Article: Qantas Points “The Envy of the World”? Absolutely Not!

[Jo145]

Using the AA record locator and your name, you could look up your booking on the AA website. But a booking that is linked to your QFF number won't link to your AA account, only to your QFF account.

I thought about it after your earlier response and felt a bit silly - it was obvious when I thought about it. Am clearly out of practice. Thanks again.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

What else could be done? Try this: The Qantas CEO, when calling for borders to be opened for months and months before they were, could have prepared the airline for it. Instead, he trousered all that JobKeeper $$$, laid off people left, right and centre and began from a standing start when international travel was allowed again. Lets remember again that QR and SQ kept flying to Australia all this time; Qantas chose to shut itself down completely, internationally. Yes, I know the different ownership structure, but Qantas had the opportunity to run government funded flights, and had JobKeeper pouring in.

Even if Uncle Alan decided to make the investment in personnel and aircraft back in August or September last year I seriously doubt he would be able to make all that pre-COVID capacity magically reappear. It takes quite a long time for pilots who have been furloughed to be re-certified. It takes time for aircraft stored in the desert for close to two years to magically come back to life. In addition, back in August and September of last year it was unclear how a re-opening in Australia would work. I distinctly remember at that time the discussion was about having 2 week at-home quarantine for international arrivals with folks needing tracking equipment to ensure they are at home. It wasn't until Dom said stuff it back in October that the Commonwealth backtracked and opened everything back up. And even after that there was still inter-state border restrictions meaning sure you could arrive into Sydney quarantine free but you couldn't travel from Sydney to say Perth. It wasn't until April that everything finally returned to pre-pandemic restrictions.

All of that being said, do I support Uncle Alan laying off all the crew from ground staff to pilots? No! And other airlines have proven that you can keep people on board to ride out the pandemic. One need only look at Delta Airlines which managed to ride through this pandemic operationally quite well indeed. What I will say is aside from Delta and a small handful of other airlines, most airlines are in a very similar situation as Qantas in terms of being short staffed, short equipment and under scheduled (despite having sold many many tickets - look at KLM or Air Canada for a start).

Your argument seems analogous to: In the face of calls for more 'affordable housing', then reply "There are lots of houses available, just not where you want them. Have a job in Sydney? Look to dwellings in Tasmania". "But if you want affordable housing in Sydney - lots there, just you need to pay millions."

I guess my argument is this assumption that premium cabin flight you want must be affordable in terms of points is a silly one. It's sort of like saying, I expect to live in Beverly Hills but I only have $100K. Don't get me wrong, $100K will find you a decent house in Detroit, but in Beverly Hills 90210, you'd be lucky if you can stay a couple weeks at the Ritz Carlton for that money! As others have pointed there may also very well be other programs that offer better value both in terms of redemption cost and availability, and that's something folks should consider. No one is forcing you to transfer your Membership Rewards points to Qantas!

Ultimately at the end of the day we aren't the customers when it comes to frequent flyer points: it's the banks and other partners who buy the points who matter. If people stop transferring the AmEx points to QF and turn off EveryDayRewards transfers to QFF that'll take a bite into how many points these partners purchase or how much they pay QF per point.

-RooFlyer88

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I guess my argument is this assumption that premium cabin flight you want must be affordable in terms of points is a silly one. It's sort of like saying, I expect to live in Beverly Hills but I only have $100K. Don't get me wrong, $100K will find you a decent house in Detroit, but in Beverly Hills 90210, you'd be lucky if you can stay a couple weeks at the Ritz Carlton for that money! As others have pointed there may also very well be other programs that offer better value both in terms of redemption cost and availability, and that's something folks should consider. No one is forcing you to transfer your Membership Rewards points to Qantas!



-RooFlyer88

This highlights the reality - which is a difference between the PR machine that is QFFF and what’s actually being experienced.

There is nothing in the media marketing that says premium seats will only be available to a few people, or updates to explain your chances of securing an upgrade or premium award are extremely low.

Instead we get bombarded with newsletters and press releases telling *how good* availability is, that there are thousands of points-only planes offering every seat - including premium - for points, and how easy it is to upgrade.

 

[mviy]

What else could be done? Try this: The Qantas CEO, when calling for borders to be opened for months and months before they were, could have prepared the airline for it. Instead, he trousered all that JobKeeper $$$, laid off people left, right and centre and began from a standing start when international travel was allowed again.

JobKeeper had to all be paid on to employees. QF didn't get to keep any of that money. JobKeeper helped to keep workers employed however QF had to pay workers then get reimbursed for it and still pay things JobKeeper wouldn't cover such as super, not to mention all the other expenses they needed to pay. JobKeeper limited how much money business haemorrhaged during the pandemic.

Businesses still had to make tough calls to terminate the employment of workers not covered by JobKeeper or working in roles that weren't expected to be needed again or for an extended period. QF had to go to institutions and shareholders for money just to survive.

