Heads up about program changes

[Archphoto]

Do people feel that they had adequate "three months' notice"?

I understand that they've told us around three months before JASA will be terminated, and around three months before the new points/SCs will kick in for travel.

But I don't think that being given around a day's notice of adverse changes for bookings from July 1 onwards (that can be made now) is sufficient.

For example, I make a return trip to Adelaide in March of each year. From my perspective I only had a day's notice of changes that will adversely affect my SC earning, i.e. I basically had to book it immediately if I wanted to get in under the old system.

Their notification that it will no longer be available is fine, the time they've given to book said flights is what doesn't sit well with me (my bolding).


"More changes to take effect in July 2014A change to selected Any Seat Award bookings
From 1 July 2014, we're removing the ability to make an Any Seat Award booking on Qantas flights using Classic Award[SUP]#[/SUP] booking classes (X, Z, U or P). Existing bookings will not be affected by this change.
Existing bookings for travel on or after 1 July 2014
For members with a booking made prior to 27 March 2014 in a fare class impacted by these changes for travel on or after 1 July 2014, we will automatically credit your account within a month of flying with the Qantas Points that applied when you made your booking.
See our updated terms and conditions."



The info for us was posted by RedRoo on March 27 at 1:06PM (GMT +7). We then learned we had until midnight (AEDST) on the 28th (then the 29th?) to book said flights.

3 months notice out, of the conditions change is all well and good, but less than 8 hrs notice to book any flights under an MASA - pretty poor IMHO. Too bad if you didn't have internet access for a few days (been there, lived that!!!) - rather lacking in the customer service department.

I seem to remember the tagline, "You're the reason we fly!!" How silly of me, it must have actually read: "Those of you who spend gazillions with us, are the reason we fly!!"

 

[equus]

Are you sure about this?
We are booked on CX J class to Milan in September.
Tickets booked and paid for in December 2013, will we still get full Qantas SCs ? This is important if WP status is to be retained

I believe so. I have bookings CX J to CDG in August, also booked and ticketed in December.

I have taken a PDF capture of the FAQ available at Frequent Flyer - Program - Fairer Flying FAQs = specifically the

Q: What if I've already booked?
A: If you have flights booked (booked and ticketed prior to Sat 29 Mar 2014) for travel on/after 1 July 2014, you will earn the Qantas Points and Status credits that applied at the time you made your booking. The applicable Qantas Points will be credited to your Qantas Frequent Flyer Account approximately four weeks after the dates of the flight(s) taken.

It doesn't say that it applies only to QF tickets - so I am assuming it applies to me. I have taken a capture, as this question has already changed at least once - the original version didn't mention Status credits - that got inserted later (hopefully in response to RedRoo reading some of the queries here).

 

[ketsuzei]

(misunderstanding on my part... the MPG and the base points both happened to be 1,400)

 

[RSD]

A couple of posters have mentioned that it has been reported in the last week that there are problems appearing with the QF - EK alliance - can someone post a link to this?

 

[Princess Fiona]

A couple of posters have mentioned that it has been reported in the last week that there are problems appearing with the QF - EK alliance - can someone post a link to this?

This is the article
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...ubai-is-taking-business-away-from-London.html

Very small part of the interview and a bit overblown here in Oz

 

[Himeno]

A couple of posters have mentioned that it has been reported in the last week that there are problems appearing with the QF - EK alliance - can someone post a link to this?

The only thing I've heard about is QF is now insisting that the status used to access the lounge is the program listed in the booking as they had been using handwritten lists noting EK membership numbers when EK members entered QF lounges and EK was refusing to pay based on the paper lists.

 

[Alanslegal]

Since the question was primarily about cars; it's a big stretch to say they are better and cheaper.

There are quite a few sub $40k cars that are better and cheaper than Fords and Holdens.

 

[Alanslegal]

It is a little unfair to compare a direct flight to the USA v going via HKG, which must be substantially longer. Personally I'd pay the $1200 just to avoid the extra travel time.

Who's paying? You or your employer?

Think of a family of 4 x $1200 and you know which carrier I'd be flying.

 

[Himeno]

This is the article
Why Dubai is taking business away from London - Telegraph

Very small part of the interview and a bit overblown here in Oz

hmmm.... that says that Clark met with Joyce. When was that? Maybe something was said to Joyce...
the program changes seem to have been rushed with short notice and are quite similar to the Skywards program... (including placing DFW in the West US and ADL in Eastern Australia)


We are still yet to find out if earning will still be based per sector or change to per trip (as with Skywards).
eg, MEL-xLAX-JFK (QF93-QF107)
per sector = East Coast Australia>West Coast USA + West Coast USA > East Coast USA
per trip = East Coast Australia>East Coast USA

 

[PineappleSkip]

Really?

I am off to the US in 2 weeks. QANTAS were $1200 more expensive than Cathay for an inferior J class product.

Are you telling me that you would be prepared to pay $1200 more just to keep Joyce in a job?

Should we now begin subsidising loss making Australian businesses, whilst wrapping ourselves in the flag?

Echoes my experience. DXB-BNE in two weeks time in J, $6,100 on QF, $3,100 on CX. I'll go for the superior product and price over the sentiment.

