Advice for a Brand New QFF member and soon to be very Frequent Flyer.
 

Hi there fellow Qantas travellers!

I'm a newly minted QFF member with a grand total of 50 Status points! I'm currently Air NZ Gold, however my work circumstances are changing and that means that I'm (and family also) moving to Melbourne from NZ at the beginning of 2020.

I've been weekly commuting Trans-Tasman these last couple months on Air NZ and Qantas, but with the permanent move on the horizon, I'm keen to start using Qantas much more. In Australia, I'll be flying weekly domestically with the odd USA and Europe conference now and again. Oh and a half-dozen hops back over to NZ. Our company uses Corporate Traveller and prioritises Qantas over other airlines, hence the new QFF membership.

So my question, to you experienced QFF members, is: How best can I set myself up to maximise my travel and increase Status points to 'fly' up those tiers? and: What quirks does Qantas have? You know, those little things that you've picked up on over the years about Qantas that you put to good use to make life easy.

I've had a blast reading through these forums over the last week, from Wheelie Bag dramas to what's up with Qantas' network and some guy trying to find the cute Asian girl on a Jetstar flight.

Thanks in advance for all your help and I'm looking forward to contributing to these forums when I get a few more QFF miles under my belt.

Cheers!

I don't fly QF. But here is an advice for you.

Contact QFF and see if you can get a status change. In this case, you go faster enjoying the benefit from a new program.

You mean AirNZ gold to QFF?

my 1st advice would be to see whether the Qantas scheme will be the best to use for your travel

Depending on type of flights purchased and to where, you might be much better off crediting to another schene

As far as getting a match with Qantas, my understanding is that it is only in exceptional cases

I don’t know that’s QFF does status matches but never hurts to ask

my top tips are
-familiarise yourself with earning from JQ (it’s a decent $/SC and is as comfortable if not moreso than QF 737 in Y if you are smart about it)
-realise that earning is capped on partners which especially makes anything above economy not great value in terms of frequent flyer earning

99% of all my travel will be work-related. We're directed to use Qantas at all costs, booking via Corporate Traveller and I can often specify which flights and routes.

I'm not worried too much about $ to SC ratios as work pays for me to be places.

Thanks for the tips!

A Qantas frequent flyer may we’ll find value in flying Qantas and crediting to another airline ;)

Indeed, I did this for my first 2-3 years, flying a lot of QF and crediting to Latam. Only came across when the revenue based program stopped working for me 😉

Yes, Worst case is QF says no.

I am thinking more AA, especially now they have CX availability online for redemptions and have been giving status upgrades out, not that status is an issue with me having held LTG for awhile

I think a lot depends on what class of service the OP flies when traveling on business; what he hopes to use his miles for; and what's important to him about status: upgrades? lounge access when traveling in Economy? Free-baggage allowance?

A couple of very long, multiple-segment round-trips in Business could earn one oneworld Emerald status by crediting to Iberia -- even if one never flies Iberia. But whether Iberia Plus Avios would work well for the OP's desired award redemptions is a separate question.

Getting QF Gold status gives lounge access. QF Club membership ($$$) gets the same lounge access. This is invaluable if in the Y cabin. But if the boss pays for J cabin then you get the Business lounge which is much better especially in SYD and MEL.

If crediting to a program other than QF be aware that the cheapest Y classes may not credit whereas if crediting to QF then all commercial sub classes credit.

Some find crediting to AS is very useful.

Ask qantas for this:

https://www.executivetraveller.com/q...t-flyer-status

Or you could do the AA status challenge which doesnt require some very long J flights at all.

Also ask your corporate travel department if they can "sponsor" you for an initial status comp/match/challenge......and read your corporate travel policy very carefully.