Lets remember again that QR and SQ kept flying to Australia all this time; Qantas chose to shut itself down completely, internationally. Yes, I know the different ownership structure, but Qantas had the opportunity to run government funded flights, and had JobKeeper pouring in.

QF was only funded for limited repatriation flights and that was to ensure they broke even, not make any profit to help fund other flights. Quarantine requirements imposed on crew also had an impact.

State subsidised airlines potentially had much more potential to keep operating during the pandemic receiving greater support.

Post automatically merged: Aug 18, 2022

Instead we get bombarded with newsletters and press releases telling *how good* availability is, that there are thousands of points-only planes offering every seat - including premium - for points, and how easy it is to upgrade.

As SG I got upgraded both ways last year, but that was back when the flights to LHR from MEL were via DRW so it was missing all the PER based demand. Though I suspect NB trying to upgrade may well have been disappointed at that time.

 

[siri]

Again, you keep deflecting.

Yes, Qantas offers you plenty of ways to redeem your seats, except for the method that is sought by lots and lots of people. And it has gotten harder, not easier, to attain premium cabins since the pandemic. In that sense, the article is spot on. By comparison, there is heaps of availability into and out of Australia on QF's main competitor internationally, SQ, which makes it laughable to claim that Qantas' currency is the envy of the world, at least from the perspective of the consumer.

If I could transfer my QF points to SQ points at 1:1 or even 2:1, I would do it in a heartbeat. And I'm sure many others would too.

Hope sing air marketing read this and i would definitely transfer my qf points to sing air.. Few yrs ago sing air gave me gold or similar to me without asking since they can see my extensive travel via spore and they took it back after i left my work ..

 

[kangarooflyer88]

This highlights the reality - which is a difference between the PR machine that is QFFF and what’s actually being experienced.

There is nothing in the media marketing that says premium seats will only be available to a few people, or updates to explain your chances of securing an upgrade or premium award are extremely low.

Instead we get bombarded with newsletters and press releases telling *how good* availability is, that there are thousands of points-only planes offering every seat - including premium - for points, and how easy it is to upgrade.

Availability is good for a number of destinations, particularly Australia domestic. I will concede that travelling 2 continents over to Europe can be a challenge on QF given the limited connectivity and the fact that the OneWorld route network isn't particularly good anyway. I suppose my argument is can you find a single OneWorld partner be it AA, BA, AY, JL, etc. that offers saver business and first awards between Oceania and Europe? I can't find any! On Star Alliance it's trivial because there are tons of airlines in the network to make the connection such as SQ, NH, TG, AI, CA, BR, TK, NZ, OZ and that's just in APAC. Combine that with European carriers like LX, OS, LH, LO, SK, A3, SN, and OU in Europe and is it any wonder that finding award availability on SQ and AC from Oceania to Europe is trivial?

Hope sing air marketing read this and i would definitely transfer my qf points to sing air.. Few yrs ago sing air gave me gold or similar to me without asking since they can see my extensive travel via spore and they took it back after i left my work ..

I don't think QF would let you just transfer points to SQ. If you have transferrable points like AmEx MR then yes, maybe. What I will say is there is no such thing as a perfect frequent flyer program in terms of awards. There have been times where I could not find availability where I wanted to fly with Aeroplan (Star Alliance) and had to use my Qantas (OneWorld) awards and certainly vice-versa.

For all those pensioners saving up their points for a lifetime to travel somewhere nice in J or F the message is simple, get in when the going is good because eventually the party will be over. If you can't find J awards when you want to travel now give it a few weeks and try again. Awards come and go. You need to pull the trigger if you want to make the most from your points that's true for érrorPlan just as much as it is for QFF

-RooFlyer88

 

[Anna]

I thought about it after your earlier response and felt a bit silly - it was obvious when I thought about it. Am clearly out of practice. Thanks again.

Something I didn't know, but which is discussed in the thread below, is that apparently if you book an award in one FF program you can then later change your FF number in the booking to another FF program. You might do this for example to get status benefits in the second program. I didn't think airlines would allow this 'double dipping' on FF programs for award bookings, but apparently they do, or some do anyway.

AAward - change from AAdvantage Number to Qantas FF number

I have an upcoming AAward entirely on Qantas domestic flights, booked from my AA account. Therefore the award booking has my AA number on it. I'd like to change to my Qantas FF number, because platinum status. Is there an easy way to successfully do this online, without having to call Qantas...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

 

[Anna]

This is another real sweet spot with QF are points upgrades and something I think a lot of folks forget about the program. I can buy a $99 red eDeal ticket from SYD to MEL on QF's A330 service (with lie flat beds) then proceed to use 10,900 points to upgrade into J and that upgrade can be confirmed right away provided there is U space available. And with that I get the usual helping of status credits, don't have to pay taxes and fees on the award and also earn some QFF points to boot

By 'the usual helping', you mean Y status credits?

