Platinum "anytime" lounge Access ceases from 1 February 2011

[Keith009]

Totally agree. I fail to see the value in a Neil Perry "Inspired" menu. For me.... Lets get a decent range of alcoholic beverages in the DOM J lounges.

O/T

IMHO... $1,000 R/T MEL - SYD or $2,000 R/T MEL - BNE J Class fares deserve a little more than Chivas Regal and Post Mix in the J lounge.

They seem to do an ok job with wine. Nothing top of the line either, but quaffable enough, tasty even when I'm in a generous mood. Maybe some real champagne would be nice. If the F&B is going to be Neil Perry "inspired", surely Neil Perry also serves champagne at his restaurants.

 

[JohnK]

I admit I'm vain, one dimensional, and egotistical! So consequently I would like to see a bigger difference between WP and SG.

And pretty soon Gold and Platinum will be one and the same. Or perhaps Platinum will be the new Partner Gold at 2400 SCs/year.

Inspiration and taking credit are two very different things!

Hmmm. Then if Neil Perry thinks he has any credibility (he means nothing to me) then he should take his name off the meals designed and inspired by Neil Perry and served on QF unless he is actually being paid a small fortune for the privilege.

Well it does require twice as many SC’s to attain, and in many programs, twice as many miles, so it does seem fair that it should come with a lot more. Though it does, F/J lounge access being pretty big things.

I am confused. First you say that Platinum status should come with a lot more benefits than Gold status and then it appears that you are saying that F Lounge access internationally and business class lounge access domestically is (more than) enough of a benefit for Platinum status over Gold status.

Sorry but that is nowhere enough.

 

[TonyHancock]

If the thread is moving more towards what WP's would really see as "enhancements" I'll give my two cents.

It would really make my life easier if international upgrades, for WP's, could be confirmed upon request or well in advance of flying, rather than 5 hours in advance.

I'm not bothered about fancy food in the J lounges, meat pies in the evening and raisin toast in the mornings is just fine. (Fred Perry rather than Neil Perry for me.)

Please, please, please don't take away F lounge access on international flights, this is a very nice benefit that I really appreciate.

Overall I am reasonably happy with Qantas, the customer service, for me, has improved significantly over the last two years, the access to J lounges is welcome, and the 100% point bonus is very worthwhile.

Traveling is something I do for work, 6 times a year to the UK, 4 times a year to China, once to the US, and plenty of domestic trips. Thanks to those delightful chaps in the banking sector it is now all done in Y and Y+. All I am looking for are enhancements that make 200,000 miles a year that bit easier.*

*Oops forgot KL, Malaysia, which I did the hard way with Qantas and Jetstar Asia, what a performance that was.

 

[significance]

With the removal of priority check-in, there's no benefit at all to being Silver, especially for those of us in government jobs who don't accumulate frequent flyer points (so there's no status bonus for points). I'll make it to Gold again this year after a Silver year, but I had been looking forward to making lifetime Silver, and there's no longer any point.

 

[JohnK]

Now there is a thought..I wonder how many WP's would have been disappointed if the Neil Perry inspired food was removed rather than anytime access?

Answer is:0

I think most would agree on this one.

So I am with simongr-if you really think this is shocking walk as I did.I really dont see the point of getting status and then not using it.I still feel WP is a step up from SG-but then our major travel is International.

If one has Platinum status in the bag I see nothing wrong with taking advantage of cheaper airfares occasionally and foregoing lounge access or even attaining status with another alliance/airline that will come in handy in future years.

 

[samh004]

I am confused. First you say that Platinum status should come with a lot more benefits than Gold status and then it appears that you are saying that F Lounge access internationally and business class lounge access domestically is (more than) enough of a benefit for Platinum status over Gold status.

Sorry but that is nowhere enough.

I said they were two pretty big things, especially the F lounges in SYD and MEL, but of course there needs to be more than that, and there is. However as status is really most beneficial when flying, and those 2 things are just before flying, they are incredibly good benefits.

Sure, there should be more, but I don’t think saying they aren’t great benefits is good, the fact they are included is really good. If Qantas were to enhance the program again and remove that access if not flying F/J respectively, I think their program would fail, at least at an elite level.

I don’t think two great lounges is nowhere near enough, they’re really very good. Compare to before they were both around…

With the removal of priority check-in, there's no benefit at all to being Silver.

Advance seat selection is pretty big, especially being able to move up the cabin at T-80 as oppose to Bronze members only when OLCI opens.

 

[MatF]

Well, I've been a WP for the last 3 years, and am yet to have an opportunity to use an F Lounge (all my travel has been domestic), so they haven't been of any benefit at all to me. I do hope to use the MEL F Lounge in December (a rare international leisure trip ... indeed a belated honeymoon! - flying Y+ though). I hope it lives up to the hype, and so does Mrs MatF ... she has her heart set on a spa "experience", so here's hoping we get lucky there

The Domestic J Lounges currently offer very little over the Plain Jane QPs IMHO. It would be nice to have some more differentiation there.

 

[simongr]

I regularly walk through the MEL QP and think what an awful place it looks like compared to the space and peace I generally find in the MEL J lounge. I have only once in the past 10 or so trips not been able to get one of my two preferred seats in the MEL J lounge.

 

[djfuzz]

I regularly walk through the MEL QP and think what an awful place it looks like compared to the space and peace I generally find in the MEL J lounge. I have only once in the past 10 or so trips not been able to get one of my two preferred seats in the MEL J lounge.

MEL J lounge was a zoo this afternoon/evening. Had to fight for even the single seats at the bench. Many a NPP (though I prefer the NPPPs).

You can imagine the QP in relative terms.

 

[MatF]

Haven't been through MEL much - my experience is mainly based on BNE and to a lesser extent SYD.

