Qantas Points Club Discussion

[SYD]

First time I've ever hit PC and they cancel it 3 weeks later....

Not yet! You’ll have it thru next year at least.

 

[dairyfloss]

I’m close to renewing PC+ with 6 months to go… what I’m hoping now is that I might be able to generate enough backlog in WW EDR and other places to dump enough in straight after the cutover to my new member year on Sep 1, and they have to keep giving me my SCs on CRs through Aug 2028 Depends on the formal timing of shutdown of the program I guess



Cheers,
Matt.

 

[Flyfrequently]

I have to get 90000 by the end of January and not going to even try. 6 months out of the country meant not much credit card spend. I'll try next year

Don't think you will even get to try next year now @VPS

 

[VPS]

Don't think you will even get to try next year now @VPS

Correct

 

[bussyboy]

I suspect with no pc+ target, my day-to-day spend will likely move towards Velocity and reduce the constant engagement with QFF.

As mentioned elsewhere, the loss of free qantas club membership and international lounge access is a big impact, particularly when business rewards and upgrades are getting harder to find

 

[Rich]

Correct

Maybe. Late this year could be November. It would be a lot of points to find in a hurry. I assume the OP could get to 150k instead and have plain old PC for another year after the PC+ runs out.

 

[HSB44]

The only real losses from Points Club are the 100 SC rollover (for non P1s) and the QC membership for PC+ members who don't have status.

For me this was the core attraction of PC

 

[SYD]

For me this was the core attraction of PC

I guess all those surveys about creating a higher PC tier and better PC+ options for SG and higher (who can’t use a non transferable QP membership) went into the shredder…?

 

[MELso]

For me this was the core attraction of PC

Yes, between PCP and Green Tier, requalification for gold only required 450 SCs. Eminently doable for me as a leisure traveller who mostly flew economy but would stick a business leg in from SE Asia to Europe to get across the line.

From next year, it'll require 700SCs to get the same thing (thanks to one last gasp of PCP in November I should do the 600 needed this year). While I may earn some SCs 'on the ground', going from effectively needing 450SCs to ~620SCs in the long term is a big leap, so I think I'll let status lapse in 2028, and use VA economy and business awards for domestic travel (possibly getting a VA Amex or Amex Platinum for lounge access) and BFOD business class overseas travel (particularly now that Chinese carriers are dumping cheap J capacity into Australia).

On the bright side, I'll also spend a lot less on overpriced wine from Qantas Wine.

 

[SYD]

On the bright side, I'll also spend a lot less on overpriced wine from Qantas Wine.

That’s “Bonus Wine” when buying points?

 

[Rich]

With increased vouchers etc for solver and above, I feel silver is the PC replacement. Disappointing for me. I mostly fly QF but on points, so silver is not going to happen. The lounge passes and vouchers were a nice bonus.

 

[Mr H]

The only real losses from Points Club are the 100 SC rollover (for non P1s) and the QC membership for PC+ members who don't have status.

I will miss:

$200 of vouchers each year which I spend on Qantas Hotels
50% points bonus on Qantas Hotels stays
Status credits on redemption flights
Rollover of status credits (rollover, SCs on award flights and SCs on theground tipped me into Silver for the first time this year)
2,500 bonus points when I hit 250,000 points

I don't care about the QP access as I tend to fly on business awards anyway, but it has been nice to know it's there.

I will also miss some feeling of status for my loyalty to the program, even if I don't take revenue flights. It sounds trite, but it actually does feel meaningful.

 

[ANstar]

I suspect with no pc+ target, my day-to-day spend will likely move towards Velocity and reduce the constant engagement with QFF.

As mentioned elsewhere, the loss of free qantas club membership and international lounge access is a big impact, particularly when business rewards and upgrades are getting harder to find

Im in the same boat - the changes are a devaluation for me and I'll drop the QF credit card.

