If it cost £3800 to get to GGL would you?
Apr 6, 2018, 4:28 am
#31
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: LHR GVA HKG TLV PVG JFK
Programs: AA EXP
Posts: 3,952
I travel often. A lot for work and a some personal travel. I make sure I keep my OWE status as for Y flyers it is a game changer. I usually get to OWE organically but if needed "take the longer way there" to make sure it happens. I love travelling and very blessed I have the opportunity to do so.
There are some people here who have made being GGL their hobby. It is a very legitimate hobby, that others may not understand, I don't understand the allure of trainspotting (I do aircraft spotting). If you go for GGL and are part of FT there is a level of camaraderie in your hobby. I skydive, more than I enjoy the jumps I enjoy the camaraderie in the club(s) on the ground and the beer after the day's last jump.
All I suggest as having fun getting to GGL, not just doing the flying. stay at destination a bit etc
There are some people here who have made being GGL their hobby. It is a very legitimate hobby, that others may not understand, I don't understand the allure of trainspotting (I do aircraft spotting). If you go for GGL and are part of FT there is a level of camaraderie in your hobby. I skydive, more than I enjoy the jumps I enjoy the camaraderie in the club(s) on the ground and the beer after the day's last jump.
All I suggest as having fun getting to GGL, not just doing the flying. stay at destination a bit etc
Apr 6, 2018, 4:36 am
#32
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold / OW Emerald
Posts: 753
Well, I am going to hit gold about halfway into my TP collection year and I'm on the same boat. I'm single and don't really have any expenses aside of the "necessities" of the modern world and a decent place to rent. I like visiting cities but I'm not into lavish hotels or touristy things. I'm happy with a good walk and a few museums over a day or two, and then going home.
So... maybe I'll go for GGL this year or next year. It gives me a few benefits that round up the overall experience, but also 5000 TP is just something like 4 long-haul TP runs and a few european ones which is an adequate amount of flying considering the (not unlimited) amount of vacations I have
So... maybe I'll go for GGL this year or next year. It gives me a few benefits that round up the overall experience, but also 5000 TP is just something like 4 long-haul TP runs and a few european ones which is an adequate amount of flying considering the (not unlimited) amount of vacations I have
Apr 6, 2018, 4:40 am
#33
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Paynesville, Vic
Programs: BA Gold AVIS Presidents Club
Posts: 356
Personally Id do it. 3.8k for 3300 TPs is a bargain in my limited and not very adventurous experience . Cost me 3 x that for this years total of 3500 ish. My travel (ping ponging Prg -Mel) is out of domestic necessity/ harmony rather that curiosity / holidays. This year I will have accumulated 4 x GUF2/1 for my new TP year. So, that should see me on BA up the front in F next year (albeit from OSL) chasing the elusive GCL which will give me some tangible benefits during the 2 weeks of my life that I will spend airborne .....albeit at a cost of about GBP 2 per TP.. ...ouch! Come to think of it I could do with an actual holiday / stopover one of these days as to date its always the destination that maters, so perhaps a TP run as such, will help reduce the overall cost next year.....sort of Fly more and Pay less.
OF
OF
Apr 6, 2018, 4:41 am
#34
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: BAEC GGL/CR; Hilton Diamond; Mucci des Puccis
Posts: 5,609
The problem with even asking the question is that essentially you're asking people to validate a lot of their own choices. I was surprised that people were trying to talk me out of the project originally until I twigged that. So if you're flying a lot for work and you hate it but get GGL, the idea someone would want to emulate that seems bonkers. People do prioritise different things at different points in their life, and if you ask them what they would spend four grand or a few weeks of spare time they'll tell you. It won't be the same for everyone. Life would be very tedious if it was.
The best bits for me of the project have been the little things. The church concert in Prague, definitely, going into a frozen aviation museum in Helsinki, shooting up through low cloud in a Dornier 328, that sort of thing. The only real status related highlight was the Cathay delight, I love those. The rest is a framework to hang these serendipitous experiences on. My youngest boy will be at school next year with half terms to cover (he's currently in full time day care). My two elder boys have both just finished £15K a year schools. So I have some cash and I have some time, and I fancied trying it. I'm not going to be pushing for retention, and I'm not stupid enough not to know that I can get a similar or better experience a la carte at airports.
