AA membership but fly mainly Qantas?
Apr 2, 2009, 3:38 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: LON & CHC
Programs: QF NB,Qantas Club, Krisflyer,BA Exec Blue, I fly for holidays only :-)
Posts: 94
AA membership but fly mainly Qantas?
Im a lowly QFF but recently also signed up to AirNZ airpoints and also American Airlines scheme.
AA name QF as being one of their associated airlines so is there any benefit in booking everything through the AA membership over the QFF?
I heard that you possibly earn more miles with AA?
We are currently UK based but about to relocate to an Australasian base.
Are there any benefits with QFF over AA due to our location?
AA name QF as being one of their associated airlines so is there any benefit in booking everything through the AA membership over the QFF?
I heard that you possibly earn more miles with AA?
We are currently UK based but about to relocate to an Australasian base.
Are there any benefits with QFF over AA due to our location?
Apr 2, 2009, 3:59 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 21,034
It all depends on you flying patterns (class & distance)
AA has for many people a better earn to burn ratio
Mid - top tier (Plat - Gold) in QF is not that hard to get
You go for a AA plat challenge to get top tier in AA
QF is moving towards a frequent spender program and away from a frequent flyer program. With QF you can easliy put credit card spend/rewards into the QF FFP.
Air NZ is a poor scheme. Look at BMI or other star airlines
AA has for many people a better earn to burn ratio
Mid - top tier (Plat - Gold) in QF is not that hard to get
You go for a AA plat challenge to get top tier in AA
QF is moving towards a frequent spender program and away from a frequent flyer program. With QF you can easliy put credit card spend/rewards into the QF FFP.
Air NZ is a poor scheme. Look at BMI or other star airlines
Apr 2, 2009, 4:00 am
#3
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: wurtulla,queensland,australia
Programs: hh diamond,Qantas club life,AA EX-explat.SPG plat.
Posts: 1,431
It really all depends on what you want out of a frequent flyer program.If you want upgrades and are flying mainly QF then it has to be QFF.I prefer to get RTW awards in J.Therefore I go with AA as basically very similiar earn rate but a much better burn rate.Also i have had a lot more success getting awards through Aadvantage than QFF.
As I do RTW trips I can always schedule a TATl or Transpac on AA and when an explat always was able to get 2 upgrades to F with the free EVIPS.Have just upgraded my next TATL as a plat costing just 25000 miles each and done easily through the Brisbane call centre.
The major problem belonging to Aadvantage when in Australia is the relative lack of CC earning.I do use a Diners which can transfer to AA though a better rate going through SPG.Amex can also transfer to AA via SPG.
As I do RTW trips I can always schedule a TATl or Transpac on AA and when an explat always was able to get 2 upgrades to F with the free EVIPS.Have just upgraded my next TATL as a plat costing just 25000 miles each and done easily through the Brisbane call centre.
The major problem belonging to Aadvantage when in Australia is the relative lack of CC earning.I do use a Diners which can transfer to AA though a better rate going through SPG.Amex can also transfer to AA via SPG.
Apr 2, 2009, 5:24 am
#4
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Programs: SQ, QF, MH, VA, AA, BA, AMEX, Citibank
Posts: 289
Adding to this:
* Some QF fares cannot accrue any AA points..
* For short legs in Oz QF flights accrue a minimum of 1000 FF points
If you fly alot in fares thn gain points in AA then AA is a better value program due to low burn rates.
Credit cards points cannot be transferred to AA from an Australian card at a good rate. Points via SPG can be useful to top up flight earn ....but if you have large CC earn it is probably much better value to redeem into SQ (and then also it's *A partners as well).
* Some QF fares cannot accrue any AA points..
* For short legs in Oz QF flights accrue a minimum of 1000 FF points
If you fly alot in fares thn gain points in AA then AA is a better value program due to low burn rates.
