QF Double Status Credit Promos - I am not 100% sure I follow the logic anymore...

[sudoer]

I got a targeted "3000 points extra offer" when I fly to India, Myanmar or Vietnam from QF and I was like "WHAT!!?!?!?!?!?!?!" really, just 3000 bonus points ??

I fly a lot to India and did around 6 trips this year, all with QF and that's how they knew my flying pattern.

I got the same offer and have never been to India, Myanmar or Vietnam. I don't think it's targeted, but rather they're trying to raise awareness for their CX codeshares following the Jet Airways collapse a few months ago.

 

[Ade]

rather they're trying to raise awareness for their CX codeshares following the Jet Airways collapse a few months ago.

Aye, that's true !! When 9W (Jet Airways) was around, it was much quicker and easier to get to India and back. Now it's a 5 hour wait onward and 9 hour wait return when flying in and out of MAA

 

[TheRiddler]

I got a targeted "3000 points extra offer" when I fly to India, Myanmar or Vietnam from QF

Did you see what the offer entailed? Flying to India from HKG on CX! It's bad/long enough going via SIN! And interesting that QF are pushing a bonus (albeit a very meagre one) on CX flights.

 

[RichardMEL]

The ridiciulous 3000 point bonus I think is intending to deal with two issues QF (and CX) have:

1. Bookings to/from HKG are obviously in the toilet with the ongoing protests and unstable situation there - hotel occupancy is down to around 20% at some places according to a report I saw a few weeks ago - it won't improve until things stabalise there. So, this is a (pretty poor imo) attempt to stimulate demand inabound and outbound of HKG to fill seats and get some revenue from these sectors

2. As noted above, leverage (from QF) the increased CX partnership for beyond HKG flying.

 

[Ade]

Did you see what the offer entailed? Flying to India from HKG on CX! It's bad/long enough going via SIN!

Yea, didn't have a choice, but to do it, not once, not twice, but 6 times this year !! 9 hour layover on the way back is a pain !

 

[Ade]

So, this is a (pretty poor imo) attempt to stimulate demand inabound and outbound of HKG to fill seats and get some revenue from these sectors

Agree. Very POOR indeed. I mean, would any frequent flier take the 3000 bonus points as an attractive offer? 3000 is nothing to take a long trip to India or Myanmar or Vietnam. Unless of course you've got to be there for one reason or the other.

What would have, IMHO, made sense is if QF released a status credit offer (double or 50% or 1.5 times) to these destinations or a reduced fare when transiting via HKG. Not sure how this is profitable or viable, but an offer on SC would gather more attention than a meager 3000 bonus points

 

[RichardMEL]

In my opinion the general DSC promo is going the way of the dodo and the evidence is mounting as time goes on that this is so:

1. Last year, 3 promos in Feb, Aug and Oct. Prior years had two or at least one. Only Feb this year, with a far more limited travel window
2. A massive increase in targeted bonus SC offers to individuals
3. VA's very weak (and getting worse, it seems) position means they're not a major threat currently.

The only potential saving grace for more general promotions I can see coming is the fears of economic decline/potential recession coming on, with resulting softening of demand for travel which may force QF's hand a bit.

Frankly though, if I am QF, and I have improved my CRM systems where I can target specific customers, or groups, more precisely rather than a general offer which many like us (and me ) take full advantage of it's in my(QF) interest to do this.

And for those holding off bookings - discretionary spend is what QF want to target, but it's not always going to be obvious and QF may have decided that sttaus chasing is not the carrot they want to use these days anyway (after all, we have been pretty lucky over the past 3-4 years with offers on a pretty regular basis).

I strongly suspect there may not be another global offer anytime soon.. or if there is it will be FAR more limited in scope that previous ones.

Personally I'm booking what I need to and want to(some on other carriers) - I'm not going to wait around for a promo that may or may not occur. If one comes then you ripper, but I'm not waking up every morning hoping if there's a new one waiting for me.

all imo

 

[RichardMEL]

Agree. Very POOR indeed. I mean, would any frequent flier take the 3000 bonus points as an attractive offer? 3000 is nothing to take a long trip to India or Myanmar or Vietnam. Unless of course you've got to be there for one reason or the other.

What would have, IMHO, made sense is if QF released a status credit offer (double or 50% or 1.5 times) to these destinations or a reduced fare when transiting via HKG. Not sure how this is profitable or viable, but an offer on SC would gather more attention than a meager 3000 bonus points

Status does not interest everyone.

I would consider a far better lure, specially for out of the way routings to India via HKG or even a backtrack to SIN etc, is to offer 100%$ bonus points which obviously will increase the bounty if one's booking a higher fare or cabin. Agree 3k is an insult to most of us.

