QFF queries

[CatherineC]

Hi everyone. Hope someone can help me out with confirmation/clarification.......

I managed to rise from lowly QFF bronze to QFF silver this year but have no hope of getting to gold before 31 May which is my cut off date.
I have just gone over the status credit requirement for silver.
I will be travelling to USA in May and presume there is nothing really to be gained by going with Qantas (unless price dictates) as any SCs that I earn will just be wiped out at the end of that month.(Lifetime SCs aren't really relevant for me).

Is this right? From what I have read it seems that in my case, any SCs earned from now to end of May will be "worthless" - I've already got to silver and won't be able to "improve'' my position.
It seems I may be better off concentrating on Virgin and its partners as I'm not far off silver there and have until the end of this year to reach their silver target.

I've read of people doing status runs to get to their target before the end of the membership year but that isn't relevant for me. Just curious to see if its also common to lock away your attainable QFF status each year asap and then look further afield!

 

[Hvr]

Hi CatherineC, you're right it's not uncommon for people to attain status in different programs if they can use them both.

Since you've determined that lifetime status isn't for you then your decision seems sound.

 

[Deleted member]

If your best effort so far is QFF silver, what do you think will be achieved by flying with a different airline ?
Yes I get that for some, life time SC's aren't a big deal, either because (like me) they are of an age where attaining lifetime status is either out of reach or pointless.
It might help if we knew why SC's are "worthless" (lifetime or otherwise) to you. SC's are not the only reason to stay with one carrier (alliance) the points you earn my prove useful in looking for upgrades etc.

 

[medhead]

By not flying with Qantas to the USA you will forgo your attained Silver benefits (albeit small benefits). Primary benefit being the chance to use the lounge pass in an international lounge. Those benefits might be outweigh if you can achieve decent cost savings by not flying with Qantas.
how much time do you have in the USA in May before your year rolls over? Do you have any free time over there? there might be a chance to do a relatively cheap status run over there. But it might be better to defer that until your new member year.

 

[CatherineC]

Thanks for the responses. I gather that my SCs will be reset to zero at end of May so might be better to use the USA trip to gain status elsewhere. I may well go Qantas anyway and enjoy my 'silver' benefits but just wanted confirmation that the SCs earned would really count for nothing. Lifetime status is not achievable. I have plenty of points and it is seemingly hard to get good value for them when not a regular traveler unless you plan a year or so in advance....

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Hi everyone. Hope someone can help me out with confirmation/clarification.......

I managed to rise from lowly QFF bronze to QFF silver this year but have no hope of getting to gold before 31 May which is my cut off date.
I have just gone over the status credit requirement for silver.
I will be travelling to USA in May and presume there is nothing really to be gained by going with Qantas (unless price dictates) as any SCs that I earn will just be wiped out at the end of that month.(Lifetime SCs aren't really relevant for me).

Is this right? From what I have read it seems that in my case, any SCs earned from now to end of May will be "worthless" - I've already got to silver and won't be able to "improve'' my position.
It seems I may be better off concentrating on Virgin and its partners as I'm not far off silver there and have until the end of this year to reach their silver target.

I've read of people doing status runs to get to their target before the end of the membership year but that isn't relevant for me. Just curious to see if its also common to lock away your attainable QFF status each year asap and then look further afield!

Where else are you going in the USA ie are you doing any internal travel where you'd have the opportunity to do a status run as well as getting you from A to B. Last October after a cruise we flew MIA/DFW/LAX in F for approx USD475.00 pp and earned 180 SC but that was getting from A to B not just a pure status run.

Assuming you're travelling on the cheapest economy fare, the SC you would earn for a journey eg PER/xSYD/LAX/xSYD/PER would be 20+45+45+20 (total 130) so add than to your SC balance so far of 350 approx (you might have more than that) you'd have 480 which only leaves you 220 shy of the 700 SC required for gold.

Will all your travel for the USA trip be completed by 31 May ie will you be back home in PER by then?

Entirely up to you of course however I think there would be a few people on AFF that would jump at the chance to go for gold and if I was in the same position I'd do it>

The extra benefits you'll as a ff gold vs silver are:

a) QP lounge access on QF within Australia
b) One World lounges overseas
c) Domestic luggage allowance of 2 pcs @ 32 kg (vs silver 1 pc @ 32kg), internationally where the weight system applies 46 kg or 3 pieces where the weight system applies
d) Better preferred seating choices for domestic and international QF flights plus OW airlines
e) Higher pecking order when using points to do classic upgrade awards
f) Higher status bonus when earning points 75% (vs 50% for silver)

 

[garybatz]

QFF Silver is also useful if you're doing domestic US flights with AA - no baggage fees and priority boarding - though that applies whether or not you do the international flights with QF.

 

[samh004]

Assuming you're travelling on the cheapest economy fare, the SC you would earn for a journey eg PER/xSYD/LAX/xSYD/PER would be 20+45+45+20 (total 130) so add than to your SC balance so far of 350 approx (you might have more than that) you'd have 480 which only leaves you 220 shy of the 700 SC required for gold.

Silver qualification/requalification is now 300/250 instead of 350/300, so they'd likely be 270 shy of the total, however I would also consider an AA run

 

[ozbeachbabe]

QFF Silver is also useful if you're doing domestic US flights with AA - no baggage fees and priority boarding - though that applies whether or not you do the international flights with QF.

I thought AA had flicked the free bag for OWS (QF PS) however they do apparently receive the first bag free.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/baggage/checked-baggage.jsp?locale=en_GB

 

[Katy]

Isn't QF SG OWS?

 

[mannej]

I thought AA had flicked the free bag for OWS (QF PS) however they do apparently receive the first bag free.

https://www.aa.com/i18n/travelInformation/baggage/checked-baggage.jsp?locale=en_GB

PS is OWR - Thanks Katy for the pickup!