Has anyone had success with the call-up "Marginal" xASA's?

dairyfloss · Aug 15, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

I had a complicated route to get to a decision point on a YASA a little earlier today... Thanks to the advice here, I had basically settled on the fact that Classic Award was probably better, simpler, etc. than bothering with a YASA, but I thought I would try and ring through and see if there was only a few bucks in it to get some points and SCs added. I should have just stuck with what was suggested!

Found the Classic Award SYD-MEL-SYD flights I wanted x 2 online for 32,000 Pts and $139.88 all in. I then rang the 1300 number and used all of the best, most knowingest spiel that I could from the various guides, menus and exercises on AFF, and was immediately told "I believe you can just book those online, Mr dairyfloss". Staying calm, I asked the agent (forgot her name

) to check with a supervisor about what I was after (again it was described). After about 5 minutes she came back and said "OK, it seems you can do this - give me the flight details". She gathered flight details and put me on hold another 5 mins. After coming off hold I was quoted 32K pts EACH for the flights (vs. 16K each for a classic return), plus Award booking fee, and so I asked her to confirm they were in the 'X' fare bucket, and to reduce the co-pay to the Classic Award Amount of 16K pts return for each ticket and let me know what the co-pay amount was - oh, and I told her that they cannot charge the award booking fee, as there is no ability to book these fares online. More holding. Came back and said It was 32K pts all up, plus $289 co-pay. We discussed. I declined.

I had been expecting more like 1.3-1.5x the Classic taxes based on what I've been reading here with the JASAs, and was probably willing to pay up to about $200, but it was a bit rich at >2x the Classic 'taxes' and so I let it go. I indicated that if I had been able to do this online, we would have both saved ourselves about 25 minutes [of confusion, frustration & disappointment] - she agreed. Classic Award flights were subsequent booked in a rather more efficient 1.33 minutes online afterwards.

Cheers.

JessicaTam · Aug 15, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Dairyfloss, I would have said that "about" double the cost was "about" right. YMMV

legroom · Aug 15, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

dairyfloss said:
I had a complicated route to get to a decision point on a YASA a little earlier today... Thanks to the advice here, I had basically settled on the fact that Classic Award was probably better, simpler, etc. than bothering with a YASA, but I thought I would try and ring through and see if there was only a few bucks in it to get some points and SCs added. I should have just stuck with what was suggested!

Found the Classic Award SYD-MEL-SYD flights I wanted x 2 online for 32,000 Pts and $139.88 all in. I then rang the 1300 number and used all of the best, most knowingest spiel that I could from the various guides, menus and exercises on AFF, and was immediately told "I believe you can just book those online, Mr dairyfloss". Staying calm, I asked the agent (forgot her name ) to check with a supervisor about what I was after (again it was described). After about 5 minutes she came back and said "OK, it seems you can do this - give me the flight details". She gathered flight details and put me on hold another 5 mins. After coming off hold I was quoted 32K pts EACH for the flights (vs. 16K each for a classic return), plus Award booking fee, and so I asked her to confirm they were in the 'X' fare bucket, and to reduce the co-pay to the Classic Award Amount of 16K pts return for each ticket and let me know what the co-pay amount was - oh, and I told her that they cannot charge the award booking fee, as there is no ability to book these fares online. More holding. Came back and said It was 32K pts all up, plus $289 co-pay. We discussed. I declined.

I had been expecting more like 1.3-1.5x the Classic taxes based on what I've been reading here with the JASAs, and was probably willing to pay up to about $200, but it was a bit rich at >2x the Classic 'taxes' and so I let it go. I indicated that if I had been able to do this online, we would have both saved ourselves about 25 minutes [of confusion, frustration & disappointment] - she agreed. Classic Award flights were subsequent booked in a rather more efficient 1.33 minutes online afterwards.

Cheers.

Data point only

JASA SYD MEL (April 2013): 32,000 pts + $169

You're now saying for YASA, it is 32,000 pts + $200 ?

Did you mean to write JASA ?

JessicaTam · Aug 15, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

2 x 8,000 MEL-SYD return = 32,000

dairyfloss · Aug 15, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

legroom said:
Data point only

JASA SYD MEL (April 2013): 32,000 pts + $169

You're now saying for YASA, it is 32,000 pts + $200 ?

Did you mean to write JASA ?

