In Reply to: I can't believe posted by LynneeD on Sunday, 7. November 2004 at 12:04 Bali Time:
What is it... $80 a year?... to be an FF member? Plus $55 charge on my FF credit card. Using Qantas instead of Virgin for domestic flights is usually an extra $20-50 each way.
The one time I thought I might be able to get a bargain on points was when Qantas announced its "World on Sale" in July, with cheap fares and bonus FF points. $820 to Singapore sounded good. But it was impossible to book, even on the first day of the sale. I either had to return within a week or stay longer than the ticket allowed, which meant paying an extra $500 or so. Same thing with the Jakarta flights.
Apparently, FF points are the second biggest currency in the world. Obviously, if everyone was allowed to redeem them all at once, any airline would go broke overnight.
I'm sure some people must be benefitting, but for most people, it's probably not worth the bother. Or the expense.