Why would one become an AA member?

[thegurio]

I'm assuming AA Gold doesnt get me access to the lounges though? That's what I'm really after to be honest.

Also with 10 - 12 flights a year does that put me in the ballpark of gold?

Sorry for hi-jacking Streety - think of it as a working example of how different the 2 programs are :mrgreen:

 

[Dave Noble]

I'm assuming AA Gold doesnt get me access to the lounges though? That's what I'm really after to be honest.

Also with 10 - 12 flights a year does that put me in the ballpark of gold?

Sorry for hi-jacking Streety - think of it as a working example of how different the 2 programs are :mrgreen:

7.5 trips will get you gold which is without lounge access

You need 15 to get to Platinum and get lounge access

With 12 trips, that will get you close but you would need to take a few other non work flights to get to platinum, but it is definitely within reach

Dave

 

[thegurio]

I really do feel like starting another thread but i have noticed if i book through aa's website i pay over $700 USD whereas if i look at QF its only $450 AUD...

Or do i just put my AA number in instead of my QFF?

 

[vt01]

I really do feel like starting another thread but i have noticed if i book through aa's website i pay over $700 USD whereas if i look at QF its only $450 AUD...

Or do i just put my AA number in instead of my QFF?

Just book with QF and put your AA number in instead.

 

[JohnK]

Everyone is in a different situation.

I try to maintain QF Platinum the cheapest way possible. I can do this quite comfortably with <A$8000 spend per year. If I was real smart I could probably do it for around A$3000 spend per year but I also like to travel a little bit.

Now if I joined AA with my travel I would be lucky to requalify AA Gold and there is no chance I would get to AA Platinum or even AA EXP.

One very important point is if you want most benefits then it is best to join the FF program of the airline you fly the most. Add on top of this QFF points earned through credit card, hotel stays, car rental then AA does not look very attractive.

Do not let people fool you that AA is a better earn/rate than other FF programs. It is under certain circumstances but not many. Regardless of the +++ on awards, QF is much better for one way awards and economy travel. There are many posts on AFF where I have quoted examples.

Status and FF points. It works for me and I see no reason why I would change.

 

[futaris]

How can one earn QF Platinum for around A$3000 ??? 1200SCs to requalify, would mean a cost of around A$2.50/SC? 1200SCs, at an approx cost of around $6-$7/SC is the standard rate, I think, which comes to around $7-8k.

QANTAS is easier to requalify on, as it takes 1400SCs to qualify for Plat the first time.

Having status in the airline you fly the most, makes more of a difference when:
a) Something goes wrong, i.e. flight cancellation, late arrival, etc
b) You're trying to get an upgrade, whether through points or involuntarily
c) You're trying to redeem an award (on QANTAS at ~350 day mark)

The story is different if you're after cheaper redemptions, rather than status, or won't/can't earn it yearly...

For lifetime membership, I still think it easier to get 1MM on AA than 7000 SCs on QF, especially if you are Platinum or EXP. Heck you can even just by the RDM on aa.com at a cost of US$1000 for 40,000, or about the same through SPG. Which isn't fare off from the real cost of a normal Australia-Asia ticket, that you buy.

e.g. 1MM at a cost of US$0.01-US$0.04 per RDM = US$10000 - US$40000
7000SCs at a cost of AU$2.50-AU$7 per SC = AU$17500 - AU$49000

One other thing that hasn't been mentioned, is that with AA Platinum (OW Sapphire), you get 100% bonus, whereas you only get 50% bonus with QF Gold.

 

[Dave Noble]

How can one earn QF Platinum for around A$3000 ??? 1200SCs to requalify, would mean a cost of around A$2.50/SC? 1200SCs, at an approx cost of around $6-$7/SC is the standard rate, I think, which comes to around $7-8k.
.

Oooh. It can be done. I could do it for $2100 pretty easily

Dave

 

[Dave Noble]

I really do feel like starting another thread but i have noticed if i book through aa's website i pay over $700 USD whereas if i look at QF its only $450 AUD...

Or do i just put my AA number in instead of my QFF?

