Hi there

A newbie here who's mind is going and hasn't learnt all your lingo yet!

I need help and advice on an issue:

I am a Platinum Qantas FF and have around 500,000 points. I've accumulated them mainly from work travel in the last couple of years and never had a chance to spend them until now as I've just retired (early- I am a mere slip of a lad). Now when I try to spend them I strike what I now see is a problem. No flights are available at times when I want to go where I want to go. I live in Cairns so it looks like my only real option is to use them for domestic travel. The first class trip to London on Qantas looks a bit unlikely.

That's background. For various reasons I am about to close an Amex card with 160,000 Membership miles on it (including 20,,000 Qantas bonus miles).

My question:
apart from the Qantas miles which I think I have to transfer to Qantas, should I open a new airline FF account for the balance, and if so who with?

Options are Cathay, Singapore, Thai really. I'd use it for travel to Asia. I'll have my Platinum until May 2006 then it will be Gold at best.,unless Qantas is generous.

Looking at the schemes Asia Miles looks best (half the rate of some of the new Qantas redemptions to Asia eg Business class Bne-HKG return)

Any help/advice appreciated.

Thanks

Michael