Having to call Qantas for things that should be possible online

[Mattg]

I'm trying to cancel a Classic Flight Reward booking for next week. Getting the same issue reported by others where the website is trying to give me a credit, even though I booked with points and am entitled to a full refund.



Can someone please remind me what the best course of action is here?

Interestingly, although I paid 8,000 Qantas points + $58.59 in taxes, it's trying to give me a credit for $126.59. Does this mean Qantas's internal value of points is 0.85 CPP?

 

[serfty]

Can someone please remind me what the best course of action is here?

@Matt_01 has indicated it generally works out properly but I cannot bring myself to trust it.

Maybe get screen shots of the booking showing the award booking classes beforehand.

 

[Mattg]

@Matt_01 has indicated it generally works out properly but I cannot bring myself to trust it.

Maybe get screen shots of the booking showing the award booking classes beforehand.

Yeah, I couldn't trust it either so called up. Someone in Cape Town answered after 5 minutes (that's good) but it then took them 8 minutes to process the cancellation.

The call centre rep "helpfully" informed me that I could not get a credit for this (I know that - somebody should tell whoever is in charge of the Qantas website!), and made a big deal about the fact he was waiving the cancellation penalty, as if he was doing me a favour.

 

[Matt_01]

Can someone please remind me what the best course of action is here?

Interestingly, although I paid 8,000 Qantas points + $58.59 in taxes, it's trying to give me a credit for $126.59. Does this mean Qantas's internal value of points is 0.85 CPP?

I would not be not at all concerned about this pop up, just hit continue and accept through to the end. What you are seeing is no different to any of the messages I have received. As for the $126.59 check the CC fee this may be the difference, outside of that it is just likely that someone in QF has forgotten that Maths start from R-L and not the other way around. I have also received the pop up indicating that my refund was more than I paid and am confident as, as my cough points to the ground QF has never returned a single dollar more than I was entitled to pre or post covid. Just noticed your above post, apologies I did not respond sooner.

 

[serfty]

Yeah, I couldn't trust it either so called up. Someone in Cape Town answered after 5 minutes (that's good) but it then took them 8 minutes to process the cancellation.

FWIW I did cancel a couple of award bookings in the last six months using the App., last in March.

I did not notice anything untoward at the time.

 

[jakeseven7]

Oh I would really like to be able to purchase an extra seat online (for kid car seats)

 

[Matt_01]

@Mattg have you not answered you own question. If I read correctly your rewards booking was for next week however as I read this thread you have chosen to call QF and thereby adding to the problem of wait time, just saying.

 

[Mattg]

@Mattg have you not answered you own question. If I read correctly your rewards booking was for next week however as I read this thread you have chosen to call QF and thereby adding to the problem of wait time, just saying.

Yes, unfortunately I did end up calling... if the website was working properly, I wouldn't have felt it necessary.

FWIW I also cancelled another award booking this evening on the Qantas website, and it worked just fine.

 

[jonboixxx]

Yes, unfortunately I did end up calling... if the website was working properly, I wouldn't have felt it necessary.

FWIW I also cancelled another award booking this evening on the Qantas website, and it worked just fine.

I had to ring for similar this week. In trying to cancel online, it was throwing up a travel credit which was not representative of the J seats value.

When I rang, I was told that it looked like it wasn't ticketed properly????? so wasn't available for cancellation online.

I suspect cancellation is a little glitchy lately, as I have managed to cancel successfully online relatively recently.

 

[Berlin]

Just had a nightmare of an experience with a couple of credit vouchers/ refunds/ cancelations. Should have all been fairly straight forward but turns out it wasn't and "required manual intervention by my team supervisor".

All agents I've spoken to were reasonably friendly and based in Hobart though the last one twice started rather fierce arguments with me and later apologising that in both cases she was wrong- would have been nice to not as a default expect the customer be in the wrong though.

And, to address the original topic, none of these issues should have been a phone call in my eyes. Actually- I'd never ever call if I could process this action online and suspect at least on this forum here, many of us are the same. Any call centre really, I'd always prefer NOT calling and end up having to call often enough, usually being forced to listen to endless announcements about how easy everything is online first which always cracks me up.

I wonder, however, if this is all just the case with rather cluey customers like us here- maybe that's only 1% of calls and there are really 99% of calls coming through asking for stuff that could be done online? I'm not sure...

 

[RichardMEL]

IN NO WAY A DEFENSE OF ANYONE

but you know what, reading Berlin's point above about how many people might be calling with things that can be done online.. I got to thinking about how much i would HATE to be an agent during these times... for ANY such organisation. I mean pre-covid I am sure they copped a lot.. but these days imagine how many idiots "shoot the messenger" or take out their anger and frustration on agents who can't do anything. Like people abusing QF agents for cancelling their big holiday flight to the Gold Coast (because, you know, lockdown) or worse yet blaming the agents or taking it out on them that the borders to so-and-so are shut, or NZ closed the bubble, or whatever.. like imagine how much cough agents must cop that have nothing to do with all the things in this thread that are valid reasons to be annoyed with QF that you have to call for.

I think of all the protests in various city today, people screaming about freedoms and all that.. and I think some of these people are probably the same sorts to abuse agents of hotels, airlines, whatever ofver things that are totally out of their control.

