Classic Rewards Change Re-Ticketing Issue

[shellshock]

Hi everyone, I'm hoping for some advice for what to do please.

I called Qantas yesterday (Wed 4 Dec) via the 131313 number to make a change to an existing Classic Rewards itinerary. I made this call from Fiji (on holiday at the moment) if that makes a difference. I have not received an updated itinerary and the original outbound flights (MEL to HKG, HKG to KIX) have disappeared from the Qantas app and from Manage My Booking. It appears the new tickets have not been issued.

The original itinerary for 2 PAX, all Business Class (U), was booked on 17 July 2024 as follows:

CX 134 MEL - HKG Mon 02/06 7:25 am
CX 502 HKG - KIX Mon 02/06 4:30 pm
CX 565 KIX - TPE Thu 12/06 4:20 pm
CI 57 TPE - MEL Thu 12/06 11:30 pm

I saw new Classic Rewards seats appear so I called to request that the last two legs returning to MEL (CX 565 and CI 57) be changed to the following:

QF 26 HND - SYD Fri 13/06 6:40 am
QF 491 SYD - MEL Fri 13/06 7:30 pm

I was told on the phone that the booking was successful. I have received a refund of the total original Qantas points (419,000), and 373,000 points have been deducted for the updated booking along with 15,400 and 10,000 points for the international service fee and reward booking change fee respectively. I was told I would have to pay an additional $49.50 AUD due to tax differences, for which I provided my AMEX. I note my AMEX has not yet been charged for this.

I was told I should receive an email confirming the itinerary within a few minutes - no email has come yet. Shortly after the call, the Qantas App and Manage My Booking showed that the old flights (CX 565 and CI 57) had been replaced with the correct new flights (QF 26 and QF 491) as promised. However, several hours later, the original outbound flights (CX 134 and CX 502) no longer appear in the app or in Manage My Booking. The itinerary is showing as “Your booking is processing” in Manage My Booking. Clicking “Email Itinerary” sends the original itinerary (pre-change) to me.

Should I be worried that the original outbound flights have been cancelled? Or should I be patient and hope it gets ticketed despite being over 24 hours already. I emailed [email protected] but I am worried I may not get a response since the automated reply says "This inbox is dedicated to customers who hold a Classic Flight Reward booking on a partner airline flight, which has been cancelled or had a schedule change."

Any advice is appreciated! Thanks everyone.

 

[ChrisMars]

I would call asap to get it sorted.
Also, what is the 15400 fee? Is that the service fee?
T&Cs says:
Service Fees will not be applied when changing Flight Rewards booked for travel in Business or First class.
The change fee of 5000x2 still applies though.

 

[sudoer]

Should I be worried that the original outbound flights have been cancelled?

Yes. I would get on the phone ASAP if you can.

If your CX flights have dropped off the booking, you have potentially (likely?) lost these seats as the booking was not promptly ticketed. Has the CX inventory been returned for new bookings? If so it should be possible to get it re-added to the PNR.

The positive thing is that you have time on your side. Qantas will likely lodge a request with CX to reinstate the seats. If CX refuses, you should insist Qantas opens up space on one of their Japan routes for you.

Start making notes of the times you've called, the people you've spoken to, and what they've said they will do. These may come in handy down the track.

 

[DrGear]

Oooooh dear. Get on them now and don't get off the phone until they reticket you. I went through this same thing earlier this year with some CI CR seats and I had to go up through the ranks to get a resolution. The most stressful thing I've gone through this year outside of one major event that happened in June.

Best of luck to you.

 

[1022]

The Australian based team at the escalation email are usually pretty good, though not necessarily quick nor responsive. As hard as it is to be patient, my inclination would be to let them try and resolve it rather than futile calls to offshore agents who might bugger things up even more.

 

[shellshock]

Update:

Thank you very much for everyone's advice. I was able to resolve the issue - here's what worked for me.

I called Qantas via 131313 about 30 hours after the original call requesting the itinerary change. Side note: if you are outside of Australia like I was and do not want to pay for roaming calls, you can still reach the 131313 number via Wi-Fi calling if your carrier supports it.

When I asked why my new flights (HND - SYD - MEL) weren't ticketed yet, I was told it can take some time and I should just wait. However, when I asked why my AMEX had not yet been charged for the extra taxes associated with the change, she was able to check and see that the payment had declined. I paid again on the spot over the phone, this time using a VISA card which processed immediately and the new flights were ticketed within the minute.

However, the original outbound flights (MEL - KIX) were still missing, and I had to ask about them specifically. I was told the system 'automatically cancelled them' but that they would reinstate them. Within a few minutes, they reappeared in the Qantas app showing as 'waitlisted'. As sudoer suggested,

Qantas will likely lodge a request with CX to reinstate the seats.

I asked about this and was told Qantas had lodged the request with Cathay and that Cathay would 'certainly process it within the day because there are plenty of seats available'. Indeed, within 5 hours the original reinstated flights were ticketed. I note that the Cathay seats had not yet reappeared in Classic Rewards so perhaps they were still being 'held'.

Finally, with this advice from ChrisMars,

Also, what is the 15400 fee? Is that the service fee?
T&Cs says:
Service Fees will not be applied when changing Flight Rewards booked for travel in Business or First class.
The change fee of 5000x2 still applies though.

I asked why I was charged 7700 points per PAX as a 'service fee' during the original itinerary change despite the T&C's stating such fees are not applied for Business and First class reward bookings. She informed the points department and I was reimbursed 2 x 7700 points the following day. The 5000 points per PAX change fee still stands as expected.

My advice for anyone in a similar situation:

• Reconsider calling 131313 for an itinerary change given how mistake-prone the process seems.
• When requesting a change, demand (politely) that the new itinerary be ticketed ASAP and ideally do not hang up until it is completed without issue.
• If an issue occurs, call 131313 as soon as possible.
• Try contacting Qantas via Facebook Messenger, Twitter, or the escalation email address, though I only received as response via social media and not the email.
• Don't let them charge a service fee if you've booked a Business or First class ticket.

• Start making notes of the times you've called, the people you've spoken to, and what they've said they will do. These may come in handy down the track.

Thanks again for everyone's help!

 

[sudoer]

Sounds like a positive outcome - do you now have e-tickets with all segments showing 'confirmed'?

 

[shellshock]

Sounds like a positive outcome - do you now have e-tickets with all segments showing 'confirmed'?

That's right! All segments are now showing 'confirmed'. Thanks for your help.