A rude and devious roo.. why would you bother?

[nlagalle]

Ooohhhh! Another AFF gung bung. Can I join in?

I have not been caught by the Y/J switcherooney because I haven't booked a J Award since they went to double Y points, but I am annoyed by the sneakiness of it all. There is also absolutely NO reason for Qantas not to pro-rata the points if all they can offer is a mixed cabin itinerary. Daylight robbery!

But I also have issue with the fact that some points are more equal than others. A platinum FF gets a 100% points bonus over a NB, and also better access to seats so is more likely to get classic awards while the NB is forced to use anyseat points. So a platinum that shadows a bronze FF and racks up the same number of points on their credit card is getting 2-3 times the value back from the QFF program. Yes it is a "frequent flyer" program but I think Qantas needs to make it clear that things are so heavily skewed towards rewarding the elite, and your ability to get good value back from your points is linked to your status.

It's just a little bit un-Australian, is it not?

Perhaps QF should just dump the tiers and everyone is bronze?

 

[MH_fan]

Is it 2 years? Surely not!
The J/Y switch has only be happening to me since last winter and I've been a QFFer for at least 8 years. Never more than bronze. Wonder why they let me off for so long?

I only discovered this J/Y switch very recently...and I was outraged. The audacity to charge full J redemption (saver) award rates so I could fly in J from SYD-BNE and then Y from BNE-LAX.

 

[Oneworldplus2]

Something like this I presume?

 

[Deleted member]

Perhaps QF should just dump the tiers and everyone is bronze?

Yes but some bronze will be more equal than others

 

[serfty]

But a lot more points than a classic award, which will probably exclude the majority of annual leisure travellers.

That's a bit glib & i'm sure you are well aware of the ability to get xASA's at or near classic award prices.

Moreover, the availability of these is basically the same for all.

Posted on a wing & a prayer

 

[medhead]

I can't believe there are like 40 odd posts defending qantas' habit of returning Y fares when people search for J awards! (I haven't actually bovvered to read all the posts so that 40 is just a guess based on the early posts). Oh well, looks like the group think is that the practice isn't devious. Here I was thinking it was highly dodgy to sell a J award but only give people a J seat on the short domestic hop. I stand corrected NOT!


Sent from the Throne (80% chance) using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[TonyHancock]

Perhaps QF should just dump the tiers and everyone is bronze?

...or just make everyone platinum. With the double status offers they pretty much gave gold away. (After a day of feeling unwell I am pleased to have found my cynical hat again.)

 

[nlagalle]

I can't believe there are like 40 odd posts defending qantas' habit of returning Y fares when people search or J awards! (I haven't actually bovvered to read all the posts so that 40 is just a guess based on the early posts). Oh well, looks like the group think is that the practice isn't devious. Here I was thinking it was highly dodgy to sell a J award but only give people a J seat on the short domestic hop. I stand corrected NOT!


Sent from the Throne (80% chance) using Aust Freq Fly app

Actually I don't think anyone here is defending it at all.

 

[serfty]

... But the cabin crew across the board were friendly, efficient and generous in nature and it was a real pleasure to fly. All up I got home 2 hours late, but frankly very happy with the whole experience. ...

Your flight was almost certainly crewed by jetconnect; an NZ mob owned by QF who have a reputation for friendly service. More than can often be said for mainline QANTAS crew.


Posted on a wing & a prayer

 

[medhead]

Actually I don't think anyone here is defending it at all.

Really? :| The majority of the few posts I read took the OP to task for calling qantas devious on exactly this point. Maybe not an explicit defense of the practice, but it does imply a certain level of acceptance.


Sent from the Throne (80% chance) using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[cove]

By the end of our QF year we may have each done 10 return JASAs out of PER to the east coast...so easy,so nice...no issues.

 

[nlagalle]

Really? :| The majority of the few posts I read took the OP to task for calling qantas devious on exactly this point. Maybe not an explicit defense of the practice, but it does imply a certain level of acceptance.


