Self-funded WPs

[Commuter]

Hands up those of you who are self-funded* WPs and other top tier frequent flyers.

Just wondering if there are many of us around, and what sort of leisure flying you are all doing.



*those who pay for their own travel (as opposed to earning SCs through work-related travel that is paid for by work) and ended up being WPs or equivalent

 

[JohnK]

I am a fully self funded traveller.

For leisure travel I do 3-4 trips a year SYD-SIN-BKK return where generally BKK-SIN is in business class. The SYD-SIN sectors were in BA world traveller plus until the recent price hikes and are now back in QF economy. There is also local travel to get to some of the FT DOs like the FT AGM, Ozfest, Kiwi Mainland DO.

For the last 4 months I have a full time job in Brisbane so I have been commuting SYD-BNE almost weekly. I class this as leisure travel as it is fully funded by me. Helps the SCs balance but is affecting my health as the weekly travel is taking it's toll....

No issues retaining Platinum status until May 2010...

 

[Commuter]

For the last 4 months I have a full time job in Brisbane so I have been commuting SYD-BNE almost weekly. I class this as leisure travel as it is fully funded by me. Helps the SCs balance but is affecting my health as the weekly travel is taking it's toll....

Weekly commute is tough. I did it for almost 2 years (also self-funded) and it did take its toll on me (esp earlier model 737s, for some interesting reasons) too. This was how I initially qualified for WP, although last year it was mainly due to monthly long-haul travel for a while (also self-funded). So you have my sympathy for the commuting.

The current year is mixture of long haul and short haul, again all self-funded.

 

[Mal]

This year will be 100% self funded for me I think. Previous years have been a mix of travel for work, tax related expenses and similar (although the self funded bit was normally still >90%)

It's relatively tough and expensive (self funded) to retain WP, but I find it a hobby, enjoy the travel and perks and the various creative ways to earn SC's cheaply a challenge

Plus find 'escaping' overseas (normally) a good form of relaxation.

 

[JohnK]

I still love travelling overseas and would love to travel more if possible,

What kills me is the Friday night commute back to SYD after a full weeks work in Brisbane and then returning Sunday afternoon. Definitely not enough relaxation time in Sydney....

 

[oz_mark]

I still love travelling overseas and would love to travel more if possible,

What kills me is the Friday night commute back to SYD after a full weeks work in Brisbane and then returning Sunday afternoon. Definitely not enough relaxation time in Sydney....

I spent 8 months commuting between PER and CBR. That shortens the weekends!

 

[trooper]

Not quite top tier.... but I maintain Gold on NZ through purely recreational travel... just to be different...

It's not easy.. but not terribly difficult either, with some planning... I have tried for the top level on Airpoints.. "Gold Elite"...now THAT is tough!

Missed out by 29 Airbucks this membership year... didn't have time to do a quick trans tasman run before some older Airpoints dropped off the status crediting... unfortunately... kicking myself a little now of course...

Ah well.. got Gold locked in till Feb 2010.... and even with some changes to 2009 travel resulting from the pitiful state of the Aussie $ I reckon requal for 2011 should be doable! Looks like plain Gold will be "my lot"!

 

[JohnK]

I spent 8 months commuting between PER and CBR. That shortens the weekends!

Did you commute every weekend? If I am still commuting next year I will definitely consider only coming back to SYD every second weekend.

 

[Arthur Hodgson]

I've been UA 1K (100,000 paid miles per annum) for well over 10 years, all paid for out of my own pocket, and I have not been employed in any way (even self-employed) since 2000.

I typically fly SYD-SIN-NRT-LAX-LHR (upgraded C class) several times a year, which easily gets me the 100K miles needed. However, with the pitiful state of the Pacific Peso (AUD) I'm not sure I will try for 1K next year (however, I already have over 50,000 miles on UA booked and paid for for next year so far). Not really a huge deal, as I already have *Gold for life.

Tomorrow, for a bit of fun, I'm off to SIN (SQ C class) and BKK (LX Y class) for a few days, then off to LON via BOM (SQ C) and LHR (TK Y). Coming back the same way (minus BKK) in a couple of weeks.

 

[Keith009]

Fully self funded traveler here. Senator status on my M+M account was fully self funded (and now left to expire in Feb). EXP status 99% self funded; there's been the odd CBR flight in the past but these don't really count much towards status. SEN earned on the back of a couple of good value TG/UA/LH mixed class F/J mini RTW fares as well as SQ flights to Asia; EXP earned on mainly DONE4s.

Hotel wise I got SPG Platinum last year after the double stay promo, otherwise was almost 100% self funded. Requalification this year by nights 80% self funded, the remaining 20% came from that v 'lucrative' family trip we take every year as the folks don't really care about hotel status.

Got HH Gold through a *cough* promo (let's leave it at that). Not enough HH stays to renew it though, so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for tips and tricks on both here and FT. I only really need the status for when I visit Tokyo where all the SPGs are far away from shopping and nightlife and the Hilton is right where I want to be.

Currently have mapped out about 90% of Qpts needed for EXP requalification next year, might have to MR the last 10% - here's hoping BA WTP fares to Asia will come down substantially after that cabin's pulled out of the JSA. And have also booked for 40% of nights (i try not to do stay runs) needed for SPG PLT requalification 2009, with more planned as I'm waiting for the BARs to appear before booking the rest.

