Qantas Original Routing Credit due to Involuntary Rerouting

[Haplo]

I always thought this would not happen to me, but it happened to me!

Long story short, I was on a Qantas ticket (081xx_) which had a connecting flight from PVG-xHKG-SYD, with the PVG-HKG leg on CX and HKG-SYD leg on QF.

The first flight from PVG to HKG was delayed for 3 hours and at the arrival gate I was given a CX boarding pass for HKG-SYD, which carries lower SC and point earn than on a QF flight.

Anyway it has been 5 days now and still waiting for QF to decide whether or not to award the Original Routing Credit based on what I had booked and purchased instead of what I had flown on.

Sitting on 1360 SC so the extra 60 SC I would have got on QF metal would definitely make a difference given my membership year ends at the end of the month.

 

[JohnK]

You are entitled to original routing credit regardless of what Qantas tries to decide.

 

[mannej]

Have you actually contacted QF, or just waiting for the flights to credit?

 

[GoldCanyon340]

I'd be proactive and contact QF. You're entitled to ORC.

 

[oz_mark]

Anyway it has been 5 days now and still waiting for QF to decide whether or not to award the Original Routing Credit based on what I had booked and purchased instead of what I had flown on.

Not sure if you are waiting for it to just happen, or you have contacted them.

If you are expecting it to just happen, then it is worth being aware that it probably won't. You need to get on the phone and have the discussion.

 

[snabbu]

When you say decide, do you mean you have already contacted QF and made a claim? If not, send an email to frequent_flyer at qantas dot com dot au with a your purchased itinerary, a copy of your boarding pass and a brief explanation.

You will receive an automatic reply within a few minutes then between 2 hours and 2 weeks a reply from a human advising your claim has been processed.

 

[kermatu]

In my experience you have to contact them. System will only register the flights you took, not those you were booked on.

 

[Cynicor]

This is not a decision to be made. It's just call them, claim ORC and be done.

 

[Haplo]

So the first email I sent last Thursday went to their contact center, and was told on Friday that it is too hard for them and escalated my email to a specialised department. On Monday I got a response from their specialised center that they need to match the boarding pass to the ticket purchased in order to credit (which obviously will not match), I went back to them on Monday saying I am trying to get ORC and not missing flight credit.

To date haven't heard anything from them so I'll most likely call them later to get someone to process it on the spot.

 

[serfty]

Their contact center is pretty useless these days with staff coming and going, and knowledge being lost. I suspect whomever was assigned you case has never heard of "ORC".

Start again!

Send an email to Frequent_Flyer@Qantas.com.au.

Attach your original e-ticket email (if you have it, otherwise scan of any paper documentation) and scans of your boarding passes.

Make sure the documentation includes your ticket number (starts with 081-) and the Booking reference (PNR).

Clearly state what you booked was not what you flew and want points and SC "Credit" in line with that booked for the "Original Routing" ; i.e. "Original Routing Credit".

 

[AisleSeat]

I went through this kind of debacle just recently. Try get them on Twitter and live chat as well

 

[Mattg]

As others have said, you are entitled to the points & status credits for the flights originally booked.

Bear in mind that you need to contact the Frequent Flyer Service Centre, not he regular Customer Care department. Emailing is the easiest way, and make sure you've attached all of the relevant documents to the email for faster processing.

 

[Danger]

You are entitled to original routing credit regardless of what Qantas tries to decide.

As others have said, you are entitled to the points & status credits for the flights originally booked.

Are you sure it's an entitlement? I thought it was one of the very few unwritten conventions.

 

[Happy Trails]

Are you sure it's an entitlement? I thought it was one of the very few unwritten conventions.

It's not mentioned in the T&Cs.

 

[JohnK]

Are you sure it's an entitlement? I thought it was one of the very few unwritten conventions.

You could be right. I might be thinking it's an entitlement as it has never been questioned.

 

[Haplo]

Happy to report after three calls I got through an agent who did this for me in 5 minutes (and knew what they were doing). It looks like it is officially allowed but you just need to ask the right person.

 

[oz_mark]

Are you sure it's an entitlement? I thought it was one of the very few unwritten conventions.

I don't know that it written anywhere, but you could argue that the points and SC were part of the product bundle you bought.

 

[SpudOz]

I don't know that it written anywhere, but you could argue that the points and SC were part of the product bundle you bought.

I know this will sound pedantic, but I always do a screenshot of the page that shows the SC & points at the time of purchase, for this reason alone.

 

[kermatu]

I know this will sound pedantic, but I always do a screenshot of the page that shows the SC & points at the time of purchase, for this reason alone.

I think it's a sensible precaution particularly if you are relying on a route for attaining a status level. Haven't needed to do it for a while but I have taken shots for multi-sector flights and especially if combined with a double SC offer.

 

[smlynarz]

I had this happen to me during a double status sale... Booked Mel-Syd-MCY and then MCY-SYD-MEL... Flight home was cancelled due to the 717 mechanicial issues. Was placed on a bus to BNE and then a direct flight home. I contacted Qantas who not only gave me the correct SC (80 instead of 30 due to bonus) but also a bonus 5000 points as an inconvenience. The customer service agent was very useful!