Platinum Newsletter

[kangarooflyer88]

As I needed to visit the family in QLD next March, today I decided to use the 20% discount offer to book a business seat.

View attachment 359563

Before I booked, I checked the price I would pay as a "walk up" customer on the web site. I was looking at QF 1907. You can clearly see that the only business class fare offered was $972.

View attachment 359565


So then I followed the special offer link, expecting to get a fare at around $780 (ie 20% off $972). Imagine my surprise (not) when this is what was offered to me:

View attachment 359564

Special offer of $909 - that is an actual discount of less than 7% - WTF is QF doing????? Are they deliberately trying to cheese off WPs??? Needless to say, I booked a CR for myself and Mr Seat 0A (hence the unavailability of reward seats on this flight, sorry everyone else) and am for sure on a program of whittling away my points balance to be able to break up with QF. I read the small print too, and did not see anything that would explain the coughpy discount being offered except the highlighted part

To be precise the 20% off discount is 20% off the base fare and not 20% off the total. I am not sure what the breakdown of the fare is but it would not surprise me if things like airport fees, air passenger duties, carrier surcharges, GST and other such items eat up more than half of the price of your ticket. Additionally, I should also point out that there were some red e-deals which when the discount was applied resulted in a 0% drop in the price (i.e. price remained the same). So it seems like Qantas has some idea of fare floor that any such discount cannot go below.

One other thought: Qantas' most profitable division is the domestic market not the international market (source: Qantas financial filings) which makes sense both given the lack of competition but crucially also the lack of fees. One of the smartest things nations and airports have done in recent years was the imposition of carrier assigned surcharges that collect vital revenue for governments and the airport authorities but cost little to the passenger. A good example of that is the UK's Air Passenger duty. It's a fee that is passed on to the airlines which they gladly eat up. They achieve this feat by either reducing or eliminating bogus fees like the carrier imposed fuel surcharge or even the base fare, allowing the prices to remain the same despite the introduction of said fees. Whether the authorities actually make good use of the money is open for debate, but I'd rather see them have it than airlines who would invest a grand total of $0 on improving the customer experience (IMHO).

-RooFlyer88

 

[oz_mark]

what legislation is that? I am guessing this has to do with the idea that earning Platinum status takes skill but flying with Qantas is a bit of a lottery, huh?

Varies by state, but generally a game of chance is more likely to require a permit than a game of skill.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Varies by state, but generally a game of chance is more likely to require a permit than a game of skill.

Does Qantas have a permit to operate their shell game at Melbourne or Sydney?

 

[RichardMEL]

Yes, there was a link in the P1 newsletter for this kind of deal. The "book by" date is 20 Dec iirc.

 

[thebmw]

As I needed to visit the family in QLD next March, today I decided to use the 20% discount offer to book a business seat.

View attachment 359563

Before I booked, I checked the price I would pay as a "walk up" customer on the web site. I was looking at QF 1907. You can clearly see that the only business class fare offered was $972.

View attachment 359565


So then I followed the special offer link, expecting to get a fare at around $780 (ie 20% off $972). Imagine my surprise (not) when this is what was offered to me:

View attachment 359564

Special offer of $909 - that is an actual discount of less than 7% - WTF is QF doing????? Are they deliberately trying to cheese off WPs??? Needless to say, I booked a CR for myself and Mr Seat 0A (hence the unavailability of reward seats on this flight, sorry everyone else) and am for sure on a program of whittling away my points balance to be able to break up with QF. I read the small print too, and did not see anything that would explain the coughpy discount being offered except the highlighted part


View attachment 359575
Sure we will give you a Qantas VIP Exclusive Fare - and it will potentially be worse than the fare we offer the general public. Wow. Just wow.

"Domestic sale fare types ineligible to receive this discount: E and I class." could be where the difference lies

 

[Seat0B]

"Domestic sale fare types ineligible to receive this discount: E and I class." could be where the difference lies

Maybe. But as remarked elsewhere it’s pretty hard to tell what class you are trying to book on QF - usually can only find this out AFTER you’ve booked and paid.

Bottom line, QF is still being mean and tricky. It’s not really a 20% discount by any reasonable measure.

 

[HonourableMister]

Is there a P1 offer as well? I was Platinum but since changing cant access the link anymore / now not eligible...

For anyone interested - these are the respective links for accessing the "special"- you just need to be logged into your account when accessing them. Ends today

P1
www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/status/status-benefits/platinum-one/briefing-december-2023/flights-offer.html

WP
www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/status/status-benefits/platinum/briefing-december-2023/flights-offer.html

 

[HonourableMister]

If may ask, is the link customised to your FF# or profile OR is it a general link? Reason I ask, I'm trying to book something and would like the 20% off, if I can use the link.

