5,000 bonus points each on up to 3 international Qantas Hotels bookings (book by 5/8/24)

[SydneySwan]

I'll bounce back to booking.com as it's been the most solid experience even if they don't offer rewards.

You can get cashback for booking.com via one of the cashback sites. Just check the price as sometimes it increases when going via the cashback sites.

 

[sudoer]

You can get cashback for booking.com via one of the cashback sites. Just check the price as sometimes it increases when going via the cashback sites.

Visa Offers and Mastercard Priceless can offer similar % discounts too. But the same advice applies - check pricing without going through these portals.

https://www.visa.com.au/en_au/visa-offers-and-perks/bookingcom/146337

Booking.com | priceless specials

specials.priceless.com

 

[Bundy Bear]

I booked 2 future stays at the start suggested was fully refundable but when I made the finsl booking screen it wasn’t. I didn’t bother with a 3rd

 

[albatross710]

In this promo was there a requirement to activate the offer? or will it just flow through for any bookings within the promotion period?

 

[eminere]

In this promo was there a requirement to activate the offer?

Nope.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

You can get cashback for booking.com via one of the cashback sites. Just check the price as sometimes it increases when going via the cashback sites.

Yes Booking.com has been doing this for over a couple of years now. Is a bit of scam when they boast the cashback which is paid by increasing the base price!

I open two different browser and price both ways.

I then also after having identified a preferred hote/accommodation, then check their direct website. More, and more, these days booking direct is the cheapest option.

However booking.com remains useful as a tool to find to find a good option, even if I ultimately do not book with them.

 

[NM]

More, and more, these days booking direct is the cheapest option.

And if you have status with the chain, you get the status benefits that are unlikely to be received if booking via the discounters. So sometimes that plays into the decision comparison too.

 

[burmans]

Yes Booking.com has been doing this for over a couple of years now. Is a bit of scam when they boast the cashback which is paid by increasing the base price!

I open two different browser and price both ways.

I then also after having identified a preferred hote/accommodation, then check their direct website. More, and more, these days booking direct is the cheapest option.

However booking.com remains useful as a tool to find to find a good option, even if I ultimately do not book with them.

Also you frequently get a different price (better) on the app with booking.com and of course if you have VIP status as I do which can give 15-20% off (again not consistent). Have also found recently in some countries (India in particular) Agoda can be cheaper than booking.com despite basically being under the same ownership.

Agree that sometimes cashback sites revert to higher price but then again sometimes they don't. Personally I would suggest shop around, there is no one 'best' place. I haven't had the luck with direct booking that @lovetravellingoz has but have occasionally found this cheaper, other times have found booking.com, agoda, trip.com cheaper (and sometimes by a lot), even AirBnb on a couple of occasions. If you go by TripAdvisor they can be good at identifying the cheapest (but then sometimes don't know about and hence take account of any status you hold).

I usually check both booking.com and Tripadvisor for reviews (and sometimes Agoda), it can be quite amazing the difference (we know some of the scams being played on TA at least, usually obvious if a hotel has a large number of very positive review from people with only one review).

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Also you frequently get a different price (better) on the app with booking.com and of course if you have VIP status as I do which can give 15-20% off (again not consistent). Have also found recently in some countries (India in particular) Agoda can be cheaper than booking.com despite basically being under the same ownership.

Agree that sometimes cashback sites revert to higher price but then again sometimes they don't. Personally I would suggest shop around, there is no one 'best' place. I haven't had the luck with direct booking that @lovetravellingoz has but have occasionally found this cheaper, other times have found booking.com, agoda, trip.com cheaper (and sometimes by a lot), even AirBnb on a couple of occasions. If you go by TripAdvisor they can be good at identifying the cheapest (but then sometimes don't know about and hence take account of any status you hold).

I usually check both booking.com and Tripadvisor for reviews (and sometimes Agoda), it can be quite amazing the difference (we know some of the scams being played on TA at least, usually obvious if a hotel has a large number of very positive review from people with only one review).

Yes agree, you need to look broadly. And it varies. Though all my recent trips over the last two years have each of 6//7 weeks only partly been Booking,com - NY-Canada-Alaska, Spain-Portugal-Morocco-Spain, Wales-England-France and with my last trip (England-Ship-Germany-Czeckia-Hungary-Germany) in as a case study.

23 - 28 Apr Booking.com- Heathrow, Oxford, Thames River, Southampton
29 Apr - 5 May Direct and using some Amex Travel Credit - New Forest various
5-7 May Booking.com Winchester
7-8 May Direct Southampton
8-15 May Ship
15-16 May Booking.com Hamburg
16-20 May Direct Prague
20-25 May Booking.com Budapest
25-28 May Direct Nuremburg
29 May -7 June via Cycling company- Wurzburg to Frankfurt am Main.

 

[zan5hin]

Well if my dramas trying to complete a simple hotel booking to take advantage of the offer the Qantas themselves advertised to customers was not enough of an ordeal already, then listen to this for the cherry on top.