I had to call a CNS hotel during the week to cancel a booking because the website would not let me cancel for some crazy reason (I think the booking had been changed so many times that caused an issue). Anyway the lovely person I spoke to AT the hotel, who probably was on the front desk, was so friendly and polite and when she asked if I was cancelling due to Covid I said yeah I was stuck in MEL sadly and she mentioned how she was supposed to be headed to sYD herself next week and got it. Now never would I consider or think to take out frustrations on this young lady (who was very helpful). I comiserated with her, wished that she could get to SYD soon for whatever her visit was for and that I could get up north to see them(at the hotel, not that particular lady!) ASAP. But you know what, I would pay real money imagining that that particular person may have copped an earful from some idiot previously.

Customer service is one of the more difficult jobs imo. No, they are not perfect. Often they are prevented from doing things they WANT to do by various things (this is a general comment, not QF related) and sometimes they can be poor with the callers, but you think about your single interaction with an agent.. then think of the hundred or maybe more calls they take during a shift. In a pandemic I would not want that job - I think I would snap and abuse the idiots back !!!

and no, I'm not suggesting anyone in this thread has been horrible to a Customer Service agent at all just a very general comment.

 

[Mattg]

@RichardMEL I agree with your comment.

Just to be clear, I would never, ever be disrespectful towards a call centre employee or frontline staff member. There are better ways to take out your frustration, and it’s definitely not on the poor people trying to help you.

I still stand by my comment that if Qantas made it easier to do more things online, this would take a lot of pressure off the call centre staff.

 

[Lemon_Party]

I have to cancel a flight booked with a travel agent, but upgraded to business with points.
Given the COVID guarantees, I feel like I should be able to get a refund of points as well as the flight booking, but I’m not certain on this.
Anyone been here before? I wasn’t sure if I could just cancel the flight with the travel agent and the points will work themselves out, but sounds risky so I may have to sit in a call centre queue tomorrow….

 

[Port Power]

I'm trying to cancel a Classic Flight Reward booking for next week. Getting the same issue reported by others where the website is trying to give me a credit, even though I booked with points and am entitled to a full refund.

View attachment 253848

Can someone please remind me what the best course of action is here?

Interestingly, although I paid 8,000 Qantas points + $58.59 in taxes, it's trying to give me a credit for $126.59. Does this mean Qantas's internal value of points is 0.85 CPP?

I had this exact screen last week when cancelling a reward flight. I clicked “continue” and cancelled. Points were refunded immediately and a notice advised it would be some weeks for refund of paid component to be refunded to original method of payment. So I suggest continue….

 

[IBauer]

Previously, when using a QF flight credit for a booking, one was able to click on a link and book the desired flight online (never mind that the fare of a flight booked with credit was usually higher than the same flight purchased at the same moment without credit).

On around 16 July, when I wanted to make a booking using a flight credit, I found the link to flights had disappeared and a message instead, to call QF or contact one of their offices (really?). This meant, one must join the thousands (or ten thousands) in the telephone queue to book flights with flight credits – no doubt asking for a booking fee as well. This meant hours of waiting time. I wanted to book a flight urgently, but there was no point in using credit, even though there is an expiry date. (I have in the meantime accumulated about $4000 flight credits). There was also the fine print that for bookings after 1 July, the flights booked with credit must be of a value larger than the credit itself. VERY SNEAKY!!

Looking at my credits on 22 July again – the link has been restored!! I still suggest reading the fine print, as the conditions seem to change frequently.

As of Saturday, I find that I cannot see all my bookings but have to enter the Booking Reference for each individual flight. Of course, I do not have all my booking references with me all the time. Very irritating.

 

[Matt_01]

It looks like QF have reinstated some of the old pop up messages around cancelling awards. I cancelled 3 this morning and noticed that the messages is similar to the pre covid ones and no mention of credits. I am sure there will be some who will question the 6000 points fee but I am not worried about this it just works.

 

[Vic]

I made a booking using a part travel credit (8%) and $$$ (92%). I was unable to change this online (option greyed-out/insensitive).

When a flight was cancelled, they rebooked me on a flight 8 hours earlier that I could not avail myself of. To fix I had to call.

Once re-ticketed, I was unable to do anything more online other than look at the booking. No seat selection or other option worked.

Today the new flight was cancelled (it was for next week). After this I was unable to even look at the booking/credit online. I had to call to have it sorted out.

Yes this.
Except I now have vouchers and they have to be used by calling.

 

[Deleted member 26544]

I’ve had something of the opposite experience, I could book something online the call centre agent couldn’t see.

Trying to re-schedule a trip to LDH I could see Classic Awards the agent couldn’t. While I was on hold as they submitted the cancellation, I went ahead and booked a new itinerary for the dates I wanted. Once off hold I told the agent the new PNR and they were quite surprised. I was dealing with Cape Town but this agent sounded better than most.

 

[Port Power]

I would like to be able to change a booking to a different destination, rather than have to cancel for a flight credit and then rebook through the PNR number. It might mean that QF could not raise the fare, but it would be so convenient.

 

[Seat0B]

I would like to be able to change a booking to a different destination, rather than have to cancel for a flight credit and then rebook through the PNR number. It might mean that QF could not raise the fare, but it would be so convenient.

yes I would like this too. Sometimes, when I used to travel for work (oh the good old days!), I would be in say Adelaide planning to come home directly to Canberra, but then get a call to visit a client in say Melbourne on the way back and that just simply was too hard. It was also often too hard even when you phoned them, and so usually ended up with cancelling the existing flight bookings, and then making new ones. That's just one of the reasons that I usually took business class fares as they were flexible and refundable.