desreb

Thanks both - that's a good point about the indirect flights too. I might try booking as two sectors and see whether we can get the price down.

Well, if you strike the Chinese airlines, it's looking $2800-3200 a ticket. I went through booking with Virgin Atlantic and found they offer an upgrade to Upper Class for an extra $2000. I'd never normally consider paying for PE, let alone First - and travelling with a baby I still won't - but for lie-flat beds, champagne, club rooms and massages for less than 60% more, for a total of over 50 hours in a metal tube, it's almost worth it for the experience.

Hi, We're finally getting around to booking our flights back for Christmas. I was just wondering if anyone's aware of any tricks or offers at the moment. A few people have suggested buying a one-way to the UK, and then returns from the UK to Sydney after that since the returns from the UK will be cheaper than returns from Sydney. However, since we only plan to go once at Christmas, it looks quite hard to book flights more than a year ahead. Last year we booked separate flights, going to Thailand with Jetstar to start with, which yielded cheaper tickets overall and a very pleasant stopover. Just wondering if there are any similar routes? There is also a deal to buy Star Alliance miles on US Airways - you can buy 100,000 pts for US$1750, which are enough for an economy return Syd-UK. However, we've just missed that one, as the offer closes 31st August and your account must be over 12 days old at that point. The chances of booking Singapore Airlines travel (also Star Alliance) with US Airways air miles at Christmas is also probably extremely slim! D

Thanks Notts - that makes sense

Hi All, I have a question which is turning out to be quite ungooglable, so thought I might ask here. We have a UK house (ex-primary residence) that we let out, and pay off a mortgage - Principle + Interest. In terms of investment, we make a gain - the rental income is more than the cost of the mortgage interest and rental fees. However, in cashflow terms, we make a loss (the mortgage principal + interest) - ie. paying off the mortgage owed on the house - is higher than the rent that comes in. In these circumstances, since our income is going into the value of the house, do we declare that income on our AU Tax Return (as Permanent Residents)? Or do we omit that as a capital investment, and then assess the house for CGT if and well we sell it? And overall.... is any foreign gain/income (eg. UK bank interest) assessed as that interest pays into the UK account, or only if if is brought into Australia? Thanks! D

Someone told me flights drop after 15th Jan, and there are some (domestic) sales at the moment. However, I thought $1500 for a good UK/AU carrier wouldn't see prices drop much more (they just stepped up $150, so the lower tier sold out)

BTW - for some reason, Virgin Atlantic are coming in cheapest at the moment: $1540 return for the dates we're looking at. Older equipment / VA Codeshare, perhaps, but only China Southern have been cheaper.

We flew at Christmas last year via Thailand - flew Jetstar Sydney to Phuket, then Air Malaysia for the rest (Phuket to KL, KL to London, then London to SYD afterwards). It worked out cheaper than direct, and we got a week stopover on the beach.

I've used TPG and Internode, before switching to Telstra cable. TPG was fine - pretty cheap for Oz, decent internet as long as nothing went wrong - but video was often slow, especially streaming from UK. But many others are too, so if you're going to settle for an 'OK' provider, then might as well get the cheapest one! Internode was very disappointing - I paid a premium to get the best (as they're reputed to be), and found any international websites (eg. BBC News video) were slow. Customer support was very friendly, but could do nothing: Internode use Optus for some of their backhaul and international links, and Optus are congested. Other providers who use Optus will probably also have the same problem. So I switched to Telstra: $100 a month, plus installation, so a bit more still, but I get 100MBps Cable broadband with it. They came to install within 2 days - found the old pipes were blocked, so dug new ones, and fitted, everything, all within a week. I found their speed claims are distorted; the service is 100Mbps, but I actually get... 88Mbps. I can live with that - I think it's actually my home network that's slowing it down. Their customer service has been absolutely fine, and the connection blows everyone else clean out of the water. I've spent the last 2 years cursing poor internet connection speeds in Australia, and this opened my eyes: if I'd gone with Telstra in the first place, I would have saved myself countless hours of staring at the computer screen, waiting...... ​

Admittedly my economics knowledge is basic, but I believe I understand what you're saying, However, if I am selfishly consumerist for a second - the inflation impacts everyone, whether using credit, debit or cash. If someone is going to benefit from that 0.5-1% value back, I'd rather I'd be in that group.