I don't know, who do you want to be at parties, the guy who went round the world in first class to get status on a budget, or the guy who considered it but didn't see the RoI quite stacking up?
The best bits for me of the project have been the little things. The church concert in Prague, definitely, going into a frozen aviation museum in Helsinki, shooting up through low cloud in a Dornier 328, that sort of thing. The only real status related highlight was the Cathay delight, I love those. The rest is a framework to hang these serendipitous experiences on. My youngest boy will be at school next year with half terms to cover (he's currently in full time day care). My two elder boys have both just finished £15K a year schools. So I have some cash and I have some time, and I fancied trying it. I'm not going to be pushing for retention, and I'm not stupid enough not to know that I can get a similar or better experience a la carte at airports.
I don't know, who do you want to be at parties, the guy who went round the world in first class to get status on a budget, or the guy who considered it but didn't see the RoI quite stacking up?
Apr 6, 2018, 4:51 am
#35
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
That's an easy one - I wouldn't want to be the one that people would be saying is the person that just paid GBP3800 and wasted many days of hos time for an airline loyalty card
Apr 6, 2018, 5:09 am
#36
Join Date: May 2013
Posts: 6,349
Wow thanks everyone for your replies so far wasn't expecting this much feedback from a post I put up before going to bed lol
To answer a few questions:
I am already on 1800 ish Tier Points so the cost would be to get me to GGL from there rather than from 0 already, I do enough travel each year to retain gold through holidays of which nearly all involves T5.
The runs I planned were:
OTP - PHX 1080 TPs
LAX - PTY 840 TPs
CAI - HNL 1240 TPs
I would be spending a long weekend in each destination,
The benefits I value the most are the Redemptions, the GUFs and the partner cards, CCR would be nice,
For me here is the reasons why:
I am a plane geek and really enjoy travel, My work has no travel but a lot of stress, To put things in perspective:
We aren't blessed with kids, nor do I value a nice postcode / somewhere ridiculously expensive to live when where we are makes us both happy, Don't drive or value a flash car or £150 meals or golf membership or whatever and when we go places on holiday we don't stay in big coporate hotels we stay in small family run hotels / B & B to get a proper vibe of locations.
Furthermore what really triggered this thought is, recently in the last month someone I work with who has been doing a similar job to me their whole life retired early and saved up lots of money to travel and retire was killed in a road accident and in the same week someone else I work with had a serious stroke due to stress and in my personal life I lost a very close friend a number of years back these three events changed the way I value and think of things, and to me what have I achieved in life by sitting doing the same job day in day out nothing so why not do what I enjoy travel and flying
In regards to the money its 2 months disposable income would let me see some other parts of the world fly different aircraft and see different places, We already have a tour of South America (6 countries) this August over 5 weeks which showed me no end how valuable avios can be and I am at a stage in life where I want to treat my parents who had nothing to share some of these experiences (GUFs) and the jokers would allow me to force availability on some real proper trips with my parents.
I am a leisure traveller and we go on about 5 / 6 holidays a year of which we take extra hops to renew gold each year, I also try and do a good few shorthaul hops out to Europe to see cities as weekend breaks so all lesiure travel and all self funded.
To answer some questions asked above
@Fitch @OldFruity @orbitmic @UKtravelbear Already at 1700TP so this is to get from there to GGL
@nallison I accept that view but when I actually get benefits that could outweigh the £3.8k of cost I put into it surely thats not being held "captive"
@bisonrav this is all your fault and your view on the church in Prague is what particularly moved me to look at this
@Scots_Al we fly enough to retain gold and do a reasonable amount of european travel in weekends to see cities I have never seen before as it's all leisure the only thing controlling my travel is me and I would be using the partner cards with the view of enhanced avios earning for my parents as part of the Household account that we all get advantage from and the fact they can enjoy travel more on cheaper tickets where they are the stage where they are considering retirement / travelling.
