It’s not that long ago that Qantas Platinum status came with the “ultimate” in perks. No expense was to be spared for the airline’s valuable Platinum members. But with Platinum One (and Chairman’s Lounge) members now trumping Platinum members, combined with a seemingly never-ending cycle of devaluations and cost-cutting, some members feel that their Platinum status is losing its value.
For a time, Platinum members had free access to coveted exit row and “extra legroom” seats. Qantas now reserves these seats only for Platinum One members with Platinum frequent flyers needing to pay in order to reserve one of these seats.
It’s not just exit row seats that now come at a cost to Platinum members. Any seat designated as an “extra legroom” seat – such as a seat in the front row – is no longer available for free on international flights. And, just a couple of weeks ago, this policy was further expanded to include A330 flights between Perth and the east coast.
Naturally, our members are not happy about the change.
Just tried to change to 23K on a Per-Mel flight on Friday and it wants to charge me $60. So phoned QF and they tell me there has been a change on 18th Aug and these are no longer free for WP.
Another lost reason to fly QF. I only fly them because I can justify getting a seat I can work at in the air. Otherwise it’s VA as that is company policy.
While some former Platinum benefits have become “Platinum One only”, others have been extended to lower tiered Gold frequent flyers. For example, the priority boarding benefit was recently extended to Gold members. The loss of such benefits has led some members to question if Platinum is actually the “new Gold”.
…with the exception of lounge access, platinum is the new gold. At least OWE is well recognised and valued on some partner airlines.
But it’s not all bad news. Platinum frequent flyers still have access to Qantas’ popular First Class lounges when flying internationally, as well as Domestic Business Class lounges. In fact, Qantas recently opened a brand new Business lounge for Platinum flyers in Perth. This new lounge has received overwhelmingly positive reviews.
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