Yeah, not sure I follow. If you pay off the card in full each month, there's no cost to you. It's your win, at the merchant's cost.

Out of interest, I just looked into booking tickets back to the UK with Qantas, in 5 months' time: Price with air miles: 128,000 miles + $1,000 taxes Price if bought outright: $2,000 Cheapest other air fare: $1,500 (Malaysian) So 128,000 miles comes from, say, $100,000 spend, and the 30,000 bonus points, and the $160 fee (if you do it all in a year!). But it saves you $1000 as a minimum. (This is not a busy time of year; I saved $1,500 flying Qantas during the Olympics). SYD<>LON has something like the highest tax of any air fare. So you could argue the card saves you $840 if you have to fly Qantas, or $340 if you flew the cheaper airline. So you're 'saving' or 'getting back' 0.3c to 0.8c on every dollar you spend. I guess it's worth doing, on that basis. However, if it takes you 3 years to earn enough points back to the UK (you only spend around $3k on the card a month)... $160 fee * 3 years = $480. So you've paid $480 to earn those points.. In that case, you're only $20 ahead of just forgetting the card and booking a cheaper airline. In that case, the Woolworth's card (lower annual fee), or Virgin (2 free flights), seem more attractive. D

I use Jetstar Platinum - 1 Qantas point per dollar spent, plus travel insurance. I managed to get it with no annual fee and 30,000 point bonus - its currently 30,000 bonus, but $159 or so fee. Woolworth's have a Qantas card too - $99 a year, I think, double points on in-store spend, but no travel insurance.

We've found the Kids' market at: http://www.kidspot.com.au/babykidsmarket/#NSW It does sound like a very commercial operation, rather than the more communal NCT classes. They cover Sydney metro every Sunday, so with the roaming around are only likely to be within 10-15km every month or two.

Thanks! We were looking in Eastern Suburbs, so not competitive at all! ;-) In the end we made an offer on a 3rd place after the first two fell through, and got it accepted pretty quick, so we didn't end up in this situation. I'll have to find the definitive answer sometime. D

Hi Lisa - thanks for the reply (and sorry for the slow response). That's really good to know, and reassuring - we'll take a look for the markets, since they sound along the same lines as what we were expecting! D

Hi all, I'm trying to work out the antenatal system in NSW. I've just been back to visit friends and family in the UK, and now with a new nephew for myself, and 3 friends pregnant - and everyone raves about how good the NCT is... how one friend has found their entire baby wardrobe at NCT sales for a fraction of the new cost, how my sister and her husband have made tonnes of new friends in their local NCT group who have become their primary support network, and so on. I've tried googling for similar antenatal care in Sydney, and most hits appear to be bio-eco-green-natural-remedy private antenatal services. I tried a few links, and stopped when I found one that provides a service to throw away all your household chemicals for $200 plus $90 an hour. Is there an equivalent to the NCT in Sydney/NSW? Or maybe a majority private or public group that has a similar approach and culture? Thanks! D

