AFF on Air Discussion thread

[Townsend]

Thanks for another enjoyable, and educational, episode.

I hope that you have a very merry Christmas and a most enjoyable break.

 

[AFF Editor]

Hi Matt,

Hope you're doing well.

Are you aware of this hack? Joining Accor Plus Explorer Plus Membership - through Indonesia, 4100000 IDR?

Roughly A$403 with 2 free nights? Instead of $399 through Australia with 1 free night.

It doesn't seem to have a problems with my Melbourne address and am likely to pay but thought I'd ask your thoughts first.

Also, my leisure travel is generally limited to school holidays. Are the free nights and 50% discounts generally available during that time?

Are you planning a Hotel Hacks podcast anytime soon?

Thanks in advance.

Mike

Thanks for another good question. I've talked about this in episode 75, the last podcast for this year:

Podcast Episode #75: How to Upgrade on Qantas & Virgin Australia

Listen now! This episode was released on 11 December, 2021.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Thanx Matt, I always listen, learn & enjoy. Eat, Drink, and Be Merry. But be forewarned at the next AFF Social Event I will have an Elephant Stamp and I won’t be afraid to use it

Thanks for another enjoyable, and educational, episode.

I hope that you have a very merry Christmas and a most enjoyable break.

Thanks to both of you. I'm looking forward to a bit of a break, and to a much better 2022!

 

[daft009]

Hi Matt,

Hope you're doing well.

Are you aware of this hack? Joining Accor Plus Explorer Plus Membership - through Indonesia, 4100000 IDR?

Roughly A$403 with 2 free nights? Instead of $399 through Australia with 1 free night.

It doesn't seem to have a problems with my Melbourne address and am likely to pay but thought I'd ask your thoughts first.

Also, my leisure travel is generally limited to school holidays. Are the free nights and 50% discounts generally available during that time?

Are you planning a Hotel Hacks podcast anytime soon?

Thanks in advance.

Mike

Before I got my platinum charge I had joined via Fiji, came to around AU$200 depending on the daily exchange rate and all the perks of the AU program, so 1 night free however her email address now bounces so covid has caused some changes

 

[RTWtraveler]

Hi,
We traveled to Munich, Milan, Zurich and San Francisco for Christmas and New Year. We are in our 70's and had no fear of traveling in Europe. Just be aware of where you are, stop in Zurich first to get their digital Covid pass and have fun.

 

[AshM]

Hi Matt, I love the podcast - I tune in every fortnight, usually while I go for a run. It's a great distraction from my dubious fitness and always very informative.

Like so many others, I've recently had a dreadful experience trying to deal with Qantas' customer service - in my case, after they suddenly deleted a fully-ticketed oneworld classic reward itinerary in business that I had carefully planned, booked, paid for and had ticketed last year for travel later this year.

To the extent I've been able to speak to anyone (5 calls and 12 hours on hold over the past week), they've admitted that it was their error, as they mistakenly thought the booking was a duplicate. (It wasn't.) Trying to get the ticket rebuilt, however, has proven a whole other level of difficult, not least because many of the seats are no longer available.

As a lifetime gold QFF, I really feel the loss of my platinum status when trying to get through to Qantas on the phone and, even once I do, it's a bigger challenge trying to get actual assistance. The premium call centre and short wait times were a very different experience to the one I have now.

Going through the forum threads, as well as comments on Qantas' social media, it's clear that Qantas' customer service has totally collapsed. Not only are there manifest issues with the outsourced call centres - especially in South Africa - that you've mentioned previously on the podcast but the other channels of communication seem to have now also ground to a halt. In particular, even after losing my platinum status, I used to be able to get helpful responses from Qantas via social media (eg. Facebook) chat within 24 hours. Now I can't even get a response to my message, let alone assistance, through those channels.

I've found you always ask intelligent and penetrating questions on the podcast - from the perspective of everyday frequent flyers - so I'm wondering if there's any chance you could ask the Qantas' Chief Customer Officer or similar to come on the podcast to justify the woeful customer service they're dishing up to loyal Qantas customers (and everyone else)?

The "it's the pandemic" justification has worn thin. It's not just the pandemic. I've had a much better experiences recently with Virgin - even when it has involved being handballed from the person answering the phone to their Velocity team. And certainly nothing like the Qantas wait times.

Anyway, just a suggestion - and would love to hear that interview if you can jag it. Keep up the great work.

