Advice to make sure I am making the correct earning choices
Jan 10, 2019, 3:20 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: BA - Gold, EK - Gold
Posts: 107
Advice to make sure I am making the correct earning choices
I fly to Australia a fair bit in F class.
Over the past 2 years since I am a BA member I flew BA. It was awful I didn’t like it. Then I tried coach share with Cathay and then with Qantas.
Out of them I preferred Qantas. So what I did was book a Qantas fly but collected miles and tier points for BA.
So so I have been gold on BA for 2 years now. So it is OK and it is nice when I am taking Euro flights as it means I get the perks of first class checkin at T5 but the lounges there are awful and I can’t get into Concorde lounge unless I am flying First. But how can you on a Euro flight?
Then I also travel home to HK and Taiwan and I hate travelling on BA.
So ..... last year I travelled on emirates and really liked it. It is so much better than the other airlines I have been on. However I still booked it via Qantas to ensure I got BA mileage etc. I now realise that is stupid. I should forget about BA and collect Emirates mileage which I could also then use when I fly to HK or Taiwan!
i also read you can use Emirates miles to buy EasyJet flights as well?
So anyway my news years resolution is to move to Emirates.
So I got an Amex Gold card (not a plat) as I read that if I buy the tickets with Amex travel I get x3 points or 2x if I buy direct from the airline. Which seems to be a better deal than Amex Plat.
I also have a load of points at the Hyatt. I think I can transfer these to Emirates as well?
Any other pointers? Does it seem like I have done the right thing before I just head long into it? My first flight of the year will be in 2 weeks time.
Thanks
Over the past 2 years since I am a BA member I flew BA. It was awful I didn’t like it. Then I tried coach share with Cathay and then with Qantas.
Out of them I preferred Qantas. So what I did was book a Qantas fly but collected miles and tier points for BA.
So so I have been gold on BA for 2 years now. So it is OK and it is nice when I am taking Euro flights as it means I get the perks of first class checkin at T5 but the lounges there are awful and I can’t get into Concorde lounge unless I am flying First. But how can you on a Euro flight?
Then I also travel home to HK and Taiwan and I hate travelling on BA.
So ..... last year I travelled on emirates and really liked it. It is so much better than the other airlines I have been on. However I still booked it via Qantas to ensure I got BA mileage etc. I now realise that is stupid. I should forget about BA and collect Emirates mileage which I could also then use when I fly to HK or Taiwan!
i also read you can use Emirates miles to buy EasyJet flights as well?
So anyway my news years resolution is to move to Emirates.
So I got an Amex Gold card (not a plat) as I read that if I buy the tickets with Amex travel I get x3 points or 2x if I buy direct from the airline. Which seems to be a better deal than Amex Plat.
I also have a load of points at the Hyatt. I think I can transfer these to Emirates as well?
Any other pointers? Does it seem like I have done the right thing before I just head long into it? My first flight of the year will be in 2 weeks time.
Thanks
Jan 10, 2019, 3:40 pm
#2
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere
Programs: AS MVP, EK Silver, Bonvoy Plat
Posts: 921
However - if your goal is award tickets on EK vs upgrades, you might want to consider that EK upgrades are worth more on a value-per-mile basis. I don't know what QF's redemption table looks like so you might want to consider that when choosing a program to credit to. If you are US based, I would strongly consider Alaska.
Hyatt points are worth quite a bit in their program, transferring to EK would greatly diminish their value unless you have a specific redemption in mind and are short on EK miles.
Jan 11, 2019, 1:23 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: BA - Gold, EK - Gold
Posts: 107
If you're BA Gold they'll definitely match you to Skywards Silver, at a minimum. Persuasiveness and a ton of booked future EK flights might get you Gold.
However - if your goal is award tickets on EK vs upgrades, you might want to consider that EK upgrades are worth more on a value-per-mile basis. I don't know what QF's redemption table looks like so you might want to consider that when choosing a program to credit to. If you are US based, I would strongly consider Alaska.
Hyatt points are worth quite a bit in their program, transferring to EK would greatly diminish their value unless you have a specific redemption in mind and are short on EK miles.
However - if your goal is award tickets on EK vs upgrades, you might want to consider that EK upgrades are worth more on a value-per-mile basis. I don't know what QF's redemption table looks like so you might want to consider that when choosing a program to credit to. If you are US based, I would strongly consider Alaska.
Hyatt points are worth quite a bit in their program, transferring to EK would greatly diminish their value unless you have a specific redemption in mind and are short on EK miles.
I am based in London, UK. I will fly Emirates so no need to worry about QF redemption.
Are you saying for EK it is best to use your miles to upgrade rather than get a reward ticket?
In terms of upping my skywards account. What do I do? Just call them and say I am switching over? And ask what they can offer me?
Sorry for all the stupid questions I am very new to this collecting miles and what to do with them.
I had had a look at Hyatt rewards programme. The issue is I would never stay in a Hyatt normally. It is only when I work so the points to me are pretty useless (I don’t really need a free night in a hotel - I spend enough time there! I usually just get an Airbnb with kitchen so I can enjoy time with my family and cook together) hence why I would exchange them for air miles instead.
Jan 11, 2019, 1:48 pm
#4
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
thanks.
I am based in London, UK. I will fly Emirates so no need to worry about QF redemption.
