Qantas Award Charges Outrageous

[JohnK]

Good points @trippin_the_rift but a few points to note regarding Qantas points.

Sure there has not been an increase in points required for awards since 2005 but in that time there have been considerable cuts to points earning, flooding the market with cheap points and out of control increases in fuel surcharges.

 

[hossein_au]

Good points @trippin_the_rift but a few points to note regarding Qantas points.

Sure there has not been an increase in points required for awards since 2005 but in that time there have been considerable cuts to points earning, flooding the market with cheap points and out of control increases in fuel surcharges.

I reckon fuel surcharges should be banned. If QF needs to devalue their points, so be it; at least it'll be obvious to every one, rather than the current way of having a rude awakening every time you want to book a QF rewards flight.

 

[Daver6]

First up - we can't talk about the cost of redemptions without the following:

• Qantas classic award chart points cost has remained largely unchanged for most flight redemptions since 2005

The Qantas redemption table is more or less the same cost in points since 2005. That's 14 years of no points price increases. I can't think of any other product or service in my life which hasn't increased in price over that timeframe. Costs for Qantas have gone up (according to annual reports), although CASK hasn't changed a great deal, due to efficiencies, newer aircraft etc.

The point is - costs go up - but classic award points costs are steady. Does something have to give?

I think some of this logic is a little flawed, but please point out where my assumptions are wrong. If anything, the cost of flying (ie paying for a revenue fare) has gone down in the same period of time. Y flights between AU and the US certainly have. 14 years ago, finding a flight from PER to LAX at under $2k was unheard of on QF. Not it is frequently available just a little over $1k. This doesn't even factor in inflation!

So if revenue fares have dropped (or not increased), it stands to reason that redemption rates don't need to go up.

 

[JohnK]

I reckon fuel surcharges should be banned. If QF needs to devalue their points, so be it; at least it'll be obvious to every one, rather than the current way of having a rude awakening every time you want to book a QF rewards flight.

It's not just the fuel surcharge it's the inconsistency applying the fuel surcharge. $160 from Australia but $300+ from Thailand.

Makes no sense and doesn't give customers any confidence booking with Qantas. If there was a way of converting my 1.1 million QFF points to KrisFlyer miles I would do it.

 

[hossein_au]

It's not just the fuel surcharge it's the inconsistency applying the fuel surcharge. $160 from Australia but $300+ from Thailand.

Makes no sense and doesn't give customers any confidence booking with Qantas. If there was a way of converting my 1.1 million QFF points to KrisFlyer miles I would do it.

I have a similar stash (and climbing). I also wish there was a way to transfer the points elsewhere (SQ is good, but the 3 year expiry is a bummer).

 

[serfty]

But I was surprised with the QF118 booking that the surcharge is much lower than I expected.

You effectively purchesed a revenue fare with points. YQ is generally much less if it is charged at all.

 

[Buzzard]

I have a similar stash (and climbing). I also wish there was a way to transfer the points elsewhere (SQ is good, but the 3 year expiry is a bummer).

Don't we all?

 

[SydneySwan]

Don't we all?

Absolutely! I am a QF burner rather than an accumulator. I appreciate the ease of keeping QF points from expiring but I would much prefer if it was actually possible to redeem for QF intercontinental business class seats.

 

[Danger]

Qatar J award PHL-DOH 14 October. Qantas, USD639.25. American, USD7.75.

 

[Danger]

Malaysia Y award KUL-SIN 4 January. Qantas, MYR232. American, MYR36. Cash fare on the same flight, MYR219.

Qatar J award AKL-DOH 5 August. Qantas, NZD484. American, NZD39.

 

[ishe]

Qatar J award PHL-DOH 14 October. Qantas, USD639.25. American, USD7.75.

Hi all, care to share how to read this? is the "american" referring to American Airlines?

 

[rock86]

Hi all, care to share how to read this? is the "american" referring to American Airlines?

Yes, through AAdvantage Awards.

 

[serfty]

Hi all, care to share how to read this? is the "american" referring to American Airlines?

Yes, AAdvantage ...

 

[Danger]

American F award, SFO-LHR. American, USD6. Qantas, USD181.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

American F award, SFO-LHR. American, USD6. Qantas, USD181.

yeah. It sucks. I mentioned the same thing recently. madrooster confirmed AA does charge fuel surchges for partner redemptions. So it is AA not QF charging this one.

 

[Kremmen]

• Qantas classic award chart points cost has remained largely unchanged for most flight redemptions since 2005

With Ansett out of the way, Qantas totally hiked their points at that time, because they had no competition in the full-service market in Australia at all.

Another way to put it is that, with no competition, Qantas inflated their award costs to be the worst value in the world and did it so spectacularly that, even after multiple devaluations, AAdvantage is still better value after all that time. They then decided to sneakily include surcharges instead of actually raising award costs in a visible way.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

With Ansett out of the way, Qantas totally hiked their points at that time, because they had no competition in the full-service market in Australia at all.

Another way to put it is that, with no competition, Qantas inflated their award costs to be the worst value in the world and did it so spectacularly that, even after multiple devaluations, AAdvantage is still better value after all that time. They then decided to sneakily include surcharges instead of actually raising award costs in a visible way.

and... with the introduction of 'simpler and fairer' they cut the earn rate as well.

 

[marki]

and... with the introduction of 'simpler and fairer' they cut the earn rate as well.

Simpler and Fairer , sounds like Alan Joyce after a morning shower

 

[MikeG]

Looks like its all changing now - they must have heard us...

And just in time for our Christmas RTW trip

 

[Jacques Vert]

Still expensive after the changes.