Not sure if this is actually useful to anyone else given how rough it is, but thought it couldn't hurt to share given I'd already done the work...
I was trying to do some rough calculations of the relative value of FF points across a couple of different FF programs, namely:
- Qantas
- Virgin Australia
- Cathay Pacific
- Thai Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- US Airways
- American Airlines
To make the comparison I calculated the points required under each program for the following fares:
- MEL-(SE Asia) in J (where SE Asia is the carrier's home base if they're SE Asia-based, otherwise whichever was cheaper out of Singapore and Hong Kong)
- MEL-(SE Asia) in F (where SE Asia is the carrier's home base if they're SE Asia-based, otherwise whichever was cheaper out of Singapore and Hong Kong)
- MEL-LHR in J
- MEL-LHR in F
- MEL-LAX in J
- MEL-LAX in F
- MEL-JFK in J
- MEL-JFK in F
All points costs were calculated based on return flights, and where an airline uses different burn rates for partner airlines compared to their own flights I used the partner burn rates in all cases except QF (as QF-own-metal is my "base" - see below). Additionally, all burn rates were calculated using the "cheapest" type of redemption (e.g. "Saver" for SQ) and including the benefit of any online discounts (e.g. 15% discount for online bookings through SQ).
I added up all of the points costs for each of above fares for each airline (total cost per airline) and then divided the total cost for QF (on their own metal) by this total cost per airline. This gave me a relative point value compared to a base of QF-on-own-metal.
Using this methodology my results were:
Qantas: 1.00
Virgin Australia: 1.03 (i.e. 1 Velocity point is worth 1.03 QFF points)
Cathay Pacific: 1.44
Thai Airways: 1.54
Singapore Airlines: 1.44
US Airways: 2.10
American Airlines: 2.10
Note that this comparison is purely based on the relative points burn rates, so no consideration is given to the value of:
- lower / higher surcharges for award flights
- award flight availability
- allowing one-way for half the cost of return
- quality of product
- or anything else outside of sheer burn rate
And of course I selected the city pairs for the comparisons based on what is most relevant to me, so the results may (will?) differ if you look at burn rates for different city pairs.
I was trying to do some rough calculations of the relative value of FF points across a couple of different FF programs, namely:
- Qantas
- Virgin Australia
- Cathay Pacific
- Thai Airways
- Singapore Airlines
- US Airways
- American Airlines
To make the comparison I calculated the points required under each program for the following fares:
- MEL-(SE Asia) in J (where SE Asia is the carrier's home base if they're SE Asia-based, otherwise whichever was cheaper out of Singapore and Hong Kong)
- MEL-(SE Asia) in F (where SE Asia is the carrier's home base if they're SE Asia-based, otherwise whichever was cheaper out of Singapore and Hong Kong)
- MEL-LHR in J
- MEL-LHR in F
- MEL-LAX in J
- MEL-LAX in F
- MEL-JFK in J
- MEL-JFK in F
All points costs were calculated based on return flights, and where an airline uses different burn rates for partner airlines compared to their own flights I used the partner burn rates in all cases except QF (as QF-own-metal is my "base" - see below). Additionally, all burn rates were calculated using the "cheapest" type of redemption (e.g. "Saver" for SQ) and including the benefit of any online discounts (e.g. 15% discount for online bookings through SQ).
I added up all of the points costs for each of above fares for each airline (total cost per airline) and then divided the total cost for QF (on their own metal) by this total cost per airline. This gave me a relative point value compared to a base of QF-on-own-metal.
Using this methodology my results were:
Qantas: 1.00
Virgin Australia: 1.03 (i.e. 1 Velocity point is worth 1.03 QFF points)
Cathay Pacific: 1.44
Thai Airways: 1.54
Singapore Airlines: 1.44
US Airways: 2.10
American Airlines: 2.10
Note that this comparison is purely based on the relative points burn rates, so no consideration is given to the value of:
- lower / higher surcharges for award flights
- award flight availability
- allowing one-way for half the cost of return
- quality of product
- or anything else outside of sheer burn rate
And of course I selected the city pairs for the comparisons based on what is most relevant to me, so the results may (will?) differ if you look at burn rates for different city pairs.
