The WORST use of your Qantas Frequent Flyer Points
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ต.ค. 2024
- The WORST (and BEST) ways to use Frequent Flyer points. I share calculations on the best "points per dollar" use of QFF points in today's vlog from Adelaide. Should you a) use points for shopping, b) use points for flights, or c) use points for Upgrades? I compare all three options and calculate the value of frequent flyer points.
Filmed in Adelaide on a weekend away, at Adelaide Airport, the Qantas Club in Adelaide, and onboard a Boeing 737.
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Really should have added Classic Rewards you'd pay on Mel-Adl. It's 8000 point Plus $38 for Y + so 8000 points to save $97, or 16000 + $38 for business versus say $771.
Still agree that the upgrade is the best usage, but the classic fares are ok as well.
Pinning this comment - thanks Mark, yes I did consider including this but wanted to keep it concise. However that's great information for everyone so I'll keep this comment at the top. Thanks mate.
I take it you don't get the status credits for business class when you upgrade with points just the economy ones is that right
@@cbin98 Correct. You get the same status and points as per the class you paid, so econ level status credits and points.
Stefan Drury I calculated devonport to San Francisco return on sale for 2 adults and 2 kids was $6200 approximately. Full fare was $10200. Classic reward seats for the same seats in economy were 360,000 pts and $2k in taxes. Essentially turning those points into ATLEAST $4200 in savings. Credit card sign up bonus points are a great way to accumulate large amount of points... we have over a million doing this and the savings far exceeds any annual fee the card may have
@@cbin98 Correct. You only earn the status credits for the original fare paid.
I just wanted to say that I really like your channel. One of the most entertaining and interesting aviation-related ones out there
Thank you, that means a lot. Cheers, stef
Wendover Productions Oh shoot, it's actually you!!! Hi Sam!!!
Wendover Productions No wonder you post so many videos to do with planes 😂
Holy shit wendover
Omg love your vids
Please say hi to Planey McPlaneface/Echo-Yankee-Zulu for me! Will the next video be of Echo-Yankee-Zulu/Planey McPlaneface?
I wonder if he could get the registration changed to VH-PMP (Planey McPlaneface!) hahahaha!
@@bendav That would be awesome! XD
I would just like to say that out of your 8 min video you've spent about only 2-3 min explaining good and bad FF points the rest is just trivial personal stuff
Great video, thanks Stef.
My two cents on using FF points: I like to think of it as a function of both points/dollar ratio, as well as whether the thing I am paying for with points is something I was going to pay for with money anyway. Indeed, I generally use the "would I buy this with cash" test as a threshold for whether I should use my points.
For me, as a bit of a budgeting nerd and general tight-wad, I can never really justify paying money for a regular business class fare, or paying money to upgrade to business. There are just too many other things of greater value that I can think of to use that money on (e.g. paying for flying lessons :p). So, using points to pay for a biz class upgrade isn't really "saving" me any money, as I had no intention of buying an upgrade with dollars in the first place.
By contrast, I'm often happy to use points to buy an economy seat (ideally a rewards seat, but any-seat rewards is OK if required). It was something I was going to buy with cash, so even if the points/dollar ratio isn't as good as other potential options, it is genuinely saving me money.
Use your points for America in premium economy
I understand that it’s a personal question and you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to but where does your daughter go when you guys are off travelling?
I just used point plus pay for biz class to Bkk. 76k points for only$400 discount…. Then I found out later that to get a one way biz ticket to Bkk with points only requires 68k points equivalent to $2.5k. I felt it’s not fair for point plus pay when it comes to points per dollar. I trusted the system and I didn’t do my research on rewards properly. 😣
I paid 8k points for my flight from Sydney to Adelaide. I just received an offer to upgrade to business for 13k points. Worth it?
Also, that Qantas pop up store in melbourne T1, you can get 100 QFF points simply by showing your QFF card each time you go there, limited to once per day.
www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/rewards-room.html
Qantas...my condolences. Why people pay so much for shit service it boggles me...
Great video Stef. Hope your wife had an amazing birthday and hope you enjoyed Adelaide. BTW your cat is adorable.
Loved visiting Adelaide, we had a great weekend thanks. And I'll be sure to let the cat know you said that, thanks!
Hey Stef, you omit to mention Classic Flight Rewards. In premium cabins (and even in Economy) these still garner pretty decent value. Something to think about I guess - cheers!
Darn can't believe I missed you, I live 10 minutes away from the vineyards in McLaren Vale hope you injoyed your time here
Used mine mainly for upgrades from Perth, either to Singapore or to the East Coast. My advantage is I was usually on near full economy fare and a top 5% Platinum FF. Best value I always reckoned.
Agree completely that upgrades are the go along with QF Classic rewards , wouldn't bother with the Toaster type options
what was the beeping at the start
Alarm on the gate, not sure what set it off but it was going for a while, hence the cheers when it stopped!
