Frequent Flyer programs, are they worth it ?

[newcs]

Got a bit sick of that tin shed at Tullamarine called "T4" so I thought I might try something different. My local BP talked me into joining Virgin Frequent Flyer. Worked out that I'll get a free flight to Sydney once I've driver about 30,000 kms (filling up at BP all the time). I decided to give Virgin a try. A bit more expensive but there were none of those "extras" you had to pay for with the cheap airlines. It was nice to get served by a human. Not having to worry about your luggage being overweight by 100g. The "complementary" food and drinks was a bit of a laugh, a cup of tea with some cheese & crackers. If I flew Virgin to every Geelong interstate game this season I would have enough points for a single flight to Sydney. I've seen you can also get points by using certain credits cards. Checked out the fine print and found most had huge yearly fees and have a huge credit limit on the card.
Are any of the frequent flyer programs worth it, or is it better to look around for the cheapest flight ?

 

[Shane Sheridan]

Bit of column A, bit of column B. With QANTAS, but will still fly other airlines if price is better. Over the years, had a couple of flights to Melbourne, Dyson vacuum cleaner, PS3, 2 sets of Bose noise cancelling headphones, food processor, and the one that made it all worth it, points upgrade to business Honolulu - Sydney. Still got a truckload of points on my account. Easy to accumulate points when using credit card for everything.

 

[raskolnikov]

I'm with Virgin. I find it good. I like to fly down to Melbourne for a few games a year. I also have a Virgin credit card that earns points. I usually get a couple of free flights a year.

 

[cartel]

FF points can be used for different things apart from just flights - probably best value is supermarket gift cards.

I have three different credit cards (two accounts - one Amex/Mastercard, One Amex) all of which have no fees (incuded in mortgage and professional association membership) and have points attached to them.

The actual value of the points have diluted with time, and given the additional fees and taxes, I'd just use them for other things apart from flights.

 

[brucetiki]

I have both Qantas and Virgin.

Qantas I signed up when I took my phone out with Optus and my phone bill (and the odd Qantas flight) basically built up the points. Once Optus and Qantas parted ways, I had enough for points and pay to Melbourne, so burnt the points and will probably struggle to find a way to earn Qantas points once again.

Had the Virgin one for years, and for years it laid dormant until the BP deal came up. Very quickly got enough points for Points and Pay to Melbourne, and already rebuilding the points I burnt. The good thing about Virgin is once you've hit the minimum points for points and pay, you can then choose how much points you want to use, which Qantas doesn't do.

If you earn them as you go along getting stuff you want/need, then it's fine. Nice to have a little bonus of a cheap/free flight here and there. If you go out and buy stuff just to rack up the points, then what's the point - you've just spent thousands for a flight that would cost roughly $120 one way anyway.

 

[Demosthenes]

Even for infrequent flyers, it's worth having for the odd free flight here and there. Even if you don't fly a lot you can keep the points balances ticking over with other purchases. I don't fly as much as I used to, but doing my weekly shop at Woolworths and paying using a credit card that earns me double points means I still build the numbers with Qantas.

Most if not all frequent flyer programs now distinguish between points and status credits, so unless you fly regularly then don't expect to earn enough to get the perks.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I have Qantas and just get points through credit cards.

I only use them for upgrades to premium / business when flying to Europe / USA etc. There are few harsher tortures than flying long haul in economy. So it's totally worth it for that, arriving on a holiday fresh is awesome.

 

[Demosthenes]

Yeah I mostly use points for premium economy upgrades, it's pretty much the best value.

Sent from my STV100-3 using Tapatalk

 

[Kyle_Broflovski]

TBPH, just finding the cheapest flight is the way to go. Frequent Flier Programs are a) rigged to ensure you spend a wildly dispproportionate amount of money and b) a scam by credit card companies to make you use the cards on everything, turning your card into an interest quagmire.

 

[Demosthenes]

Nothing wrong with using your credit card for everything as long as you pay it off every month. Like anything else, frequent flyer programs are perfectly fine if you're smart about how you use them.

 

[Syd]

Personally the Lounge Access is worth the membership full stop.
I fly interstate every 2nd to 3rd week nationally and use the points for the family holiday but the Lounge is a godsend for the weary traveller

 

[Spongebob]

I used to travel interstate multiple times a year and internationally 2-3 times. Points add up and transfer within the family for lots of trips.

As Syd said, doing that sort of travel the lounges are a huge benefit. Being able to have a peaceful place and a shower at half time of a long trip is so nice.

 

[craffles]

I travel interstate once a month for a work minimum and use a velocity credit card to pay my bills each month and am racking up the points. Banking them for a free overseas trip next year.

 

[Syd]

I used to travel interstate multiple times a year and internationally 2-3 times. Points add up and transfer within the family for lots of trips.