Sent from the Throne (80% chance) using Aust Freq Fly app

From my reading I don't see that at all, more so there are other parts of the OP's post that were taken to task.

 

[drron]

Really? :| The majority of the few posts I read took the OP to task for calling qantas devious on exactly this point. Maybe not an explicit defense of the practice, but it does imply a certain level of acceptance.


Sent from the Throne (80% chance) using Aust Freq Fly app

Got out of bed on the wrong side today?
50 replies as off this minute.12 support the OP in saying the Y on long haul when booking a J award is a bad thing.
And sorry but i can not find one disagreeing with the OP on that issue.

 

[medhead]

I'm not going to single any one post out, but there are a number of attacks on the OP in general (effectively questioning the validity of the original post in its entirety) and there is one post that questions the validity of using 'devious'. That's as far as I got before replying.


Sent from the Throne (80% chance) using Aust Freq Fly app

 

[drron]

I have just had a variation of the J/Y award issue.thinking of Africa next year so was just checking what awards are like SYD-JNB or SYD-CPT.
So SYD-JNB is available ~120000 points for a JASA and in J.SYD-CPT on the same day is ~ 750000 points and the JNB-CPT sector is in Y on SAA.Makes that sector rather expensive.I can buy the flight from SAA for ~ $A150 in Y or J for just over $A400.Somehow I dont think this sector would be good value for the points needed.

 

[tgh]

uh .. well this has all become quite civil.

I guess I'm in Purgatory,no status, and my annual long haul J purchase/ redemption is of little interest to the rude roo.

So < I will walk the walk , buy on price and performance and to hell with loyalty.

An awful lot of folks should/ must be ver pi***d off at the antics of the search engine.. and I wonder how many first timers actually book the flights without checking the class.

Thanks to those who have responded with civility... and a large raspberry to the mob who all piled in for their free kick.

 

[The Rok]

That's a bit glib & i'm sure you are well aware of the ability to get xASA's at or near classic award prices.

Moreover, the availability of these is basically the same for all.

Posted on a wing & a prayer

I was waiting for somebody to bring up the point about either xASA's, JASA, FASA or other sneaky tricks we use here on AFF. Reality is that Joe Blogg's public is not a member of AFF, has no idea about routing through different cities, flies to get from A to B and not to rack up SC's and couldn't care less about the enjoyment of flying from SYD-MEL via PER or similar.

We sometimes forget that here on AFF we have the collective knowledge to get best use of FF rewards and how to wrangle the system, Joe Blogg's doesn't. If I were NOT a member of AFF, not a Platinum FF and knew nothing about flying (90% of the general public) then I would whole heartedly agree with the OP and think the whole QF FF system was a rort.

Sometimes in our lives, our business and our hearts we have to take a step back at look at the situation from the outside in, I assure you it looks very very different.

 

[JohnPhelan]

I can't see any poster justifying the QF "J/Y combo at full J points" issue. Of course this is not fair and needs to be fixed. However, some balance is needed:

* the booking engine does tell you quite clearly that one of your flights is in Y, rather than J, and you have to accept this to proceed
* I don't accept that this practice is "devious" - specifically designed to deceive. It's a stupid glitch, not attempted larceny!

The OP's language and attitude are really what seem to have irritated people - the references to "the rude roo" make me think of stones and glass houses ........

 

[serfty]

...

Sometimes in our lives, our business and our hearts we have to take a step back at look at the situation from the outside in, I assure you it looks very very different.

I understand what you are stating there and it can look different for the inexperienced. I know many people who have stated to me they will never fly <insert Airline here> again for one reason or another, some quite (IMHO) trivial.¹

I myself had ASA's as a joke - even the discounted ones - until Qantas began awarding points and SC's for them.

However, in the context of this thread and forum you were not posting to a general audience of "Joe Blogg's".

