Will Qantas have a March 2023 double status credit promotion?

[Blackadder]

A very small sample of future travel plans, but with my recently booked US trip for July seat selection is already pointing towards a near full or full flight in whY.
If the demand is there across the other QFi services, don't hold your breath for a DSC in the first half of the year.

 

[Tropic]

Cant see QF wanting more wannabe status seekers with "unrealistic expectations" clogging up their already overcrowded dingy lounges whinging about the meat coloured slop and cold party pies? Plenty of punters still booking seats even with these skillfully curated prices...so another DSC promo?....Yeah, Nah. Maybe a sale on "selected routes" if we lucky...

 

[exLXCXFF]

So, on Oracle‘s page 10 now, and clock soon turns over to 20 Feb 2023. Fingers crossed whether @747800intercon‘s proposal becomes true!

 

[Lynda2475]

I don't expect further status extensions at this point. At some point QF has got to expect people to travel to retain status.

I dont think they are mutually exclusive, DSCs were a regular thing pre-covid and you have to fly to earn them.

I know pre-covid when I used to fly regularly for work, they would prompt me to do as many future bookings are I could and for personal travel may mean I book a higher class.

 

[Ade]

do as many future bookings are I could

This is what I used to do, albiet for personal travel. Work travel is not predictable, but in my case, personal travel is, to some extent. So I always end up booking a bunch of personal trips I know I will definitely do and have a couple back ups for if & when needed. One such back up is still unused, expiry 21/03. Hopefully, something comes up and I can use it.

 

[mviy]

If they keep on doing status extensions the lounges will get more and more crowded as more and more people become eligible to visit the lounges.

DSC with an end to status extensions would be better.

 

[Ade]

DSC with an end to status extensions would be better.

That makes sense ... and I think QF is going to stop handing out any more status extensions. Travel has definitely got back, I'd say, personally. Just looking at the sheer number of folks at the airport travelling ... surprisingly, this weekend was an avalanche of pax at CBR ... not the usual Saturday pax numbers ... the numbers were at least 2x, conservatively ... Sunday had bursts of pax in & out, but Saturday was a lot of pax ...

Acknowledged that one weekend is not a great sample to look at ... but to me it is an indicator (putting together the fact that the number of pax has been gradually increasing at CBR, at least) that travel is getting back on its feet.

 

[Lynda2475]

If they keep on doing status extensions the lounges will get more and more crowded as more and more people become eligible to visit the lounges.

DSC with an end to status extensions would be better.

Status extensions have already ended.

Only those lucky enough to have a Jan-Jun FF Year got a 3rd extension.

Those like me whose year ended 31/7 got no extension and thus have had to earn their status (and I have) but we are now already planning how to retain it for the next FF year and DSC needed for me to have a hope of keeping WP.

 

[Pushka]

That makes sense ... and I think QF is going to stop handing out any more status extensions. Travel has definitely got back, I'd say, personally. Just looking at the sheer number of folks at the airport travelling ... surprisingly, this weekend was an avalanche of pax at CBR ... not the usual Saturday pax numbers ... the numbers were at least 2x, conservatively ... Sunday had bursts of pax in & out, but Saturday was a lot of pax ...

Acknowledged that one weekend is not a great sample to look at ... but to me it is an indicator (putting together the fact that the number of pax has been gradually increasing at CBR, at least) that travel is getting back on its feet.

Is it a case of people simply compressed on to fewer flights so it seems busy but only at certain times?

 

[Ade]

Is it a case of people simply compressed on to fewer flights

This happened once yesterday ... QF called for pax to MEL if they wish to be put on an earlier flight ... may be the load was lighter and QF wanted to consume the empty seats.

certain times?

Yesterday was like that ... busy at certain times. But Saturday was busy-busy ... almost all thru the day ...

 

[CaptJCool]

Is it a case of people simply compressed on to fewer flights so it seems busy but only at certain times?

Yes, there’s fewer flights so more People paying higher fares for the remaining seats on these smaller number of flights

this from October 2022

https://investor.qantas.com/FormBuilder/_Resource/_module/doLLG5ufYkCyEPjF1tpgyw/file/2023FY/QANTAS_GROUP_TRADING_UPDATE_FY23.pdf

J revenue at 100% of pre-COVID
Leisure revenue at 130% of pre-COVID

capxcity
International 61%
domestic 94%

 

[CaptJCool]

So, on Oracle‘s page 10 now, and clock soon turns over to 20 Feb 2023. Fingers crossed whether @747800intercon‘s proposal becomes true!

qantas didn’t announce a DSC. Seems “delays in operations” are just normal now

 

[levelnine]

qantas didn’t announce a DSC.

Extension of regional sale to end of 22 Feb was first hint nothing was coming on 20 Feb.

QF also quietly canned their lounge refurbishment press conference last week.

I think there's a good chance we'll get a bunch of announcements, including a DSC, on Thursday with the reporting of half yearly results.

Edit: I think that chance has just dropped considerably since Qantas are now releasing thousands of classic award seats on Friday. Not sure they'd want points club members to be able to double dip SCs that easily.

 

[dairyfloss]

Extension of regional sale to end of 22 Feb was first hint nothing was coming on 20 Feb.

QF also quietly canned their lounge refurbishment press conference last week.

I think there's a good chance we'll get a bunch of announcements, including a DSC, on Thursday with the reporting of half yearly results.

