When international starts again will you stay with your usual provider ?

[mrsterryn]

Perennially hopefully
Next year husband is hopeful to go to Denmark (which he missed this year ) in sept .
Just having a sticky at costs and ummm holey moley. Working on the status maintained isn't likely now , we are looking at possibly flying with someone else than Qantas
Are other people changing their "allegiance " so to speak ?

 

[flyingfan]

I'll venture an opinion to say - it might depend on what airlines are still left? Alliances and networks might look very different when travel restarts.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I'll venture an opinion to say - it might depend on what airlines are still left? Alliances and networks might look very different when travel restarts.

Well if one can't fly, one could go by ship........oh wait !

 

[mrsterryn]

Well if one can't fly, one could go by ship........oh wait !

Now if that said "shop" well I am already well versed in that
Husband is thrilled (not ) there is a new laundry , new kitchen bench etc in his future ....well the work is

 

[VPS]

As a newly minted Qatar platinum I will definitely use them when I can especially because they fly out of Adelaide in the evenings. I have Qantas LTG and I don't see the point in trying to attain WP with them again. I'm not sure how hard it will be to maintain WP with Qatar but I'm going to give it a damned good try

 

[mrsterryn]

As a newly minted Qatar platinum I will definitely use them when I can especially because they fly out of Adelaide in the evenings. I have Qantas LTG and I don't see the point in trying to attain WP with them again. I'm not sure how hard it will be to maintain WP with Qatar but I'm going to give it a damned good try

Was that a status match?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Perennially hopefully
Next year husband is hopeful to go to Denmark (which he missed this year ) in sept .
Just having a sticky at costs and ummm holey moley. Working on the status maintained isn't likely now , we are looking at possibly flying with someone else than Qantas
Are other people changing their "allegiance " so to speak ?

I abandoned 'allegiance' many years ago and never looked back. I posted in another thread that for this time next year Qantas is asking $10K+ for business class to Europe, almost double the price of Singapore, Cathay, Swiss or Japan Airlines, and the same price as Singapore Airlines is asking for First class.

$5K extra per person to fly Qantas is a lot for status (given you can buy Qantas Club membership or priority pass for a few hundred dollars).

 

[jase05]

As a newly minted Qatar platinum I will definitely use them when I can especially because they fly out of Adelaide in the evenings. I have Qantas LTG and I don't see the point in trying to attain WP with them again. I'm not sure how hard it will be to maintain WP with Qatar but I'm going to give it a damned good try

Likewise but unfortunately I doubt we will get a chance to maintain it unless they extend the date.

 

[mrsterryn]

I posted in another thread that for this time next year Qantas is asking $10K+ for business class to Europe, almost double the price of Singapore, Cathay, Swiss or Japan Airlines, and the same price as Singapore Airlines is asking for First class.

We have stayed with Qantas for years. Not take close enough to LTG to warrant staying with them I think.
Well have wanted to try different ones, so perhaps next year we may. We like Cathay, and have wanted to try the others

 

[jakeseven7]

Honestly it depends who is flying! Might not have a choice

We flew a lot to the US and Asia because of the structure of our business so QF worked very well for us, especially as they started expanding outside of LAX....

 

[luxury-lizard]

For me it not only depends on which airline(s) are flying but which airport(s) I would transit. For example, en-route to Canada, one of the various options is to transit LAX or SFO - no thank you - but non-stop to YVR or second choice via Japan would be OK. To Europe I would certainly avoid any airport in China (but that was never a good option IMO) - via SIN has always been my preference.

Next priority for me would be to burn any FF points I have - they're getting 'stale' and in the case of SQ may expire before overseas travel is allowed/safe. Even if there is a 'travel bubble' to some Asian countries - these destinations are not a priority for me.

I also believe that once international travel is wide open (yes and that may be 2022) fares will become competitive again to entice travellers back on planes. So seeing fares of $10K in J to Europe now is not really representative of what will be reality (I hope anyway).

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So seeing fares of $10K in J to Europe now is not really representative of what will be reality (I hope anyway).

If it's not indicative, why are QF offering those prices? Why not load their 'regular' fares of $8K, or discounts of $5999? They must be aware that people are making tentative bookings and their competitors are half price.

I fear lots of people with vouchers and credits, plus smaller aircraft (787s instead of A380s) will push the boundaries, and people may feel trapped into those higher fares, or losing their money

 

[OATEK]

Most of our flying in last 5 years has been either CX, or AY/CX/QF combos through AY in J. Our weary bones need to lie down when we fly.

I would stick with AY if the connections from OZ are ok, as we often like a few days in HEL to overcome our outbound jetlag. A bit less keen to use CX now, as stopovers in HKG not so straightforward following CCP take-over. Might look more at SYD-SIN-HEL-xx_ in the future, or use SQ straight through as we have done in the past.

I would love to be able to spend my $$ at home by flying QFi, but as others have said don't want to pay the premium if AY or even SQ offer better value.

 

[VPS]

Was that a status match?

it was indeed

 

[Miriam Tier]

I am committed to using my Amex Platinum Charge card, and I transfer the points to Singapore Airlines and never have a problem using them for flights when I want. Usually for Business Class, and was once upgraded to First for fewer points than Business. The operator in Singapore didn't understand it, but she said her computer offered it, and I would be foolish to refuse! Magical journey.

 

[knagelli]

I am committed to using my Amex Platinum Charge card, and I transfer the points to Singapore Airlines and never have a problem using them for flights when I want. Usually for Business Class, and was once upgraded to First for fewer points than Business. The operator in Singapore didn't understand it, but she said her computer offered it, and I would be foolish to refuse! Magical journey.

I guess I am also thinking in the similar lines. Though I have VA platinum , not sure if I ever again will be flying with Virgin in the near future . Firstly the border restrictions and second the limited number of flight options.

I am inclined to pool the points with my Amex Platinum card and when safe travels is back to normalcy , I will use them either VA ( if it's still a thingy) or may be to retain my QR platinum status.

 

[LadyC]

Utilising vouchers and points will be the first focus and they are with our usual travel providers. We have vouchers with QF and JQ as well as FF points with QF and SQ. I'd happily burn the QF vouchers on some domestic travel and support our local tourism industry but until Dan let's us out, I can't even get to MEL airport right now.

 

[mrsterryn]

Oh definitely spending points that is why the bar cart was so good

 

[Toula92122]

I'll probably contradict myself every second sentence here with my exceptions. I think going forward my first intent will be to spend points where it makes sense. When CV struck I felt foolish looking at my stash of Virgin Atlantic points and being concerned if they were all going to disappear and I've had major concerns about other programs as well. The past month I've been making arrangements for two trips and my first instinct was to buy the flights but in the end I used points as I felt better about keeping $2k in my pocket and seeing 140k points disappear off my balance sheet.

However I do believe that life is too short to be staying or flying with someone that does not bring me much joy. I am influenced by promotions for bonus points but at the same time if two hotels are equal I will choose the one that floats my boat more rather than just be thinking about price or points. After CV is nothing but a memory in the back of my foggy brain I do intend to reward those programs that stepped up and extended points expiration ie Singapore Airlines, and both Hyatt and Hilton who put out decent promotions. I have been fortunate in that the 5 bookings I had that were cancelled due to CV were all points redemption in 5 different programs and did not end up losing any money or points nor did I get hit by cancellation fees.

 

[Baysider]

There are plenty of award flights available and for the normal number of points. If fares are insane, it might make sense to purchase some points/miles. The other advantage of award flights is that you can easily cancel.