Tip for (uni) people buying domestic qantas flights for QF points

[brown891]

Just wanted to share something I myself only recently discovered. I'm sure it's been discussed no doubt but in case there are any newbies (like myself) here, thought I would 'bump' the subject.

I was looking to fly down to Sydney next weekend and generally try to fly Qantas as I wish to build up points & SC's that way as I am unable to get access to credit cards etc etc yet.

So as an example, flying down BNE-SYD Saturday morning and flying back Sunday night was $160 each way w/ Qantas, totalling $320.00
Now generally I will book Jetstar because I'm a uni student and money is generally tight haha. So Jetstar had similar flight times for $69 each way, totalling $138.00.

Now I know about the bundles you can add to the Jetstar flights but for some reason, had never crossed my mind to add them to a Jetstar flight and THEN compare the cost against a Qantas flight. This would essentially make it the same value as a QF flight, except for the obvious - the code you're flying.
Adding on the standard bundle which includes the same amount of points and SC's (800 & 10), seat selection, snack, baggage @ $35 each way brought the fare to $208.00 return now.

So I would be saving $112 but earning the same amount of points + SC's if I was to pay for the same return flight through Qantas.
I realise a lot of people on here travel for business and probably travel business class or use points but am probably aiming this post at newbies or university students among us who still want to earn points for less!

Please share your thoughts if you have other sneaky ideas

 

[bam71]

Bravo!!

 

[yohy?!]

nice - unfortunately you are flying jetstar though!

i tend to look at adjusting flight times outside peak times where possible as often this will bring the fare right down, so it's closer to (and sometimes better than) the jetstar starter plus price.

 

[liamsal]

If only VA had this luxury

 

[opusman]

Wait until your flight gets cancelled, then you'll be wondering if the $112 saving was worth it

 

[samh004]

Some thoughts.

Consider that if you're building SC it must be for status, right? But when you have status, you won't get any favours on JQ so right now it makes sense but down the track less so. Some airports you can forgo priority checkin, baggage etc as you're in one terminal and can access a QP (BNE, OOL, CNS, MKY). But other airports you'll find the terminals are split so much that it's difficult to access the lounge and then walk to your gate (SYD, MEL).

As for a CC. Have a look at the NAB Qantas Card. They have a very low minimum income requirement. You can get it on Centrelink even, just don't overspend

 

[medhead]

Another thought, good if JQ timetable works.

 

[Milefest]

Probably not a bad option if you want affordable status at the price of a JQ experience, but as samh004 said, you're going to want to cash in on those benefits and the only real way to do that is through QF.

 

[brown891]

Some thoughts.

Consider that if you're building SC it must be for status, right? But when you have status, you won't get any favours on JQ so right now it makes sense but down the track less so. Some airports you can forgo priority checkin, baggage etc as you're in one terminal and can access a QP (BNE, OOL, CNS, MKY). But other airports you'll find the terminals are split so much that it's difficult to access the lounge and then walk to your gate (SYD, MEL).

As for a CC. Have a look at the NAB Qantas Card. They have a very low minimum income requirement. You can get it on Centrelink even, just don't overspend

I mainly fly to sydney and back because I have family down there so yeah it would be problematic for once I get lounge access. Sadly my status credits reset the end of september and I'm only at 165/300 to get to silver. So for me currently its more of just building them up for the lifetime SC's way way wayyyyy down the track haha. More so about qantas points so that I can eventually use them to upgrade an international flight from economy to business

I'll look into the NAB CC, do you find CC's very useful for just slowly building up points???

Wait until your flight gets cancelled, then you'll be wondering if the $112 saving was worth it

Haha very true, although thankfully I have never had a problem with Jetstar (touch wood).

 

[Milefest]

I mainly fly to sydney and back because I have family down there so yeah it would be problematic for once I get lounge access. Sadly my status credits reset the end of september and I'm only at 165/300 to get to silver. So for me currently its more of just building them up for the lifetime SC's way way wayyyyy down the track haha. More so about qantas points so that I can eventually use them to upgrade an international flight from economy to business

Knowing more about your situation you may want to consider VA's program also. Silver is 250 SCs to attain and 200 to retain, the benefits are basically the same as QF too. Regardless, flying savers between SYD-BNE may be difficult in your situation as you'd need to fly at least 25 times a year.

