Is Qantas diluting the benefits of status?

[pauly7]

The exit-rows are gonna be full of guys in JQ colours! :shock:

Huh? why....?

 

[wijomas]

Huh? why....?

'cause most of the monks I've seen on QF (which, admittedly, is only about 3) have all worn orange robes.

 

[tsultrim]

I'd bow down to the mighty JohnK before I did so to any Buddhist monks. :mrgreen:

Of course you would! He is a QF Platinum / PC Platinum / HH Silver!
He must be a very important person!

He's obviously also got a very exciting life to have made 10 880+ posts on this forum (not to mention the 450+ posts on an alternate airline forum under the same moniker), and definitely has his goals and priorities in life in check...to obtain exit row seats without paying and not see his "status" diluted!

 

[NYCguy]

Of course you would! He is a QF Platinum / PC Platinum / HH Silver!
He must be a very important person!

He's obviously also got a very exciting life to have made 10 880+ posts on this forum (not to mention the 450+ posts on an alternate airline forum under the same moniker), and definitely has his goals and priorities in life in check...to obtain exit row seats without paying and not see his "status" diluted!

Seems to me, 'tsultrim', if that is your real name, that you joined this board for the sole purpose of taking the piss out of JohnK. Whilst I'm sure John doesn't need anyone to defend him, it struck me that it's a bit rich for you to claim that someone needs to get a life, when you seem to get your jollies out of trolling around message-boards, insulting senior members.

It's a little sad, and more than a tad pathetic.

Oh, and by the way - I'm at you, not with you.

 

[wijomas]

Agreed. bucko and tsultrim seem to be the ones that need to get a life

 

[anat0l]

Seems to me, 'tsultrim', if that is your real name, that you joined this board for the sole purpose of taking the piss out of JohnK. Whilst I'm sure John doesn't need anyone to defend him, it struck me that it's a bit rich for you to claim that someone needs to get a life, when you seem to get your jollies out of trolling around message-boards, insulting senior members.

It's a little sad, and more than a tad pathetic.

Oh, and by the way - I'm at you, not with you.

Agreed. bucko and tsultrim seem to be the ones that need to get a life

+1 for the out of line. I don't know what to write for the moderate post comment, though.


Although on another level, I think tsultrim was merely being joking with the insults (i.e. sarcastic); problem is that spoken vs. written evokes very different response sets.

 

[JohnK]

I didn't realise I had that many critics. This thread is about diluting the benefits of QF status. I didn't think it was a thread to insult me or question my religious beliefs or what I do in my life.

Of course you would! He is a QF Platinum / PC Platinum / HH Silver!
He must be a very important person!

Actually I am a very humble person if you get to know you me but you won't get that opportunity.

He's obviously also got a very exciting life to have made 10 880+ posts on this forum (not to mention the 450+ posts on an alternate airline forum under the same moniker), and definitely has his goals and priorities in life in check...to obtain exit row seats without paying and not see his "status" diluted!

It is disturbing that you think you know me that well. I think you need to see a doctor.

Dear JohnK,
I have one question for you. What is really important to you in your life ?

Family, health, wealth and happiness. If the privileges of status are diluted then I get stressed and my health suffers....

 

[NYCguy]

Methinks tsultrim and bucko are probably the same person. That's even sadder.

 

[JohnK]

Methinks tsultrim and bucko are probably the same person. That's even sadder.

I think it is an existing member of AFF who has not posted on AFF recently although continues to post on Flyertalk and has had a shot at me many times on AFF in the past....

 

[NYCguy]

I think it is an existing member of AFF who has not posted on AFF recently although continues to post on Flyertalk and has had a shot at me many times on AFF in the past....

That's the saddest of all !

 

[russ]

In an effort to get the thread back on track:

Of course Qantas is diluting the benefits of status because they are diluting the requirements to achieve status. By running double status points promotions, giving people the ability to achieve WP with a specific fare classes in the USA and giving a certain base level of status credits no matter how cheap the ticket, Qantas is making it easier to gain status and hence needs to cut back on the benefits it gives.

This happened with credit cards: Gold used to be the top, then Platinum, until Platinum cards were a dime a dozen, so then they invented Centurions and all sorts of things.

Perhaps Qantas will need to or is planning to release new flying-related (ie not CL) tiers above Platinum that are a bit harder to achieve.

 

[Dave Noble]

Of course Qantas is diluting the benefits of status because they are diluting the requirements to achieve status. By running double status points promotions, giving people the ability to achieve WP with a specific fare classes in the USA and giving a certain base level of status credits no matter how cheap the ticket, Qantas is making it easier to gain status and hence needs to cut back on the benefits it gives.