 

[oz_mark]

Did you commute every weekend? If I am still commuting next year I will definitely consider only coming back to SYD every second weekend.

One week sometimes, but would push out to two (doesn't take too many weekends in CBR to get all the relevant sightseeing done!)

 

[straitman]

This year will be 100% self funded for me I think. Previous years have been a mix of travel for work, tax related expenses and similar (although the self funded bit was normally still >90%)

It's relatively tough and expensive (self funded) to retain WP, but I find it a hobby, enjoy the travel and perks and the various creative ways to earn SC's cheaply a challenge

Plus find 'escaping' overseas (normally) a good form of relaxation.

Thanks for that Mal. Exactly my thoughts.

 

[Commuter]

It's nice (and interesting) to hear how other people are doing with being a self-funded WP.

QF009 I don't know much about hotel frequent stayer programmes but sounds like you like your nice hotels!

I still love travelling overseas and would love to travel more if possible,

What kills me is the Friday night commute back to SYD after a full weeks work in Brisbane and then returning Sunday afternoon. Definitely not enough relaxation time in Sydney....

I used to come back Friday night and go back on the first flight on Monday and going straight to work.

That was better than doing Europe right after work and coming back from Europe and going straight to work in the morning once a month, but it still did wear me out and I wouldn't have liked to do it for more than a couple of years.

 

[serfty]

Sort of fully self funded; much of my work travel could be on "Industry" fares but I prefer (In no particular order):

• Status and it's benefits
• Certainty of travel
• Status and it's benefits
• Points to upgrade

I have an arrangement where as much as possible my work travel is on earning (normally O class fares).

Ok, so that accounts for 15% of my SC's and 60% my flights.

My self funded travel is optimized to extract the most status earning per buck I can manage.

This year I will have over 3000 SC's expire; of which just over 400 earned in relation to work.

 

[Skyring]

All out of my own pocket. Just requalified WP for the third year running.

There's a DONE4 each year, but I usually have a NZ trip or two and some interstate trips as well.

The way I figure, it's easier to retain WP than gain it, and while you are WP, you get significant milage benefits. Plus it's easier and cheaper to do a DONE4 than four LONE4s or equivalent Y travel.

I look on international air travel as a hobby. It's a buzz for me to fly, and compared to the amounts some people spend on golf or muscle cars or yachting, it's not such a vast indulgence.

I enjoy the status benefits, the exquisite lounges here and there, the ability to pop into the Canberra QC when I have time to wait for a passenger and feel like a coffee.

But most of all, I enjoy being a cabbie with WP status, spending six months of every year fondly remembering the last trip, and five months happily planning the next. Every now and then a fellow traveller hops into my cab and we have a pleasant ten or twenty minute ride around the world.

 

[Commuter]

Every now and then a fellow traveller hops into my cab and we have a pleasant ten or twenty minute ride around the world.

I need to catch a cab in Canberra in a few weeks, I hope to bump into your cab (not literally)! :mrgreen:

 

[Snowmoo]

Every now and then a fellow traveller hops into my cab and we have a pleasant ten or twenty minute ride around the world.

May I ask what cab number you drive? I have taxi 301 drive me to the airport twice a week, but he never works late enough when I'm landing back into CBR. Next time I'm at the rank I'll have a look out for you.

Although not self funded, I earned my WP the hard way doing O and N's on either CBR-MEL or CBR-SYD. 2-3 flights per week for 8 months of the year. This year it's ramped up a bit and I'm shooting for the Mrs to get comp gold. I need to keep doing 2 per week until Feb. Not that she is egging me on either ;-)

 

[Skyring]

I need to catch a cab in Canberra in a few weeks, I hope to bump into your cab (not literally)! :mrgreen:

Everyone else bumps into my cab. The owner is probably getting sick of repairing it. Then there was the New York incident.

TX58 is my beautiful Silver Service limousine. I drive the night shift, from 1500 on. I usually work out of the airport after dark. Readily identifiable by iPhone mounted on the dash playing my favorite songs and showing my happy holiday snaps.

TX301, eh? Station wagon. I don't know what the day driver is like, but the night driver is a lovely chap with a great sense of humour.

 

[DCKR]

Hello all,

My first post after a long time reading!

I have been a self funded WP since retirement 12 months ago. Prior to that, work allowed me to qualify my wife for gold and she then qualifed for WP with her own self funded flying. At my renewal date in July of this year I was 15sc off requalifying and Q generously let me retain P for 08/09. Interestingly my wife was 600sc off requalifying and she got a Q letter offering her P status as well! This year I constructed a DONE4 (thanks to careful reading over the years of this site!) that gathered the necessary sc's to requalify both of us for 09/10. We now just have to fly 3 more Q sectors to make all those sc's count.

I enjoy the lounges that WP status brings and the opportunity (now that I am not flying for work) to fly my favourite airline - CX.

DCKR

 

[Keith009]

I sometimes wonder if I'm missing out on something by not being QF WP, ie top tier on my favourite airline. Logically the ease of redemptions on said favourite airline from a partner program so I can fly 'em more is meant to perish that thought, but it still nags at the back of my mind...

And welcome to AFF, DCKR.