Rebook to Business award from Premium; If I cancel Premium, how Quickly do Qantas Points get refunded?

[duanemiller]

Hey team. I've found a better class flight with Qantas I want to book but won't have enough points without the cancellation of another flight and having those points back in my account. How quickly after cancelling a Classic Flight Reward are the points usually in your account? I run the risk of losing Premium Economy seats trying to book Business Class seats that may not be available to book after waiting for the points to appear back in my account. Worse case scenario is I end up with nothing at a really peak travel time.

 

[Lynda2475]

You can call Qantas and request a chnage to your existing PNR; they ask them to ticket the J seat instead and they will recalculate the points/taxes and just charge you the difference.

Usually the assistance fee is waived for Business/First Class bookings but you will be hit with the change fee (which is the same as the cancellation fee).

Of course you then need to stay vigilant until it is ticketed. But if it is on QF metal that is less of a concern.

 

[duanemiller]

You can call Qantas and request a chnage to your existing PNR; they ask them to ticket the J seat instead and they will recalculate the points/taxes and just charge you the difference.

Usually the assistance fee is waived for Business/First Class bookings but you will be hit with the change fee (which is the same as the cancellation fee).

Of course you then need to stay vigilant until it is ticketed. But if it is on QF metal that is less of a concern.

Thanks Lynda2475. Does it matter if the J seat is on a different flight (day before)? Can I still request a change to my existing PNR or will this be a whole new booking?

Sorry for being basic - it's my first flight redemption.

 

[Lynda2475]

No different day is fine.

I had 31/7 QF11 SYD-LAX and 30/8 QF12 LAX-SYD booked and ticketed.

Then I saw a SYD-DFW become available the day before, so I called up and said I need to make a change to an existing booking. I gave the PNR, then said I was to add QF7 on 31/7 and remove QF11 on 1/8, they then told me I owed X extra points and y extra taxes, which I agreed to and they
took the payment and new ticket issued.

Of course it can sometimes take more than one call to get a competent agent; but usually less issues when QF flights as opposed to partner ones.

 

[duanemiller]

No different day is fine.

I had 31/7 QF11 SYD-LAX and 30/8 QF12 LAX-SYD booked and ticketed.

Then I saw a SYD-DFW become available the day before, so I called up and said I need to make a change to an existing booking. I gave the PNR, then said I was to add QF7 on 31/7 and remove QF11 on 1/8, they then told me I owed X extra points and y extra taxes, which I agreed to and they
took the payment and new ticket issued.

Of course it can sometimes take more than one call to get a competent agent; but usually less issues when QF flights as opposed to partner ones.

Thanks Lynda. Will give that a try

 

[Lynda2475]

Thanks Lynda. Will give that a try

Make it really clear you want Business and not PE on the new flight so they dont just reticket in the same class.

 

[mx838383]

Hey team. I've found a better class flight with Qantas I want to book but won't have enough points without the cancellation of another flight and having those points back in my account. How quickly after cancelling a Classic Flight Reward are the points usually in your account? I run the risk of losing Premium Economy seats trying to book Business Class seats that may not be available to book after waiting for the points to appear back in my account. Worse case scenario is I end up with nothing at a really peak travel time.

I totally agree with everyone and the advice that calling qantas and asking them to change by supplying your PNR is the best way to go.
But in case something goes south and you really need to cancel and get those points back, I’ve had QFF points back after 2hrs of calling Qantas. But you must tell them you are trying to use those returned points for another booking so they can action it asap. I was lucky the agent I dealt with was competent and even did a follow up call to make sure that the points went back into my account straight after it has gone through.

 

[dylarr]

Usually the assistance fee is waived for Business/First Class bookings but you will be hit with the change fee (which is the same as the cancellation fee).

The change fee is slightly cheaper at 5,000 points per pax vs cancellation at 6,000 per pax points so if you can change instead of cancelling you'll also come out a bit better off.

 

[MelbFlyer]

I called up to cancel a OWA Business booking in full back in late Jan and the 318k points took around 4hrs to be refunded. Taxes took a few days to be refunded back.

I've done changes to a new booking since then, and 3 weeks later, I still haven't yet got the promised points back (it was mentioned that the points should take maximum 1 week to be refunded. Off to Qantas I call again...

 

[Flyfrequently]

I totally agree with everyone and the advice that calling qantas and asking them to change by supplying your PNR is the best way to go.
But in case something goes south and you really need to cancel and get those points back, I’ve had QFF points back after 2hrs of calling Qantas. But you must tell them you are trying to use those returned points for another booking so they can action it asap. I was lucky the agent I dealt with was competent and even did a follow up call to make sure that the points went back into my account straight after it has gone through.

Agree @mx838383.
I was also fortunate to get a competent agent who, understanding I needed to rebook asap, sorted points return while I was on the phone.
Points came through on the App & taxes the next day on credit card.
My advice is, that if you do not get the sense they have an understanding of what you are requesting, politely end the call with a reassurance that no changes have been made, then HUACA.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Thanks Lynda. Will give that a try

How did you go @duanemiller in changing your flights?

 

[duanemiller]

How did you go @duanemiller in changing your flights?

Unfortunately by the time I called the J class fare had been snapped up by another lucky flyer. All good though, I learnt a lot for next time. I almost cancelled my PE flight thinking I would get the points back quickly to be able to book the J class fare. If I had of done that I would have ended up with nothing. Glad I posted here first. Thanks for all the advice fam.

 

[MrJetset]

It can be done instantly if you insist.

The agents just need to call to have it actioned. I believe they call the FF Service Centre, but could be wrong. If so you need to factor in their hours.

 

[dylarr]

The agents just need to call to have it actioned. I believe they call the FF Service Centre, but could be wrong. If so you need to factor in their hours.

This is correct it can be done on the spot if required - it's not the customer facing FFSC who does the points refunds (as they also need to call this team to have refunds actioned) - it's a back office "Rewards Team" that is not customer facing. I believe they are available between 7am-7pm.

 

[duanemiller]

Yeah that was the thing. I called up and that team had just finished so planned to call the next day. All good