A very long run comes to an end...

[Pleb Status]

After almost 11 years of continuous QF WP (or higher) status and over 24000+ SC earned during that time, in a few hours I will drop back to LTG.

A lot has changed over that time and WP is now just a hollow shell of what it was previously. This does make leaving WP behind a lot easier however.

The highlight of being WP (compared to LTG) is undoubtedly OW F lounge access. This will be the only thing I will genuinely miss moving forward and something that OW does better than the other major alliances. I suppose the positive side of dropping back to LTG/OWS is there is now a whole new set of lounges I have never been to in SYD, MEL, HKG, DXB, LAX, LHR T5 etc.

The biggest lowlight of those 11 years is undoubtedly my two and half years being P1. This period irrevocably destroyed my relationship with QF to a point where I could not even obtain my 4 QF/JQ ~ sectors over the past qualifying year.

I have prepared for tomorrow over the past two and half years by weaning myself off my previous 'QSheep' ways and it has now been about seven months since I have set foot onto any QF aircraft. This is a big change from when a period of two weeks would have been a long time between QF flights.

Moving forward, as someone who pays for their own flights and is based in Perth, other airlines and alliances currently provide a far better 'value for money' experience (and are just better in some cases regardless of cost). Since January 2015, I have saved over $25,000+ by not flying QF and their partners, including ~$1000 saved this month alone.

With over 1M+ QFF points still to burn, I will still fly QF and their partners once and while on J/F award flights when convenient/available. Also, if major adverse changes were to occur to the status quo between QF and the competition, regaining WP is only six months away (three months with a fake status promotion)...

 

[RooFlyer]

I take it there is no chance of being comped WP? (A bit late, so I guess not.)

I will probably be adding to this thread along exactly the same lines in March next year (minus the WP1 experience). Like you, its been a few years coming and I've banked a heap of VFF/SQ miles in anticipation; I'll post a graph of my QF miles flown over the past 5 years next March and its won't be a pretty sight.

 

[oz_mark]

Chin Up, you'll probably be WP for another 4 or 5 days...demotions don't happen for a few days, and there have been some last minute reprieves....

 

[Pushka]

If anyone deserves a Comp it’s your situation.

 

[cambriamarsh]

What was the issue with WP1? Was it underwhelming or some real negatives?

 

[boomy]

Well written post by the OP.

I would do exactly the same if living in PER. By living in the east coast it's easy for frequent flyers to keep status with QF but not necessarily the smart thing to do. LTG is definitely the sweet spot and once reached there is very little incentive to stay loyal, unless most flights are domestic where QF still have the upper hand. For those who fly mostly overseas the grass is often greener on the other (airlines) side.

 

[OzEire]

@Pleb Status your handle says it all

 

[drron]

Definitely not in the same situation though have Flounge access courtesy of mrsdrron.She has been WP for at least 10 years-usually by design just scraping in most years.So not expecting a comp when she falls short in 2 months.but the same plan as most with F awards where possible and some paid F on other airlines as it is less than J on QF that we were paying for.
She is just about LTG,I am LTQPand LTP in Aadvantage so still QP when travelling domestically.So all we will miss is J lounge access.But that really isn't much of a loss.

 

[jamesatfish]

I sympathise @Pleb Status - I’m in almost exactly the same situation this morning.

I’ve been WP for just over 10 years, about 18000 SCs mainly earned through ACIRC and AONEx fares, but I haven’t flown Qantas internationally for about 15 months and only managed 160 SC this last year. As of this morning I’m also back to LTG.

I tried treating myself to a final hurrah in the Business lounges this week, choosing to fly QF for a day trip to Sydney last Monday. When my 6am flight was delayed due to the SYD ATC failure, and Qantas couldn’t/wouldn’t find me a seat on any of the next 5 flights to Sydney, I realised that pretty much sums up my value to QF as a has-been WP.

I’ve just burned my final 1.3M QFF points booking a family RTW Business trip, and the ability to more easily book Classic Awards and request availability is probably the benefit I’ll miss most. That said, with my points drained I won’t be needing to book anything else in a hurry.

Every in-flight benefit of WP (lounges, baggage etc) is also a cabin benefit in F anyway, so when I fly I won’t actually be missing much no matter which carrier I choose.

Barring a surprise comp for the next year it looks like my WP run and $50K/yr business spend with QF has come to an end.

