Originally Posted by
shillard
We don't do a lot of leisure travel at the moment, so I generally burn points for gift cards.
Redemption rates are pretty much the same QF vs DJ, but earning potential on DJ is MUCH higher.
The 10pts per dollar spent for Plats just nukes QFF into the next cluster.
Does it though? If you're flying, say, SYD-MEL or SYD-BNE and buying a cheap discount economy fare for $109 or so then you're looking at the 1000 point minimum on Qantas (regardless of whether you're bronze or Platinum) or 1090 points on Virgin. Big whoop.
If you're flying SYD-PER one way, then Qantas will give you 4082 miles as a platinum, whereas Virgin will sell you a ticket for about $241 to earn you 2410 points.
Of course if you're flying on anything other than the cheapest available economy fare then the numbers change. In biz class on Qantas you'll pick up only 5013 points, whereas you'll pay up to $1500 on Virgin and get 15,000 odd points.
Anyway in conclusion, it seems to be only for high fares that VA gives you better earning opportunities.