Qantas denies double points due to definition of "booking"

[muppet]

This had me very nervously checking when I sought a quote from Amex Travel for my recent DSC flights and checking when I received the "You are registered" email...

 

[Mrmaxwell]

Agreed. Though once a gesture is made, others then expect the same.

If they had made the gesture in the first place then there would likely be no thread and hence no further issue

 

[Quickstatus]

If they had made the gesture in the first place then there would likely be no thread and hence no further issue

Until the next person who gets into the same trap. Without a thread who would know?. And if passenger is "compensated" they wont complain on forums and social media and who else would not know. So the airline then "compensates" everyone...

Alternatively they let social media know what qantas did for them - gave themthe points when they didnt have to. And the next person does the same and so on.

 

[p--and--t]

T

You can't fly with a reservation.
You need a ticket.

If you had 100 people in a room and asked them what 'date' the 'booking' was made, I bet >50% would say at the time of payment.

See, confusing!

Totally disagree.

You can make a booking with an airline, a hotel, a restaurant, a hairdresser, a doctor, a live show.

Everyone knows what a booking aka reservation is.

Everyone "should" know that to fly you also need a ticket. To get the ticket you need to pay.

A booking is not a ticket.

 

[RichardMEL]

Small point of order - don't just about all these promos say "for NEW BOOKINGS made between..."

OP already HAD a booking. how is it new just because they paid during the period?

That aside... as I noted earlier I agree with the general view that technically QF is correct but the emotions invlved COULD lead to loss of future business due to feeling cheated out of the DP.

Here's the thing about making an exception.. it then becomes expected... "Last time you let me do this..."

I mean why don't we all say the next time a DSC promo comes along that we booked 3 days before but hadn't paid well yes let us have it".. it's one of those slippery slopes isn't it?

I honestly can see both sides, but I really do think in this case QF is correct and well it's up to the OP (and others) if they wish to take their business elsewhee.... as it is for all of us.

 

[tinkybelle]

i too would have thought ticketing date was the crux for double pts or DSC.
SO THANKYOU for bringing this up.
We are all now more aware
And sorry qantas have been so black and white
So you are now saying we can make a booking during DSC. And ticket machine nths kater when the cheap flights are on. Thats awesone

 

[dajop]

Here's the thing about making an exception.. it then becomes expected... "Last time you let me do this..."

I mean why don't we all say the next time a DSC promo comes along that we booked 3 days before but hadn't paid well yes let us have it".. it's one of those slippery slopes isn't it?

Often companies will say, OK, we'll let it go this time, you've learnt your lesson, you know exactly what we mean by booking now, don't come begging to us next time this happens and by the way, don't let all you twitbook friends and other internet buddies know about it (all said in corporate speak).

Personally, if this happened to me, it would be a doh! moment, but who wouldn't try it on like the OP?

 

[33kft]

So you are now saying we can make a booking during DSC. And ticket machine nths kater when the cheap flights are on. Thats awesone

People have been doing just this for a long time, and getting the DSCs. Think gift cards (may or may not have been closed regardless of what the T&Cs say), rescheduled or cancelled flights with PNRs created during this time.

What they haven't been doing so much of is creating threads complaining about it making it somewhat of a less known "problem"

 

[Quickstatus]

i
So you are now saying we can make a booking during DSC. And ticket machine nths kater when the cheap flights are on. Thats awesone

I don’t think so. A booking is generally tied to a price+conditions offer. Changing that price+conditions later might cause the booking date to also change.

 

[Quickstatus]

Just to clarify: A booking before ticketing allows maximum change flexibility without incurring the change fees usually imposed once a booking is ticketed. However changing the price and conditions will generally cause the old booking to be cancelled and new one raised.

Im not sure if a TA has ways around this that keeps a booking date but change the price/conditions.

 

[downgraded]

I don’t think so. A booking is generally tied to a price+conditions offer. Changing that price+conditions later might cause the booking date to also change.

I'm not sure it really is, until you pay, or unless you sign up to some price guarantee, the price for a booking is not guaranteed until it is paid for and ticketing requested.

Even the normal online QF process I think says the price may change if you use the facility to hold a reservation without completing the payment. You get to keep the seats, but the fare and conditions may change (usually not for the better).

 

[Quickstatus]

Well,
What actually happens is the booking has an expiry date. If not paid for by a certain date, the booking expires and is no longer valid. A new booking with new booking date then has to be created with the usual higher price.

 

[tinkybelle]

or lower price I find when the DSC is on the price goes up once the DSC is finished the discount price kicks in . this happened to me on SYD JFK SYD
and in reverse when the companion fares were released at 5200 each once it ended the DSC started at 8k.

 

[Quickstatus]

Dsc period does push the price up and post DSC pushes it down

However you miss out on the DSC if not booked within the DSC period

 

[ftm]

Dsc period does push the price up and post DSC pushes it down

However you miss out on the DSC if not booked within the DSC period

So what if you “book” it in the DSC window and then issue the ticket outside the DSC window. The consensus in this thread has been that the definition of booking is PNR creation, so if that logic carries through, there should be no reason why you can’t issue the ticket outside the DSC period and get the cheaper fares.

 

[Quickstatus]

Sorry as I said a booking carries with it the price And conditions of the ticket. Just a PNR creation is not necessarily a booking but a booking is created when a PNR is created and a flight/price/condition is attached to that “file”

For example a QF gift card causes a PNR to be created but as no flight is attached a booking is not yet created.

I believe changing the price/conditions would usually necessitate a change in the booking

 

[Carrots]

No one seems to have commented that the original post mentions there was a change in pricing from when they first spoke to Amex Travel to when they paid 6 days later.

Surely from the comments above, given the "held" booking price has changed would this not then constitute a new booking, otherwise what is the point of a held booking if they can change pricing/conditions?

(one assumes there was no change in itinerary)

 

[Quickstatus]

AFAIK, a TA can do things to a booking that simple passengers cannot. I think this is one example.

I’ve heard for example that TA can even merge 2 bookings into one so long as both bookings were created by the TA

Moral of story: always start with fresh booking in these circumstances

 

[RichardMEL]

It is NOT a hard and fast rule that all fares have gone up during global DSC proimos (which may no longer be seen anyway). I can think of several instances where there were a few sales on to specific destinations - even in premium cabns (eg: NOU, SIN etc) when a DSC promo was on. Major sales? Usually not, but there most certainly have been instances where sales in some markets have overlapped with global promos.

 

[ftm]

Sorry as I said a booking carries with it the price And conditions of the ticket. Just a PNR creation is not necessarily a booking but a booking is created when a PNR is created and a flight/price/condition is attached to that “file”

For example a QF gift card causes a PNR to be created but as no flight is attached a booking is not yet created.

I believe changing the price/conditions would usually necessitate a change in the booking

The price and conditions are connected to the date the segments are created, not the date the PNR is created.