I'll look into the NAB CC, do you find CC's very useful for just slowly building up points???

Most of my points comes from flying but my CC spend probably gets me enough points for a free flight or two at the end of the year. Most CCs come with various other benefits like travel insurance and you might also be able to snag a CC with a sign up bonus.

 

[samh004]

I mainly fly to sydney and back because I have family down there so yeah it would be problematic for once I get lounge access. Sadly my status credits reset the end of september and I'm only at 165/300 to get to silver. So for me currently its more of just building them up for the lifetime SC's way way wayyyyy down the track haha. More so about qantas points so that I can eventually use them to upgrade an international flight from economy to business

Okay, so your best option is to fly one direction on Jetstar (BNE-SYD) as it's a common user terminal and the other on Qantas (SYD-BNE) as the terminals are separated. Buy yourself Qantas Club and enjoy the (relative) relaxation before your flights. I'd also use some of your points now to book some classic awards in Y till your year runs out. You'll save some cash as it's 20% off and you wont waste the SC (other than towards lifetime).

While saving your points for an international upgrade sounds like a great plan, usually those upgrades happen a few hours to a few days out, and they work in order of status, from P1 down to Bronze members last. If you still don't have status at that stage, or you're even just a Silver member, your chances of an upgrade are diminished. So keep that in mind... just having the points doesn't guarantee an upgrade.

I'll look into the NAB CC, do you find CC's very useful for just slowly building up points???

It's worth noting that the NAB card is actually two cards. You have the MC accepted pretty much everywhere and an AMEX in less places, but earns double the points. On top of that, Qantas bookings earn an extra point. Couple that with a sign-up offer and you suddenly have a nice cache of points all for doing your usual spending. My limit is $3000 but I've found some months I've hit 5000 points... and I do try to use AMEX as many places as possible.

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

I consider the accumulation of my FF points like my savings. Currently, I'm only 1.5 years out of uni so I am on a grad/analyst wage and therefore I don't care too much for saving as the sacrifice to save the extra dollar isn't worth it. Whereas, in 5-10 years time I will be on a very decent wage and will be able to save a lot more without the same level of sacrifice.

The same applies to FF. If you are plying the BNE-SYD route occasionally then BFOD is definitely the best option. Accumulating 100 or so extra SCs for lifetime SC purposes and paying extra for them is not ideal particularly when flying is probably the least efficient way to earn points. In 5-10 years time, you will find yourself in a position with more money and potentially a lot of travel for work where you can then earn more points and SCs.

I would wait until you are finished uni and in full time employment when you can then easily earn 80-150k points from CCs. I have the ANZ QF card which came with the 50k signup, the NAB velocity with 30k and got into the CC game with the Amex velocity card with a paltry 7500 signup bonus but was a good way to get into the credit system.

Additionally, I agree with Samh004 in that Velocity may be a better program. I became an accidental SG as a uni student with internships overseas flying SQ flexis to PVG and HKG and flying around the country for interviews. The threshold is much lower and the ability to use the points is also much easier. As you are interested in F flying, you can do SQ F/Suites to multiple locations which I believe is fantastic (only ever done a J redemption LHR - SYD) and also EY F which is now slightly pricier but nonetheless also receives positive reviews.

 

[Shinkz]

Only problem is that you can't add the packages onto jetstar price beat.

So if I am looking for the cheapest option I'll price beat tiger with jetstar and get another 10% off that fare with no booking fee.

 

[Doctore1003]

If you can't qualify for a credit card you can still earn points on everyday spend with the qantas cash debit card (0.5 ppd) or the virgin alternative.
Note the clock is ticking on these products thanks to the recent RBA changes to interchange fee regulations, which kick in 1 July next year I think.