Lucky these days that we get an ontime flight with aussie Aeroflot
Hey Stef, after I watched your video I decided to check how much points I have on my card. I was pretty shocked to know that I had 160,000 points on it. I decided to upgrade both my 747 flights from economy to business class. Which costed 120,000. Thanks for an great video!!
Glad to know this was helpful, enjoy your business class trip James!
WAIT YOU WERE IN ADELAIDE WHY IWAS IN TERMINAL ON MONDAY
I expected you to be a catperson. I'm glad i'm right about that :-)
Thank you for teaching me about the swivel chairs that spins whether you want to increase or decrease the height.
Is that Chocolate rain in the background...?
You rock Stefan, my son an aspiring young Pilot gets a lot of great tips from your vids , and I too 👍
I love the retro 737 Qantas livery
Qantas food business class is rubbish -
Haha I beat you to seat 1A on VH-XZP by 4 years. All seriousness love your content and keep up the good work.
First loved the video and checkout my Westjet 787-9 Tripreport in business class and let me know how you liked it!
Definitely should instead use your Qantas miles towards a "classic flight reward" instead of the pay with points option you showed in the video Stefan (they're two very different options with drastically different levels of value). Either on Qantas domestic short haul or better yet redeeming for a classic flight reward on one of Qantas's airline partners such as Oneworld carriers, Emirates or El Al Israel in order to get a much better cent per mile value.
Hi Matt how do you redeem your Qantas FF points with airline partners? I have a few hundred thousand Qantas point and would love to find out how to do that for international travel! Any advice is much appreciated :)
@@johnpower2159 Sure thing (btw I'm envious of your QF balance ;) )
Follow the guide I linked below to figure out which partners you can book either on the QF website (namely Qantas and its preferred partners, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Emirates, Fiji Airways, Jetstar and Qatar Airways) or by calling the award booking center for other partners :
www.pointhacks.com.au/redeem-points-qantas-airline-partners/
@@johnpower2159 As an example here's how to redeem Qantas points for Emirates First & Business Class : www.pointhacks.com.au/using-qantas-points-emirates-flights/
Happy Birthday J...I hope you went somewhere nice for a romantic dinner? Magill Estate (home of Grange is pretty good but dinner there would have cost about the same as the new plane) Next time you end up in Adelaide (and if you like Indian food) go to Jasmin in Hindmarsh Square its been there for a thousand years and the owner has the BEST collection of cricket bats as when India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are playing cricket at the Adelaide Oval the teams go there every night for dinner! And your mathematical break down of FF points is of course spot on. Only use when flying...not shopping etc! Thanks again Stef...!!!
After some help please. We are travelling from FCO to SYD later in the year in economy with Qatar. I wish to upgrade to Business class. I am a Qantas FF member so have linked my number to the flight.. I have been told by both airlines Qatar & Qantas that I need to contact the other to upgrade. Who should I be contacting. I would be using my Qantas points for the upgrade. Thanks
The best thing on the Qantas Frequent Flyer, is the Qantas Boeing 747-400 Flight Simulator Experience. Would recommend to anyone, even if they are not into planes. Did it for my birthday, it was the best thing I have ever done.
Hope you had a good time away and belated birthday wishes to Jacq (I know I mentioned it in the comments on your aircraft purchase video but not a direct message as such) Waiting here to find out how Brexit will impact on our flying to the continent but winds have been too strong to fly anywhere lately!
kitty wasnt happy
If you're flying to/from a regional airport the savings are insane. For example:
PLO > MEL $277 OR
8000 points + $68
Works out to just over 2.5 cents/pt.
It's not quite as much value as upgrading to business, but that's only really value if you actually personally value a business flight at $700. Personally, I don't value the differences that high - it's only ~$100-200 of extra comfort and luxuries imo.
Interesting video Stef, I’ve always thought about the points per buck ratio. Good to know the ratio. I’m heading to Perth soon on a A330, and I have around 30000 points. I think it’s time for a business class upgrade!
Thanks for your thoughts
I am a big user and abuser of Velocity points/Status Credits.
I am always trying to see what can get me points and the best way I can use them.
A few times when i was younger I used points to pay for items in the store, only to realise how id prefer to be flying Business Class and use my points to upgrade.
being Gold Velocity (hopefully Platinum soon) member I can use my points to upgrade my international flights.
Which I always find great Value in.
I am also 6ft2 and wide shouldered. So Economy seats just aggravate my back issues so Business or atleast Premium Economy is a must.
