Heads up about program changes

[nlagalle]

No flaming; but I guest flying mostly discount economy, you will be one of those cleared out of Flounges!

Maybe not.. Some routes on INT do earn more in the new system. I fly at around 50% in DiscY seats, and looking at the new tables i will still be WP next year..

 

[hossein_au]

You must be a very frequent flyer to get to WP in discount Y. To maintain status by flying under such conditions you certainly deserve to have access to the F Lounge for those overseas flights.

I hope for you that the program isn't further enhanced down the track, where you actually must fly F or J in order to access premium lounges. Then there would be even more room in there.

I am in the exact same position, having earned and re-qualified for WP flying discount economy exclusively. I will NOT requalify for WP with the new changes. That is why I have suggested a name change from "frequent" flyer program to "elite" flyer program, because it doesn't get more "frequent" than earning WP in discount economy, and Qantas obviously does not value the "repeat" part of the business. I lived before QFF, and I'm sure I'll leave after it. C'est la vie.

 

[harvyk]

I am in the exact same position, having earned and re-qualified for WP flying discount economy exclusively. I will NOT requalify for WP with the new changes. That is why I have suggested a name change from "frequent" flyer program to "elite" flyer program, because it doesn't get more "frequent" than earning WP in discount economy, and Qantas obviously does not value the "repeat" part of the business. I lived before QFF, and I'm sure I'll leave after it. C'est la vie.

WP in Discount Y, that is some serious flying... :shock:

Yeah it hasn't really been a "frequent flyers" program in years. The fact that a person can do 1 trip and be considered more valuable than a person who does 50 trips I think says it all.

 

[Robbi]

Ok guys and gals. There are so many posts and an overwhelming amount of information to digest.

So where to from here? For those of us who wish to maintain our gold status in future years with best use of QFF points, what are our best options??

I think a thread will form for just this purpose.

 

[drron]

I am in the exact same position, having earned and re-qualified for WP flying discount economy exclusively. I will NOT requalify for WP with the new changes. That is why I have suggested a name change from "frequent" flyer program to "elite" flyer program, because it doesn't get more "frequent" than earning WP in discount economy, and Qantas obviously does not value the "repeat" part of the business. I lived before QFF, and I'm sure I'll leave after it. C'est la vie.

WP in Discount Y, that is some serious flying... :shock:

Yeah it hasn't really been a "frequent flyers" program in years. The fact that a person can do 1 trip and be considered more valuable than a person who does 50 trips I think says it all.

No it is now a Profitable Flyers Programme now to be known as PFP.

 

[SeatBackForward]

No it is now a Profitable Flyers Programme now to be known as PFP.

Profitable Fairer Flyer Programmer


PFfff....

 

[equus]

Probably more efficient than points plus pay though..

I am not so sure. Gift cards (use instead of spending the cash) are probably the most efficient arbitrage method, and they top out at roughly the same as points plus pay - around the 0.76 - 0.8 cents per point. Some of the "toaster" type merchandise is more like 0.36 cents per point for what the item is easily purchasable for (not RRP - most things can be obtained at better rates). Unless you get repeatedly lucky with naive eBay purchasers, you are not going to do brilliantly.

Points plus pay is not good value compared to the valuable uses, but is probably on par or better than complicated redemption arbitrage plays and is a lot less effort and much more certain.

 

[Deleted member]

Im not sure if the question has been asked already (I'm not trawling through 165 pages to find out) Is QF going to put another calculator for points earn/burn on the web site? it seems odd that the current well known option is therte, BUT the forward planning option not

 

[boomy]

I am in the exact same position, having earned and re-qualified for WP flying discount economy exclusively. I will NOT requalify for WP with the new changes. That is why I have suggested a name change from "frequent" flyer program to "elite" flyer program, because it doesn't get more "frequent" than earning WP in discount economy, and Qantas obviously does not value the "repeat" part of the business. I lived before QFF, and I'm sure I'll leave after it. C'est la vie.

I also fly mostly discount economy and even after the recent changes I will easily get WP and probably re-qualify for P1, so not everyone will be affected in the same way.
I do agree with you that QF values people who pay premium price for their ticket more then those who fly more frequently.

