I'm planning to fly Canberra-Munich around Christmas/New Year next year to get my ski instructor qualification in Austria. I'm currently a self-funded QF PS and my status year coincides with a calendar year. After flying on a J award this year, I'm going to fly BA World Traveller Plus (can't go back to normal economy!).

The course will start on the afternoon of 3 Jan 2005, so that latest I can fly is probably 1 Jan. I've checked this year's prices and flights up to 31 Dec are around $350 more than 1 Jan.

With my bookings so far in 2004, I'll have at least 160 SCs before the trip. I've checked the points calculator and CBR-MEL-SIN-LHR-MUC return will give me 340 SCs. Silver status will give me an extra 5,698 FF points.

I'd like some advice from the more experienced FT contributors on when I should leave. Given the overall cost of the instructor course (around $8500), I'd like to minimise costs where possible. However, I'm likely to lose Silver status on 1 Jan, only to regain it after my flights. Are the 5,698 status bonus points worth the additional $350 for the airfare in December?

Also, how heavily booked would the flight be between Christmas and New Year, as opposed to flying on New Year's Day? Any tips on seat locations? I'm 185cm tall and prefer window seats. Would 17A/K or 29A/K be the best seats for my preference?

TIA

(typos edited)

[This message has been edited by Craigo (edited Dec 04, 2003).]