Sorry - it's for 2 passengers... all in whY (the 'X' fare bucket was what I was targeting)

Classic Award(s) were 16K pts EACH for total 32K pts + 139.88 (for 2 x SYD-MEL-SYD)
Marginal (Y)ASA over the phone was going to be 16K pts EACH for total 32K pts + 289 co-pay (for 2 x SYD-MEL-SYD)

Not worth the additional $75 per person for a few SCs/points.

markis10 · Aug 15, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

dairyfloss said:
Sorry - it's for 2 passengers... all in whY (the 'X' fare bucket was what I was targeting)

Classic Award(s) were 16K pts EACH for total 32K pts + 139.88 (for 2 x SYD-MEL-SYD)
Marginal (Y)ASA over the phone was going to be 16K pts EACH for total 32K pts + 289 co-pay (for 2 x SYD-MEL-SYD)

Not worth the additional $75 per person for a few SCs/points.

A marginal J return and paying cash for the other flight in would not have been that different!

dairyfloss · Aug 15, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

markis10 said:
A marginal J return and paying cash for the other flight in would not have been that different!

Hmmm.... I don't think I could have dealt with that process again so patiently... maybe next time, when it's back online! :?:

Newk · Aug 17, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Adelaide to Melbourne business one way 16,000 points and $109. The classic award was 16,000 and $79.76
Simple as pie. The CSO knew EXACTLY what she was doing...indeed she was so quick that I doubted her when original quote was 28,000 points. Then I remembered to ask for the minimum points and got the above.
Maybe eight minutes on the phone...some of which was waiting for the whirring of computers, and an unexplained referral to supervisor
Terms and conditions were quoted to me unprompted and were correct as we understand them.
An experience that exceeded my expectations. Still, I must add, not as easy as on-line.

(and I haven't worked out any ratios or quotients or whatever sorry....it doesn't matter to me because I need to do the flight, it's simply a lark getting the points and SCs back)

edit to correct the cash component of the paid ASA and to make a couple of things clearer

pagingjoan · Aug 17, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch....
Or back on the QF website, we have the increasingly familiar:
"Some sections are temporarily unavailable ... Please continue to book and manage flights with confidence."

Deleted User · Aug 17, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Perhaps OT but when did the option for a classic award, to pay the taxes with points, disappear...?

Not going to do one, but thought it was an option...?

legroom · Aug 17, 2013

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Newk said:
Adelaide to Melbourne business one way 16,000 points and $109. The classic award was 16,000 and $79.76
Simple as pie. The CSO knew EXACTLY what she was doing...indeed she was so quick that I doubted her when original quote was 28,000 points. Then I remembered to ask for the minimum points and got the above.
Maybe eight minutes on the phone...some of which was waiting for the whirring of computers, and an unexplained referral to supervisor
Terms and conditions were quoted to me unprompted and were correct as we understand them.
An experience that exceeded my expectations. Still, I must add, not as easy as on-line.

(and I haven't worked out any ratios or quotients or whatever sorry....it doesn't matter to me because I need to do the flight, it's simply a lark getting the points and SCs back)

edit to correct the cash component of the paid ASA and to make a couple of things clearer

Newk,

Nothing wrong with a non-frivolous flight where MASA score does not apply.

$$ co-payment seems perfect !

hossein_au · Aug 18, 2013

Re: First Ever Status Run !!

Quick question guys: I'm still not quite sure about the mASA thingie;
1) I understand we need to call the 1300 number to make the booking,
2) I also understand we need to check classic awards availability and ask the CSO to book the ASA in the U fare bucket,
3) I understand classic awards are based on distance travelled per leg, but ASA is based on the great circle distance.

Now here's the question:
4) Let's say I want to book CBR-MEL-CBR,
5) I check online and classic awards are available for the dates I want and are priced at 16,000 points (plus the usual QF taxes) per leg, so the return trip will be 32,000 points plus some cash
6) I want to book the mASA as CBR-SYD-MEL//MEL-SYD-CBR
7) But if I choose that in the online system, it adds them up to 64,000 points plus cash.

So, when I call the 1300 number to book the mASA, should I be aiming to match the 32,000 points (as the mASA is based on the great circle distance)? If so, if the CSO checks the classic awards availability and sees it is 64,000 points, how should I convince him/her that mASA should be calculated based on the based on the great circle distance not per sector?

Thanks in advance for the help. Cheers.

Mr_Orange · Aug 19, 2013

Re: First Ever Status Run !!

I think you'll find that the indirect routings have been removed and you get charged the points for each leg thus foxing many of the fruitful SC runs.

ketsuzei · Aug 19, 2013