Where to start for an overwhelmed newbie? [100 SC's for SG by end October]

[tbn]

Hello all, this is literally my first post on a forum of any type ever... so be gentle.

I am about 100 SC away from gold membership and decided to do some research on the best way to get these points before the 31st of October 2013 so i can be upgraded. hence my signing up to this site.

Now Ive gotten this far just the hard way, with a couple trips to mine sites and overseas once for work and a couple trips from Melbourne to Sydney for good measure, however, my usual routine isnt going to cut it if I want gold.

I like doing things myself, and don't mind taking the time to do the research if it means I can get a great deal.

HOWEVER, I am gutted that you can no longer book JASAs online and am completely overwhelmed with everything there is to learn and consider and how to go about doing it all.

Essentially, my question is;
If I were a seasoned veteran, and I wanted to get 120 SC before October 2013 how would I go about the process of A. Searching for flights, B. Booking the best value flights using points or money or both, C. Finding out if upgrades are possible, D. anything before, after and inbetween that I am unaware of due to being so naive.

What tools and websites would you use and how / when would you use them would be handy too.

I have read the newbie discussions but they arent exactly giving a step by step explanation of what to do. Especially now that JASAs cant be booked online I wouldnt know where to start.

 

[Hvr]

Re: Where to start for an overwhelmed newbie?

Welcome aboard tbn, great to have you here.

Couple of questions so we can help you:

1) What airline are you seeking status on? I'm assuming Qantas given you've mentioned JASAs but always good to be sure.

2) What is your home airport?

Essential threads for new posters will be posted shortly (when I find them ).

And here they are in admin's welcoming post.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/introductions/a-note-our-new-members-23237.html

 

[tbn]

Re: Where to start for an overwhelmed newbie?

I am on QFF program and flying out of Melbourne as my home city but I am in Sydney quite often if there is a benefit to flying out from there.

I have read through a lot of the threads in the following area if that is what you are referring to (sorry about the "dots", apparently I need 10 posts before I can post a link)
australianfrequentflyerdotcomdotau/community/recommended-aff-reading/selected-aff-threads-new-members-43151.htm

But there are so many options and its hard to figure out if I need to do everything that is on that list or if there are certain things that the pro's do every time to spend the least amount of points/money and get the maximum amount of SC.

I see in the "best status run" thread, someone flies business from auckland to Townsville via Melbourne and Brisbane - all for 32000 points and $200 earning them 200 SC.

If i wanted to do this today, what is the best step by step process to follow. How would you start researching and then move to booking and then upgrading (if that is even the order of things)