Qantas rolls out Classic Plus Flight Rewards

[SYD]

Yes, in this way it's similar to points plus pay which is also tied to the flight cost and therefore reduced point outlay during sales, just at a better point to dollar ratio.

The “Asia” Sale just released will be an interesting test to see if there’s any sweet spots. The J fares aren’t particularly good, so not expecting a lot of value there but whY as CR+ v CR might reveal some opportunities for those interested in whY “red eye” flights home.

The challenge comparing J is finding those unicorn CR flights to see the points and taxes (although the points component is fixed for CRs). I did a quick check for CGK and it didn’t leap out as “better” value although not widely different to say an SQ saver v non-saver (ie about double).

 

[Mattmarsh]

It's official: The change to the Qantas Frequent Flyer program that we've all been expecting is the introduction of Classic Plus Flight Rewards.

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/frequent-flyer/use-points/classic-plus-flight-rewards.html

These are available from today, for travel on international flights out of Australia from 1 July 2024. They will be rolled out progressively on other routes.

Read the AFF article here: https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/qantas-classic-plus-flight-reward-guide/

Do we know when we will be able to book classic plus from USA on a one way ticket. Tried yesterday for next year from Lax to Mel. There is good availability on return searches. None on USA to Aus. Tried phone booking which Qantas say they will not do.

 

[levelnine]

Do we know when we will be able to book classic plus from USA on a one way ticket. Tried yesterday for next year from Lax to Mel. There is good availability on return searches. None on USA to Aus. Tried phone booking which Qantas say they will not do.

Article says: 'Qantas will open up Classic Plus options on international flights departing from other countries over the next few months. '

 

[levelnine]

Now that Classic Plus flight rewards have been available for a while now, it is interesting to note that there is ample availability for Plus awards on pretty much every international route on every day in every cabin.

That perhaps suggests that Qantas has set the redemption cost higher than the breaking point for most people. If these were a good deal, you'd expect more of them to have been snapped up.

Who knows how many people have bitten at these prices. Qantas will undoubtedly call it a success at their next earnings call, but the seats certainly aren't flying off the shelves.

 

[downgraded]

Now that Classic Plus flight rewards have been available for a while now, it is interesting to note that there is ample availability for Plus awards on pretty much every international route on every day in every cabin.

That perhaps suggests that Qantas has set the redemption cost higher than the breaking point for most people. If these were a good deal, you'd expect more of them to have been snapped up.

Who knows how many people have bitten at these prices. Qantas will undoubtedly call it a success at their next earnings call, but the seats certainly aren't flying off the shelves.

I'd got the impression (probably wrong) that when certain fare buckets were available then there would be C+ rewards available at the commensurate points equivalent. So you might expect there always to be C+ seats (albeit with a lofty points requirement) until only the pricier buckets were left.

 

[levelnine]

I'd got the impression (probably wrong) that when certain fare buckets were available then there would be C+ rewards available at the commensurate points equivalent. So you might expect there always to be C+ seats (albeit with a lofty points requirement) until only the pricier buckets were left.

IIRC, that's correct. I think it was the bottom couple of fare buckets for business class, at least.

My observation was targeted to the fact that it hasn't led to a rush on premium cabin redemptions to the point that there are no C+ fare buckets available except for on a few select days across the calendar.

If every seat were priced at regular classic award levels, you'd undoubtedly see every seat in J fill up on some routes on a lot of days. So there is a breaking point, it seems, and it is higher than 1.5c/pt.

 

[Kangol]

Had a look at the current sale.

SYD-LHR
J and F Classic Plus are a bit of a joke.
PE is cheaper than the usual 108,400 for Classic.



This is SYD-LAX
PE Classic is normally 81,300 - so maybe not a huge difference if you are a PE flyer.
J and F, forget it.

 

[SYD]

Had a look at the current sale.

SYD-LHR
J and F Classic Plus are a bit of a joke.
PE is cheaper than the usual 108,400 for Classic.

View attachment 390567

This is SYD-LAX
PE Classic is normally 81,300 - so maybe not a huge difference if you are a PE flyer.
J and F, forget it.

View attachment 390568

The sale just released is a bit of a joke for J / F (so that doesn’t help).

SYD-YVR (return) has been routinely $5999 in post COVID Sales but has gone up $1k for this “Sale”….

 

[aaa99]

The NZ routes are on sale too atm and as a result the classic plus rewards are less than what you would normally pay for the classic reward.

 

[SYD]

I don’t recall seeing the definitive answer but what if any earn on C+? The example above shows zip earn.

Is it only SCs for PC/PC+ members?

 

[ChrisMars]

I don’t recall seeing the definitive answer but what if any earn on C+?

Is it only SCs for PC/PC+ members? Or similar to Pts + Pay?

It s like CR, need PC

 

[SYD]

It s like CR, need PC

Yeah, I figured that just as I posted and noticed the NZ example immediately before. I corrected my post.