Hi all, Given the crazy nature of the NSW Rental market, the last time we applied, it was common practice to apply for more than one property, so that you should get at least one. If you got more than one, then you simply went with your preferred choice. We just did a 1form-based application (service used by some agents) the other day, and in the T&Cs, it seemed to state that we were committing to a minimum one-week holding fee, for the weekly rent price. If we were successful in applying, then they would hold the property for that week. If we accepted, it would become our first week's rent. If we declined, then the holding fee would be forfeit as a deposit and we would lose the entire week's payment. This didn't come up before - there WAS a holding deposit, but it was an option you could take if you wanted to explore your options, just to keep the agent/landlord sweet. The wording in this case seemed to be more of a 'forfeitable deposit', than an option you can take at the time. Since it was present in the form, there was no option to not offer this. Some relevant websites state: Holding Fee – a holding deposit of one week’s rent can only be charged once the tenant's application has been approved. Once a holding fee has been accepted, the landlord must hold the property for at least 7 days and not offer it to anyone else. If the tenant withdraws their application they will lose the entire holding deposit as opposed to forfeiting a portion of it under the old ‘reservation system’. Once a landlord has accepted a holding fee; they are obliged to enter into a lease with the tenant. Does anyone have any observations on this? I read the T&Cs of the form at the end carefully, and it was mostly focused on submitting true and correct details... there was no sentence saying "BY SIGNING YOU ARE AWARE THAT YOU ARE COMMITTING TO THE MINIMUM EXPENDITURE OF THE HOLDING DEPOSIT" etc. etc., as is often the case when you sign a contract. There was also no means testing and no payment/bank details submitted, so nothing they could actually take a payment from. They would have to pursue this after the fact. There WAS a representation of a handwriting-scripty-style signature formed from our printed names, implying that we were signing something. We're hopefully about to receive 2 acceptances, so it would be great to know where we stand, if they both ask for a holding deposit.... Thanks! Damian

Thanks mate. We're regarding it with extreme caution. Just to share (in case anyone else ever sees similar signs), the NSW RMS history check ($18) shows a business holding it for 4 years, then a charity (which probably is the current owner in the service manual) holding it for just 4 weeks, then the dealer holding it for the last 7 weeks (and it's only been listed for 3). I might call the charity to see if they'll share anything; in terms of scams, it could be that it was written off by the charity, the dealer bought it, cut it with a new one, then listed it. Also - for sharing info on scams: the service stamp is the same company throughout, who has no website, no presence at all aside from a Yell business entry, no address, and only a mobile number. LOL. D

Just went to a dealer and had a drive. Sure enough, all they needed was to photocopy my driving licence. Didn't even ask me to sign anything. A question: in the service book, the address page had details tippexed out and replaced, including the rego. Obviously sounds suspicious, but anyone know of a specific NSW scam about that? D

Sat 2ft in front of the TV the entire hour.... amazing. I'm not sure how many of the 1bn(?) people watching will be able to relate to everything there, but as a 30-something Brit I'll happily selfishly indulge in the entire experience. It makes me proud to be British, proud to be a Londoner, and, with the possible exception of one big party our old circle of friends had a few months back, the most I've missed home since I moved to Oz.

I don't have Foxtel, so hoping for UK VPN or FTA when watching at home.

Is anyone planning to go out to a pub/bar to watch some Olympics events, or the ceremonies. It would be nice to find somewhere with a bit of occasion, although I'm not sure where that might be. Time Out has actually run an article on this for Sydney: http://www.au.timeout.com/sydney/sports/features/11076/where-to-watch-the-olympics-in-sydney D

Btw, you don't say where you want to live. I'm guessing not central Sydney, since $450 won't get you a house. Anyway, one thing to bear in mind is that if you need to compete with others in applying, then the "safest" bet may get preference. However, if you offer several months up front, if that's legal in that state, then I'm sure you'll be the most attractive offer! D

The BBC fight a few VPN services, I think. We have Overplay, but I still get the "Sorry" message when using their UK service. I suspect BBC know their IP addresses and actively block them. To be honest, we've also stopped bothering watching UK TV directly. We never watched soaps, etc, which are probably the thing most people miss. Once you're out of the country, you're away from the coffee room buzz and ads for new program's, so aren't aware they're on, and.. Don't miss them. If you want a dose of UK TV while eating, then ABC1 seems to be "last season's BBC highlights" most of the time - watched more QI here than I did at home. And if there's a "must see" series that you really want, then easiest is to download it from BitTorrent. Now, that would be illegal, but judging from how quickly and complete everything gets up there, I suspect it happens. Probably the hardest is if you're a Sports fan, and want live relay of stuff in the UK.