@xenole Absolutely hit the nail on the head, I dont value a lot of material things that others do, I live in a cheap area, Dont need a flash new car that is worthless in 3 years, dont need a fancy sports membership and also dont value big lavish hotels in these locations. Im a simple guy haha
@charlie1105 @ThatT1Feeling Exactly this is the sort of logic I am applying and the value I am putting on these.
@simons1 Other than my wife who comes on most of my trips with me to enjoy them together , no business travel. we have no kids so family time isn't a big issue
@"Artic Troll" L I would probably spend it on crap lol
To answer a few questions:
I am already on 1800 ish Tier Points so the cost would be to get me to GGL from there rather than from 0 already, I do enough travel each year to retain gold through holidays of which nearly all involves T5.
The runs I planned were:
OTP - PHX 1080 TPs
LAX - PTY 840 TPs
CAI - HNL 1240 TPs
I would be spending a long weekend in each destination,
The benefits I value the most are the Redemptions, the GUFs and the partner cards, CCR would be nice,
For me here is the reasons why:
I am a plane geek and really enjoy travel, My work has no travel but a lot of stress, To put things in perspective:
We aren't blessed with kids, nor do I value a nice postcode / somewhere ridiculously expensive to live when where we are makes us both happy, Don't drive or value a flash car or £150 meals or golf membership or whatever and when we go places on holiday we don't stay in big coporate hotels we stay in small family run hotels / B & B to get a proper vibe of locations.
Furthermore what really triggered this thought is, recently in the last month someone I work with who has been doing a similar job to me their whole life retired early and saved up lots of money to travel and retire was killed in a road accident and in the same week someone else I work with had a serious stroke due to stress and in my personal life I lost a very close friend a number of years back these three events changed the way I value and think of things, and to me what have I achieved in life by sitting doing the same job day in day out nothing so why not do what I enjoy travel and flying
In regards to the money its 2 months disposable income would let me see some other parts of the world fly different aircraft and see different places, We already have a tour of South America (6 countries) this August over 5 weeks which showed me no end how valuable avios can be and I am at a stage in life where I want to treat my parents who had nothing to share some of these experiences (GUFs) and the jokers would allow me to force availability on some real proper trips with my parents.
I am a leisure traveller and we go on about 5 / 6 holidays a year of which we take extra hops to renew gold each year, I also try and do a good few shorthaul hops out to Europe to see cities as weekend breaks so all lesiure travel and all self funded.
To answer some questions asked above
@Fitch @OldFruity @orbitmic @UKtravelbear Already at 1700TP so this is to get from there to GGL
@nallison I accept that view but when I actually get benefits that could outweigh the £3.8k of cost I put into it surely thats not being held "captive"
@bisonrav this is all your fault and your view on the church in Prague is what particularly moved me to look at this
@Scots_Al we fly enough to retain gold and do a reasonable amount of european travel in weekends to see cities I have never seen before as it's all leisure the only thing controlling my travel is me and I would be using the partner cards with the view of enhanced avios earning for my parents as part of the Household account that we all get advantage from and the fact they can enjoy travel more on cheaper tickets where they are the stage where they are considering retirement / travelling.
@xenole Absolutely hit the nail on the head, I dont value a lot of material things that others do, I live in a cheap area, Dont need a flash new car that is worthless in 3 years, dont need a fancy sports membership and also dont value big lavish hotels in these locations. Im a simple guy haha
@charlie1105 @ThatT1Feeling Exactly this is the sort of logic I am applying and the value I am putting on these.
@simons1 Other than my wife who comes on most of my trips with me to enjoy them together , no business travel. we have no kids so family time isn't a big issue
@"Artic Troll" L I would probably spend it on crap lol
Apr 6, 2018, 5:34 am
#37
Join Date: Dec 2016
Programs: BAEC GGL/CR; Hilton Diamond; Mucci des Puccis
Posts: 5,609
As I said, it's the journey, not the destination. Everything you do can be explained away as an expensive waste of time in the quest for a death certificate if you want to be reductionist. People who do are generally more interesting than those who do not, at least to me.
Apr 6, 2018, 5:39 am
#38
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold. GGL/CCR.
Posts: 13,248
I did consider that which is why I ladened my post with the words "rumour" and "speculation" but I do take your point.