 

[lukus g]

Hey Matt.
Keep up the great Work you are doing with the podcast. It really is the best In the market for Australian travellers. in a couple of weeks I’m flying SYD-DXB-CDG-LHR-JFK-FRA-SIN-MEL-SYD with the first leg in EK F then BA J to NYC, SQ J and finally QF Y. We are travelling back to the UK to see family then friends in NYC followed by 3 days in SIN to relax on the way home. Travelling with my wife and a 8 year old. If your still interested in covid travel experiences for the podcast please let me know

 

[HNL808]

Matt, that was an awesome episode with Peter, thank you. Especially because, my goal is to fly my family of four on Hawaiian Airlines to HNL in a premium cabin during school holidays which seems near on impossible but it sounds like Peter has 'cracked the code'. I have the ability to transfer adequate points into either velocity or kris as he suggested. How can I finding out more about his strategy? Also, do you know what the fare class is for the Premium Economy 'Extra Comfort' on HA? It's a decent second to Business Class. Thank you very much!

 

[Townsend]

Thanks Matt, another very interesting episode. Although I only ever try to book one or two tickets, I picked up some good suggestions from Peter.

 

[levelnine]

Brilliant episode. Ones where people talk through their experience of earning and burning are among my favourite.

A suggestion for future episodes. Having a guest who has recently done a challenging reward booking (eg OWA, 4x passengers) explain their process from earning the points, planning the trip, booking it and taking it, sharing successes and pitfalls.

 

[HNL808]

Brilliant episode. Ones where people talk through their experience of earning and burning are among my favourite.

A suggestion for future episodes. Having a guest who has recently done a challenging reward booking (eg OWA, 4x passengers) explain their process from earning the points, planning the trip, booking it and taking it, sharing successes and pitfalls.

Agreed. The process is valuable.

 

[AFF Editor]

Matt, that was an awesome episode with Peter, thank you. Especially because, my goal is to fly my family of four on Hawaiian Airlines to HNL in a premium cabin during school holidays which seems near on impossible but it sounds like Peter has 'cracked the code'. I have the ability to transfer adequate points into either velocity or kris as he suggested. How can I finding out more about his strategy? Also, do you know what the fare class is for the Premium Economy 'Extra Comfort' on HA? It's a decent second to Business Class. Thank you very much!

I'll talk about this in the next episode.

Brilliant episode. Ones where people talk through their experience of earning and burning are among my favourite.

A suggestion for future episodes. Having a guest who has recently done a challenging reward booking (eg OWA, 4x passengers) explain their process from earning the points, planning the trip, booking it and taking it, sharing successes and pitfalls.

Thanks for the suggestion

 

[Revenge]

I agree it was a great episode. Really interesting interview! My question was how does Peter view Hawaiian reward seat availability before calling Velocity to make to booking?

 

[HNL808]

The other question I have is, can you use velocity points to upgrade your fare class on Hawaii Airlines. (i.e. purchase Economy and upgrade to Business with velocity points). If so, how?
Thank you.
Looking forward to the next episode soon.

 

[mel-world]

I know I'm a bit behind but enjoyed the chat on redeeming points for flights until about the last question where your guest said the best way to accumulate points was CC churning. Not much good for retirees who cannot even get a CC, let alone churn them. Maybe there are ways for retirees to get a reward CC as the only way I seem to be able to get any points is through Flybuys (or flying)!

Looking forward to the next episode.

 

[AFF Editor]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and questions from last fortnight's episode. You'll find some answers to your questions in the new episode.

Podcast Episode #82: Berlin's Surprisingly Functional New Airport

Listen now! This episode was released on 16 April, 2022.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Townsend]

Matt, I to was hoping that the new Berlin airport retained a few quirky things such as the stairs at the top of the escalator! I loved the podcast you mentioned.

 

[Revenge]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and questions from last fortnight's episode. You'll find some answers to your questions in the new episode.

Podcast Episode #82: Berlin's Surprisingly Functional New Airport

Listen now! This episode was released on 16 April, 2022.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

Thanks for answering my question on air, it was very informative.

 

[mel-world]

Thanks for answering my question on air, it was very informative.

And thanks for the link to the archived article regarding retirees CC applications. I might try at the bank and see how I go.

 

[Townsend]

Thanks Matt, another interesting episode. I must have been lucky recently as I have done four legs in Qantas Business this year and I have had good service on each flight.

 

[levelnine]

Yes, my thanks for another enjoyable episode. I thought the PPT redemption option was a particularly interesting one I'd never considered before — really appreciate you sharing that.