What the.................. [Comped WP!]

[Ikara]

I retired 10 years ago and after one final year as Platinum I had a "soft" landing to Life Time Gold. I was fine with this as my travel these days is the barest minimum. I do one trip ADL-SYD-ADL in December for a long standing (30 years) Xmas lunch and I may do one trip to Melbourne during the year.
So, imagine my surprise when I received an email from Qantas which said......

Welcome to Platinum membership with our compliments. In recognition of your continued support, we're pleased to offer you Platinum status.

What the??? Yes, I've checked my account and sure enough I am now Platinum. My cards will arrive in the mail in the next 14 days.

Work experience kids or something else? Anyone had any similar experience?

Obviously I wont say no, but at the end of the day not a whole lot of difference to LTG given the amount of travel that I do now.

JB

 

[juddles]

I agree with the "not much difference ... given amount of travel" - this is a thing many overlook ( for example, IMHO, who cares if some only travels once a year on a DSC and gains WP - if they dont travel any more there is no cost to Qantas nor crowding of lounges....)

As for your particluar case, I would not count my chickens for at least a month - there are often, it appears, temporary aberrations at renewal date.....

 

[RichardMEL]

It may well be a form of enticement in the hope you might pick up your travel.

Consider to QF the cost is minimal. If you continue your one or 2 domestic trips a year then the cost to QF of this gesture is J lounge access(where they exist) which really doesn't mean much to them. If you fly more, say international, then it's still revenue positive for them and a win. If you don't, then no loss to them part from the cost of the card/postage.

It's probably not a bad strategy really.

 

[serfty]

As for your particluar case, I would not count my chickens for at least a month - there are often, it appears, temporary aberrations at renewal date....

I would suggest this is a real comp - most of the 'phantom' ones are report in the first four days or so of a calendar month.

 

[oz_mark]

Maybe they're trying to be nice to Adelaide folk

 

[RichardMEL]

It may indicate a new strategy (given the recent shift in the leadership at QF Loyalty) with an aim to both retain customers and induce more spend. The targeted(poorly IMHO) DSC offer may be part of this too.

You have someone that, over time, has shown a lot of travel with QF (at LTG) but, to them, has slackened off their travel habits (it's not really for them to know or care that one has retired or changed jobs or just doesn't need or want to fly as much)... their aim is to get you back, and hopefully get more out of you. Status seems to have been a tool of choice with QF for the past few years (with all the SC bonus promos) and this seems to be a twist on this. "Hey, you've been loyal for ages, but dropped off Plat.. let's throw it back at you and see if you take the bait and spend more"

As I noted above,at least in this case there's very little downsize in terms of QF's exposure (cost) here, and a bit of upside in terms of potential revenue spend. Customer feels valued for long term loyalty and may make use of it, QF wins from extra spend they may not have had.

Just thinking aloud here

 

[mstuart681]

Maybe the algorithm flags the OP as someone who was doing a lot of travel and has possibly switched airline loyalty. So this is an attempt to win them back.
And as others have said, if the OP has stopped travelling, then no loss to Qantas

 

[mviy]

If you do get the Platinum card perhaps you may wish to consider a visit to N.Z. via MEL/SYD if your finances allow. Could be nice for you after all these years to visit the FLounge and experience that again if only the once.

 

[Simo]

Don't complain... Maybe to see if you have switched camps to VA so they can pull back some of perceived lost revenue to VA but they will sadly be disappointed

 

[mviy]

Assuming this is deliberate (can't see why it wouldn't be), from QF's point of view if some people increase their spending with QF as a result of being comped a higher status that's a win for QF. Even if most don't change their spending habits if some do they'll be pleased.

If I got LTG, cut back my flying as a result of having no further lifetime benefits to aim for, dropped to LTG and some years later got comped a year of WP I'd be very excited and probably do some international bookings with QF (either on points or using cash).

 

[Edge]

Congrats!

QF loyalty works in very mysterious ways. I emailed them asking if I can do a "status challenge" to achieve Gold or Platinum and they said no, even though I'm WP with VA and about to hit my requalification within four months of my membership year (sent them my last two years of flying history) and was about to make 3 x domestic and 1 x international booking.

