The 2:1 conversion of Starpoints to Qantas miles is only valid until the end of the year.
[One can continue to get the good deal of inexpensive, easy-to-earn miles, however, by using an Australian-Dollar-denominated credit card, if one has an Australian address.]
So at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, 21 December 2002, I called Starwood to transfer my last increments of 20K Starpoints (to get the 5K bonus) to Qantas.
Starwood already had my Qantas number in their system, and I was sure to get an eight-digit order number.
I am optimistic that this time the transfer will be quicker.