Overseas trip, Sept. '05

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Banlex

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Hello there, I hope somone can assist me with some advice.

About 5 weeks ago I paid a deposit on a very good overseas accomodation offer. Basically it offers 24 nights accomodation in 4-5 star hotels at pre-ordained destinations at a very reasonable price in return for attending a timeshare presentation.

The offer is for accomodation only, i.e. all airfares and transfers are my responsibility. The deal is for 10 nights accomodation in Florida, U.S.A. (at Orlando and Daytona Beach) plus 7 nights accomodation in Paris and another 7 in either Bangkok or Bali. The destinations can be travelled to in any order I choose.

My plan was to fly from either Melbourne or Sydney to Bali or Bangkok (whichever is the most direct stopover between Australia and Paris), then to Paris, then to London (where I will stay 1 week at my own expense to visit friends), then to Orlando, then back to Australia . A local travel agent suggested that a round world airfare would be the best value.

I have made the booking for September 2005, so between now and then I want to accumulate as many frequent flyer points as possible to assist with the cost of the airfares.

Would you therefore advise me as to the best frequent flyer points programme to join, given the above information about my trip next year?

Cheers
 
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It depends on which airline frequent flyer (FF) program you want to go with.
I think you may be disappointed to know, that with Qantas, you would be looking at about 110,000 points to Paris; or 50,000 to Bali / Bangkok, or going the other way - 110,000 points to the East Coast of USA.

If you are going next year, and you are just enquiring about FF programs now.... then you probably don't realise, that you will need a lot of points to do your trip.... will you be spending 'thousands' to get enough points?

There is so much information on FF programs, credit cards, and all the 'pros and cons' of FF programs etc. you can't get it all in a few responses on a site like this.... you will need to do some checking up yourself, especially when it involves 'thousands' !

By the way.... which accomodation group did you sign up with?
There are a few going around at the moment. The one I have been contacted by, doesn't require you to nominate in advance where you want to stay, nor does it tell you where you will holiday!

I hope you haven't been tricked into a bad deal!

regards,
 
I think United by far have the best redemption levels

and you can use them and earn them on any star alliance partner

although there are no creditcards that allow you to earn points on united :(
 
Banlex said:
My plan was to fly from either Melbourne or Sydney to Bali or Bangkok (whichever is the most direct stopover between Australia and Paris), then to Paris, then to London (where I will stay 1 week at my own expense to visit friends), then to Orlando, then back to Australia . A local travel agent suggested that a round world airfare would be the best value.

BKK without a doubt is a better hub to Paris than Denpasar - you'd have to connect via SIN to CDG.

RTW would definitely be the best option ticket-wise.

I have made the booking for September 2005, so between now and then I want to accumulate as many frequent flyer points as possible to assist with the cost of the airfares.

So it would appear that you want to either try and accumulate enough points to get an Award RTW ticket or buy a Y RTW and use your points for upgrades on specific sectors. Hmmmm, you'll have to really spend big in the next 18 months to get anywhere...can't tell you the RTW points required in Y (but RTW J is 300K with Qantas FF, so it'll be less than that!)

Would you therefore advise me as to the best frequent flyer points programme to join, given the above information about my trip next year?

One to which you are able to link your current (or any new) CC's, and that is widely accepted. Also, one that gives lots and lots of bonus points :)
 
I'd suggest contacting the Qantas Frequent Flyer service desk to determine the number of points required for a RTW flight. Last time I checked, it was less than 150 000 points (but I can't be sure on this).

Bearing in mind that you'll have to book ahead (and therefore have the points well ahead of your travel), you'll need to determine whether or not you can organise to have the requisite number of points by early 2005.

Let's assume, for example, that the RTW is 150 000 points, and let's assume that you need to book by the end of March 2005 to ensure the dates you want (given that you've fixed your accommodation), then you will need to generate more than 13 000 points per month.

I'm also making the assumption that you're currently not in a program, and therefore wil be relying on credit card spending to make some points, thus limiting the range of programs to which you can contribute.
 
Banlex said:
About 5 weeks ago I paid a deposit on a very good overseas accomodation offer. Basically it offers 24 nights accomodation in 4-5 star hotels at pre-ordained destinations at a very reasonable price in return for attending a timeshare presentation.

The offer is for accomodation only, i.e. all airfares and transfers are my responsibility. The deal is for 10 nights accomodation in Florida, U.S.A. (at Orlando and Daytona Beach) plus 7 nights accomodation in Paris and another 7 in either Bangkok or Bali. The destinations can be travelled to in any order I choose.
Did they ring a bell each time someone joined up? If so, hope that they are still in business in Sept 05!
I went to one quite a few years ago, smelt a rat and didn't join... saw them on Today Tonight hiding their faces from the camera a few months later!
 
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