QFF Silver worthwhile prior to a large overseas trip?

[michaelstephens]

Hi all,

newbie here.

I am 220status credits away from Silver with a month to go in this year. I noticed that once Silver is achieved you get a 50% points bonus and was wondering if it was worthwhile to do a status credit run to get there prior to booking this holiday. Best run I found was SYD-SIN business class.... but that sure comes with a hefty price tag.



The trip i am doing in December is MEL,SYD,NAN,LAX,YKR;DFW,JAC,JFK,LHR,NRT,SYD,MEL which im hoping will get me to Gold...

Thanks

 

[blackcat20]

Silver is handy but no where near worth it if you are that far away. No lounge access, just free seat selection, priority boarding (on AA).

 

[Princess Fiona]

220 Status Credits is a very long way away from silver.
I cannot think of any Status Credit run that would be financially worthwhile at all.

 

[Buzzard]

I think you also need to ask yourself why do you want Gold?
Only then can you determine if it is worth the (high) cost

 

[nonpop]

one idea ... If in the US flying AA then go buy a 30 day lounge pass before you depart. Would be better value IMHO.
I can't tell which carriers you are using for each leg.
You'll also then get access in other ports subject to your carriers.

 

[whatmeworry]

Not worth it at all.

 

[jastel]

In USA Silver is useful if travelling on AA...priority pass for security and no bag fees being the main things.
Not so useful elsewhere.

If you were 20 credits short do it, but 220 credits short, save your money.

 

[Isochronous]

I would say yes due to luggage and security screening benefits.

 

[madrooster]

In USA Silver is useful if travelling on AA...priority pass for security and no bag fees being the main things.
Not so useful elsewhere.

If you were 20 credits short do it, but 220 credits short, save your money.

oneworld ruby no longer gets you a free bag on AA or US. Mainly priority check in, security and boarding now.

 

[Isochronous]

oneworld ruby no longer gets you a free bag on AA or US. Mainly priority check in, security and boarding now.

Pity. When did that change?

In any event in the U.S. one should be flying on P fares to begin with.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Firstly, welcome to AFF michaelstephens.

As a comparison consider my situation:

I will fall 180 SC of Gold by the end of this month and also have some O/S travel on the cards next year. I considered a status run to reach the target but it was going to cost around $2k. The key benefits I was considering were to increase my chances of an upgrade and OW lounge access at ports where there's not a Qantas Club.

With all the accumulated wisdom on AFF, I consider my upgrade chances will improve only marginally - WP1 and WPs will still be ahead of me, plus I'll be travelling in a party of 3. So that just leaves lounge access: As others have suggested I can buy quite a lot of guest passes, or fancy coughtails in the terminal for that money.

So in my view it wasn't worth it.

Likewise I'm not sure it's worth it in your situation either. Of course your view of the price/value equation might be different.

Good luck and please let us know what you decide to do and why. I'm sure many would be keen to know.

 

[JohnK]

Silver is worthwhile but not if you are you are 220 SCs away. You can get those SCs cheaply in Asia or the USA but not here.

Save your money and strive for Gold with your December trip.

 

[Spongbob]

I think any benefits from PS could very easily be purchased with money you might spend on J class status run to SIN.

 

[jastel]

oneworld ruby no longer gets you a free bag on AA or US. Mainly priority check in, security and boarding now.

Didn't know bags had changed...lucky I went before that.
Security bypass line is worth it still at certain airports.

 

[ChrisDPom]

Silver with a purchased Qantas Club is worth it - use the discount on here for your QC membership to get the group discount.

Seat allocation on QF, lounge access, check priority and 30kg luggage take a lot of hassle away.

Silver by itself? Not really worthwhile.

A sneaky status run would be discounted Jetstar runs to Bali. If paying for the $42 package with baggage you can take Status Credits or a food voucher. PER-DPS return specials are currently $216 base return with the add on costs incl. the package, this is about $300. Prices higher for over East but higher SCs.

6 x return trips PER-DPS would get you 240 SCs

Worthwhile if just short on SC's but not if so far away from target.

Cheers

Chris

 

[bryanjones]

I think any benefits from PS could very easily be purchased with money you might spend on J class status run to SIN.

What would such a run look like?

 

[Pablo]

I would also save the money. If you are going to get Gold at some point on the trip, it means that before that you will get Silver and so you then have the benefits. Silver isn't worth doing a run for that many status credits.

The other option with Bali is to do a cheap starter fare and hope you get an offer 2 weeks out to upgrade to "business" and buy the mad bundle to upgrade. It's pretty good value in the end for some nice SC.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

Personally I don't think silver is worth much.

HOWEVER ... if you wanted to do such a thing...

The Malaysian business promo fares are available again.
So if you can get a cheap flight to Asia, you could do an Asian status run in business on Malaysian.
Between city pairs such as Denpasar, Bangkok and Hong Kong (via KUL in each case).
You could earn 280 SCs for around $450 (BKK-KUL-HKG-KUL-BKK) or 240 SCs for $600 (DPS-KUL-BKK-KUL-DPS).
Plus any you earn on the flights to and from your first Asian destination.

 

[Sprucegoose]

What are you prepared to pay? 220 is a fair distance

 

[JohnK]

The Malaysian business promo fares are available again.
So if you can get a cheap flight to Asia, you could do an Asian status run in business on Malaysian.
Between city pairs such as Denpasar, Bangkok and Hong Kong (via KUL in each case).
You could earn 280 SCs for around $450 (BKK-KUL-HKG-KUL-BKK) or 240 SCs for $600 (DPS-KUL-BKK-KUL-DPS).
Plus any you earn on the flights to and from your first Asian destination.

BKK-KUL is only 749 miles so only 40 SCs in business.