I am already in the city of Belo Horizonte staying at the Airbnb before my 2-day reservation at the Holiday inn made by a Qantas hotels. I went to a live jazz gig and just so happened that I left my city bus pass in my room so I was forced to book an Uber otherwise I would have just jumped on the bus. I went for a stroll first and realized I was near the holiday inn, and I thought I would pop in to see the building and confirm my reservation. I didn't think there was any problem with my reservation as I've been to over 40 countries and never had a problem.

So imagine my shock and surprise when the front desk tells me that the reservation was canceled 16 hours ago. So I jump on my emails as I would expect to receive an email from Qantas saying that the booking was canceled yet, there are no emails in my inbox or spam.

Clicking on management of my booking confirms that the booking was canceled with specific words saying that I would receive an email. The second booking was also canceled.

So once again another enjoyable 30 minutes either on hold or talking to the call center. What do you imagine their response to the scenario would be?

I am informed that the reservation was canceled due to inconsistencies with my banking provider.
I was also informed that I was not provided emails about the cancellation and that they cannot disclose why due to security / fraud. They also cannot confirm that I will receive a refund for my bookings from the bank.

Each booking was made with separate credit cards with $15,000 limits, one with ANZ and one with NAB.

At one point I incredulously ask the contact center agent if he believed he was actually speaking to me and he could not confirm or deny even though I explained that I had provided the correct booking confirmation number and the correct Qantas account number and the PIN number and to manage the booking online, an OTP.

So I am now forced to lodge a dispute with both banks to get my money back from Qantas.

And it seems that even though my father is a lifetime Platinum or whatever, and I bought $500 of wine to get the bonus points so I could book a reward flight in October, it seems the Qantas is doing everything it can to get rid of me as a customer. And just as I was just going to switch from accruing Velocity points as I have 400,000 and Singapore deleted their RTW Reward product, and was gonna hit Qantas points accrual hard when I get back from overseas.

Does anyone on this forum have an explanation for this behavior? Unfortunately living on a remote island under an aircraft duopoly does not leave me many options to avoid dealing with Qantas.

I was never one of the unhappy customers who were involved in the covid travel vouchers, or the booking of Ghost flights or any of those PR nightmares. I really don't know why I deserve to be treated like this.

If I not already been inside the city, and walking past the hotel and thinking of checking on my reservation, then I would have packed up all my gear and schlepped over there on the day of the reservation and been in utter disbelief.

 

[MooTime]

Well if my dramas trying to complete a simple hotel booking to take advantage of the offer the Qantas themselves advertised to customers was not enough of an ordeal already, then listen to this for the cherry on top.

I am already in the city of Belo Horizonte staying at the Airbnb before my 2-day reservation at the Holiday inn made by a Qantas hotels. I went to a live jazz gig and just so happened that I left my city bus pass in my room so I was forced to book an Uber otherwise I would have just jumped on the bus. I went for a stroll first and realized I was near the holiday inn, and I thought I would pop in to see the building and confirm my reservation. I didn't think there was any problem with my reservation as I've been to over 40 countries and never had a problem.

So imagine my shock and surprise when the front desk tells me that the reservation was canceled 16 hours ago. So I jump on my emails as I would expect to receive an email from Qantas saying that the booking was canceled yet, there are no emails in my inbox or spam.

Clicking on management of my booking confirms that the booking was canceled with specific words saying that I would receive an email. The second booking was also canceled.

So once again another enjoyable 30 minutes either on hold or talking to the call center. What do you imagine their response to the scenario would be?

I am informed that the reservation was canceled due to inconsistencies with my banking provider.
I was also informed that I was not provided emails about the cancellation and that they cannot disclose why due to security / fraud. They also cannot confirm that I will receive a refund for my bookings from the bank.

Each booking was made with separate credit cards with $15,000 limits, one with ANZ and one with NAB.

So I am now forced to lodge a dispute with both banks to get my money back from Qantas.

And it seems that even though my father is a lifetime Platinum or whatever, and I bought $500 of wine to get the bonus points so I could book a reward flight in October, it seems the Qantas is doing everything it can to get rid of me as a customer.

Does anyone on this forum have an explanation for this behavior? Unfortunately living on a remote island under an aircraft duopoly does not leave me many options to avoid dealing with Qantas.

I was never one of the unhappy customers who were involved in the covid travel vouchers, or the booking of Ghost flights or any of those PR nightmares. I really don't know why I deserve to be treated like this.

If I not already been inside the city, and walking past the hotel and thinking of checking on my reservation, then I would have packed up all my gear and schlepped over there on the day of the reservation and been in utter disbelief.

Another case of Qantas enhancing your travel experience.

Terrible situation, the whole scam / fraud issue just makes corporations jump & cancel everything on a whim. But to not offer refunds... Just smells all over like our national carrier.

 

[Kerrodt]

Well if my dramas trying to complete a simple hotel booking to take advantage of the offer the Qantas themselves advertised to customers was not enough of an ordeal already, then listen to this for the cherry on top.