[TABLE="class: outer_border"]
[TR]
[TD]¹ One guy I know won't fly Jetstar - had a day trip to Sydney from Melbourne; his return JQ flight was cancelled and was put on another slightly later evening flight. Upon landing, he was then extremely annoyed to discover he had to find his own way from AVV to MEL to collect his car. (Admittedly such would be unlikely to happen to AFF forum regulars.)
[/TD]
[TD]

[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

 

[anat0l]

Really? :| The majority of the few posts I read took the OP to task for calling qantas devious on exactly this point. Maybe not an explicit defense of the practice, but it does imply a certain level of acceptance.

You've got the disadvantage of inexperience. My main gripe with the OP was everything else but the J/Y awards fubar. I'm not convinced that the entire OP was supposed to be harping on this very point. (There seems to be a perception that this is the case, i.e. the entire argument of the OP was really only to point out this particular problem, whereas I saw multiple points of contention). Then there was the colourful language (to put it nicely) with no backbone to justify it.

From my reading I don't see that at all, more so there are other parts of the OP's post that were taken to task.

I'm not going to single any one post out, but there are a number of attacks on the OP in general (effectively questioning the validity of the original post in its entirety) and there is one post that questions the validity of using 'devious'. That's as far as I got before replying.

Well, as you know it is difficult to take someone seriously if they are going to use choice words without a suitable backup.

And once again, I did agree with the OP that the J/Y awards fubar is not good. I even said that I've sent Qantas a lengthy email describing this failure. I would gladly do it again, every week, until it is fixed.

Hell, I'll even write a physical snail mail letter and send one every week. Look out on a new thread coming your way soon........

Thanks to those who have responded with civility... and a large raspberry to the mob who all piled in for their free kick.

Well, as they say, people in glass houses....... or is it, let he who is without sin......

I was waiting for somebody to bring up the point about either xASA's, JASA, FASA or other sneaky tricks we use here on AFF. Reality is that Joe Blogg's public is not a member of AFF, has no idea about routing through different cities, flies to get from A to B and not to rack up SC's and couldn't care less about the enjoyment of flying from SYD-MEL via PER or similar.

We sometimes forget that here on AFF we have the collective knowledge to get best use of FF rewards and how to wrangle the system, Joe Blogg's doesn't. If I were NOT a member of AFF, not a Platinum FF and knew nothing about flying (90% of the general public) then I would whole heartedly agree with the OP and think the whole QF FF system was a rort.

Sometimes in our lives, our business and our hearts we have to take a step back at look at the situation from the outside in, I assure you it looks very very different.

That is only a validation of a said perception. That doesn't make it true. If 90% of the world thought the world was flat, that doesn't mean the world is flat.

In saying that, we both see the same problem with the search engine. (We meaning both seasoned AFFers and Joe Bloggs.) In this light, we both don't like what we see and we both agree that it needs to be fixed.

As for the rest of the argument, well again it comes down to realising how the system works. Not knowing of it or the frustration thereof forms a perception but it is not the truth; yes, I know perceptions can be a big deal. Anyone is free to hold a perception, and anyone else is free to explain the truth.

Once again, apart from this argument the OP opened up with what is self-admittedly "deliberately inflammatory language". Try to have a level headed conversation when that's the opening card.

* the booking engine does tell you quite clearly that one of your flights is in Y, rather than J, and you have to accept this to proceed
* I don't accept that this practice is "devious" - specifically designed to deceive. It's a stupid glitch, not attempted larceny!

I don't see this as good enough. It's a relatively tedious process if you have to "test" all the combinations of flights presented only to find most are of the J/Y bug kind. And after you mentally block out all the "bad" options, it really begs to reason how many "real" options you have left (sometimes none).

The intent of QF is probably not malicious (i.e. they didn't actively intend to deceive) but it is a problem. I can understand glitches happen, but no one can deny that they may have consequences. Also, the mere fact it is "just a glitch" doesn't mean it shouldn't be addressed.