 

[Ikara]

Problem solvered! I received a second email this morning that says in part......

Dear John

We’re celebrating an incredible 30 years since Qantas Frequent Flyer was launched.

As one of our original members, we’d like to thank you for coming on the journey with us. That’s why we’re upgrading you from Gold* to Platinum for your next membership year, as it’s the status that you held for the longest over the last 30 years.

It’s our way of thanking you for your continued support, helping us to grow from fledgling beginnings back in 1987 to our status today as Australia’s largest airline loyalty program, with nearly 12 million members worldwide.

Interesting in itself, given that my membership card says "Joined - Jan 1983".

Noice and thank you!

JB

 

[mviy]

I wonder if any other AFF members got a similar comp to you. Interesting that QFF tracks which membership level you've held the longest (for me it's NB and I haven't been a member anywhere near as long as Ikara).

 

[JohnK]

It may indicate a new strategy (given the recent shift in the leadership at QF Loyalty) with an aim to both retain customers and induce more spend. The targeted(poorly IMHO) DSC offer may be part of this too.

Yes I can just see it now. Comped Platinum with 80 SCs and drop down to Gold with 1150 SCs.

Too many gimmicks already gifting status to some, halving qualification levels for others.

And then when they have too many with status they start taking away benefits.

 

[mviy]

Yes I can just see it now. Comped Platinum with 80 SCs and drop down to Gold with 1150 SCs.

Too many gimmicks already gifting status to some, halving qualification levels for others.

And then when they have too many with status they start taking away benefits.

If they thought there were too many with high status they wouldn't be offering comps like this and as mentioned if Ikara's flight patterns don't change there will be very minimal cost to QF. A handful of visits to the Domestic Business Lounge (less than that actually as Ikara is based where there is just a QANTAS Club) and probably outside the commuter rush hours isn't going to change things much.

If people switch back from Virgin to QF and fly enough to retain WP after being comped then QF and the customer both win.

 

[RichardMEL]

This seems like a great little thing. JohnK may call it a gimmick, but the reality is there's probably only very few people affected, and with LTG already the OP's cost or the impact of this on QF and other pax is pretty minimal... but it shows an effort to recognise the long term loyalty. People often complain they feel unvalued.. I think this is a nice little effort by QF.

I actually think this is much better than copious bonus SC offers which really do swell the elite ranks and potentially dilute the benefits.

I have no issue with this.

 

[serfty]

I think it's great they are looking at such recognition, if only for a year.

I wonder how many LTSC's Ikara would have if travel prior to September 1998 counted.

 

[mviy]

At least until I get to LTG I'll want to get bonus SC offers. DSC offers enable me to hold a higher status level than I otherwise would. WP is a lot better than SG.

Once I reach LTG then an offer something like what Ikara got would be attractive.

 

[juddles]

I am LTG etc and all I want is a life with no more planes.

Sorry - need "cuddles for juddles"

 

[bigjobs]

I retired 10 years ago and after one final year as Platinum I had a "soft" landing to Life Time Gold. I was fine with this as my travel these days is the barest minimum. I do one trip ADL-SYD-ADL in December for a long standing (30 years) Xmas lunch and I may do one trip to Melbourne during the year.
So, imagine my surprise when I received an email from Qantas which said......

Welcome to Platinum membership with our compliments. In recognition of your continued support, we're pleased to offer you Platinum status.

What the??? Yes, I've checked my account and sure enough I am now Platinum. My cards will arrive in the mail in the next 14 days.

Work experience kids or something else? Anyone had any similar experience?

Obviously I wont say no, but at the end of the day not a whole lot of difference to LTG given the amount of travel that I do now.

JB

take out the retirement bit and that's me ... been platinum for about 12/13 years. stopped travelling basically every week and then landed back on LTG (which I've had for about 6 years). have been back on LTG level for a couple of years now and not really doing alot of travel outside of holidays etc.

Maybe I'm in the mix for one of these wouldn't say no to it ... especially with a little international travel a couple of times per year.

Edit: Just read your second post about being an original member ... I joined in the early 2000's, so I guess this offer is gonna miss me