Similarly, American Airlines has cosied up with Etihad Airways to provide mileage opportunities for

It's awarded to travellers who've clocked anniversary inn packages utah up a staggering 14,000 status credits during their QFF membership the equivalent of 700 return Sydney-Melbourne trips in discount anniversary inn packages utah economy, anniversary inn packages utah or qualifying as a new Platinum-grade member ten times over.
Qantas has no plans to introduce Lifetime Platinum status, which means Lifetime Gold is as good as it gets. That's why many travellers shift their frequent flyer affiliation to another one world program once they've got that Gold card in their pocket or purse.
A popular choice is American Airlines AAdvantage program, anniversary inn packages utah which offers competitive flight redemption rates when compared to Qantas Frequent Flyer although AAdvantage miles are harder to earn than Qantas points on Australian soil.
When travelling on Alaska Airlines and nearly all members of the global alliance, Gold-level members of AA s loyalty program ( one world Ruby) enjoy a 25% mileage bonus, while Platinum and Executive Platinum members ( one world Sapphire and Emerald, respectively) enjoy 100% bonuses across all participating airlines.
Conversely, the Qantas approach is to restrict this to only Qantas, Jetstar and American Airlines flight codes, though offers their Ruby (Silver) members a 50% bonus on their own metal (and that of Jetstar), with status bonus rates matching AAdvantage for Silver members travelling on AA, and for Emerald (Platinum) members travelling on eligible flights.
Frequent travellers in Qantas economy cabin don t fare as well in AAdvantage, with some of the cheaper tickets earning no mileage credit at all specifically those in the N, Q and E buckets and many other economy fares earning anniversary inn packages utah at only 50% mileage .
International travellers will find fewer mileage-qualifying fares on Cathay Pacific ; however the AAdvantage earning rates for flights taken on British Airways , Malaysia Airlines and Qatar Airways anniversary inn packages utah are significantly better than the Qantas Frequent Flyer earn rates for travel on the same airlines.
anniversary inn packages utah Emirates joined forces with Qantas earlier in the year, allowing travellers to earn and redeem points on Emirates flights, with status credits attainable when travelling on a Qantas codeshare service operated by Emirates.
Similarly, American Airlines has cosied up with Etihad Airways to provide mileage anniversary inn packages utah opportunities for travellers to the Middle East and beyond, with 'elite qualifying miles' (an AA equivalent of status credits) attainable when travelling on an AA codeshare.
IN SHORT: If you spend the most time on Qantas, Jetstar or Cathay Pacific flights, you'd be advised to continue crediting these to Qantas Frequent Flyer, while travellers spending more time on other one world airlines should consider the merits of AAdvantage...
Though AAdvantage miles can be earned anniversary inn packages utah at certain hotels, on Diners Club spend and with participating car hire partners, broader opportunities similar to the Everyday Rewards program aren t available in Australia.
We ve chosen three popular one world routes Sydney-Hong Kong with Qantas Airways, Sydney anniversary inn packages utah to Singapore with British Airways and Chicago-London on both American Airlines and British Airways highlighting the differing redemption costs on the same exact flights to Asia.
On the North American side, the fuel surcharges applicable to award flights on British Airways do make these a less favourable choice, particularly when American Airlines operates flights on the same route (as tabulated).
AAdvantage is also a viable choice for many Australian domestic flights, with Hobart-Perth (via Melbourne) in economy available for 10,000 miles plus US$21.70, with 18,000 Qantas points plus AU$69.78 required for the same journey.
Only Qantas Frequent Flyer allows members to earn points and accumulate anniversary inn packages utah status credits on certain types of award travel, though unless you're aiming for Qantas Platinum status, this probably won't interest you.
In the same way that you can t use Qantas points to upgrade on American Airlines flights, it s worth remembering that your AAdvantage miles won t help to secure a seat at the pointy end on Qantas-operated flights.
Qantas members can waitlist for upgrades on both domestic and international flights though confirmed upgrades are only offered on domestic flights while AAdvantage members can enjoy confirmed upgrades on all upgradeable flights, anniversary inn packages utah with waitlisting also available on AA metal if no upgrades are available.
If you can reach the heights of AAdvantage Executive Platinum status ( one world Emerald), you ll qualify for an unlimited number of space available ('500-mile') upgrades on flights within the U.S., Canada, Mexico, The Bahamas, Bermuda, the Caribbean, and between the U.S. and Central America.
