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Hello,
I am new to this site and the world of points. I’ve spent days googling, chatted with Qatar live chat and even paid for a points specialists advice but I still haven’t found the answer to my questions. I am planning a trip from London to Melbourne for summer 2024. I would really like to travel on Qatar’s quad Q Suite. Is this possible with points? I have apx 400,000 amex points saved and would imagine this will be more like 500,000 by the point of booking. Is it possible to buy cash economy tickets and upgrade with points to business for the Q Suites?
I really appreciate any advice anyone can offer.
Many Thanks
Jacqueline
No, 180,000 is all you need – https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/10/14/how-to-get-to-australia-new-zealand-with-avios-points/
Hello,
paid for a points specialists advice but I still haven’t found the answer to my questions.
Always come to HfP first
“Paid points specialist”? Who knew they sort of existed. Wonder if such a “specialist” comes in here, gets free advice and then charges people from or?
Re QR what I would say is remember they regularly change which planes get allocated to which parts of a route so you may not even get Q Suites when you fly
Others will have more insight but I don’t believe it’s possible to guarantee that you will get Qsuite, due to aircraft changes that can often happen at the last minute.
We need to know what this “points specialist” does!
points.me is the main one I know of. Includes Ben and Tiffany from “One Mile at a Time” and Gilbert from GSTP is involved in some way I believe. Their concierge service will search and book an itinerary you specify with any points you have, or can get hold of, for a $200 / passenger.
Also for $200 they will plan a mileage run for you to hit any specific target you’re aiming for!
@Rob there must be an article in there somewhere 😉$200?! They must see you coming 😂 People on here do this all the time, for nothing, lol. Also loads of info on FT and other sites on TP runs.
The reason these services are pointless (sic) in the UK is that you need multiple convertible currencies with lots of transfer partners. You don’t get that here, except for Amex Plat.
Let’s assume you want Qsuite. Your only options are Amex to BA, Asia Miles, Finnair (always a bad deal). You can work out in 10 minutes which has the cheapest reward chart.
The other snag is that US card transfers are instant. From UK Amex cards they usually aren’t. What happens when you pay someone to recommend a transfer and then – after a 24 hour gap for the points to arrive – the seat has gone?
You are mistaken if you think that average Avios collector or a newbie would know what a reward chart is and as a result what to look for. And given that there is so much information out there they would be overwhelmed, Some smarter ones do come here as we see now and again.
Those of us on this site live in a ‘points’ bubble.
However, I do agree that most people wouldn’t pay for such service, it’s simply because they think why they pay someone to use their money. These people are happy to use Avios to take money off cash flights. Also, I’ve referred so many people for credit cards only to find out later they used their sign up bonus for a toaster or similar.
points.me has loads of other features such as they will search the availability on any airline instantly.
This is no different than paying for example for Seatspy and Expertflyer subscriptions to get the seat you want. We are all already paying someone to use our points in one way or another, just not $200. Seatspy annual First Class subscription is what £80? You effectively pay them to find you seat(s).
Maybe it is just me, but in my generation newbies first used to do research themselves. Now they go to points specialists.
Indeed, that’s part of the fun! Though I don’t mind paying £80 for a full year of SeatSpy, I consider that an investment.
The difference between seatspy and paying a person is vast I think. Seatspy does something that a normal person can’t realistically do: checking availability continuously and monitoring it. I don’t think they are even in the same category.
points.me has loads of other features such as they will search the availability on any airline instantly.
This is no different than paying for example for Seatspy and Expertflyer subscriptions to get the seat you want. We are all already paying someone to use our points in one way or another, just not $200. Seatspy annual First Class subscription is what £80? You effectively pay them to find you seat(s).
@Meta Absolutely, the availability searches are very good and I’ve used them in the past when they first launched. Very thorough and nice to be able to search across many different programs, all be it mainly US focused. For transparency I believe the cost for this is $129 / year.I can also see the value in paying someone to search and book my reward travel. Although we know how to do it, I think we can all agree that it takes a lot of time researching reward options, calling up at midnight / 1am etc, and if someone can do that all for you…
I can’t imagine they are calling BA at midnight to book other people’s award flights, they’d need all your security details for a start which only a fool would give out to complete strangers – surely?!
No, 180,000 is all you need
…As he specified the Quad, I’d assumed he meant for 4 people?
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