 

[andye]

Something I didn't know, but which is discussed in the thread below, is that apparently if you book an award in one FF program you can then later change your FF number in the booking to another FF program. You might do this for example to get status benefits in the second program. I didn't think airlines would allow this 'double dipping' on FF programs for award bookings, but apparently they do, or some do anyway.

AAward - change from AAdvantage Number to Qantas FF number

I have an upcoming AAward entirely on Qantas domestic flights, booked from my AA account. Therefore the award booking has my AA number on it. I'd like to change to my Qantas FF number, because platinum status. Is there an easy way to successfully do this online, without having to call Qantas...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

I've done this before. You can't change the number on an SQ award ticket though

 

[MEL_Traveller]

I've done this before. You can't change the number on an SQ award ticket though

Likewise for an AS award, swapped to QF number and got SCs (points club).

 

[levelnine]

Likewise for an AS award, swapped to QF number and got SCs (points club).

Why would the award have booked as an AS flight number in the first place? Almost all of the time, award bookings are in the flight number of the operating carrier (eg a Qantas award on an EK flight has an EK flight number). I only know of a handful of exceptions.

 

[andye]

Why would the award have booked as an AS flight number in the first place? Almost all of the time, award bookings are in the flight number of the operating carrier (eg a Qantas award on an EK flight has an EK flight number). I only know of a handful of exceptions.

Referring to FF number not flight number

 

[levelnine]

Referring to FF number not flight number

Ahh right, I see. Thanks.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Something I didn't know, but which is discussed in the thread below, is that apparently if you book an award in one FF program you can then later change your FF number in the booking to another FF program. You might do this for example to get status benefits in the second program. I didn't think airlines would allow this 'double dipping' on FF programs for award bookings, but apparently they do, or some do anyway.

AAward - change from AAdvantage Number to Qantas FF number

I have an upcoming AAward entirely on Qantas domestic flights, booked from my AA account. Therefore the award booking has my AA number on it. I'd like to change to my Qantas FF number, because platinum status. Is there an easy way to successfully do this online, without having to call Qantas...

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

It has been the case for a long time. I have always booked my AA awards via my account but had my QFF number in there for status benefits. Likewise BA

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Just thought I'd point out that QFF will once again become the envy of the world at noon today when QF commences the release of additional classic award flights on their network:

To help you make the most of your Qantas Points we have extended our commitment of up to 50 per cent more Classic Flight Reward seat availability on Qantas international, trans-Tasman and popular domestic routes until 30 June 2023. These will be released progressively from 12pm today.

-RooFlyer88

 

[Guvner]

Weren’t there already “Millions” available a week or two ago? Why would they feel the need to release more?

 

[BD1959]

Weren’t there already “Millions” available a week or two ago? Why would they feel the need to release more?

Because an AGM is imminent and the Exec want to deflect any negative customer sentiment by being able to state that they have remediation in hand ??

Regards,

BD

 

[greatgropher]

Qantas Points “The Envy of the World”? Absolutely Not! is an article written by AFF editorial staff:

Qantas Points "The Envy of the World"? Absolutely Not, Mr Joyce!

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce recently told a room full of business leaders and journalists in Perth that the airline's frequent flyer scheme and points "are the

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

You can leave a comment or discuss this topic below.

Really??? The envy of the world??? Mr. Joyce needs a reality check and consult with his communications manager before making outrageous statements like this. Up until Covid, I travelled overseas and domestically several times ever year business flying business class internationally with Qantas wherever and whenever I could. I had been flying within Qantas since 1972 and held Platinum status for 7 years in a row and now hold Gold status for life. Recently, I started flying with Singapore Airlines in business class to India and other countries in South East Asia and what a different world compared to Qantas in terms of 'product' and service (in the air & on the ground), and aircraft creature comforts (A350-900 Vs Qantas A330s). Can't believe I have been living under a rock all these years! I have several overseas business and vacation trips planned for the next 9 months and now figuring out how I can burn my Qantas FF points (almost 500, 000) and break away from the 'golden handcuffs'.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

I frankly don't see the issue folks are experiencing finding business class saver awards on the QF website.

A quick check just now shows plenty of availability on QF 1 to LHR:


Also plenty of availability across the Pacific to LA:


Inside the Asia region we also see plenty of availability online. Consider S'pore for instance:



Plenty of options now, folks! Go out and booking while the pickings are good! Who knows when Uncle Alan will release these awards to bronze members or worse!

-RooFlyer88

 

[encryptededdy]

Plenty of options now, folks! Go out and booking while the pickings are good! Who knows when Uncle Alan will release these awards to bronze members or worse!

I suppose one upside of these sudden releases (vs. the normal 353 day schedule) is that everybody has equal pickings of the new seats. No pesky Platinum or Gold status holders getting first dibs at the premium seats