Heads up about program changes

[amaroo]

AND.. you have to do this about 6 times to get WP status. You end up spending nearly $5K more on the same seats compared with classic awards. For what extra benefit?

It is possible that Qantas may have done us a favour by eliminating the possibility of all this status chasing nonsense. It is going to save me a fortune. And I will still be cluttering up the J and F lounges.

Cut that in half when done in conjunction with a DSC offer. A quick glance at the MASA thread fills in the gap...

 

[burmans]

No, I am willing to pay $1,200 - and I do - to keep thousands of Australians in a job.

Boy I knew Tony Abbott wants to reduce benefits but that's a very low wage for thousands of people! Or maybe just extreme hyperbole.

 

[Cool Cat Phil]

The way I see it, most QFFers don't follow their SCs and never even heard about MASA so the recent changes may get them a bit upset because the loss of points, but not upset enough to do anything about it.
The very few who are well informed are obviously very upset, like many on AFF, but most will keep flying QF when possible and credit their points to QFF. Some will move to VA or credit to AA but in the end of the day the price QF pays in lost of customer loyalty is minor compared the the money it will save by the recent changes.

I agree with you comments Boomy!

No doubt that MASA's are only really used by us folk on AFF..... the overwhelming majority of QFF member's would not know what a MASA is, let how to book one.

I for one, will be sad to see them go , but I live by that famous phrase..... "Keep Calm & Carry On" .

 

[serfty]

Serfty,

Do you consider going to LAX via NZ to be the best value JASA to get to LAX?

For me in my self funded way it has worked out.

Some would conside their time not worth the effors to go Oz - NZ- US and vv.

I have been able to use the flexibility of these to change the last OZ-NZ segment into a positioning segment for the next one.

With the demise of these come July I have re-budgeted 168K QFF points to spend on one more ...

 

[Austashes]

OK got the extended family signed up with VA - they can take advantage of the VA program as they will be hit with the changes the most. I will likely do the same for our family international travel.

Now all I have to do is get work to change over and we are set.

 

[asg29e]

Cut that in half when done in conjunction with a DSC offer. A quick glance at the MASA thread fills in the gap...

Sounds like a reason for getting rid of DSCs rather than MASAs then. Can't see how DSCs help QF's bottom line.

 

[defurax]

OK got the extended family signed up with VA - they can take advantage of the VA program as they will be hit with the changes the most. I will likely do the same for our family international travel.

Now all I have to do is get work to change over and we are set.

In my case I'm kind of lucky because my QFF year ends on 31 December and I've already re-qualified my WP status for 2015. So when I have time I just need to sit down and decide if I'm better off crediting all my 2015 flights to AA starting January 1st 2015. I usually do at least 3 trips to Europe and 3 trips to the US per year and I saw that AY flights credit 100% mileage to AA...considering that flying AY is usually the cheapest way to get to Europe year round this might be a smart move in my case.

 

[RSD]

For me in my self funded way it has worked out.

Some would conside their time not worth the effors to go Oz - NZ- US and vv.

I have been able to use the flexibility of these to change the last OZ-NZ segment into a positioning segment for the next one.

With the demise of these come July I have re-budgeted 168K QFF points to spend on one more ...

OK many thanks - I might look at that as I might be taking a trip to the U.S. departing MEL Saturday April 5th and the $ cost for the outbound leg to Los Angeles is totally frightening!

 

[ketsuzei]

No doubt that MASA's are only really used by us folk on AFF.....

Especially since they went offline, but the difference is probably only minor.

Anyway, the total "cost" to QF of AFF MASAs must be relatively trivial, and I would imagine that engaged AFFers are among the customers you would least want to disenfranchise.

I'll live without MASAs with very little difficulty, but once I factor in family trips, credit cards, and various other factors, it will mean a transfer of income from QF to VA domestically and all over the place internationally.

 

[JohnM]

Actually, it's not so much to do with mASA's it's more to do with markets.

The standard J2RT return base fare to LAX ex AKL on QF is ~AUD10998, J2RT to LAX ex SYD is AUD16360.