There has been little change that I have seen

QFF has always ( since TCs were introduced in september 1998) allowed TC/SC earning towards status on the cheapest of fares.
1st class has always had earning tables different to business class. It is a fair while since the current SC earning levels were introduced. It is true that on the 5 zone table, 1st class for flights up to 2700 miles earned the same as business class, but this change was long enough ago to hardly be classed (imo) as diluting
QF have had targetted promotions for years. I received a promotion offering both double SCs and double mileage earning in 2001. ( the double mileage earning was not just on the base miles, but on all miles earned from a flight.... so LHR-SYD r/t in F earned me about 105,000 miles which was enough for my Concorde r/t award LHR-JFK). They are not offering it to all members

I would not disagree with a logic that suggested that domestic USA 1st class should be treated as business class for SC earning

Dave

 

[russ]

Thank you for quoting my post immediately above yours (I never understand why people do that!)

I take your points, but the base airfares have come down so in effect it's a dilution. For example when someone used to do a weekly commute between cities, it used to cost a fair bit. Now with the regular specials, it's cheaper than the weekly bus fare!

As to the promotions, I don't have any hard data, but from personal observation it seems to me that there's more frequent promotions now.

 

[Dave Noble]

I take your points, but the base airfares have come down so in effect it's a dilution. For example when someone used to do a weekly commute between cities, it used to cost a fair bit. Now with the regular specials, it's cheaper than the weekly bus fare!

It may be cheaper to fly, but few people just get on a plane for the sake of it. It still requires the same level of travel to attain the status, so hardly easier. Cheaper I could agree, but not easier

Dave

 

[dajop]

Of course Qantas is diluting the benefits of status because they are diluting the requirements to achieve status. By running double status points promotions, giving people the ability to achieve WP with a specific fare classes in the USA and giving a certain base level of status credits no matter how cheap the ticket, Qantas is making it easier to gain status and hence needs to cut back on the benefits it gives.

1) It has been some time since a published dilution of the requirements to achieve tiers. They have always given the abilitily to earn credits on cheap tickets. That is one of the strengths of the program in attracting and retaining QF loyalty.

2) The deal with KUP's and YUP's in the US is probably not common knowledge, other than in speciality forums like this. I make a wild assertion that the proportion of QFF's and the proportion of WP's/SG's in the world beyond AFF/FT who know about and actively exploit this is negigible.

3) Promos have been there for many years and are response to competitive pressures. I was offered a similar promo in 2002. In environments like those that exist at the moment (and that existed, for example in 2002 post 9-11) I suspect they are more related to maintaining proportion of flyers in particular tiers rather than increasing the numbers in those tiers.

I think the dilution of (unpublished) benefits is a direct response the current economic environment, but that doesn't necessarily make it right (from a WP's perspective). Telling is that there has been little or no dilution of published benefits.

The three most significant that I can recall are:
a) this latest in ability to pre-assign exit rows, a two pronged strategy to get some extra cash, and to make QF more (or in the case of SQ- equally) attractive than it's competitors in that people can purchase QF flights and know that irrespective of their status they can buy exit row seating
b) Removal of 2,500 QFF award date/time change waiver
c) Tightening of the ability of WP's to request award seat availabilty (in the past I have been able to secure awards on quite heavily booked flights at late notice, not so much any more.

 

[JohnK]

Thank you for quoting my post immediately above yours (I never understand why people do that!)

If someone is responding to your post without quoting it but another person happens to get a post in between then the original post responding to your post would be meaningless.

I don't understand why people quote entire posts and then only respond to a specific line in the post. :-|

 

[anat0l]

If someone is responding to your post without quoting it but another person happens to get a post in between then the original post responding to your post would be meaningless.

I don't understand why people quote entire posts and then only respond to a specific line in the post. :-|

1. It makes the new post self-sufficient by providing complete context.
2. It's the easy way out. (We're a wastrel society).
3. Electrons are still relatively free...... :mrgreen:

 

[wijomas]

1. It makes the new post self-sufficient by providing complete context.
2. It's the easy way out. (We're a wastrel society).
3. Electrons are still relatively free...... :mrgreen:

4. Deleting bits is far too much work. I guess that counts as part of 2, but like anat0l said - electrons are still relatively free :mrgreen:

 

[2muchplastic]

Electrons are still relatively free...... :mrgreen:

Nah. Origin charge me a fortune each month for supplying me with electrons, where do you get yours from?

 

[Commuter]

You guys are not spending enough time bashing/praising QF if you have time to fight over quoting of posts.