Credit cards points cannot be transferred to AA from an Australian card at a good rate. Points via SPG can be useful to top up flight earn ....but if you have large CC earn it is probably much better value to redeem into SQ (and then also it's *A partners as well).
Apr 2, 2009, 5:59 pm
#5
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Jersey, CI
Posts: 1,094
Adding to this:
* Some QF fares cannot accrue any AA points..
* For short legs in Oz QF flights accrue a minimum of 1000 FF points
If you fly alot in fares thn gain points in AA then AA is a better value program due to low burn rates.
Credit cards points cannot be transferred to AA from an Australian card at a good rate. Points via SPG can be useful to top up flight earn ....but if you have large CC earn it is probably much better value to redeem into SQ (and then also it's *A partners as well).
* Some QF fares cannot accrue any AA points..
* For short legs in Oz QF flights accrue a minimum of 1000 FF points
If you fly alot in fares thn gain points in AA then AA is a better value program due to low burn rates.
Credit cards points cannot be transferred to AA from an Australian card at a good rate. Points via SPG can be useful to top up flight earn ....but if you have large CC earn it is probably much better value to redeem into SQ (and then also it's *A partners as well).
Apr 3, 2009, 11:21 pm
#6
Join Date: Jan 2008
Programs: AAdvantage ExPlat
Posts: 114
Hi Webup -
I have experienced your exact situation and handled it in the following way:
I lived in the US, was an AA frequent flier and moved to the UK for a stint. Usually flew economy fares. I found very quickly that when flying on BA, you usually only got 25% of miles flown (and 0% on flights between the US and UK). Therefore, I moved to BA, ended up getting 100% mile accruals and rewards within Europe for relatively "cheap" burn rates. Also, just attaining BA Silver ended up getting me several complimentary upgrades from economy to business (bypassing premium economy)
I then was presented with the opportunity to go to Australia for a couple of years. I thought, hey I had to go with BA in the UK, so I better go with QF in OZ. I signed up for a QF account (with my UK address so free of charge), as I was wanting upgrades on flights from the UK to OZ or OZ to US and vice versa. This is the ONLY way to get upgrades. Well, I found out very quickly that after 3 R-T economy flights I still couldn't get Qantas Gold! (Which meant no free lounge access and I was behind everyone in the upgrade queue and seating assignment queue!) I also found out that the "burn" rates on Quantas were TERRIBLE! (16k just for Sydney to Melbourne economy, 36k Sydney to Perth or Auckland economy).
After doing a bit of research, I fired up my old AA account. Guess what, after 2 round-trips I was an American Platinum member! (Equivalent to Qantas Gold - American Executive Platinum is their top level). You must be careful with challenges, generally there have to be on AA metal ONLY - so I did it the "long" way using QF metal (AA doesn't fly Sydney to London). The big tip that those on the AA board gave me is that AA doesn't enforce the 4 flights on AA metal rule if you have over 50,000 miles accrued. Now, I don't have the opportunity to upgrade on Qantas - but you need a lot of miles to do that. However, I do get access to all the Qantas lounges, even when flying Sydney to Melbourne. I get "preferential" seats on Qantas planes and can book a seat when I book my ticket. The BIG advantage - I get rewards on Qantas (using AA reservations) - 20k for ANY R-T flight within Australia or to New Zealand (in economy) or better yet, 35k for BUSINESS!
I guess it all depends what is important to you. If you want to upgrade using miles (assuming you will accrue enough to do so) QF is the only way on QF flights. However, keep in mind that if you are a Bronze or Silver QF member, your chances are slim. If you can't attain at least Gold, you won't get lounge access when flying economy. You won't get "preferential" seats either. And the "earn" and "burn" ratios are definitely weighted in QF's favour.
However, if you want lounge access when flying QF anytime, preferential seats, great earn and burn ratios - and if you are ever flying within the US on AA you will also get several complimentary upgrades - go for the AA membership and do all you can to attain Platnium quickly!
