Morning all,
I will be moving to Perth from Singapore and was just after some advice on what would be the best reward program for me to use and collect points for business travel redemption from Perth to Europe. I’ve lived in Singapore for 7 years so have always collected KF miles, but would like people’s opinion as to whether Qantas would be a better FF program with more options/partners flying from Perth as opposed to keep earning KF miles?
Thanks in advance!
Hi there,
As far as I know, there are no direct Krisflyer miles earning cards in Australia. Has to be transferred from Velocity points (in a bit of a limbo at the moment) or via flexible points like Amex pts.
If you have a KF earning card in Singapore and it is financially feasible to keep using it (including forex costs, etc), Singapore issued cards may have a superior earn rate. In Australia, max earn rate for Amex is ~ 1 KF mile per dollar on Amex Explorer or 1.125 KF mile per dollar on Amex Platinum Charge (which does come with a heftier annual fee).
Another thing to consider is the partner airlines that Krisflyer or Qantas have access to. Krisflyer, naturally you can catch Singapore Airlines to EU. Krisflyer members generally have better award availability than partner airlines (e.g. Star Alliance airlines). For Qantas, you would have limited routes on Qantas metal (to UK), otherwise, you could take Cathay Pacific via HKG, Emirates via Dubai, etc.
Krisflyer redemptions in general have much lower taxes and surcharge when compared to Qantas.
However, there are endless more ways to earn Qantas points in Australia. So it is a bit of a mixed bag which way you go. If you are going to do lots of domestic flights in Australia, you would generally be earning Qantas or Velocity points (when they resume as Velocity 2.0). So that may be a factor as to what points you can generate faster to a useful balance.
If you can generate lots of points via credit card expenses, it is generally better to earn both (more) type of points in the long run as award availabilities and routes varies between program. However, there is bit of a period or transition point at the start of your point hacking journey, where it is best to focus all your efforts to generate enough points in one location to be useful for your needs (e.g. enough for return flights for one or two pax).
Good luck with the move.
Many thanks w.hiew for your very comprehensive response. A lot to think about and agree re rate of points earning and use of domestic flights/other promotion points will be a factor. When we were previously in Oz, we had an Amex Card via Westpac which allowed conversion into KF points, so I will have to look if that’s still available. I will however probably have to keep using my SG card initially, but as you rightly point out there will be an FX impact, although earning rates are higher!
qantas taxes and fees on redemption bookings are brutal. often seems about as much as a budget economy ticket.
If it was me, KF is better by a country mil. but it really comes down to how often you fly and what cabin class.
If I were you I’d do the best 1-2 combo and stick with KFF.
Amex earning MR & St George bank earning amplify.