QF Status Credits on credit card spend - trial

[cjd600]

From Aust BT, interesting
Qantas trials earning status credits on credit cards - Australian Business Traveller

 

[theweaselsteve]

I've just seen this too. Interesting indeed. Anyone had an invite to participate in the trial? This would certainly help me this year. I don't fly anywhere near as much as others here and this year is likely to be as close as I'll get to gold. Still likely to fall short though.

 

[Ansett]

From Aust BT, interesting
Qantas trials earning status credits on credit cards - Australian Business Traveller

I Liked this bit

"The ability to earn Status Credits is highly prized by our members and we wanted to explore how we could potentially reward frequent buyers as well as our Frequent Flyers with status"

Simple bring back JASA and FASA

 

[opusman]

Interesting, this was mooted a while ago.

Maximum 150 SCs / yr, 1 SC per 400 pts. At 1 pt / $ that would take $60K of spend for 150 SCs.

And SCs earned do not count towards P1 or lifetime status.

 

[theweaselsteve]

Yes, hadn't actually looked at the figures. For topping up throughout the year it might come in handy but not a cost effective way to get those last few SC's to get you over the line.

 

[bismarck]

Had done a couple of Red Planet surveys about this. Interesting to see it's in play.

I would think most people flying enough to reach Gold/Silver would probably be spending near the max anyway.

 

[Pleb Status]

If they removed the trial cap of 150SC, it would be $480k for WP retain and $560k for WP earn. Certainly would not be giving status away at that spend.

This change may also open up offering SC as a sign up bonus instead of some of the points that they offer now.

 

[Sdtravel]

I like it. Hope it gets extended to the qf black anz card.
I think that it should be a boost over the line and not a way to status. Status should still be majority flying.
Perhaps tweak the limits but still majority through flying

 

[moa999]

The $ spend needed and cap makes it pointless imho.
Status should rightly remain for FFers only.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Like the Flybuys SC offer it's a nice top up, but the incentive doesn't seem enough to drive a change in spending patterns.

 

[mviy]

I don't have either of those cards. I wonder if I get one of those cards next year whether I would be invited to take part or whether it would be too late.

The SCs not counting towards lifetime SC makes them less attractive than they would be otherwise. I would've liked to be able to build up my lifetime SC tally faster.

 

[puppysparkes]

It almost sounds like sc promos have all but ended due to popularity. Or at the least, this is an opportunity to develop a market to generate loyalty with a higher P/E ratio for the program.

This "trial" probably runs on similar aggregated data to the sc promo, but with the spending habits of Macquarie and Westpac card holders thrown into the mix.

Hey RedRoo, maybe Alison can clarify? (surname withheld)

 

[Princess Fiona]

Now they appear to have the ability to differentiate between bonus SC not earned through flying, it's only a matter of time before the exclusions (Lifetime and P1) extend to all bonus SC offers.....

My own take on this is it's a bit of a gimmick at 150 SC (as is VA at 120) but if it gets more bums on seats then good for them.
I'm more worried about the logical extensions to the exclusions I mentioned above.

 

[mviy]

I do hope that DSC promos that count towards Lifetime SCs continue. They're a great way to get status and work towards the LTG goal.

 

[Princess Fiona]

I do hope that DSC promos that count towards Lifetime SCs continue. They're a great way to get status and work towards the LTG goal.

Whilst it won't personally affect me unless they introduce LTP I agree with you. It would be a rather poor setback for those who are working towards lifetime Silver or Gold and be a disincentive for them to seek out and book QF flights during offer promos.

 

[jpk]

I was on a survey about this back in June 2015. The main themes were
- SC accelerator via QF credit card spend (looks like they're testing this now)
- making more award seats available for QF credit card members (this sounds good but I suspect would be an "enhancement")

 

[trippin_the_rift]

The $ spend needed and cap makes it pointless imho.
Status should rightly remain for FFers only.

When in fact, it's the opposite! Airlines don't care if you fly.

P1 Member on high margin biz class fares, $50K spend where the margin is ~20%* = 10K profit (considering the massive overheads of servicing you, keeping planes in the air, insurances, taxes, regulations, etc...)
Bronze Member with 1M Amex MR points = $10K, almost all pure profit, sells member data to third parties for extra earnings, faster & easier transactional volumes.

The bronze member who may well be a credit card churner earning under $50k a year in total net income is more profitable than a 'high value' Platinum One.

Back on topic, Qantas ain't no fools. This would be a play where banks pay a premium to participate, which drives greater customer transactions through their cards. This is why the living lab trial is controlled with only a few banks. QFF is double-dipping!

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

QF have commissioned Plenty of market research into this already, I'm surprised it's a trial with just two cards.
What will be interesting is how Status credits are earnt more generally ( particularly with flights) in the near future.

 

[Altair]

Air New Zealand has allowed Status Point earning on credit cards for a while, but there a caps on how much can be used towards status attainment for each level and the different card issuers have been competitive in their SP earnings.

 

[NZ_Flyer]

NZ have been doing this for a while. 1 SP/$250. Obviously the greatest benefit are high personal spenders and those that use the card for business expenses. NZ had to change status rules so that to qualify and re-qualify for any tier, half the SP's have to come from Star Alliance flights. So you can only earn 50% of your SP's from a credit card.