Edit: I think that chance has just dropped considerably since Qantas are now releasing thousands of classic award seats on Friday. Not sure they'd want points club members to be able to double dip SCs that easily.

I might be wrong, but I don’t think there’d be enough PC members out there to influence anything of this nature. Even if there was, if they’re willing to double normal SC earning on promotional revenue bookings system-wide, then it’s unlikely they’d be bothered by the same happening on lower earning PC bookings on classic awards through the same period.

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[RichardMEL]

I might be wrong, but I don’t think there’d be enough PC members out there to influence anything of this nature. Even if there was, if they’re willing to double normal SC earning on promotional revenue bookings system-wide, then it’s unlikely they’d be bothered by the same happening on lower earning PC bookings on classic awards through the same period.

Cheers,
Matt.

I tend to agree with this in general although I think there are probably way more PC members than it might seem. Heck I am PC and I honestly don't spend THAT much. Yeah, I might have purchased an extra QF wine case to get there, but I don't churn CC's o anything and I'm just a single guy living a modest(ish) life. It can add up!

However I agree that the subset of PC or PC+ members who would also care enough about DSC on reward tix and manipulate booking of rewards to earn, are going to be pretty small. And, as you write, the SC earn on rewards tickets is of course much less than regular earn - you'd have to fly a fair number of high value rewards bookings to earn enough SC to be meaningful, and getting the higher earning ones (such as a F seat SYD-LAX/LHR) is difficult as is (even more so without reasonably high current status).

so yeah I don't think the incremental impact on the elite pool would be that much.

 

[levelnine]

I might be wrong, but I don’t think there’d be enough PC members out there to influence anything of this nature.

I certainly hope you're right, because if a DSC comes along soon, I'll be able to retain WP with a criminally low amount of cash outlay due to PC SC earn.

 

[kangarooflyer88]

Edit: I think that chance has just dropped considerably since Qantas are now releasing thousands of classic award seats on Friday. Not sure they'd want points club members to be able to double dip SCs that easily.

Call me arrogant or ignorant but I frankly don't see how a DSC promotion will have much of an impact on PC members. I mean can you really earn status simply flying classic awards as a points club member? Yes you do get status credit accrual but it's not ordinarily less than half of the normal status credits earned on a revenue fare. For instance a flight between Sydney and Melbourne attracts 7 status credits versus the 10 on a red e-deal. Travelling business from Sydney to LA you would ordinarily earn 72 status credits one-way on such a flight versus 180 status credits flying discount business. At best, what a DSC promotion would do is get the accrual close to (and in some cases slightly more) than a cash fare in terms of status credit accrual. Given the number of points it takes to redeem a classic award these days, I simply can't see someone earning Gold or Platinum without spending a million points or more on classic flight awards. Yes, there might be some who do that (and who may even have Avios or AA points they use to book QF classic flight awards thereby giving them an extra opportunity to earn SC) but those are the exception not the rule.

Whether QF does what is now becoming a tradition on offering DSC once a year remains up for debate. The arguments I see for this is that the economy is heading into a recession and so we would expect demand for flights to drop later this year, in which case it might make sense for Uncle Alan to hold off on the promotion until that's reflected in lower bookings (maybe a DSC offer in July?). Also, if QF ends status support later this year (i.e. members with an end year of June 2023 are the last folks getting their status extended), then one would expect there to be a decline in the number of elites, so holding a DSC offer could make sense. Arguments against it is that it becoming a regular occurrence might set in the mind of customers an expectation that if they wait till March they'll get such an offer and they'll hold off booking. Also as others have noted, demand for QF flights remains high despite the airline remaining a regional Australia airline that is a shell of its former self.

-RooFlyer88

 

[levelnine]

I mean can you really earn status simply flying classic awards as a points club member?

As mentioned above, if a DSC comes along now, I will be able to retain WP pretty much purely on classic flight awards due to PC SC earn and DSC.

With DSC, one return in a business class classic award Australia to Dallas earns 320SC. If you can get onto the JFK flight, it is 448SC. They start to add up!

Indeed, I'll have to go out of my way to purchase 4 flights to meet the 4 QF/JQ requirement.

But I do agree, I'm the exception rather than the rule. My rule is to retain WP while giving QF as little of my cash as possible

 

[dairyfloss]

I certainly hope you're right, because if a DSC comes along soon, I'll be able to retain WP with a criminally low amount of cash outlay due to PC SC earn.

Same here! I’m not saying there’s not people that can extract excellent value for little actual spend, here, but with U class ordinarily earning less than Y flex, even with additional inventory it should be enough to keep things at bay

 

[kangarooflyer88]

With DSC, one return in a business class classic award Australia to Dallas earns 320SC. If you can get onto the JFK flight, it is 448SC. They start to add up!

Whilst I do see some classic award J availability on SYD to DFW, I don't see any to JFK (at least not on QF metal). But to put this all in to perspective for just a moment, last year I booked SYD to AKL (via MEL) for $1100 return in J during the DSC promotion and earned 480 status credits. Was a very easy way to retain Gold status (when combined with QF Green and Loyalty Bonus SCs) along with getting the 4 squiggles on my QF card.

Indeed, I'll have to go out of my way to purchase 4 flights to meet the 4 QF/JQ requirement.

Classic Awards don't count to the 4 squiggles requirement?

But I do agree, I'm the exception rather than the rule. My rule is to retain WP while giving QF as little of my cash as possible

Truly a World Platinum traveller in their own league!