I am already in the city of Belo Horizonte staying at the Airbnb before my 2-day reservation at the Holiday inn made by a Qantas hotels. I went to a live jazz gig and just so happened that I left my city bus pass in my room so I was forced to book an Uber otherwise I would have just jumped on the bus. I went for a stroll first and realized I was near the holiday inn, and I thought I would pop in to see the building and confirm my reservation. I didn't think there was any problem with my reservation as I've been to over 40 countries and never had a problem.

So imagine my shock and surprise when the front desk tells me that the reservation was canceled 16 hours ago. So I jump on my emails as I would expect to receive an email from Qantas saying that the booking was canceled yet, there are no emails in my inbox or spam.

Clicking on management of my booking confirms that the booking was canceled with specific words saying that I would receive an email. The second booking was also canceled.

So once again another enjoyable 30 minutes either on hold or talking to the call center. What do you imagine their response to the scenario would be?

I am informed that the reservation was canceled due to inconsistencies with my banking provider.
I was also informed that I was not provided emails about the cancellation and that they cannot disclose why due to security / fraud. They also cannot confirm that I will receive a refund for my bookings from the bank.

Each booking was made with separate credit cards with $15,000 limits, one with ANZ and one with NAB.

At one point I incredulously ask the contact center agent if he believed he was actually speaking to me and he could not confirm or deny even though I explained that I had provided the correct booking confirmation number and the correct Qantas account number and the PIN number and to manage the booking online, an OTP.

So I am now forced to lodge a dispute with both banks to get my money back from Qantas.

And it seems that even though my father is a lifetime Platinum or whatever, and I bought $500 of wine to get the bonus points so I could book a reward flight in October, it seems the Qantas is doing everything it can to get rid of me as a customer. And just as I was just going to switch from accruing Velocity points as I have 400,000 and Singapore deleted their RTW Reward product, and was gonna hit Qantas points accrual hard when I get back from overseas.

Does anyone on this forum have an explanation for this behavior? Unfortunately living on a remote island under an aircraft duopoly does not leave me many options to avoid dealing with Qantas.

I was never one of the unhappy customers who were involved in the covid travel vouchers, or the booking of Ghost flights or any of those PR nightmares. I really don't know why I deserve to be treated like this.

If I not already been inside the city, and walking past the hotel and thinking of checking on my reservation, then I would have packed up all my gear and schlepped over there on the day of the reservation and been in utter disbelief.

This reads more like the bank has flagged a potential issue with your cards/accounts.

I’d suggest ringing your banks fraud department and speak with them to determine if they have any issues.

There is a chance that the bank has detected suspected or actual fraudulent activity on your account and locked them down. Do the cards themselves still work?

 

[zan5hin]

This reads more like the bank has flagged a potential issue with your cards/accounts.

I’d suggest ringing your banks fraud department and speak with them to determine if they have any issues.

There is a chance that the bank has detected suspected or actual fraudulent activity on your account and locked them down. Do the cards themselves still work?

The cards work, and I have not received any emails from the banks, or notices when I logged into both banking apps remotely with fingerprint and lodged disputes.

 

[Kerrodt]

The cards work, and I have not received any emails from the banks, or notices when I logged into both banking apps remotely with fingerprint and lodged disputes.

Still worth a couple of calls to rule it out.

 

[Happy Dude]

Has anyone received points for bookings yet?

3000 points have landed in my account this week. But I'm expecting 5000. One of my "bookings" has been "completed" in early August. The other two aren't until October.

I have a booking for CNS next week but I'm sure it didn't come with any bonus points or why they'd credit before the stay is completed.

 

[nancypants]

Has anyone received points for bookings yet?

3000 points have landed in my account this week. But I'm expecting 5000. One of my "bookings" has been "completed" in early August. The other two aren't until October.

I have a booking for CNS next week but I'm sure it didn't come with any bonus points or why they'd credit before the stay is completed.

I have received no points for anything
They were all “no showed” in early August although the T&Cs indicate points are received for no shows (uncertain on the bonus points- that part is a gamble!)

 

[Happy Dude]

I have received no points for anything
They were all “no showed” in early August although the T&Cs indicate points are received for no shows (uncertain on the bonus points- that part is a gamble!)

The T&Cs said 6 weeks after the stay, so I wasn't expecting any points until mid September. They're described as "Qantas Hotels Booking Bonus" with a date that I can't reconcile.

 

[nancypants]

The T&Cs said 6 weeks after the stay, so I wasn't expecting any points until mid September. They're described as "Qantas Hotels Booking Bonus" with a date that I can't reconcile.

Yeah I too am not expecting much before mid September

 

[henrus]

They were all “no showed” in early August although the T&Cs indicate points are received for no shows (uncertain on the bonus points- that part is a gamble!)

How did you find out they were no showed?

 

[elanshin]

Has anyone received points for bookings yet?

3000 points have landed in my account this week. But I'm expecting 5000. One of my "bookings" has been "completed" in early August. The other two aren't until October.

I have a booking for CNS next week but I'm sure it didn't come with any bonus points or why they'd credit before the stay is completed.

I received 3000 as well and not the actual hotel stay. So I'm not sure exactly what this 3000 is.