The SYD J Lounge has been less crowded when I've been there, but otherwise not much different to the QP. The BNE J Lounge is basically the same as the QP as far as I can see. Until the recent transfer of space from the QP to the J Lounge, it was actually more crowded than the QP most of the times I was there.

 

[Voyages]

They always seem to have pies after about 4pm in Canberra Business Lounge.

Also recently in Sydney Business Lounge

 

[Australian]

This FlyerTalk Post is interesting ...

Quote:

RED ROO -
we are not aware of any major airline currently providing lounge access without a travelling requirement to their Platinum equivalent tier

Just for the record, AA appears to allow "anytime" access to any paying Admirals Club member; that is vastly more liberal than just allowing top-tier elites (who in turn however don't get free access to AA domestic lounges...swings and roundabouts!)

http://www.aa.com/i18nForward.do?p=/...ungeAccess.jsp

CX Diamonds also get lounge access regardless of departing airline.

 

[nlagalle]

Wouldn't be a bad idea to throw together a WP wishlist & maybe Red Roo can take that cap in hand to the people who truly value the opinion & feedback of its members.

Could we collate the suggestions into a single post or Google doc for example & update it as trawling trough 50 plus pages of post is no easy task.

A couple of suggestions are:

* allow WP's once or twice a year to purchase a read e deal & be allowed to upgrade to business class if available at the time of booking even if no U class available, provided there were at least x amount of J class seats available in the cabin.

* or if WPs have purchased a higher fare in order to upgrade to J but miss out, then the difference between higher economy fare paid less the red e deal or cheapest economy level be refunded

* allow WPs to change redemptions withouth charging them a points deduction for the 'privilege' or at least allow the first change to be free instead of trying to extract money/points left right and centre to change.

* Maybe an incentive when reaching PG/LTG/WP status of a two for one points redemption offer in J class

Unless there is something to aim for once a higher status level is reached QF cannot expect members to keep ploughing money into the airline for zilch in return. There has to be a carrot and all there is right now is the stick.

There needs to be a table that clearly defines the increased benefits to members for attaining the next status level so that member knows that travelling on QF is money well spent not down the drain.

We could do a survey? they are easy to setup. I'll stick my hand up for that..

 

[PineappleSkip]

the space and peace I generally find in the MEL J lounge.

Before my occasional flights on DJ I marvel at the space and peace I find in their lounge. And for only $30 they let me in with no status at all.

Red Roo, I don't think Neil Perry party pies will be sufficient to ensure ongoing WP loyalty. I suggest QF capitalise on the crowds and go for a more party style ambience. Perhaps next time there's a major delay in the evening you might hold a pyjama party at which WPs are issued Akira Isogawa pyjamas and the rest of us get the grey Peter Morrissey jail uniforms they hand out in J.

This will allow us to see at a glance who has status and who doesn't. It would also clearly distinguish the QF from the DJ product; a joke of a lounge followed by in flight dragons would contrast nicely with a peaceful lounge followed by tacky in flight jokes.

Mrs Pineapple also suggests that QF marketing provide craft lessons, for example a workshop in how to enhance a sow's ear into a Collette Dinnigan silk purse.

Cheers skip

 

[NM]

Also recently in Sydney Business Lounge

And pies at BNE tonight.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Red Roo, I don't think Neil Perry party pies will be sufficient to ensure ongoing WP loyalty. I suggest QF capitalise on the crowds and go for a more party style ambience. Perhaps next time there's a major delay in the evening you might hold a pyjama party at which WPs are issued Akira Isogawa pyjamas and the rest of us get the grey Peter Morrissey jail uniforms they hand out in J.

This will allow us to see at a glance who has status and who doesn't. It would also clearly distinguish the QF from the DJ product; a joke of a lounge followed by in flight dragons would contrast nicely with a peaceful lounge followed by tacky in flight jokes.

Gold Skip! As usual.

When travelling SYD/SFO last year on QF, on seeing other pax change into the grey PJ's, SO commented that it looked like the cabin had been taken over by an army of grey smurfs. I laughed so much I got hiccups & no, we didn't join the cult - just stayed in our civvies.

There's an idea, instead of flogging the jarmies off on ebay why not organise a gaggle of WP's to don the said jarmies and do a protest march to Spin City at Coward St & deliver a petition directly to the Rat with some reasonable requests?

Mrs Pineapple also suggests that QF marketing provide craft lessons, for example a workshop in how to enhance a sow's ear into a Collette Dinnigan silk purse.
Cheers skip

Isn't that like trying to get strawberry jam out of pig cough?

 

[significance]

Advance seat selection is pretty big, especially being able to move up the cabin at T-80 as oppose to Bronze members only when OLCI opens.

I disagree. Before they expanded advance seat selection, I could count on being assigned a good seat every time with no effort on my part. Now I get whatever mediocre seat is left over unless I make the effort to log in and choose one.

 

[ajw373]

With the removal of priority check-in, there's no benefit at all to being Silver, especially for those of us in government jobs who don't accumulate frequent flyer points (so there's no status bonus for points). I'll make it to Gold again this year after a Silver year, but I had been looking forward to making lifetime Silver, and there's no longer any point.

Since when? When I work for Defence we go no FF points, but still got the status credits, which is what FF level is based on.

 

[ejb]

Since when? When I work for Defence we go no FF points, but still got the status credits, which is what FF level is based on.

That is what they are saying, no points means no PS points bonus.

ejb

 

[serfty]

... Now I get whatever mediocre seat is left over unless I make the effort to log in and choose one.

Your choice; even as a WP I chase a better seat.

On Wednesday I made the effort to log in and check my booking. I then "moved" to front row WHY at T-79 hours.