I think the main thing people need to consider with an upgrade is that you get 3 windows to look out of, and that to me that makes it worth it. Make sure you pick the side of the plane carefully for the scenery you want to see. For Mel - Adel, pick the left side of the plane, beautiful landscape coming in as you fly over Lake Alexandrina and a view of Fleurieu Peninsula and St Vincent Gulf (or over the Adelaide hills). A shout out to Virgin here, I think their domestic upgrades are good value points wise, just enough fancy stuff and nice seats. But if having the best lounges are your thing then Qantas is best here. I guess who knows what will happen to the value of points after Covid, but I'm keen to use some!
mate, is that songs melody "Chocolate Rain"? Hahaha
Intro song*
Great video stef
Our family accumulates Qantas Frequent Flyers. We use them and share them for upgrades. Between the 3 of us we’ve been upgraded to first class 6 times on overseas trips. My husband and I have applied for an upgrade again when flying to and from London at the start of April. Here’s hoping.
I use mine to book flights all the time. Flew home HND-CVG-NRT for my A350 flight on Delta points, actually!
Yes, happy birthday Jaqu and it would be nice to see you at some point sitting next to Stef in his new plane. Have not been to SA for many years though i do remember having a great time there.
I've heard its really difficult using points to upgrade your seat, any comments?
How pretty is that Qatar Airbus ✖️ That’s what I use points for, it’s by far the BFB.
Stef, I have two things to say to you, first, that sound as the beginning drove my dog mad, and why I'm I just now finding out from my Greek Paisano that you and he are doing a meet and great at Sun n' Fun 19??? Of course this year I will be unable to attend, just my luck, but that's okay... Congrats again on the new Cirrus, and hope to see you the next time you're in the states... And please give your lovely wife my belated Happy Birthday wishes...
Thanks Robert, yeah looking forward to hanging with Niko but shame you can’t come along. There will be other meetups in the future though, hope to catch you at the next one.
Cute cat
Excellent advice on how not to blow your hard earned points. Thank you! I'm sitting on a stack of QF points and will now apply them towards biz class upgrades. Like you, it's not really about the better catering or peripherals. For me it comes down to seat comfort and space and (hopefully) a little extra privacy.
Oh my, you found Jaqs at the market?!? Who would have thought that? LOL!
Say What?
Great video, Stef! I only wish Delta was as generous as Qantas! I’m otherwise a huge Delta fan (I’m in the US, and consider it easily our best domestic carrier), but it’s FF program leaves much to be desired.
Another great video bud. Happy birthday to your wife! Can’t wait for the next one. Take care man
Dose milkshake get to travel business class or just stay home with the cat ?
I saw the Qantas shop when I was at Tullamarine airport but I didn't think much of it. Now I wish I did.
I really appreciate this video! but i hope Qantas doesn't see this because now it will be way more expensive!
whaT?? IN Adelaide, WERE YOU driving on the right?
Glad to hear I'm not the only one who blows her points on upgrades. :-)
Best bang for your buck though, so not a bad way to spend them!
Ahhh, I was also in the Adelaide Q lounge on Tuesday, I boarded my flight just before yours. Would have been awesome to thank you in person for your travel blogs
Thanks. I’ll be in MEL soon and will visit this new shop!
I live in Adelaide and want to come and see you plz come back stef
Right on Stef, with the upgrade value. Last October we applied for and got the wonderful "Confirmed" upgrade From Singapore through to London from Business up to First on QF1 88000 points for the 2 of us best value ever!
It's such a good text message to receive, right?
@@StefanDrury like a child at Christmas, yay!
👍👍👍👍👍
👍
Do you film using a gimbal, I have shaky time lapses too.
Stefan,
It was nice to see both of you together, where 's the rest of the family????
Cheers,
Rik Spector
Is that Chocolate Rain Stef?
Just in time to see QR914 landing!
Saw that qantas retro plane in Perth last week !
when was this filmed the James Strong bit
Is that a retro Chocolate Rain I hear??
Wish I could of seen you why you were here
Love the chocolate rain backing track there...
Yes! No fruit in my meals! Upgrades all the way.
I love your channel favourite on the internet
Adelaide Rocks!!!!!
Talk about the 737 Max 8
Good effort bro!!!!
2:58 My favourite band of wine~~~
Always a great watch. 👍
What is your thoughts about the problems with 737max8
Hey David, not going to comment I’m afraid. There’s already too much speculation and finger pointing online. I’d rather let the investigators do their job and wait until the facts come out. Suffice to say I was very sad, and my heart goes out to anyone affected by the incident.
Stefan Drury I am with you. Thanks.
see lola more often :} does she fly ?
She eats and sleeps. That's really the extent of her existence.
Ps adore Lola! 😻
Hey mate, have you seen my latest video? I am learning to fly single engine prop!
You ordered a special meal, on a plane, did you expect Gordon Ramsay fine dining?!😂
Stef, you should also mention that you are 'Bidding' for the upgrade and it's not always guaranteed. Your status dictates your likely hood of getting the upgrade.
I'm obsessed in watching this aviation vlogs. Great content Stefan, I have seen James Asquith vlogs too. Awesome vlogs as well. :)
6:58 don't try to shame your wife on youtube!!! shes not gonna sleep with you for the next week or 2!
@3:17, I'd still fly a MAX 8!