You need to be logged into your QF profile prior to clicking the link - if you aren't platinum or P1 the links won't work for you.

 

[Ade]

You need to be logged into your QF profile prior to clicking the link - if you aren't platinum or P1 the links won't work for you.

Just saw that you had posted the links. Thank you. WP here.

I will delete my earlier post asking @Seat0B for the link

 

[Ade]

For anyone interested - these are the respective links for accessing the "special"- you just need to be logged into your account when accessing them. Ends today

P1
www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/status/status-benefits/platinum-one/briefing-december-2023/flights-offer.html

WP
www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/status/status-benefits/platinum/briefing-december-2023/flights-offer.html

Just realised that QF made a small *defect* in writing the T&C. They have used the word "Qantas Platinum One" in both P1 and P links. Not a biggie. Just something I observed.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Just realised that QF made a small *defect* in writing the T&C. They have used the word "Qantas Platinum One" in both P1 and P links. Not a biggie. Just something I observed.

This is very worrisome since that means (in theory) Qantas could pull these deeply discounted fares not meant for World Platinum members. I wonder if our bundle of rights could protect us here?

 

[Ade]

Does it say anywhere in the T&C that the booking has to be made on the QF website? Can I get my work TA to whip up my next work trip and add my QFF number, after I have registered for the special/VIP fare?

 

[CaptJCool]

Yes
I’m amazed
It used to be special price $9,999

And more recently special about $14,500

Red Tail sale special is $13,501

Sydney - LHR

Post automatically merged: Feb 4, 2024

I remember "15% off one international Business class fare (T&Cs apply)" being a benefit for ... something... maybe the Qantas Premier Platinum Mastercard, or being Platinum? You had to phone the call centre to take advantage of it and it was available only once a year. This seems like a similar offer.

Yes
Similar to this

Credit Cards Features and Benefits | Qantas Money

Learn more about the Qantas Premier Credit Card and all its features and travel benefits including lounge invitations, discounted fares and more.

www.qantasmoney.com

 

[ozflier]

I think you are right.
I received one recently from my qantas mastercard - i've been caught before - I want to take family to Sydney in April and needless to say , travel in economy .Red e fares are available but how can i tell if they are in the correct fare classes to get the 10% off ?

​ Fare Type​ ​ Red eDeal3​ ​ Flex Economy4​ ​ Business5​ ​ Discount​ ​ 10%​ ​ 15%​ ​ 20%​ ​

3 Includes fare classes L, V, S, N, Q

Does that mean that other rededeal fare classes are also included?
I've been caught before by not all revenue classes being included in this kind of deal!
Any idea how to check up which fare basis the fares I want are in ?

 

[ozflier]

An update - I tried to book these flights via the Qantas Premier Concierge team ph 1300 992 700.
There was no concierge at the end of the line - just the usual choice of numbers to be pushed to get a particular service .
I tried all the buttons and eventually found what i was after.
My Red e Deal fares were not available via this promotion . Only much more expensive ones were!
The agent made a suggestion to work out the fare basis of such tickets so i could avoid such a wasted call again - go to American Express Travel, pretend you are making a booking and go thru the booking steps and once the fare chosen and before paying , the actual fare basis came up - both the flights I was after were "E" class - not included in the promotion !

Image from Amex Travel webpage=

10:15
BNE

Nonstop
11:50
SYD
Duration 1h 35m
Qantas Flight 517 · Economy (E)
View Details for Flight result 4 based on Price (low - high)

 

[dairyfloss]

An update - I tried to book these flights via the Qantas Premier Concierge team ph 1300 992 700.
There was no concierge at the end of the line - just the usual choice of numbers to be pushed to get a particular service .
I tried all the buttons and eventually found what i was after.
My Red e Deal fares were not available via this promotion . Only much more expensive ones were!
The agent made a suggestion to work out the fare basis of such tickets so i could avoid such a wasted call again - go to American Express Travel, pretend you are making a booking and go thru the booking steps and once the fare chosen and before paying , the actual fare basis came up - both the flights I was after were "E" class - not included in the promotion !

Image from Amex Travel webpage=

10:15
BNE

Nonstop
11:50
SYD
Duration 1h 35m
Qantas Flight 517 · Economy (E)
View Details for Flight result 4 based on Price (low - high)

You can also use Google ITA fare matrix to look at detail of a quoted fare, or - with a bit of practice - even to search for a range of eligible fares by fare classes, specifically:

https://matrix.itasoftware.com/search

Cheers,
Matt.