[flyer88]

Same here, I had a lot of expiring miles but couldn’t use them… I discovered lately a website (Giift.com) that allows to trade miles from one program to another even for other loyalty programs, helps a lot!

 

[mumof2sydney]

hi all- ended up using the points for a night at wolgan valley resort- and a few points on qantas domestic flights. So wasnt as dire as originally thought. Biggest problem was using the points to book the hotel- ended up with two long phone calls directly to dubai emirates call centre a week apart. Then sat and waited for 2 weeks before it went through. Very badly organised. Just got back from the hotel (see my review on tripadvisor)- well worth it (well better than losing all those points) - its 60k per night.

 

[Extasea33]

Just get a Montblanc, you can never have to many pens, sorry "instruments".

If i remember correctly a one way to europe upgrade is 62500 miles.

 

[Peter78]

Sorry to get this old thread starting up again, however I also have some Skywards points expiring at the end of the month. Unfortunately, I don't have as many to get rid of as the OP but I am struggling to find any useful option for my points: there are only 4,200 of them.

If there is nothing of value to use them for, and I don't think there is, can I transfer them to another AFF member? If this is not possible, I will donate the miles, I believe this option is also given...

 

[aamslfc]

Guess you could buy a pair of these awful-looking earphones... or find something equally random in their store :-|. Otherwise you're right, a transfer or donation might be your only worthwhile option.

 

[tinkybelle]

this was one of the reasons I left EK for EY
as long as you are gold or elite with EY your miles don't expire and anyone whose miles do, can transfer to you( family of course!!!) and they dont expire either( just tried this for some exp may miles and they are now safe)
I too have family with 2 x 47500 EK miles guess ill have to get some local flights and then pay $25 to change the dates if I can't find anything soon.