Cheers skip

OT. Sirens all afternoon, heading towards Taliban attack down the road from us in #Kabul. Fourth attack in four days. Looking forward to DXB

 

[Awesom Andy]

The only thing I've heard about is QF is now insisting that the status used to access the lounge is the program listed in the booking as they had been using handwritten lists noting EK membership numbers when EK members entered QF lounges and EK was refusing to pay based on the paper lists.

In SIN, it's pretty much the same system when I enter the EK lounge as a WP. Everything is paper-based.

 

[RSD]

This is the article
Why Dubai is taking business away from London - Telegraph

Very small part of the interview and a bit overblown here in Oz

Many thanks. Just read it, and yeh - not much in there about QF that we didn't already know!

 

[Archphoto]

Well I thought I'd give their "New Calculator" a whirl to see how worse off I am/am not and I can't book a flight BKK to ADL because it doesn't allow for adding the extra airport. Now it only shows "Add 1st Destination" - doesn't have the extra drop down menus.

If you're going to offer a "New Calculator", at least check that it's operational before making it live!!! You've had 2 days to screw around with all the "Simplified" changes - obviously it's not quite so simple, huh?

If you can't update a website and ensure it's operating correctly, it's no b***** wonder you're driving the Red Kangaroo into the ground!!!!

 

[clifford]

hmmm.... that says that Clark met with Joyce. When was that? Maybe something was said to Joyce...
the program changes seem to have been rushed with short notice and are quite similar to the Skywards program... (including placing DFW in the West US and ADL in Eastern Australia)

As a Skywards and QF Gold FF, I can relate to that. Now both FF programs are becoming equally bad. But I least I do enjoy the Moet, and the Veuve isn't that bad either in the EK lounges

But I do have my lifetime Plat status with UA to fall back on. Mileage Plus makes QF/EK look very shabby.

 

[Rebekkap]

The changes are quite extensive. Most people out there will not care.

If you do the flying and earn status with your travel the only issue is going to be a possible reduction in points earned which some people will see as a significant change and may change their flying habits.

If on the other hand you were gaming the system to earn to SCs and points then Qantas would appear not to care about you at all. These people will now need to find a new way to game the system. There are still cheap ways of doing it.

And how about those of us who do a lot of flying on routes that Qantas does not service? I'm vastly worse off under the new system, and I don't consider what I was doing gaming the system. I fly QF (or very occasionally JQ) pretty much every time I'm flying on a route they service. If they don't fly the route, I choose a one world carrier. I've been loyal to Qantas, not gaming the system, and I'm a hell of a lot worse off.

 

[nonpop]

And how about those of us who do a lot of flying on routes that Qantas does not service? I'm vastly worse off under the new system, and I don't consider what I was doing gaming the system. I fly QF (or very occasionally JQ) pretty much every time I'm flying on a route they service. If they don't fly the route, I choose a one world carrier. I've been loyal to Qantas, not gaming the system, and I'm a hell of a lot worse off.

+1 I resemble that remark.

Most of the time we fly QF to wherever it is they fly (unless a significant price delta) e.g SYD to BKK / HKG / SIN / NRT. Then going to where they don't fly we pick up AY / CX / BA / RJ / AA or JL part of the OW alliance specifically as they are an alliance with group benefits. Again, no gaming of the system. But now that I have been following the 'rules' and have forward bookings I'm being punished. What did I do wrong QF? Why are you punishing me ? What did I ever do to you except give you my money, give you my CC points earn and direct partner airline crediting to you. Where did I go wrong?

 

[greenfish]

Who's paying? You or your employer?

Think of a family of 4 x $1200 and you know which carrier I'd be flying.

When I'm paying for my family of 5, we go in Y

Troppo mentioned subsequently that he's flying from Cairns and going to JFK - so that makes sense. I wrongly assumed it was something like a BNE-LAX v BNE-HKG-LAX routing - which is so much longer I'd rather go in Y direct than J indirect.

And while $1200 extra is a lot, it's probably less than 20% of the CX J fare, an amount I've historically been happy to pay for QF over VA domestically.

 

[greenfish]

Echoes my experience. DXB-BNE in two weeks time in J, $6,100 on QF, $3,100 on CX. I'll go for the superior product and price over the sentiment.

Cheers skip

Wouldn't the EK J product on the A380 be far superior to CX - and much shorter too?

 

[JohnK]

People flying oneworld partners are not leeches trying to get status cheaply and are not any less "loyal" to Qantas. I understand that QF cannot be all things to all people. I do not expect QF to fly everywhere. But in a world of airline partnerships, it is not unreasonable to expect to be rewarded for flying partner airlines that offer an alternative where your business cannot.

Good post.

I think the problem with partners was the overuse (abuse?) to get cheap status. When you spend ~USD1,000 and earn ~1,000 SCs it makes earning status a joke. And I think the new earning tables show that YUPPs in the USA are not likely to earn as well as before although I am sure people will still find value once they analyse the new earning tables.

Unfortunately at the same time Qantas has penalised people such as your father who used the Oneworld to conduct their business. Which is a shame.

 

[Himeno]

I think the problem with partners was the overuse (abuse?) to get cheap status. When you spend ~USD1,000 and earn ~1,000 SCs it makes earning status a joke. And I think the new earning tables show that YUPPs in the USA are not likely to earn as well as before although I am sure people will still find value once they analyse the new earning tables

In which case, they should have just lowered the earn for those fares, not just gone and dropped all partners SC earn by 50%.