 

[Mr H]

Im in the same boat - the changes are a devaluation for me and I'll drop the QF credit card.

I'm pretty devvo about the changes. Points Club was targeted exactly at people in my situation - card churners who do not take revenue flights. At the same time, I can understand that I would not have been a major player on their annual bottom line.

I am not going to switch to Velocity because it's a pretty rubbish program, tbh, with it being almost impossible to find any useful flights on their own awards, and SQ making award flights much more scare, devaluing the transfer option. I still collect VA but never seem to be able to use them.

But I am looking at changing some of my behaviour because I will no longer be chasing an annual QF target. For example, my home loan is about to come off its rather wonderful Covid fixed rate. I had been actively considering the Qantas home loan to get a guaranteed 100,000 points each year. My main thinking on that was that it might make the loan more expensive, but the boost in reaching PC+ each year would be great and valued at more than the 100,000 points themselves. Now I'm no longer so fussed and might just go for the lowest cost mortgage.

I doubt this will send Qantas bankrupt, but it may just remove a little it of incentive for people to make ordinarily poor financial decisions in the quest for more points.

 

[kookaburra75]

I'm in a middle/twilight zone - I'm LTG, and we get to PC just through our normal annual spend using our Qantas point earning credit cards, Woolies, some work flights, and of course the odd box of wine as long as it's worth drinking. I did hit PC+ a couple of years ago with the sign up bonus on a new credit card. I get lounge access anyway, and four lounge vouchers per year through the credit cards, for MrsK to use if she's travelling on her own.

My renewal date is 30 June and with a new credit card sign up bonus dropping next month I should hit PC+ by then. But, it's unlikely that will happen again as I'm retiring soon. Besides hotel and wine vouchers there's really nothing else of value to me, as status credits are irrelevant. But, a year is a long time in airline reward schemes, so I'll have to wait and see what 30 June 2027 brings.

 

[am0985]

But I am looking at changing some of my behaviour because I will no longer be chasing an annual QF target. For example, my home loan is about to come off its rather wonderful Covid fixed rate. I had been actively considering the Qantas home loan to get a guaranteed 100,000 points each year. My main thinking on that was that it might make the loan more expensive, but the boost in reaching PC+ each year would be great and valued at more than the 100,000 points themselves. Now I'm no longer so fussed and might just go for the lowest cost mortgage.

See I think if you're taking out a Qantas home loan (way bigger commitment than one top level CC a year but both are 100k points) they should also be giving silver level status, so say 300 SCs a year. But no chance they'll do that as part of their SCs on the ground given the maximum is 140.

 

[NM]

I had been actively considering the Qantas home loan to get a guaranteed 100,000 points each year. My main thinking on that was that it might make the loan more expensive, but the boost in reaching PC+ each year would be great and valued at more than the 100,000 points themselves. Now I'm no longer so fussed and might just go for the lowest cost mortgage.

See I think if you're taking out a Qantas home loan (way bigger commitment than one top level CC a year but both are 100k points) they should also be giving silver level status, so say 300 SCs a year. But no chance they'll do that as part of their SCs on the ground given the maximum is 140.

I assume you are making reference to the Qudos Bank "Qantas Point Home Loan" where you earn QFF points each month based on the outstanding loan balance, Note this in not a Qantas offer, but a home loan product from Qudos Bank, which was formed out of the Qantas Staff Credit Union and has now merged with Bank Australia and operates as a division Bank Australia Ltd. and remains a "Customer Owned" bank.

So there is still a recognition of its heritage and association with Qantas, but Qantas itself has no ownership unless they are a customer/member using their banking products.

But, with that said, I have earned quite a few QFF points from Qudos banking products, including their Qantas Points Home Loan, for the cost of paying a higher interest rate than could be obtained elsewhere. I still have the mortgage with them, but am not paying any interest and hence also no longer earning any QFF points - just keeping it open with a significant redraw amount available if every I want to use it.