Qantas Upgrades - Successes or Failures (post results)

[JessicaTam]

My understanding is status trumps cabin. So a WP in Y or W would be upgraded before a SG or lower in either cabin.

Edit: since been clarified - see madrooster's post, below.

 

[tdimdad]

My gut feel (i.e. no hard facts, sorry) is that as a WP my upgrade strike rate from Y is significantly higher than it was as an SG.

If this is right, then the system would process CL/P1 requests first, then WP's, etc. Inside each group, the fare class forms a secondary priority order. Somewhere there in the mix, the PCV might pop up, as well. --> The SG status would lift the mum a notch up in the queue compared to PS's.

 

[faller]

Success: WP points upgrade from J to F, 15 June, QF94, LAX to MEL, 60 hrs prior.

 

[sudoer]

Hi all, seeking some advice on the experience of SG members upgrading to J from PE on QF1/2

I’ve booked my mum in PE (T class) on QF1/2 next year. She is about 80 SCs from SG so I’m trying to work out if I should get her to so a SC-run to attain SG to improve upgrade prospects on QF1/2?

It’s February so not really peak.

What do we think, get her to SG or the upgrade is unlikely so save the cash?

Very small sample - but as a WP flying QF1/2 in cash Y+ last year, my upgrade cleared in one direction (at the gate - it was the last seat) but not in the other direction.

I think the likelihood of a J upgrade clearing for an SG in Y+ is quite unlikely, especially if WP upgrades from Y are processed first.

If your mum has other planned travel I would probably say to go for SG - the lounge access would be useful regardless of upgrade success. But if no other travel I'd arrange a few lounge passes or a QC membership instead.

 

[encryptededdy]

Given WPs are processed between 72 and 24h out and SGs are only processed less than 24h out, you'd expect status to trump class in this case.

 

[TeaKozy]

I'm an engineer. I am not picking a fight. I just want facts and evidence.

Myself and a colleague flying LAX-MEL for work, him booked into PE as SG (special dispensation because of a medical issue), myself in Y as WP. I requested my upgrade prior to him.

Outcome? He was upgraded into J, and I took his exact seat in PE. Does make sense - on a flight with a surfeit of upgrade requests, they’d be foolish not to double dip.

 

[Pete98765432]

Success: J to F on QF2 LHR - SIN on 19/6. SMS came at T-60. I’m WP.

 

[SeatBackForward]

Success: PE to J on QF8 DFW-SYD at T-58 as a WP.

 

[madrooster]

My understanding is status trumps cabin. So a WP in Y or W would be upgraded before a SG or lower in either cabin.

Not always - I have seen multiple cases where a bronze in W upgraded into J before a platinum in Y upgrading to J.

 

[JessicaTam]

Not always - I have seen multiple cases where a bronze in W upgraded into J before a platinum in Y upgrading to J.

Thank you for “upgrading” my understanding!

 

[dairyfloss]

Not always - I have seen multiple cases where a bronze in W upgraded into J before a platinum in Y upgrading to J.

You say 'before a platinum', but did the platinum(s) also get into J on those occasions, or missed out? With possible booking strategies in mind, is there any known specifics to when and how it plays out, one way or the other?

Perhaps the formula is looking at the total value of QFF points that will be redeemed to fill the same seats, keeping status pax higher up the priority list where they can? An upgrade from Y>J would burn more points than an upgrade from W>J (except in the case of a classic reward W>J), but if you can process 2 upgrades by confirming a W>J and a Y>W, then that may have a better yield, depending on fare types.

I've certainly been notified between T-60 and T-24 plenty of times as a WP requesting J from Y when there was W on the flight, so I'm thinking I was processed before they even get a look in on those occasions, but there again... I'm sure 'the house always wins'!

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[TeaKozy]

You say 'before a platinum', but did the platinum(s) also get into J on those occasions, or missed out? With possible booking strategies in mind, is there any known specifics to when and how it plays out, one way or the other?

Based on my lived experience, cabin will trump status. If (having processed all upgrades from W to J) there are seats remaining, as a WP you'd have an odds-on chance of clearing the upgrade into J (at which point PCV, fare class, time of booking) would all come into play. Thereafter they'd fill all the seats in W.