Still curious if anyone has had them post? Not saying they don’t - I just don’t recall anyone confirming that they posted as usual for PC/PC+.

 

[dairyfloss]

It s like CR, need PC

It's disappointing there's no premium to the CR earn for PC/PC+. Not saying we should get a full serve as if it were revenue fares, but something between the CR earn and the cabin Sale fare earn would be nice.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[levelnine]

Still curious if anyone has had them post? Not saying they don’t - I just don’t recall anyone confirming that they posted as usual for PC/PC+.

Is anyone game enough to publicly admit they've booked a C+ flight lol? Tantamount to saying you bought a toaster.

 

[SYD]

Is anyone game enough to publicly admit they've booked a C+ flight lol? Tantamount to saying you bought a toaster.

True, and that probably explains the radio silence….!

But to be fair, the NZ J fares are reasonable value relatively speaking. I’m yet to see any other sweet spots during the “Sales”.

 

[elanshin]

The NZ routes are on sale too atm and as a result the classic plus rewards are less than what you would normally pay for the classic reward.

View attachment 390570

True, and that probably explains the radio silence….!

But to be fair, the NZ J fares are reasonable value relatively speaking. I’m yet to see any other sweet spots during the “Sales”.

Is it really? It just meant you shouldn't have redeemed a CR on it unless you had too many points. CR value was worse than 1.5c per point.

And of course you're likely on a 737. I find QF J cash prices for the 330s are always slightly higher to NZ

 

[SYD]

Is it really? It just meant you shouldn't have redeemed a CR on it unless you had too many points. CR value was worse than 1.5c per point.

And of course you're likely on a 737. I find QF J cash prices for the 330s are always slightly higher to NZ

I did say “relatively” ie less points than a normal J CR. I wouldn’t do it personally.

 

[Gremlin]

Now that Classic Plus flight rewards have been available for a while now, it is interesting to note that there is ample availability for Plus awards on pretty much every international route on every day in every cabin.

That perhaps suggests that Qantas has set the redemption cost higher than the breaking point for most people. If these were a good deal, you'd expect more of them to have been snapped up.

Who knows how many people have bitten at these prices. Qantas will undoubtedly call it a success at their next earnings call, but the seats certainly aren't flying off the shelves.

Because it's tied to fare buckets, there's capacity if there's seats available for sale. Given redemption cost is tied to price, it's an odd argument that if QF still has seats to sell then it is beyond the breaking point for most people. Maximising loads is not the best strategy for an airline to maximise margins. It's not about whether it's an exceptionally good deal or not, it's whether there's capacity available AT ALL.

QF would be happy to burn that capacity at those rates, but success in this context is very unlikely to be linked to seats "flying off the shelves". There was a legitimate criticism of the program prior that premium cabin redemption capacity was all but non-existent. If you're suggesting that availability is there for those that want it, at the time they want it, in the cabin they want (I haven't checked, but I'll take your word for it), then that's been completely addressed. Sounds pretty successful to me.

It's funny that prior to CR+ the criticism of the program was that there wasn't enough redemption capacity. The implied criticism here appears to be that there's now too much redemption capacity.

 

[levelnine]

Because it's tied to fare buckets, there's capacity if there's seats available for sale. Given redemption cost is tied to price, it's an odd argument that if QF still has seats to sell then it is beyond the breaking point for most people. Maximising loads is not the best strategy for an airline to maximise margins. It's not about whether it's an exceptionally good deal or not, it's whether there's capacity available AT ALL.

QF would be happy to burn that capacity at those rates, but success in this context is very unlikely to be linked to seats "flying off the shelves". There was a legitimate criticism of the program prior that premium cabin redemption capacity was all but non-existent. If you're suggesting that availability is there for those that want it, at the time they want it, in the cabin they want (I haven't checked, but I'll take your word for it), then that's been completely addressed. Sounds pretty successful to me.

It's funny that prior to CR+ the criticism of the program was that there wasn't enough redemption capacity. The implied criticism here appears to be that there's now too much redemption capacity.

Not sure that Qantas would measure success as having something available for sale lol. They only get paid when they make a sale, after all. Even worse, they're in the business of selling perishable goods. Once that front door closes, they're no longer getting a single cent for that seat.

So I would say the fact that they have their lowest fare buckets available across pretty much the entire calendar is not a great sign for this initiative, especially as it was hyped to the moon.

Indeed, if the purpose of C+ was as you state, they would have just kept Points+Pay and maybe upped the rate marginally. They were clearly aiming for something much bigger than that.

 

[Doctore1003]

Is anyone game enough to publicly admit they've booked a C+ flight lol? Tantamount to saying you bought a toaster.

What a ridiculous comment.

I booked PER-YVR when on sale recently which was 358k points + $1341 return in J for CR+. That's 70k points more than CR and a few hundred in taxes. But I got to fly the exact dates and times I wanted, without the hassle of trying to find CR. So I’m happy.

Comparing that to toasters - honestly!