Are you saying for EK it is best to use your miles to upgrade rather than get a reward ticket?
In terms of upping my skywards account. What do I do? Just call them and say I am switching over? And ask what they can offer me?
Sorry for all the stupid questions I am very new to this collecting miles and what to do with them.
I had had a look at Hyatt rewards programme. The issue is I would never stay in a Hyatt normally. It is only when I work so the points to me are pretty useless (I don’t really need a free night in a hotel - I spend enough time there! I usually just get an Airbnb with kitchen so I can enjoy time with my family and cook together) hence why I would exchange them for air miles instead.
Jan 11, 2019, 1:57 pm
#5
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere
Programs: AS MVP, EK Silver, Bonvoy Plat
Posts: 921
The best thing to do is sign in to your Skywards account on the website. Scroll down to the bottom, select "Help and Contact" then type in to the search field "Change of Details" which will take you to a form that allows you to upload files and send a note.
You'll want to upload 1) a picture of your BA Gold card, 2) a screenshot of your statement from last year, and state your company/job title (yeah, this kind of thing matters) as well as any info about your expected future EK travels. If they're booked, include confirmation numbers. Specifically ask for Gold - likely they'll match you to Silver but you never know.
Jan 12, 2019, 10:11 am
#6
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: BA - Gold, EK - Gold
Posts: 107
When you upgrade there's no additional cash component (except ex UK, which unfortunately affects you, but it's only like GBP50 or so extra to go from Y to J, because of UK departure tax (APD)). Whereas for reward redemptions you need to pay the taxes and carrier imposed surcharges, the latter being EK's favourite thing in the world. A Y award can easily cost you all your miles + 80% of the cash fare of a revenue ticket, so really not that lucrative. It becomes marginally more lucrative in the premium cabins, but still not worthwhile. Also if you buy J and upgrade to F ex UK there's no additional tax, it only applies for Y to J.
I guess it makes sense that to get a reward ticket costs 195,000 miles. But then if I buy a Y ticket and then pay another 175,000 miles I can upgrade to J. But actually only pay Ł50.
So more value for my miles and no need to pay a substantial amount of money. The trouble is I have a wife and two kids .... so it is 4x everything!
so even with 1m miles it only gets me a single trip upgrade ..... sigh.
Jan 12, 2019, 10:12 am
#7
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: BA - Gold, EK - Gold
Posts: 107
Hey - there's no stupid questions at all, we're all here to help
The best thing to do is sign in to your Skywards account on the website. Scroll down to the bottom, select "Help and Contact" then type in to the search field "Change of Details" which will take you to a form that allows you to upload files and send a note.
You'll want to upload 1) a picture of your BA Gold card, 2) a screenshot of your statement from last year, and state your company/job title (yeah, this kind of thing matters) as well as any info about your expected future EK travels. If they're booked, include confirmation numbers. Specifically ask for Gold - likely they'll match you to Silver but you never know.
The best thing to do is sign in to your Skywards account on the website. Scroll down to the bottom, select "Help and Contact" then type in to the search field "Change of Details" which will take you to a form that allows you to upload files and send a note.
You'll want to upload 1) a picture of your BA Gold card, 2) a screenshot of your statement from last year, and state your company/job title (yeah, this kind of thing matters) as well as any info about your expected future EK travels. If they're booked, include confirmation numbers. Specifically ask for Gold - likely they'll match you to Silver but you never know.
haha.
Jan 12, 2019, 10:50 am
#8
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Economy, mostly :(
Programs: Skywards Gold
Posts: 7,801
right. That is much clearer. Thank you. I never knew this. I have only done it once with BA and used my miles for a reward ticket. Realised I spent a load of miles and after taxes etc. Only saved myself a few pennies!!
I guess it makes sense that to get a reward ticket costs 195,000 miles. But then if I buy a Y ticket and then pay another 175,000 miles I can upgrade to J. But actually only pay Ł50.
So more value for my miles and no need to pay a substantial amount of money. The trouble is I have a wife and two kids .... so it is 4x everything!
so even with 1m miles it only gets me a single trip upgrade ..... sigh.
I'm flying BOM-DXB-CPT, Y Flex ticket. I've already upgraded DXB-CPT for 46,800 miles. BOM-DXB as a standalone upgrade is 19,000 miles. However if you upgrade BOM-DXB-CPT all together it's 48,000 miles. So just 1,200 miles for the BOM-DXB flight basically. Unfortunately there's no upgrade availability (even though they're selling discounted cash upgrades), so I'm stuck in Y still for now on that leg.
You can also get an Emirates miles-earning credit card in the UK or use Amex which are transferable to Skywards (not in all countries, mine aren't unfortunately, but UK is I believe)
Jan 12, 2019, 4:13 pm
#9
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Somewhere
Programs: AS MVP, EK Silver, Bonvoy Plat
Posts: 921
Jan 12, 2019, 5:43 pm
#10
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 5,454
Best thing about the Amex link to EK is that the transfer is instant - you can wait until availability pops up on EK and then transfer right then, rather than keep a stack of devaluing EK miles sat there.
Jan 14, 2019, 7:42 am
#12
Original Poster
Join Date: May 2017
Programs: BA - Gold, EK - Gold
Posts: 107
Is that right? So I should leave the miles on my Amex? Are the miles on EK limited to 3 years before they expire?