In order to retain status with any airline, you generally need to do a certain amount of flying each year. Qantas Platinum members, for example, need to earn 1,200 status credits each membership year in order to retain Platinum Qantas status.
But it may be possible to renew your status, even if you fall short of the required number of annual flights! “Status comping”, as it’s often referred to on the AFF forum, is an unpublished benefit afforded to some lucky Qantas frequent flyers.
The theory is that Qantas may take into consideration the average number of status credits earned over the previous three years. If your three-year status credit average is above the amount normally required to requalify, then your status may be “comped” for another year. So, if you had a busy year of flying within the previous three years, this may help you in a future year with less travel.
There is a “theory” (unofficial Qantas benefit) that they average your past three years SC earn, and if that average is over a certain amount then you could be “comped” a further year Platinum. If you did not get that it would suggest that although you requalified for each of the 4 years you mention, you must have only “just” gone over. In those circumstances I doubt QF will comp you if you phone them, but nothing lost in trying
If you qualify for status “comping”, Qantas will generally inform you around a month before the status is due to expire. The airline is unlikely, however, to offer complimentary status renewal retrospectively. So, it would not be wise to intentionally earn less than the required status credits in the hope that your membership will be renewed anyway!
Typically you will get a letter 4 to 6 weeks prior to the expiry date stating that it looks like you just won’t quite make it, and that they will comp you this one time. As far as I know they only look at your average flying for the last couple of years, not your upcoming trips. I know that they don’t look at future trips as I once received one of these letters since at the time I was comped I didn’t have enough SC’s to retain, but I had a booking in the final week of my membership year which was going to push me over the threshold anyway.
The “three-year status credit average” is the most widely accepted theory for predicting the likelihood of a status “comp”. But one member believes that other criteria are also taken into account when granting automatic status renewal.
Extensions aren’t just based on status. There are other metrics… Length of membership and revenue I know for fact. I assume there are many more.
Numerous members have been lucky enough to have their status “comped” by Qantas in the past. However, it is important to remember that this is not a published benefit and is never guaranteed. The only way to guarantee that your status will be renewed is to earn the required number of status credits, and to take the minimum number of Qantas or Jetstar flights each year.
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