Qantas FFP - Is there any point for infrequent travellers

[Lonely Flyer]

There is always lots and lots of toasters...

QFFP's are a funny thing, there are people whom can do amazing things with only a few thousand points whilst others seem to have trouble with half a million.
All I can suggest is stick around here and learn the ropes, also don't assume that just because you are bronze that they are of no use (my first J upgrade happened when I was a NB, albeit a ADL-CBR)
Also don't assume that points are J or nothing. A friend of mine whom does CBR-MEL a few times a year, as well as gather CC points and does the EDR thing uses his points to get discounts on his CBR-MEL flights (he lives in CBR but his kids live in VIC, so the points make it easier for him to keep in contact). It's prehaps not the AFF way, but it's all about working out what is of value to you and running with it.

My wife and I were upgraded from PE to J both ways BNE-LAX whilst I was Bronze. It was because of what I learnt here and booking on days where there were lighter loads. There are many "tricks" to getting extra value.

 

[400sticks]

H Pierre,

i havent read read all the responses so I may be covering some of the same ground and I appreciate you are focused on flight benefits, but I recently used some of my points in the Qantas shop. Like you I only fly a couple of times a year if I am lucky so most of my points are gained from just spending money on credit cards and bills etc. so I am not going out of my way to earn points. (NB. The Woolworths Qantas Mastercard was great until they changed to Visa and Macquarie Bank, so it is nowhere near as good!)

So, I wanted a decent set of Bluetooth headphones... Even a trip to the USA over Christmas didn't uncover anything for a decent price. Earlier this year the Qantas shop had a discount on headphones so I bought the Bose Soundlink model. I opted for the minimum points and maximum dollars which equated to approximately 24,900 points and $127.00. Considering that they were retailing for $329, an amount I wasn't prepared to pay for any brand, and the fact that I essentially earn my points just by living normally I consider that a great deal. So much so that my wife recently bought a pair for herself.

Cheers, Steve.

 

[JetStarSux]

I joined Qantas FF in 1993 when it was extended to cover Economy. I only flew between MEL and ADL once a year and Mel tand LHR about every five years but still scored enough points for an economy return to LHR quite quickly (thanks to the ANZ Visa card and term deposits (yes, back then you could get points on term deposits)). Over the years my travel increased and I have enjoyed First Class classic rewards, upgrades using points from Premium Economy to Business and Business to First. I now earn the ame points from other sources than I do from flying. I have a few tips for making it more likely to get a classic award i) Look for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday flights for long haul and Tuesday and Wednesday for short haul and domestic. ii) Plan as far ahead as possible, especially for premium classic awards but keep checking as different airlines release seats through the year iii) Don't bother looking for an award in a premium cabin to/from LHR on years with an Ashes Test iv) Call Qantas if you can't find an award that suits you. It costs 5000 points but they do have access to more awards than appear on the screen for Bronze and Silver members (I once got an urgent award to London at 48 hours notice by being routed via Jo'burg)

 

[amp-qld]

We used to use QF regularly but a couple of bad experiences reduced our loyalty. Then, they insisted that, if you wanted to transfer points from Amex, you could only have the option of using them with Qantas. At that point, I changed my major scheme to SQ. They aren't perfect, with points expiring, no family sharing and high flight fees but I use Kris points to get J reward tickets on other airlines for overnight flights. Our secondary scheme is Velocity. We are retired so we hardly do any domestic flights. I travel to the UK most years and we also travel to out of the way places so often can't get or use any points. We get most of our points from Amex's Platinum Edge card and take advantage of offers to transfer points to SQ or VA. I'd say, get the best deal for any trip and, if it gives you points, that's a bonus.

 

[c814875]

Thats me and lots of others, new job means I dont fly as much and most of the points go to the wife so she gets flights syd/mel and syd/ool to visit friends.

 

[megmcw]

You save more money by googling the airlines for the cheapest price, especially on international travel. It is very hard to get an upgrade on a discounted fare these days even if you do have status. You can pay the full economy and get to the top of the list. Getting an upgrade is the best value for your points, but hard to achieve.
Just shop around the airlines and compare the prices and work out how many points against the money you save on the cheaper fares. There are quite a few reliable airlines with fares a lot cheaper than Qantas, especially in Business Class. We are a married couple of seniors and now that we have retired our status has gone and when we go to try and get an upgrade it is virtually impossible. Sometimes at the last minute you can do this, but more often and not it is very difficult. It is easier to get the full fare on points than an upgrade and in that respect have found Qantas is quite good. If you phone them, they can often do more for you than you find on line. However if your points are going to keep expiring you are better off just getting a cheaper fare. However there are fare more so called experts on this forum who have a very detailed knowledge of FF points. A lot are Qantas weighted however.