No wonder I look on in awe at your genius, serfty!

 

[hossein_au]

Yes. I specifically said I was assuming that.

Why else would someone book a MASA? That's a genuine question btw, if I've missed something please set me straight. The impression I got from this forum was that they were primarily, if not exclusively, a tool to get status.

Well, I have already re-qualified for WP, but for my upcoming trip to BNE, I decided to book JASA; I was already going to go, and decided that instead of Classic, I am happy to pay about $100 extra and book JASA. To me, it is/was a reasonable investment for my LTG (which is far, far, away by the way). I am not "chasing" status, but I would like to get to LTG at some stage in the next 10 years or so... Isn't this what Qantas want/need (long term loyalty)?

 

[amaroo]

Sounds like a reason for getting rid of DSCs rather than MASAs then. Can't see how DSCs help QF's bottom line.

Any future DSC will need to paid with the folding stuff. Cash in the bank makes a huge difference....

As posted before I'd bet my left one that DSC offers start rolling out after July or prior with a clause excluding MASA

 

[amaroo]

Actually, it's not so much to do with mASA's it's more to do with markets.

The standard J2RT return base fare to LAX ex AKL on QF is ~AUD10998, J2RT to LAX ex SYD is AUD16360.

The demise of MASA won't take away any of the pricing benefit for this route. Without doubt the J/MASA is the thing that makes it super attractive. No different than your bog standard status run to KTA or TSV......you just end up in a better destination.

 

[Shan Man]

Get a life...

It was said in jest...

 

[samh004]

The demise of MASA won't take away any of the pricing benefit for this route. Without doubt the J/MASA is the thing that makes it super attractive. No different than your bog standard status run to KTA or TSV......you just end up in a better destination.

Karratha is a wonderful spot...

 

[Alanslegal]

Just booked a last minute trip to SIN for my mother who is departing this Wednesday. She's a nobody frequent flyer and given QF does not really want these type of flyers anymore, I am currently doing seat selection with SQ So here's an uppercut to your chin QF

 

[Austashes]

Does anyone know if we can transfer citi bank credit to AA miles? Any other credir cards out there do a similar AA mile credit?

 

[Flashback]

Does anyone know if we can transfer citi bank credit to AA miles? Any other credir cards out there do a similar AA mile credit?

My AA AMEX/Visa credits just fine direct to AA :mrgreen:

 

[JohnK]

My major beef is that the changes should apply only to new bookings for flights after July First as like many others I have booked flights in August on BA on the assumption status credits would be as at present.

Existing bookings are unaffected.

Not sure how many time this will occur but what about a code share flight but operated on other OW metal?

This should be treated as if it was a Qantas flight.

 

[hossein_au]

What I don't get though, is why would you pay extra for a MASA rather than booking a Classic Award if you didn't care about status? And to turn that around, you can still book Classic Awards, so what have you lost?

I think you are missing the whole point of "loyalty". In the same line to your question, why would anyone book Qantas at all when nothing, absolutely NOTHING, puts them above the competition? We all have our own unique reasons, but for me, it has been (was?) a source of pride... you know, the feeling you get when you return home from your 5-star holiday, and you find your own bed more comfortable than anything else out there... That's why I've stayed with Qantas. I have been either Gold or Plat without using a single mASA. Now that I've got my LTS, I thought using JASA every once in a while would be a very good way to make sure I get to LTG in my lifetime. And, I'm happy to pay a little extra for that, the same way one may decide to put a coin aside every once in a while in the hope to see a reasonable return after some time.

You may believe every person using mASA is doggy, that's fine, you are entitled to your opinion (and obviously Qantas agrees with you). But at least in my own case, I believe your opinion is 100% false. And that's a fact. You want to stick to you gun? Cool, go nuts... but don't expect me to believe (or even respect) the falsehood you are advocating.

Edit: Oh, disclaimer: I booked my first (and probably the last) JASA last week, not that I needed it to get entitlement to something I shouldn't.