(As stated above, you will want to ensure that you are flying in at least QF economy classes H, K, B, or Y with an AA membership)
I have experienced your exact situation and handled it in the following way:
I lived in the US, was an AA frequent flier and moved to the UK for a stint. Usually flew economy fares. I found very quickly that when flying on BA, you usually only got 25% of miles flown (and 0% on flights between the US and UK). Therefore, I moved to BA, ended up getting 100% mile accruals and rewards within Europe for relatively "cheap" burn rates. Also, just attaining BA Silver ended up getting me several complimentary upgrades from economy to business (bypassing premium economy)
I then was presented with the opportunity to go to Australia for a couple of years. I thought, hey I had to go with BA in the UK, so I better go with QF in OZ. I signed up for a QF account (with my UK address so free of charge), as I was wanting upgrades on flights from the UK to OZ or OZ to US and vice versa. This is the ONLY way to get upgrades. Well, I found out very quickly that after 3 R-T economy flights I still couldn't get Qantas Gold! (Which meant no free lounge access and I was behind everyone in the upgrade queue and seating assignment queue!) I also found out that the "burn" rates on Quantas were TERRIBLE! (16k just for Sydney to Melbourne economy, 36k Sydney to Perth or Auckland economy).
After doing a bit of research, I fired up my old AA account. Guess what, after 2 round-trips I was an American Platinum member! (Equivalent to Qantas Gold - American Executive Platinum is their top level). You must be careful with challenges, generally there have to be on AA metal ONLY - so I did it the "long" way using QF metal (AA doesn't fly Sydney to London). The big tip that those on the AA board gave me is that AA doesn't enforce the 4 flights on AA metal rule if you have over 50,000 miles accrued. Now, I don't have the opportunity to upgrade on Qantas - but you need a lot of miles to do that. However, I do get access to all the Qantas lounges, even when flying Sydney to Melbourne. I get "preferential" seats on Qantas planes and can book a seat when I book my ticket. The BIG advantage - I get rewards on Qantas (using AA reservations) - 20k for ANY R-T flight within Australia or to New Zealand (in economy) or better yet, 35k for BUSINESS!
I guess it all depends what is important to you. If you want to upgrade using miles (assuming you will accrue enough to do so) QF is the only way on QF flights. However, keep in mind that if you are a Bronze or Silver QF member, your chances are slim. If you can't attain at least Gold, you won't get lounge access when flying economy. You won't get "preferential" seats either. And the "earn" and "burn" ratios are definitely weighted in QF's favour.
However, if you want lounge access when flying QF anytime, preferential seats, great earn and burn ratios - and if you are ever flying within the US on AA you will also get several complimentary upgrades - go for the AA membership and do all you can to attain Platnium quickly!
(As stated above, you will want to ensure that you are flying in at least QF economy classes H, K, B, or Y with an AA membership)
Apr 4, 2009, 5:37 pm
#7
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 866
AA QF Tango
I'm located outside Australia but earn almost all my QF points with my ANZ Visa Card!
I think it is best to maintain both QF and AA FF accounts, so that you can get the best of both worlds. Besides the favourable burn rate with AA (which previous posters have all point out), in my experience here are two huge reasons to favour AA awards:
1) No Fuel Surcharges on AA or OW awards (QF imposes these nasty fees)
2) Free Date changes on award tickets (QF charges a fee unless you are in their top tier FF level)
I think it is best to maintain both QF and AA FF accounts, so that you can get the best of both worlds. Besides the favourable burn rate with AA (which previous posters have all point out), in my experience here are two huge reasons to favour AA awards:
1) No Fuel Surcharges on AA or OW awards (QF imposes these nasty fees)
2) Free Date changes on award tickets (QF charges a fee unless you are in their top tier FF level)
Apr 4, 2009, 9:33 pm
#8
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Programs: SQ, QF, MH, VA, AA, BA, AMEX, Citibank
Posts: 289