What I would be curious about is how QF consider an upgrade lodged by a CL... was lucky enough to have a previous employer who clearly spent enough for their management to qualify, and I don't recall -ever- not having an upgrade qualify (except when rebooked on an Emirates flight to SIN when our Qantas flight went tech).

 

[madrooster]

You say 'before a platinum', but did the platinum(s) also get into J on those occasions, or missed out? With possible booking strategies in mind, is there any known specifics to when and how it plays out, one way or the other?

In some cases the platinums missed out, in other cases they cleared quite late into J.

Upgrades are generally done in the order of W->J, Y->J, Y->W. This maximises the number of pax who clear an upgrade by at least one cabin.

Having seen on various flights, who clears first and at what timeframe, they will pretty much clear everything as per the above order.

The class you're booked in also matters - eg. a pax in Y class will clear before B and H, and so forth all the way down to S. So, given similar pricing, someone booked in T class will generally have a better chance at clearing into J than someone booked in H class.

 

[MooTime]

Safe to say nobody knows the exact science / reasoning for QF upgrades.

We can ponder and hypothesize as much as we like, and that's all we can do.

All part of the lottery, I enjoy reading the rare occurrences of bronze status getting the magic SMS.

 

[HockeyMonkey]

Mrs Hockey Monkey also recently reached WP so sneaking in a MEL-PER QF9 trip with QF F lounge access for 4 before it goes away mid July.

2 x Classic Award Upgrade Y to J
2 x Revenue fare Upgrade Y to J

Success @ T-60

 

[Silvia]

x2 bid upgrades from Y to PE on QF28 last week. Very easy route to score a points or bid upgrade as they codeshare with LATAM who does not sell PE.
J was not even half full and as such all PE px (10 of us) got PJs.

 

[serfty]

In some cases the platinums missed out, in other cases they cleared quite late into J.

Upgrades are generally done in the order of W->J, Y->J, Y->W. This maximises the number of pax who clear an upgrade by at least one cabin.

Having seen on various flights, who clears first and at what timeframe, they will pretty much clear everything as per the above order.

The class you're booked in also matters - eg. a pax in Y class will clear before B and H, and so forth all the way down to S. So, given similar pricing, someone booked in T class will generally have a better chance at clearing into J than someone booked in H class.

This intrigued me since the terms and conditions for updated used to be specific in that Status was the major determinate in the order in which upgrades were assessed.

But I now see the following:

17.3.2 Qantas Loyalty will determine which requests for Classic Upgrade Rewards will be awarded, if any, at any time within seven days of the scheduled departure of the flight from its port of origin, depending on several factors determined by Qantas, acting reasonably, including the original booked cabin and the Member's Membership tier.

 

[Cloud9]

This intrigued me since the terms and conditions for updated used to be specific in that Status was the major determinate in the order in which upgrades were assessed.

But I now see the following:

Or in plain English: we can rejig the algo at will, or randomly just make sure we give out upgrades to our friends and family in such a way that nobody can come back at us for doing so.

 

[serfty]

This intrigued me since the terms and conditions for updated used to be specific in that Status was the major determinate in the order in which upgrades were assessed....

I believe it changed June 2019. Here's what the T&C's used to indicate:

16.3 Classic Upgrade Rewards - for international travel (on flights QF1-199)

16.3.1 Classic Upgrade Rewards can be requested for a specific flight and date by phoning Qantas or, if the Member holds an E-Ticket, at this website, between 353 days and 24 hours before scheduled departure from the first port of the flight. The awarding of Classic Upgrade Rewards is subject to availability. Requests for Classic Upgrade Rewards will not be accepted within 24 hours of scheduled departure from the port of origin.

16.3.2 Qantas Loyalty will determine which requests for Classic Upgrade Rewards will be awarded, if any, at any time between seven days and 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the flight from its port of origin, depending on the Qantas Frequent Flyer status level of the Member.

16.3.3 Classic Upgrade Rewards will be awarded to Members according to their Qantas Frequent Flyer status levels in the following order: Platinum One Members first, then Platinum Members, then Gold Members, then Silver Members and then Bronze Members.

 

[Highway23]

Success on 22/6 QF2 LHR-SYD into PE from Y. Confirmed T10, WP.