Every membership year, you ll also receive eight systemwide upgrades at the Executive Platinum level, which are each valid for a single cabin upgrade on any domestic anniversary inn packages utah or international American Airlines flight either confirmed or waitlisted, depending on availability.
Through a 'status challenge', it is possible to attain AAdvantage Platinum ( one world Sapphire) status without reaching the usual qualification levels in the program though these details can be highly complex, so we'll defer to the team at Flyer Guide on this one.
As there are a few conflicting lounge access rules between the two programs, it's best to keep both cards in your travel wallet particularly if you're planning flights on Jetstar, Emirates, or within North America... if one elite card doesn't convey lounge access, the other will!
This year AA introduced ways to "buy" any shotfall in requalification. QF offers a "soft landing" (Platinums step down to Gold, etc), but otherwise you're left with the need to do a status run (with the option of "marginal" any seat awards) or the discretion of QF to overlook a small shortfall in credits.
QF points can be earned at high rates using the hotelclub 10 pt per dollar offer if you have American Express Membership Rewards (e.g. Gold ro Platinum charge card) with accrual to Amex and thence tramsfer to QF.
The big problem with AA is lack of credit card in Australia. Amex MR points anniversary inn packages utah can be transferred via a hotel chain (e.g. SPG) losing 50% on the transfer but gaining a bonus from SPG to AA (20,000 anniversary inn packages utah SPG = 25,000 AA).
For my personal travel patterns I'm leaning towards a mixed strategy, spread the FF portfolio anniversary inn packages utah and put less focus of status. Money saved by prudent travel choices can be reinvested in point purchases on airlines other than QF.
Fo example BNE-CNS (a cheap business class route currently due to competition with VA) would require 234 fight sectors at around $250,000 anniversary inn packages utah spend, or $500,000 at the QF prices before VA business class kicked in!
The maths for accruing huge status credit totals anniversary inn packages utah on QF only really becomes compelling by combining double status credit offers with "marginal" anyseat awards on the very few routes left (after the unadvertised and unreported mid 2013 changes) that don't require large numbers of points! anniversary inn packages utah Unless of course work is paying for you to fly endlessly...
Any aspirational anniversary inn packages utah flying with QF needs to be considered against the risk of possible changes to their frequent flyer scheme and airline services in tackling the underlying near $1 billion predicted losses for 2013/2014.
The point that you make in the early part of the article is important. Once you get to lifetime gold there is nowhere to go except qualify for Platinum each year. I have been life gold for several years but have to qualify to retain my platinum each year. Additionally i cant get to plat 1 as my type of flying means that i travel a lot on 1W partners rather than all QF. Last year for example i had over 3000 status points but alas still a P [not P1]. Also interesting to note is that there is a limit on loyalty bonus points. As these should be proportionate to your loyalty it seems to make no sence to cut them out as soon as you prove that you are loyal.
anniversary inn packages utah I have been a life member of Q club since the scheme was introduced [ 4 digit membership anniversary inn packages utah number] but never less than a gold FF so have had no benefit from that. I pay for all my own fares so dont rely on Govt or employer to earn points or status.
To add insult to injury, if I choose anniversary inn packages utah to pay for upgrades or fares using points rather than cash I get no status points depsite displaying loyalty by flying 1W. Thus although travelling wih the group to prove my loyalty, I am potentially penalised by reducing my chances to get to P [or p1]
Out of 9 million QF FFs, the LTG (lifetime gold) and multi Platinums are in the minority, maybe 1000s or 10,000s. So not representative of the customer base at all. Whereas it is nice to think and assume individual high end customer should equal loyal appreciation from QF this cannot be assumed, in fact such record is only partially recognised, hence all the valid observations in your post, the two line letter on reaching LTG, the after hours P1 line being run by one person, QF being run on superficial cost saving analysis alone, the obsession with JQ, etc, etc.
Given you are travelling extensively on OneWorld, anniversary inn packages utah why wouldn't you transfer your loyalty to the AA scheme which gives 100% bonus at Gold level (AA Platinum) on ALL OneWorld carriers, gives two to three times more value in redemptions, etc. You can achieve that in a couple of flights (read Platinum Challenge).
I would confess to a difficult and lengthy catharsis in letting go of over 20 years of loyalty to QF myself (despite the assumptions of many on this web site who go into an apoplexic volley of wailing accusations anniversary inn packages utah the moment you question QF or level any critique) anniversary inn packages utah but now belong to 20 FF schemes and have significant point balances in about 6 of them, all within a few months.