 

[Spongbob]

QFF can be useful for the infrequent traveller so long as: (1) you have a credit card linked to earning QFF points; & (2) it does not change your spending or travel patterns.

If you can get a "Best Fare of the Day" (BFOD) with another airline rather than Qantas, then use the other airline(s). QFF points are best used for upgrades on domestic flights (better value and more availability) than international flights. They are very useful for upgrading family members who rarely or never experience anything other than economy class.

 

[amp-qld]

QFF points are best used for upgrades on domestic flights (better value and more availability) than international flights. They are very useful for upgrading family members who rarely or never experience anything other than economy class.

Everyone to their own but, apart from overnight flights, I don't see much point in getting upgrades on domestic flights except, as you suggest, for an experience for inexperienced family members (if you've got any).

 

[Moopere]

Everyone to their own but, apart from overnight flights, I don't see much point in getting upgrades on domestic flights except, as you suggest, for an experience for inexperienced family members (if you've got any).

Upgrades for family is nice for sure - its a great gift, though poisons them for their future Y travels

As for the 'point' or no point - completely subjective of course, but for mine, travelling reasonably frequently from PER to MEL/SYD/BNE its a pretty nice upgrade and I find it worthwhile as the flights are relatively long. I've previously done this also on VA for MEL/SYD or SYD/BNE legs but on VA's 737 product its hard to justify.

 

[CatherineC]

There is hope! I'm only a Bronze member but requested and received an upgrade from SYD to PER recently. Plane was an A330 with refurbished business class which was fantastic! Really enjoyable flight!

 

[get me outta here]

Congratulations on the upgrade, just wonder how many points that took?

There is hope! I'm only a Bronze member but requested and received an upgrade from SYD to PER recently. Plane was an A330 with refurbished business class which was fantastic! Really enjoyable flight!

 

[CatherineC]

The upgrade cost me 20,000 points but well worth it and included, of course, access to Sydney business lounge which was great!

 

[jastel]

I am in the same boat, self funded, usually one big trip and a couple of little ones each year...can get silver each year but not expecting to go any higher.
I have had 4 out of 4 upgrades approved to/from USA. Book quiet days etc.
Also silver gets priority boarding, baggage discs which are great in Australia useless anywhere else but and Priority security lines in the USA.
And a couple of complimenaty passes to QC.

It is better than nothing, but once I have the 250 SC for the year to keep silver it is BFOD.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I think you should always credit flights somewhere otherwise it's money down the drain.

Domestic airfares can be incredibly cheap so always look at the cost of buying a ticket and using the points to upgrade to business class instead of wasting points for economy travel.

Keep an eye on the small amounts of points in kids ff accounts as you could do a family transfer from their account into one of the parents' accounts to consolidate the points.

 

[JohnK]

I think you should always credit flights somewhere otherwise it's money down the drain.

I think I know what you mean but not always money down the train.

 

[harvyk]

I think you should always credit flights somewhere otherwise it's money down the drain.

Disagree, especially if flying JQ since you need to pay for the "privilege" of earning the points. The rate of earn is pretty close to the cost of simply purchasing points for a "points top up".
I would have also brought up the issue of the joining fee, however these days there are so many free ways to join that it's really a non-issue.

 

[tropicaltycoon]

QFF Bronze since 2006, I earned points from a rtw plus two return ADL-SYD-MNL, and a return ADL-OOL, for myself, spouse and two children plus one return ADL-MEL for two, all in Y. Together with meagre ANZ Gold earn rates on low income domestic spending, our accumulated points exceeded one million within nine years, more than sufficient to pay for Classic Award seats for the four of us to travel JT ADL-MEL-SIN return in 2015.
Provided the value of your annual points earn exceeds the cost of earning those points e.g. cc annual fee, I view point accumuation worthwhile abeit not at the expense of paying extra to earn points. Cash retained now seems a better proposition than points to spend later.

 

[tropicaltycoon]

QFF Bronze since 2006, I earned points from a rtw plus two return ADL-SYD-MNL, and a return ADL-OOL, for myself, spouse and two children plus one return ADL-MEL for two, all in Y. Together with meagre ANZ Gold earn rates on low income domestic spending, our accumulated points exceeded one million within nine years, more than sufficient to pay for Classic Award seats for the four of us to travel JT ADL-MEL-SIN return in 2015.
Provided the value of your annual points earn exceeds the cost of earning those points e.g. cc annual fee, I view point accumuation worthwhile abeit not at the expense of paying extra to earn points. Cash retained now seems a better proposition than points to spend later.

 

[tropicaltycoon]

Classic Award seats for the four of us to travel JT ADL-MEL-SIN return in 2015.
JQ not JT