Flights to Europe for a European Summer and Flyer Point Queries for The Infrequent Flyer

blueyez on 08/10/2019 - 18:18
Last edited 08/10/2019 - 18:57

Hi all,

Hope this is the right place to ask - I've been researching /reading / accumulating flyer points and I'm at the point where I'm looking to lock in my flights to Europe in 2020 for their summer.

Just looking for opinions / suggestions / random things I might be unaware of despite my research, as I don't currently hold any flight status of any value and am starting to look into it.

Currently I have a bulk amount of Velocity points around 170k worth which looks like it might be enough for a return economy flight if I transferred across to Krisflyer.

I also have a Westpac Amex (limited to QFF or Velocity for best point earn rate) which will trigger another 60k points but I'm confused as to whether I should bank it into Velocity or transfer it to QFF (currently around 20k points) to be used at some other time. On the odd occasion I travel interstate for the soccer at short notice.

Last year I transferred everything into Velocity after doing all my research, but I'm not a very frequent flyer with no loyalty to any airline as I love a good deal. Also with all the point devaluations etc I don't know how good my current knowledge is.

Any suggestions - what would you do? What's your reasoning?

There are currently some reasonably priced flights to Europe, so I'm thinking whether or not to keep going with amassing my points for a potential round the world ticket in future

Travel

Comments

  • Stewardo on 08/10/2019 - 18:42

    Wouldn’t you gain more points transferring your Amex points straight into krisflyer? Not via velocity
    Could you buy a cheap flight to Singapore and use points for business flights to Europe?
    https://www.pointhacks.com.au/100k-krisflyer-miles/

    • blueyez on 08/10/2019 - 19:02

      It's a Westpac issued Amex - so the earn rate directly with Velocity or Qantas is better than their Altitude Rewards. 1.25 points per dollar spend.

      I'm waiting out the normal Amex range of cards until December of this year, to qualify for the bonus points. Unsure if i'm willing to take another credit at this point.

      I already consolidated all my previous points into Velocity (made that decision based on not having a direct issued Amex anymore)

      Will read through the link, thanks :)

  • Meho2026 on 08/10/2019 - 19:24
    +3

    You can use Velocity points to fly with Etihad or Virgin Atlantic to Europe.
    Converting Velocity to Krisflyer points can devalue the points so check which is least points out of Etihad, Virgin and Krisflyer conversion.

    Its poor use of points to use them to pay for the taxes, best to pay cash for that.

    Holding the points for years will always devalue them, every program change is to our disadvantage.
    Having both Qantas and Velocity can be useful because QF have access to a greater network through the One World alliance.

    Last time I went to Europe I used all my frequent flyer points to fly Etihad business class to UK using Velocity points (139K points and $450 in taxes) and returned in economy with Cathay Pacific from Madrid using QF points (I think around 60K points and $100 in taxes).

    I still collect points but only through free means. I am not really a frequent flyer and will pretty much fly the cheapest ignoring loyalty.
    I reckon when you add up the cost of credit card fees and the time it takes you to accumulate enough points to use them for anything decent its not worth it.

    Its a different story for people who fly a lot and have status.

    Both the frequent flyer websites are rubbish, QF is better but its worth calling the customer contact centre to check availability. If they tell you about a flight that is not available to book online they will waive the customer contact centre booking fee.

    • try2bhelpful on 08/10/2019 - 22:36
      +1

      We did similar with business across on Emirates and back economy in Etihad.

      Business class is the best use of points.

    • blueyez on 09/10/2019 - 09:50

      Did you book online? I can't find a way to deselect points for the taxes :(

      • try2bhelpful on 09/10/2019 - 20:42

        Generally you can select the number of points vs the amount of money.

        • blueyez on 10/10/2019 - 13:31

          I think maybe it's just an expensive period May to June =/

    • blueyez on 10/10/2019 - 13:46

      Wow, Qantas points for business class are great! Damn!! Velocity economy one way is more points than QFF business class one way…!!

      • Meho2026 on 10/10/2019 - 19:04
        +1

        If you are looking on the website thats true but if you call Velocity they will have flights that are much less points.

  • capslock on 08/10/2019 - 20:35

    Let's say you wanted to fly from Melbourne to London.

    It will cost you 150,000 Velocity points plus $360 in taxes flying Singapore Airlines. Flying Etihad will cost $665 in taxes.

    If you transfer your Velocity points to Krisflyer, you will need 164,300 Velocity points plus $360 in taxes. There is no point in transferring to Krisflyer.

    If you can get a cash fare however for less than $1,800 then cash would be better. The problem though is that you will need to use your points some time. Hoarding them is not good as they devalue over time.

    • blueyez on 09/10/2019 - 09:48

      How come I can't find the Velocity point flights around that mark? Looking yesterday a return trip using Velocity points is easily over 200,000 points, whereas Krisflyer is much less (even factoring in transfer of points across)

      Although i did get stuck with the fact they defaulted the taxes etc into points, couldn't find a way to deselect it online - what did I miss?!

      Not planning on hoarding the points - just have the potential to bank another 60k points into Velocity or QFF and unsure which way to go as I've almost reached the spend to trigger the points.

      • Love a bargain on 09/10/2019 - 18:27

        you need to look for award tickets (which is a fixed number of points for a particular route operated by a particular airline), not pay with points (which is available for every flights - basically you pay the cash fare with points at a terrible rate)

        • blueyez on 10/10/2019 - 11:48

          I can't seem to find those ones online myself :( do i need to call them to arrange it or is it hidden away?

          • Love a bargain on 10/10/2019 - 22:33

            @blueyez: If you can't find any award tickets, that means they're not available for the flights you want. Try changing the dates. The number of award seats available on each flight is limited.

            • blueyez on 11/10/2019 - 11:45

              @Love a bargain: I'm a dodo, yes i found them but still can't select to pay for the taxes in cash, so frustrating!!

              Might have to just call them to sort it out.

  • djkelly69 on 08/10/2019 - 21:08
    +1

    Economy redemptions are generally a poor use of points. I would just buy a cash fare and save the points for something which represents better value (eg. a business class award).

    • try2bhelpful on 11/10/2019 - 16:30

      I agree. We used Business class to go across but only had enough points to come back economy class. I couldn’t find any one way deals to come back so I had to use points.

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