 

[blackcat20]

Im not sure if the question has been asked already (I'm not trawling through 165 pages to find out) Is QF going to put another calculator for points earn/burn on the web site? it seems odd that the current well known option is therte, BUT the forward planning option not

There is an earn calculator, but it only allows for one destination.

 

[defurax]

There is an earn calculator, but it only allows for one destination.

In essence, a simplified calculator...

 

[JohnK]

Oh and we don't really know what a frequent flyer is.

You are definitely a frequent flyer.

Maybe I am one as well.

 

[amaroo]

Just did up some calcuations to work out the ease/difficulty to get OWE status using non-QF OW flights. Using SYD as the base, I've put in CX MPC, BAEC, and AAdvantage as comparisons to HKG, SIN, and LHR.

For HKG on CX flights, QF requires 24 one-way J trips. CX = 21, BA = 11, AA = 15
SIN on BA, QF = 24, CX = 25, BA = 11, AA = 18
LHR (1 flight number) on BA via SIN, QF = 10, CX = 10, BA = 7, AA = 7
FRA (2 flight numbers) on CX via HKG, QF = 10, CX = 10, BA = 6, AA = 7

Note 1: decimals are rounded up to the nearest full number (you can't really take 0.3 of a trip)
Note 2: If QF coded flights are used, the numbers for QF would become HKG & SIN = 12, LHR & FRA = 5 on business. Flexible business require one less one-way trip for the 2 Asian cities, and remain the same for the 2 European cities.
Note 3: If I made a mistake, let me know and I'll update.

EDIT 1: LHR on AA corrected to 7.

Big thanks for undertaking the exercise and then posting - Top stuff!

BAEC is very compelling!



Assuming an AUS Dom sector over 2000mi is classed as long haul as per the table above....

QF - BNE/SYD-PER-BNE in business (not Flexi business) will net 160SC

BA - BNE/SYD-PER-BNE in business (ditto) will net 280TP

So 5.36 return trips to Perth in J will see you hit 1,500TP qualifying for BA Gold (OWE) once you add in a run to SIN to clock up your minimum flights on BA you may only need to do as little as 3-4 return trips

 

[Reggie]

Can someone confirm something. If flying a QF # on EK, do we earn QFF points and SC's as per the new "Qantas and Jetstar Airline Earning Table - for travel on and from 1 July 2014"? i.e for PER to Dubai in discount economy it would earn 3000 QFF points (North West Australia to Dubai South Africa).

 

[Princess Fiona]

Can someone confirm something. If flying a QF # on EK, do we earn QFF points and SC's as per the new "Qantas and Jetstar Airline Earning Table - for travel on and from 1 July 2014"? i.e for PER to Dubai in discount economy it would earn 3000 QFF points (North West Australia to Dubai South Africa).

I believe so ....

 

[JohnK]

What is the solution then JohnK? The way I see it is to literally JQ everything so the staff are on new awards, then convert the Orange cancer back to QF... Not saying I agree with the thought process, but name another way you can reduce your operating costs on an airline that is bloated?

I dont know the answer.

All I know is Jetstarising everything would alienate many frequent flyers who will be difficult to get back.

I have an issue understanding the union movement. My salary has fluctuated a lot the past 14 years based on supply and demand for my services. So if an existing cabin crew earns say $80,000/pa with a set of conditions why do new cabin crew have the same pay scale and conditions? You need a job? This is what we are offering.

Executive salaries are obscene. The CEO is not worth $5 million. The CFO is not worth $1.43 million. Other senior managers are overpaid. There are many layers of management. Trim the fat.

I know that is a simplistic approach but I am not an expert.

 

[openseat]

Are you my twin - we are in EXACTLY the same situation. I share your pain.

Yes, separated at birth!

I'm still considering all this. I have burned most of my QF points, so that's not too much a concern. A lot of my domestic is on VA in any case thanks to BFOD at work. I'm thinking about going back to AA, but with DL going to a revenue based system, there could be a high chance of AA following in some measure, but at least there is a time frame to earn usable mileage.
The FF world is changing. Long gone are the days of 'Baht-running', mileage runs, and tricky routing. Well, it was some fun while it last.

 

[Newk]

There is an earn calculator, but it only allows for one destination.

Yeah, it's not very good is it?

 

[Newk]

In essence, a simplified calculator...

and fairer too of course

 

[medhead]

In essence, a simplified calculator...

Eureka! We've discovered the simplification.