The issue you are finding is that AA can only sell the more expensive fares for domestic AU travel. If you look at the fare basis you will likely find it to be L class or higher

just book on the QF website and add your AA number to the booking; you may have to do it by phone if it doesnt like the format of your number or do at check in

Just avoid the N class fares. Of the red-e-deals HBA-MEL-ADL , avoid the $262 fare; you should be fine with the $170 and $221 one way fares since they should book in O class

Dave

 

[streety]

No probs for the Hijack
Finding this all pretty interesting!

From what I've been reading I think that QFF will be the way to go for the moment given my travelling situation.

 

[simongr]

Do not let people fool you that AA is a better earn/rate than other FF programs. It is under certain circumstances but not many. Regardless of the +++ on awards, QF is much better for one way awards and economy travel. There are many posts on AFF where I have quoted examples.

Let's consider one-way awards shall we. I recently needed to get from SIN to SYD in J or F - I only had 110K points in AA and 91K in QF. No good for two people travelling. So I booked a oneway award on QF costing 90K points and as AA don't do oneway partner awards I had to book a return. I punted the return date out into the future knowing I wont use it but as we have businesses in SIN I might be able to.

I then paid the +++ which amounted to $100.40 for AA and $147 for QF.

So for $50 less I have a spare flight to SIN in F. I dont seem to see QF being cheaper - in fact they are effectively costing twice the points...

Oneway awards although useful are generally not the most frequently used type of award though surely. Sure some AFFers may use them for positioning flights to get cheaper flights from elsewhere but they are not the general populace.

Given your disdain for paying for J/F travel lets compare some whY destinations - originating from SYD and compare the price (points award as 1 point/10K miles saved):

SYD-BKK-SYD
QF - 60K
AA - 50K

1 Point to AA

SYD-PEK-SYD
QF - 72K
AA - 60K

1.2 points to AA

SYD-JNB-SYD
QF - 84K
AA - 75K

0.9 Point to AA

SYD-LAX-SYD
QF - 96K
AA - 75K

2.1 points to AA

SYD-NYC-SYD
QF - 128K
AA - 75K

5.3 points to AA

SYD-LHR-SYD
QF - 128K
AA - 90K

3.8 points to AA

I am not a disciple of AAdvantage and am in fact considering what my long term options are - but consistently on return awards AA beats the pants off QF BEFORE considering surcharges and before considering routings and availability. As AA do not include transits via other ports in the mileage calculation you actually create availability.

You may not be able to get SYD-LAX but you might be able to get SYD-NRT-LAX...

Take my own experience - I need to get from PFO/LCA to SYD. The only way to get it is:

lca-amm-bkk-syd or lca-lhr-syd

lca-amm-bkk-syd oneway is 65K points on QF - but that requires availability on lca-amm-bkk on RJ

lca-lhr-syd is 82K points on QF.

A mileage based oneworld award on AA costs 60K.

Aside from my own LCA preference the other locations are what I would term generic popular destinations - ask the average punter and they are likely to come up with similar destinations (similar by distance probably - so sub HKG for BKK, or CDG for LHR) and in every case n AA it is cheaper.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

""Do not let people fool you that AA is a better earn/rate than other FF programs"

I think the key word of John's post was earn/rate.

AA has attractive burn rates...but the effective earn rate for some based in Oz is not as good with short haul flights on QF earning 1000 points and CC earn ata higher rate.

For some such as me the attractive burn rate is not offset by the reduced earn rate ability for my earn patterns....and likely burn patterns.

Sure if I had equal points in QF and AA , AA would generally be better...but for me my QF balance accumulates far quicker.

 

[Dave Noble]

Sure if I had equal points in QF and AA , AA would generally be better...but for me my QF balance accumulates far quicker.

More relevently than the increase is how long does it take to reach the number of points to redeem the award , especially depending on status. IF Platinum member, for example, will earn a min 1000 for example

Dave

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Oooh. It can be done. I could do it for $2100 pretty easily

Dave

Most interesting from you and John.

May we have a few tips (or even hints) from either or both of you as to how this can be achieved for $2100 to $3000?

Thanks.

 

[JohnK]

How can one earn QF Platinum for around A$3000 ??? 1200SCs to requalify, would mean a cost of around A$2.50/SC? 1200SCs, at an approx cost of around $6-$7/SC is the standard rate, I think, which comes to around $7-8k.

