Finding Friends
Oct. 20th, 2005 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skyringOK, I'm a geek. I found a community dedicated to Frequent Flyers. Qantas, luggage, best credit card programs, upgrades - all the sort of things that I find intensely interesting. There are actually people who will take plane trips so as to retain whatever status level they currently hold and they have written programs intended to get the most status points in the shortest time for the least expense.
Glad there are people deeper into it than I am!
But i'm learning a lot.
Peggysmum, that darling woman, has been cultivating a columnist at the local paper. He asked her about book clubs and she told him about BookCrossing and before I know it he's on the phone. I've spent an hour talking to him, sent him all sorts of BookCrossing stuff, had a photographer around and I've told him about NaNoWriMo.
I don't think this chap is starved for things to write about, but he doesn't muck about!
Glad there are people deeper into it than I am!
But i'm learning a lot.
Peggysmum, that darling woman, has been cultivating a columnist at the local paper. He asked her about book clubs and she told him about BookCrossing and before I know it he's on the phone. I've spent an hour talking to him, sent him all sorts of BookCrossing stuff, had a photographer around and I've told him about NaNoWriMo.
I don't think this chap is starved for things to write about, but he doesn't muck about!
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Be Warned
Date: 2005-10-20 04:33 am (UTC)Re: Be Warned
Date: 2005-10-20 06:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-20 03:29 pm (UTC)We shall dominate the world by giving away free books! - Skyring
;-)
no subject
Date: 2005-10-20 04:00 pm (UTC)Congrats on the article :-)
no subject
Date: 2005-10-20 06:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-10-20 06:24 pm (UTC)This "status" thing - is it built up annually, or is it cumulative? What's it all about?
no subject
Date: 2005-10-20 06:46 pm (UTC)However, it's easier to keep status than to gain it. For Silver (which is oneWorld Ruby), it's 350 points to gain and 300 points to retain.
It took me six months to get to Silver. That's the Washington trip, the RTW thing in April and a trip to Brisbane in July for the convention there.
There's a minimum of ten points per trip, so I flew via Sydney rather than direct, effectively doubling my points for the same cost.
I keep this status until Jan 2007, but I lose my existing status points in Jan 2006, meaning if I want to hit the next level - Gold - I've got to get 345 points by January, otherwise I have to start again and get 700 SP from scratch.
I'm not planning on travelling before January, so the "easy" path to Gold is out of the question. I'd need something like four RTW trips in 2006 to get to Gold, and that's going to be tricky.
Gold gives me more privileges, the most useful of which is Qantas Club membership, allowing me the use of oneWorld member lounges at terminals, and that would be very handy indeed in places like LA where the transPacific flights don't leave until about midnight.
In another sense, I get to keep my points to qualify for Lifetime Silver level. They count all my points ever and when I get to 7000 I get to stay Silver even if I don't make the minimum each year.
At my current rate it will take me twenty years to get 7000 points, so it's more or less academic in the short term.
But Silver's not bad. I get higher baggage allowances and Business Class check-in.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-20 06:56 pm (UTC)The thing about these loyalty programs is that it's all a bit of scam. Generally the most frequent flyers aren't paying for their own travel. But the points accrue to the individual flyer rather than the firm paying for the flights, so there's an incentive for people to make as many business trips as possible, for which the boss pays, and then use the airmiles to travel privately for free.
no subject
Date: 2005-10-20 07:39 pm (UTC)