I agree a discounted fare would definitely interest VFR traffic (for example ex-pat Indian community who would take a lower price for a longer connection). That's an interesting idea. I suspect if things get much worse in Honkers this sort of thing will be a next step along with, as has already started happening, schedule and capacity downgrades.

 

[nutwood]

Completely agree with this sentiment, but I have no sympathy for Qantas. The problem is entirely of their own making. Someone in marketing came up with the idea a few years back that a DSC offer would incentivise people to book additional flights with Qantas. It clearly worked, so they kept doing it. If they stop, they will see a return to the pre-DSC era where more people are more likely to purchase according to price/service/schedule, criteria where Qantas is average at best, especially in the international market where there is heaps of competition.

It is the same as regular sales. Sales clearly boost flight purchases on Qantas. Some people now only book flights during sales. If Qantas decide to stop offering sales, those people will book elsewhere because competitors are cheaper/better/etc.

Have to agree with you. Too much; too little is really poor marketing. People forget the good, remember the bad. Always going to be counter productive.
I thought the 1.5 SC's a couple of years back struck a good balance. Bit of a perk, enough to flush out some proposed bookings, but not enough that people will try to plan their year around it.

 

[Ade]

In my opinion the general DSC promo is going the way of the dodo and the evidence is mounting as time goes on that this is so:

1. Last year, 3 promos in Feb, Aug and Oct. Prior years had two or at least one. Only Feb this year, with a far more limited travel window
2. A massive increase in targeted bonus SC offers to individuals
3. VA's very weak (and getting worse, it seems) position means they're not a major threat currently.

The only potential saving grace for more general promotions I can see coming is the fears of economic decline/potential recession coming on, with resulting softening of demand for travel which may force QF's hand a bit.

Frankly though, if I am QF, and I have improved my CRM systems where I can target specific customers, or groups, more precisely rather than a general offer which many like us (and me ) take full advantage of it's in my(QF) interest to do this.

And for those holding off bookings - discretionary spend is what QF want to target, but it's not always going to be obvious and QF may have decided that sttaus chasing is not the carrot they want to use these days anyway (after all, we have been pretty lucky over the past 3-4 years with offers on a pretty regular basis).

I strongly suspect there may not be another global offer anytime soon.. or if there is it will be FAR more limited in scope that previous ones.

Personally I'm booking what I need to and want to(some on other carriers) - I'm not going to wait around for a promo that may or may not occur. If one comes then you ripper, but I'm not waking up every morning hoping if there's a new one waiting for me.

all imo

Well put @RichardMEL . All valid points.

Agree that VA's position ain't going to make QF change a thing and I think QF is aware that VA ain't a threat no more, not as much as it was earlier.

RE : DSC/SC promos - I think QF need to release some because ;

1. There are many people who are holding off bookings and are timing their trips in the hopes of getting a SC promo. There's a lot of money locked away in this and is a potential for QF

2. By releasing promos like these QF can further cement their position and make VA lose business. And by that I mean, if a customer is holding off a $5000 worth booking and QF releases a SC promo, the customer is more likely to take his business to QF rather than go to VA or SQ or any other airline. The customer gets what he wants (status) and QF gets the money

3. QF has made it a practice to release offers to people and now people are expecting them. If QF doesn't do one soon, many customers would book with other airlines and will become increasingly frustrated with QF for NOT releasing an offer as they did all these years. Also, customers would stop putting up with the inconsistencies that QF has. IMHO, status offers are, in some cases, the only reason people choose to pay extra $$ and fly QF. Otherwise, they'd be fine with other VA or other LCC. As an example, if I'm doing a HLO trip, I'd be choosing Air Asia or Scoot and pay only $600 return instead of paying $1300 return on QF

I believe that there is more for QF to lose by not releasing the offers as the public expects them. It's like QF have started this trend and needs to stick to it now if they want customers money.

Also with the spending dwindling down and people becoming spend-aware, it's time airlines did what they need to do to get their business running

 

[Ade]

Status does not interest everyone.

Fair point. Some of my mates at work don't understand the whole status thing. They always look for BFOD and are happy to fly JQ or Tiger if that's the BFOD

 

[TheRiddler]

Agree that VA's position ain't going to make QF change a thing and I think QF is aware that VA ain't a threat no more, not as much as it was earlier.

That's why I now tag my VA flights to my KF # and utilise SQ for my overseas trips where possible.

 

[RichardMEL]

Let's be realistic here though.

People holding off bookings waiting for a DSC promo.. while large in the context of this forum, and a few others out there.... are *NOTHING* in the pool of QF pax.

I don't need figures (which would be commercial in confiedence anyway) to support this - it's just obvious ommon sense.