Yes it is possible to do very easily. YUP/QUP/KUP in the USA earn around 450SCs for approximately A$1100, possibly less.

Either way surely my story is relevant to most people. Small budget, lots of discount travel yet through loyalty I am able to maintain QF Platinum and earn reasonable QFF points to redeem a Oneworld RTW every 2 years. In fact I now have over 180,000 FF points in less than 10 months since redeeming the last RTW award in April last year. AA would give me absolutely nothing.

 

[JohnK]

""Do not let people fool you that AA is a better earn/rate than other FF programs"

I think the key word of John's post was earn/rate.

AA has attractive burn rates...but the effective earn rate for some based in Oz is not as good with short haul flights on QF earning 1000 points and CC earn ata higher rate.

So there is someone that understands what I was trying to say. Actually I should have phrased it earn/burn rate.

Living in Australia many factors need to be considered for earn/burn rates. Minimum 1,000 QFF points for discount travel (no fail, no non earning paid classes), credit card signon bonuses, credit card FF point earning, car hire FF points (yes AA wanted to give 50 AA points per day), hotel stays with frequent bonuses like Best Western and Rydges 6x QFF points per dollar, duty free shopping and many other miscellaneous partners.

As mentioned earlier I have earned over 180,000 QFF points, not including Amex MR points, since April last year when my balance was down to 65 QFF points.

Surely my situation is not unique. It has to be very common. Again do not be fooled by the preaching that AA has better earn/burn rates overall. May have better burn rates but how well does your earn rate stack up. I am just trying to help. Anyway you are all old enough to make your own decisions.

 

[futaris]

Thanks for that JohnK.

My biggest reason to change to AA, is the better redemptions and lifetime status. I'd also like Lounge Access, and can get it through the Plat Challenge (for 18mths) for a little bit more cost than buying Qantas Club for 2 yrs.

I've been with QF since Jun 99, and also enrolled in AA in Nov 99 but never really credited anything to it. I used to do a return trip to Jakarta once or twice a year on QF, and earnt some points from frequent debting into QF.

Granted I made good use of the points on a Zone 9 One-Way award, but I've never earnt enough to even get QF Silver, or status on any airline for that matter.

I'm only at 6.5% of lifetime OW Ruby on QF. Since starting to credit to AA, in Apr last year I'm already at 2.3%, thanks to flights on GF (which don't earn EQM in AA, and don't earn in QF) and a B class flight on QF (which only earns discount SCs on QF, but 100% miles and 150% EQP on AA).

I'm happy to just get a return trip or two to AU, NZ or South Pacific, so AA is the winner for me. I will keep some QF points around since they can transferred to Family Members fairly easily (at no cost) and they are always useful for upgrades and some points from CC. Plus it is also useful for Q class and N class fares that I can't avoid.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Yes it is possible to do very easily. YUP/QUP/KUP in the USA earn around 450SCs for approximately A$1100, possibly less.

.

Thanks for that.

Though unfortunately for me the USA is not on my current travel horizon.

Are their other exceptional SC earns or is it basically limited to the USA where they have a first class which is not really first class in standard or price, but which earns at One World SC rate?

I have read in other posts various good SC rates...but am interested in "the Whales".

 

[futaris]

NB, re: Car Rentals I don't think there is a big difference for most people, unless you do a lot of short one-two day rentals overseas.

Generally you only get 700 points per rental overseas, or 3* points per AU$ on QF.
For AA it is 50-80 points/day depending on the company.

 

[futaris]

I have read in other posts various good SC rates...but am interested in "the Whales".

Other than the USA, the only other Whales (that I know of) are:
a) Jetstar starclass
b) LAN from AKL to SYD, D class

 

[dajop]

Ironically .... there is actually a situation where it is advantageous for US based travellers to use the QF program. Redemptions on shorter US flights do require less points on QF than AA (and don't have +++'s imposed) but more importantly QF Gold gives access to Admiral's Clubs when flying domestically, whilst AA Plat doesn't. I guess that's why QF are starting to enforce the 4 sector rule.