 

[cove]

We live in Perth too.Pleb Status May I use a piece of your post at the Qantas AGM this month?

 

[Pleb Status]

I take it there is no chance of being comped WP? (A bit late, so I guess not.)

If anyone deserves a Comp it’s your situation.

I received my 'three year average' WP comp last year, so unless QF hands one out for 'old times sake', I am anticipating the drop anytime now (still showing as WP this morning with the SC reset to zero however). My 16 year lifetime average is still over the 1400 SC pa threshold if that makes any difference to them.

Thinking about it, I do not know if I really deserve a comp. I have been unfaithful to QF and therefore deserve to be punished for that infidelity. One thing that has annoyed me in the past is businesses like QF rewarding unfaithful customers with targeted DSC promotions, status matches, comps etc generating a lot of fake status when loyal customers who spend big dollars get nothing additional in return for that loyalty.

I would be a hypocrite if I now said I should be rewarded with a comp for my own disloyalty... (I would take the comp if it was offered however ).

I am actually very happy with my current travel arrangements moving forward and if that means having to be subjected to the 'squalid' conditions in the QP/OW J lounges for the foreseeable future (or 20-30 years), so be it.

 

[rocketboy]

Chin Up, you'll probably be WP for another 4 or 5 days...demotions don't happen for a few days, and there have been some last minute reprieves....

It looks like I've been given a Iast minute reprieve. Membership year ended yesterday and I was expecting to drop back. But I checked in yesterday to find a pop up window showing 795 SCs and "Congratulations" for retaining platinum for another year.

 

[Pleb Status]

We live in Perth too.Pleb Status May I use a piece of your post at the Qantas AGM this month?

That would be fine...

 

[cove]

Have now completed proxies for the QAN AGM. I have booked flights to be there. It should be fun.
Thanks for your OK.
One of my questions is about Lifetime Platinum and the other is to do with the book value of 12 A380s now that SQ have been unable to sell 2 10 year old A380s. I know they are still operating but their values may need to be written down a lot faster than previously believed.

 

[JohnK]

QF Platinum still has enough benefits to make it worthwhile.

The SYD-BNE flight I was on last Monday was ~$340 so I booked wife and daughter on the next flight (last flight of the night) for 8,000 QFF points and ~$32. That was the day with the radar issues. Got to airport ~7:00pm which was still ~2 hours from my flight. The last flight of the night also had delays. Asked nicely and they moved wife and daughter to my flight. One of the last seats. We had seq #165, #166 and #167.

I'll keep going for Platinum for as long as I'm commuting and taking the girls back to Thailand.

 

[davidj]

the other is to do with the book value of 12 A380s now that SQ have been unable to sell 2 10 year old A380s. I know they are still operating but their values may need to be written down a lot faster than previously believed.

Their response will be values are based on market values and valued per accounting standards...

 

[Pleb Status]

One of my questions is about Lifetime Platinum and the other is to do with the book value of 12 A380s now that SQ have been unable to sell 2 10 year old A380s. I know they are still operating but their values may need to be written down a lot faster than previously believed.

From a purely personal point of view, the introduction of LTP at 28000 SC would be very advantageous to me and would guarantee QF some significant additional revenue in the future which they will not receive otherwise.

However, taking a more holistic view of the subject, if I knew that there was no chance that I could ever obtain LTP, I would not want it to be introduced as a WP who earned the required SC the hard way would have to battle for the same limited benefits (reward seats etc) as the LTP who may only fly once or twice a year. The impact of this would be dependant on the total number of LTP anticipated.

The biggest issue with the LTG arrangement as it currently stands is that future status earn is an 'all or nothing' affair. If you are not going to earn the 1400/1200 SC pa to earn/retain WP there is no incentive to earn any SC at all.

 

[cove]

I wasn't thinking Lifetime Platinum at 28,000 status credits seeing the two of us are close already.

 

[serfty]

It looks like I've been given a Iast minute reprieve. Membership year ended yesterday and I was expecting to drop back. But I checked in yesterday to find a pop up window showing 795 SCs and "Congratulations" for retaining platinum for another year.

You may be or may not be out of luck.

See post #3 and this thread: For those who have been comped status

 

[serfty]

I wasn't thinking Lifetime Platinum at 28,000 status credits seeing the two of us are close already.

I'm over 33K and . ... <crickets> ...