Silver to Platinum in 6 months feasible

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tung

Junior Member
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
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Hi there High Flyers,

I wanted to get your opinion on something.

Ive been stuck on silver status on Qantas OneWorld for over decade. I'm sitting on 555 status credits at the moment.
Is it feasible to go from silver to Platinum in 6 months, or should i reset my expectations. I have 400,000 frequent flyer points to play with.

What would u do (if u lived in Sydney?)

Lots of domestic runs, or fewer big international runs?

Thanks
 
Sadly with the demise of JASA's there is now way to use your points to achieve status.

Moving from PS to WP is very feasible if you are willing to pay for it. Decent status runs still available in the US with some planning. Look at Fijiairways for cheaper ways to get there.

With those points you can use classic awards an fly a lot business class domestically anyway.

What benefits do you see as coming as a WP that you would pay extra to achieve it?
 
The question is why do you want plat status in the first place? It can be an expensive exercise to start with and really depends on how much you value plat status
 
How much after you planning to fly domestically and internationally for the time you'll have platinum status?
 
Remember, it won't just be this year, if you make it to WP, and have WP status then what? Status runs til the cows come home to maintain status? Thanks to the demise of JASA's that could become a very expensive exercise just to maintain status (speaking as another PS)

Of course if you have both time and money to burn, have fun... :cool: (I know I would)
 
Some things to think about...

Is most of your travel international or domestic?

If it is international travel do you want to spend a lot of $$$ to reach WP just so you can use the First lounge or what other WP benefits are you wanting to use?

Do a rough calculation as to how much it would cost to obtain WP, then calculate how much it would cost to retain WP.

If you really, really want lounge access is it not enough to get to SG? You have access to the QP domestically and the J lounge internationally.

Depending on how quickly you earn FFP would you consider purchasing Classic awards in J for your travel? This way you have J lounge and priority boarding for your
flights.

Yes you can go from PS --> WP in six months but do the maths to see if it is worth your while. Think about what is more important to you time at home in your own lounge or time spent in an airport lounge?

I am a SG and I find that the basic QP lounge access etc is suitable for my needs. As I am self funded I don't accumulate a huge amount of points, in the past I would save my points up and go on a holiday (JASA). Now that the ASA's a no more I am either going to use my points to purchase a Classic award or I will go into the upgrade lottery, I haven't really decided but I will figure out how things pan out for me with a little trial and error.

In your post you mention that you have been stuck on Silver for over a decade. Do you fly enough to use the benefits of WP given the cost of getting WP? Silver is the infrequent, frequent flyer. If you push for 700 SC this membership year then getting 600 the following year may be achievable if you are consistently around the 550 SC/year mark. So maybe reaching for Gold would be worth it but WP may be difficult or expensive to keep.

Average out the number of SC's you have achieved over the last decade and look at how much travel you look forward to (realistically), e.g. there is no point factoring in ten overseas trips when you only travel overseas once every ten years unless your travel plans are going to change in the near future.

If flying is your hobby and you have the time and $$ to do it I would do it in a heart beat, go for WP!

Are you are going to treble your flying (well nearly treble i.e. from 555 SC to 1400 SC to obtain WP)?

Just some things to think about. HTHS.
 
Sadly with the demise of JASA's there is now way to use your points to achieve status.

Moving from PS to WP is very feasible if you are willing to pay for it. Decent status runs still available in the US with some planning. Look at Fijiairways for cheaper ways to get there.

You can still do points plus pay and earn status, albeit not at the attractive rates JASAs were.
 
Have J/FASAs been fully eradicated now ? What happened to booking via the phone ?
 
Have J/FASAs been fully eradicated now ? What happened to booking via the phone ?

Isn't that now points plus pay? The marginal awards have gone the way of the dodo as of July 1 (I.e booking by the phone)
 
It is all about priorities. For some people regular travel or holiday travel is a priority. Do an audit of what you are spending on travel and then make an assessment about how you want to spend that money. If you enjoy flying and travel WP is a great advantage. But you do have to work at it and be creative. I ran into a travel agent friend yesterday - and she said we were the only people she knew who would happily avoid direct routes and travel via "Madagascar" just to earn status credits. There are still good value status credits to be earned on some intra Asian routes - and it can make your travel much more interesting. I have also found (although some people disagree) that the real value of WP is getting priority on upgrades on points and a greater chance of complimentary upgrades. As I said its all about priorities with discretionary spending - some people spend their money on travel and use status to enhance the experience - others spend their money on their pets and are quite happy to travel down the back of the plane. If you can afford it - then go for it and enjoy it.
 
You can still do points plus pay and earn status, albeit not at the attractive rates JASAs were.

Forgot about those....but as the points required are often a eye watering levels I have never even considered them......perhaps if the OP had 4 million points to burn:)
 
Forgot about those....but as the points required are often a eye watering levels I have never even considered them......perhaps if the OP had 4 million points to burn:)

Its not that bad if you take a closer look, $5K saves $30, if your fed by an ATO points factory...
 
Remember, it won't just be this year, if you make it to WP, and have WP status then what? Status runs til the cows come home to maintain status? Thanks to the demise of JASA's that could become a very expensive exercise just to maintain status (speaking as another PS)
It doesn't have to be that expensive.

You can still cheat like I do on cheap domestic red e-deals booking into 'E' class.
 
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Its for the times I do fly internationally for work to be able to use the first class lounge.
I hear its great. Its a shame you cant just buy access like the regular Qantas Club which I have (as I'm not gold yet)
 
Its for the times I do fly internationally for work to be able to use the first class lounge.
I hear its great. Its a shame you cant just buy access like the regular Qantas Club which I have (as I'm not gold yet)

How many trips do you expect to take once you get to platinum?

If its just one or two, probably not worth it to be honest. If you're making regular international trips then it may be worth it - but then you may get to WP status on those trips anyhow.
 
Its for the times I do fly internationally for work to be able to use the first class lounge.
I hear its great. Its a shame you cant just buy access like the regular Qantas Club which I have (as I'm not gold yet)

What sort of value would you put on it? Perhaps Qantas can sell single guest one time use passes for $150-$200 each.
 
I say go for it. So you need another 845 SCs to get to Platinum. Sure it will be an expensive exercise but remember that this will get you Platinum next year, Gold the year after and Silver the year after that.

You can spend another decade wondering what its like to visit the first class lounges or do the status run now, get your fill of the lounges and you can then decide whether it's worth it to you to get Platinum again in the future.

If nothing else, you might come to the conclusion that the first class lounges really are not all they're hyped up to be and you just end up being content with your silver status for the next decade.
 
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