As Syd said, doing that sort of travel the lounges are a huge benefit. Being able to have a peaceful place and a shower at half time of a long trip is so nice.

Showered while waiting for the overnight from Perth to Sydney a couple weeks back.
Changed to civvies the started hitting Peroni on tap plus had a feed.

Felt like a boss.

 

[Demosthenes]

Personally the Lounge Access is worth the membership full stop.
I fly interstate every 2nd to 3rd week nationally and use the points for the family holiday but the Lounge is a godsend for the weary traveller

Yeah, but (with most airlines) membership of a frequent flyer program doesn't automatically entitle you to lounge access. You have to actually be flying with the airline regularly to earn enough status credits to get access to the higher tiers.

When joining up you need to sort of be aware of what you are after. If you're an infrequent flyer and are hoping for perks like lounge access and priority check-in, you may as well forget about it. OTOH if you just want to accrue points on your credit card and get a free flight here and there, it's perfectly fine.

 

[Syd]

Yeah, but (with most airlines) membership of a frequent flyer program doesn't automatically entitle you to lounge access. You have to actually be flying with the airline regularly to earn enough status points to get access to the higher tiers. Dumping a bunch of expenses on a credit card that earns points won't make a difference.

Got back from Brisbane last Sunday
Flew to Melbourne this morning
Back to Sydney on Friday
Off to Brisbane the following Friday then
Back to Sydney 2 Sundays later...

I have to show ID to the Mrs when I get home

 

[rdhopkins2]

If you fly often for business or pleasure and link your credit card to your frequent flyer, probably worth it.

If you are an infrequent traveller and have to pay a credit card rewards / membership fee then probably not.

Never, ever use FF points to purchase gift cards or coffee makers etc. Biggest waste of hard earnt points ever.

 

[brucetiki]

If you fly often for business or pleasure and link your credit card to your frequent flyer, probably worth it.

If you are an infrequent traveller and have to pay a credit card rewards / membership fee then probably not.

Never, ever use FF points to purchase gift cards or coffee makers etc. Biggest waste of hard earnt points ever.

Best thing at the moment is the Velocity deal with BP. So easy to earn points on something you pretty much have to get every week - plus bonus points if you need to get anything in store.

 

[Bomberboyokay]

TL;DW: No

 

[Doss]

My fiancee gets them through her frequent work trips and I believe she has close to enough to fly us both to Sydney.

If you're not paying in the first place, it strikes me as being handy enough.

 

[Catfish Alley]

Yeah, that's like me. I just rack them up through work. I think I've got enough for a couple of flights down to San Francisco or something. I'll have to check.

 

[Jeremias]

Definitely worth it particularly if you fly regularly.

I fly a fair bit for work & on top of that try and go on an overseas holiday every year so yes, for me it's definitely worth it.

 

[Spongebob]

Some of the program bonuses sound great, until you read the detail. This is from an email I received yesterday (29 April 2016) and may explain why I have not used this membership for 10 years:

Amazing destinations are within reach and so are double miles. Simply register for this promotion, book your flight and fly.

■
Register and book your travel by May 31, 2016

■
Complete travel from Melbourne or Sydney to Los Angeles or San Francisco between February 1, 2016 and May 31, 2016

 

[RedBullRacing]

Definitely worth it particularly if you fly regularly.

I fly a fair bit for work & on top of that try and go on an overseas holiday every year so yes, for me it's definitely worth it.

There are a lot of variables to whether it would work and would be different for everyone.

Here is a situation I've been looking into to determine whether it is worth while going for a Qantas FF plan, or both Qantas and Virgin and selecting the cheapest flight. Lets not forget the start up costs for Virgin, and the taxes etc you have to pay on redemption anyway.
The following spreadsheet outlines 11 trips to Perth from Adelaide. I must take the earliest flight which is typically 6:30 am. The next Virgin flight is nearly always significantly more expensive than Qantas. Virgin have the cheapest flights every day but those flights are late in the afternoon. I seem to recall last year the special prices for virgin flights at 6:30am existed from Adelaide to Perth. I'm not sure if they will be available closer to the dates but they don't show right now.

In this case, I have no option but to fly Qantas to Perth, however its cheaper anyway. I'll save a total of $181 flying Virgin on the return trip but be missing out on Qantas rewards. I'm not sure on the calculation of points, but I'd imagine $181 saving on 11 trips would be worth more than the points accumulated. This is assuming that the $169 virgin flights don't open up during the months of April to September.

I am not a big spender to accumulate shopping points and would imagine that my shopping points would be less than $500 per month. Yes I don't spend money.

The Virgin points program is a waste of time given the start up cost. I think if I was flying every single weekend then it could pay off but not here.

 

[Run n Spread]

Tend to fly the same couple of airlines so if you add up the last 7 years and in particular last 4 I'd probably have a stack. Problem is I never joined any program/signed up so have none.