Just thought I would share my experience with trying to use the Qantas Price Promise for some flights I have booked. I have finally received confirmation that my booking is eligible, but that is after it has initially been denied twice.
A bit of background:-
I received an offer for 50% bonus status credits for one week only. I had not received this offer for several years now, so was quite excited, as I had been thinking about a trip away. About a month ago, I saw Qantas flights to JFK for about $6700 in J, and toyed with the idea of heading to New York, but didn't jump, so was excited to see this fare back again, along with extra SCs.
I initially searched Qantas.com and found the date and flights I wanted, and then checked Zuji.com.au (I have previously found their flights to be cheaper than most airline sites for the same fares). Low and behold, Zuji was $195 less than QF for exactly the same flights!.
I preferred to book with QF in case of any problems, so call the QF premium line, only to be told there was nothing they could do, and I needed to book with QF, and submit details for the price promise.
So, I booked the flights on QF, paid $6763, then went to the Zuji site and took a screen shot. I then submitted the price promise on the QF website. A few moments later, I read the fine print, and saw that the screenshot required a time and date stamp, so repeated the screenshot (the fare was still available on Zuji.com.au), and resubmitted the price promise request.
Denial #1: The next day, I received 2 emails from Qantas, advising that my request was denied, firstly because there was not date/time stamp, and secondly because there was a discrepancy with the fare I had indicated vs paid (I did not include the credit card fee, which was the same on QF and Zuji). They did offer me the opportunity to resubmit with the time and date stamp by midnight that night (the day after the booking was made).
Denial #2: This was the most intriguing part of the story. The next day, I received a further email, once again saying that the price promise was denied, because apparently, the booking was made after the screenshot was taken. I could not understand this, as I definitely took the screenshot after the booking. It then dawned on me, that being in Adelaide, my computer is on Central Standard time, and Qantas, being based in Sydney, is on AEST. Therefore, they had (and they stated on the email), that I purchased the ticket at 9.41pm, and the screenshot was taken at 9.19pm!. Another email to Qantas, with and explanation about time zones in Australia (more so outside of Sydney), a screenshot showing that 9.41pm in Sydney is actually 9.11pm in Adelaide and finally the email I received from Qantas confirming the booking with the eticket receipt, time stamped 9.17pm (ie before I took the screenshot!)
I am now very happy that I have received the price match, which I was legitimately entitled to, albeit with a lot more stress and work than it should have been. I now have to wait until after I have flown to receive the refund, and the token 1000 points (come to think of it, I have still not received the points from a hotel price promise in July!).
I would be interested to hear if anyone else has had hassles with the price promise for flights, and whether you too have had to fight for it.
Now to find some accommodation for New York!
A bit of background:-
I received an offer for 50% bonus status credits for one week only. I had not received this offer for several years now, so was quite excited, as I had been thinking about a trip away. About a month ago, I saw Qantas flights to JFK for about $6700 in J, and toyed with the idea of heading to New York, but didn't jump, so was excited to see this fare back again, along with extra SCs.
I initially searched Qantas.com and found the date and flights I wanted, and then checked Zuji.com.au (I have previously found their flights to be cheaper than most airline sites for the same fares). Low and behold, Zuji was $195 less than QF for exactly the same flights!.
I preferred to book with QF in case of any problems, so call the QF premium line, only to be told there was nothing they could do, and I needed to book with QF, and submit details for the price promise.
So, I booked the flights on QF, paid $6763, then went to the Zuji site and took a screen shot. I then submitted the price promise on the QF website. A few moments later, I read the fine print, and saw that the screenshot required a time and date stamp, so repeated the screenshot (the fare was still available on Zuji.com.au), and resubmitted the price promise request.
Denial #1: The next day, I received 2 emails from Qantas, advising that my request was denied, firstly because there was not date/time stamp, and secondly because there was a discrepancy with the fare I had indicated vs paid (I did not include the credit card fee, which was the same on QF and Zuji). They did offer me the opportunity to resubmit with the time and date stamp by midnight that night (the day after the booking was made).
Denial #2: This was the most intriguing part of the story. The next day, I received a further email, once again saying that the price promise was denied, because apparently, the booking was made after the screenshot was taken. I could not understand this, as I definitely took the screenshot after the booking. It then dawned on me, that being in Adelaide, my computer is on Central Standard time, and Qantas, being based in Sydney, is on AEST. Therefore, they had (and they stated on the email), that I purchased the ticket at 9.41pm, and the screenshot was taken at 9.19pm!. Another email to Qantas, with and explanation about time zones in Australia (more so outside of Sydney), a screenshot showing that 9.41pm in Sydney is actually 9.11pm in Adelaide and finally the email I received from Qantas confirming the booking with the eticket receipt, time stamped 9.17pm (ie before I took the screenshot!)
I am now very happy that I have received the price match, which I was legitimately entitled to, albeit with a lot more stress and work than it should have been. I now have to wait until after I have flown to receive the refund, and the token 1000 points (come to think of it, I have still not received the points from a hotel price promise in July!).
I would be interested to hear if anyone else has had hassles with the price promise for flights, and whether you too have had to fight for it.
Now to find some accommodation for New York!