The thing a lot of people in niche groups like this (and yes, I am absolutely a part of this ) tend to forget is that our interest and desire for things like cheaper status and the like.. I am willing to bet upwards of 95-98% of the general population of people who purchase airline tickets just DO NOT CARE ABOUT.

Take your typical family who might go to see the (grand)parents a couple of times a year, or take the kids on a holiday to the Gold Coast, or splash out on a family trip to Disneyland when they can afford it.... these people are NOT going to make Silver let lone anything else. They want it cheap.. they want it available and they want it when it works for them to go.

Or, say you fly for work, and maybe you do a regular commute between say Melbourne and Brisbane r/t say once or twice a month... work pays.. it's a chore mostly you do it... you might get a silver or even gold card from the airline but maybe don't even know much about what it means.. your focus is dealing with your widget company and whatever your job is.

I know of many people out there, and have met some, with Gold or even Platinum status who simply do not know what that entails and don't care. I know one bloke who was going to and from a certain city on defence work and they were doing full Y(!) tickets on QF on almost a weekly basis for months. This guy got Platinum status. He did use it for some things but DSC? I can assure you that person could care less. Road Warriors either get it just by nature of flying a lot (ie: the good old way) or just do not care.

Not everyone is like "Up In The Air" to know and care about the ins and outs of their loyalty scheme or worry about them. They may know a few things, and use some of them.. but to be honest for many out there it's just NOT that big a deal.

Don't take these comments to imply that I'm having a go at anyone here, or who s waiting for promos... I so get it I promise you. I've used DSC a lot myself. I totally understand and appreciate how many here feel and what they want. I am alsmo keenly aware that we're but a drop on the huge ocean of the flying public.

Many of us, also, are very lucky to have the relative wherewithall (ie: financial, or through playing te system to churn CC's or have business expenses to generate points and travel, or have a job that involves a lot of paid travel) that many out there do not

I always like to keep in mind that Joe Public is far less interested in this stuff than we are. In general.

 

[levelnine]

People holding off bookings waiting for a DSC promo.. while large in the context of this forum, and a few others out there.... are *NOTHING* in the pool of QF pax.

This long post misses a crucial point.

Airlines live and die by small margins.

Qantas (and other airlines) are constantly looking to save money and bring in additional revenue wherever they can. Reducing the weight of cutlery to reduce fuel costs, squeezing in an extra row of economy seats, removing hot towels, charging for seat selections etc etc etc.

There is a reason they make these small changes -- they matter!

Even if there's only a couple of thousand people who alter their spend patterns in response to DSC, that could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars of lost revenue, especially when you take loyalty into account (eg if a person uses a DSC offer to get to Gold, they are more likely to book future flights on QF over VA due to lounge access). That's a huge deal for Qantas.

 

[TheRiddler]

Interesting concepts and probably very true but I'm not sure I totally agree with the logic. By their very nature, the Mom and Pop travellers aren't going to care about DSC promos. But regular (and astute) business travellers are, particularly those on international routes. And it is these people who provide QF with predictable and repeatable revenue that I would have thought QF would not want to lose.

Doubling down on that argument, it would be bad enough for QF not to earn the $$ in the first place but even worse when that money goes to a direct competitor. I mentioned it earlier in the thread that I had put around $10k in the hands of SQ following the lack of a recent DSC promo - that is now at around $18k. I am but one person but I would think that there are plenty of others in a similar boat (those that have Gold but wont get WP).

That all being said, I'm sure the actuaries at QF know what theyre doing...............

 

[RichardMEL]

I am good at long rambles.. it's my thing

And well I guess we can hope they notice people are not booking and link it to lack of DSC promos
(but remmeber. ... they are targeting to many)

 

[Ade]

I am good at long rambles.. it's my thing

 

[Cossie]

I've been searching for flight to Yangon for next year, so I thought this offer for 3,000 points may have been connected to that. As above 3000 points, don't think so!
I was hoping for a 50% extra status credit offer at least.

 

[mrsterryn]

Considering how our travel have increased...our look out currently if for sales.
I am unlikely to maintain plat in the 20/21 year and if by some fluke I am unlikely to maintain in 21/22.
Husband however due to expected travel will more than likely maintain on regular status credits sooooo for us it will be the price that helps
Most of the bookings needed for next year are able to be booked now , just waiting on a sale
A different perspective....the DSC promos encouraged me to travel QF.
I probable did than expected.

 

[mviy]

If I get/retain WP I’ll do it on a small number of trips mostly using DSC. QF makes a lot more profit from the flights than it costs them to provide me the status benefits.

With no DSC I’d let my status slip and try to get classic reward seats or consider booking other airlines, perhaps even give Singapore Airlines a try.