Flew Qantas for a year, not impressed
Feb 5, 2018, 3:56 am
#1
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Flew Qantas for a year, not impressed
I started a 4 year work contract in Australia so needed to decide between Qantas and Virgin for the local flights. Based on friends I picked Qantas, once I got a feel for them I would switch over completely. The trans pacific legs.
its been a year I hit the gold level and see no reason to continue. I still use UA and AirNZ for he trans pacific again for no particular reason. I am 1K on united
For the the next year I will try Virgin Australia for the local flights and if that works out I’ll use Virgin Atlantic for the trans pacific.
qantas really couldn’t care less for th 8-10 transpacific flights in business every year, as I sent them a note to status challenge and never got an answer after 8 months , even at gold it’s not that great
Hopefully others have some good experiences with Virgin I can look forward to .
its been a year I hit the gold level and see no reason to continue. I still use UA and AirNZ for he trans pacific again for no particular reason. I am 1K on united
For the the next year I will try Virgin Australia for the local flights and if that works out I’ll use Virgin Atlantic for the trans pacific.
qantas really couldn’t care less for th 8-10 transpacific flights in business every year, as I sent them a note to status challenge and never got an answer after 8 months , even at gold it’s not that great
Hopefully others have some good experiences with Virgin I can look forward to .
Feb 5, 2018, 4:21 am
#2
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Feb 5, 2018, 4:26 am
#3
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I am WP with both QF and VA and utilize that to maximise my travel comfort. More than half of my status earn is with premium cabin fare on AA and DL in the USA.
It's a shame the VA and NZ are seemingly in the throws of a divorce; that was looking like a useful partnership for a while.
It's a shame the VA and NZ are seemingly in the throws of a divorce; that was looking like a useful partnership for a while.
Feb 5, 2018, 5:23 am
#4
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I am WP with both QF and VA and utilize that to maximise my travel comfort. More than half of my status earn is with premium cabin fare on AA and DL in the USA.
It's a shame the VA and NZ are seemingly in the throws of a divorce; that was looking like a useful partnership for a while.
It's a shame the VA and NZ are seemingly in the throws of a divorce; that was looking like a useful partnership for a while.
always food for thought on these forums
Feb 5, 2018, 7:32 am
#5
Moderator: British Airways Executive Club
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The thing is though, QF status is very easy to attain if you are flying QF in J or F, so they probably don't feel inclined to give it away anyway.
Feb 5, 2018, 7:49 am
#7
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Both the qantas club and the Business club are packed, to the point where its nicer to sit in the food court or table restaurant in the terminal than bump around the lounge
One nice thing is the make a ham sandwich bar , quite nice to make a fresh sandwich and take it on the flight vs the food box they serve you.
Along with everyone having access to the lounges it seems everyone is in priority boarding as well. the boarding que for priority is often longer than the non
the planes and people on the planes are nice enough and don't cause any grief, the qantas FFP seems to have a "special offer" everyday for wine, insurance, credit cards. I cant find a way to opt out of the special deal emails
So I guess they haven't done anything drastic to lose my business but they haven't done anything special to keep it. Maybe Virgin is more of the same but I don't think I will miss out at Qantas
Maybe next year I'll go back to Qantas, flip-flop
Feb 5, 2018, 7:56 am
#8
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I was able to maintain United 1K and qantas gold and I really don't fly that much, long haul on united and jumps on qantas
Feb 5, 2018, 8:48 am
#9
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I found that with the VA clubs too when I was trying both QF & VA out.
Feb 5, 2018, 11:26 am
#10
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Feb 5, 2018, 3:26 pm
#11
Original Poster
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So 8 one way trans Pacific flights in Business will get you QF Platinum (there are easier ways). If the trips are return, then you’d be close to / or have achieved P1. If you are seeking entry to the unmarked lounge doors (CL), you’ll need to be invited. I can’t remember the last time QF announced any status match program (if ever).
so far nothing makes me want to be 100% Qantas
is platinum leaps and bounds above gold? I don’t need to be a CL invite , lounges are lounges and usually any airport has better food in the pay restaurants. Lounges are great for showers and a wind down drink if you are off peak times
united has its ups and downs as well but I maintain the 1k status pretty easy and can navigate the program waters with ease.
like I said I might find the virgin koolaid is just the same as Qantas , as other have posted. So this might just be trading 4 quarters for a dollar ( 5 Aussie 20 cent , lol)
Feb 5, 2018, 4:12 pm
#13
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If you're going to be doing a lot of VA flying, Velocity would be a good bet. Just for the minimum flights (to get Gold is 4, Platinum 8 sectors in your "year"). This would of course then gain you, as Platinum, access to DL lounges, free (space available) C+ upgrades (DL), free economyX (VA) and lounge benefits on EY, VS (and perhaps soon AC, whenever they figure that stuff out)
Feb 5, 2018, 4:47 pm
#14
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Feb 5, 2018, 5:05 pm
#15
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So 8 one way trans Pacific flights in Business will get you QF Platinum (there are easier ways). If the trips are return, then you’d be close to / or have achieved P1. If you are seeking entry to the unmarked lounge doors (CL), you’ll need to be invited. I can’t remember the last time QF announced any status match program (if ever).