Apr 6, 2018, 5:41 am
#39
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Bristol
Programs: BA GGL, UA Plat, DL Plat, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,380
Have you actually priced through to checkout for all 3 on specific dates ?
Apr 6, 2018, 5:49 am
#40
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Mostly UK
Programs: Mucci Extraordinaire, Hilton Diamond, BA Gold (ex BD)
Posts: 11,209
Everyone is different. If the £3800 is the only extra you're paying to get status I would personally do so. (although with the first wing I'm actually less inclined now as gold is enough to access that shortcut to the lounge).
But I would only do so after some thought. Would spending £3800 mean I'd have to sacrifice something else that I wanted to do (some years it would, other years it wouldn't)? If it did then it's almost certainly a bad idea. Would I be flying interesting routes/airline types to get this status? Will I get to visit new places on these runs? To put it another way, will I enjoy the flights that get me the status? Will this flying also get you anything else you might find useful (e.g. hotel status either through the extra nights you're staying places or the Hilton Diamond through GGL)? Will you be flying enough to take full advantage of your status.
I like flying interesting routes and airline types and like visiting new places. Only you'd know whether you'd enjoy a TP run or whether you'd end up just going through the motions for the status.
If you don't enjoy the flying to get status then why not just shove the £3800 aside and use it as an airport fund. Your gold status gets you most of the benefits anyway, so you could use the cash saved to buy the occasional upgrade, or eat in one of the airport restaurants if the F lounge food isn't appealing (to make up for the CCR)
But I would only do so after some thought. Would spending £3800 mean I'd have to sacrifice something else that I wanted to do (some years it would, other years it wouldn't)? If it did then it's almost certainly a bad idea. Would I be flying interesting routes/airline types to get this status? Will I get to visit new places on these runs? To put it another way, will I enjoy the flights that get me the status? Will this flying also get you anything else you might find useful (e.g. hotel status either through the extra nights you're staying places or the Hilton Diamond through GGL)? Will you be flying enough to take full advantage of your status.
I like flying interesting routes and airline types and like visiting new places. Only you'd know whether you'd enjoy a TP run or whether you'd end up just going through the motions for the status.
If you don't enjoy the flying to get status then why not just shove the £3800 aside and use it as an airport fund. Your gold status gets you most of the benefits anyway, so you could use the cash saved to buy the occasional upgrade, or eat in one of the airport restaurants if the F lounge food isn't appealing (to make up for the CCR)
Apr 6, 2018, 5:54 am
#41
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Glasgow, UK
Programs: Seigneur des Tarifs Utils First Class Mucci with Honours :) - BA GGL / CCR
Posts: 1,551
@layz Exactly my thoughts, I value the benefits, I enjoy the flying and the experiences and also the journey as well as destination,
Apr 6, 2018, 5:57 am
#42
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Jan 2002
Posts: 44,600
I know which of the two I'd rather talk to, even were I not doing it myself.
As I said, it's the journey, not the destination. Everything you do can be explained away as an expensive waste of time in the quest for a death certificate if you want to be reductionist. People who do are generally more interesting than those who do not, at least to me.
As I said, it's the journey, not the destination. Everything you do can be explained away as an expensive waste of time in the quest for a death certificate if you want to be reductionist. People who do are generally more interesting than those who do not, at least to me.
Apr 6, 2018, 6:05 am
#43
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: TPA/ABZ
Programs: BA Lifetime Gold. GGL/CCR.
Posts: 13,248
Apr 6, 2018, 6:10 am
#45
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: London / Brighton
Programs: BAEC Gold / M-Life Gold / HH Diamond
Posts: 1,634
Yeah TA has them ready to go if I go ahead
@layz Exactly my thoughts, I value the benefits, I enjoy the flying and the experiences and also the journey as well as destination,
@layz Exactly my thoughts, I value the benefits, I enjoy the flying and the experiences and also the journey as well as destination,
That's one purpose rather than the purpose, but it's all personal and subjective. Despite being more than half way through my life, I still really enjoy the process of travel, so for me it's less of a chore and more of an adventure. I admit that view would probably change if all my travel was in Y tho
