QFF Platinum requesting release of extra Classic award seats?

Anyone got any hot tips on when to call the premium line
Trying to do MEL/SYD - YVR and SFO - MEL/SYD classic rewards available in QF Y or J on Japan Air via NRT but I’d rather QF metal in J.
 
Anyone got any hot tips on when to call the premium line
Trying to do MEL/SYD - YVR and SFO - MEL/SYD classic rewards available in QF Y or J on Japan Air via NRT but I’d rather QF metal in J.
No special time to call QFF, the premium line answers pretty quickly, the agent will just put in the request and the bot will give and answer within a couple of minutes. QF are currently not doing manual assessment which is normally the fallback step if the bot says no.
 
No special time to call QFF, the premium line answers pretty quickly, the agent will just put in the request and the bot will give and answer within a couple of minutes. QF are currently not doing manual assessment which is normally the fallback step if the bot says no.
Ah ok maybe manual assessment is what I’ve got the agent to use in the past. Lets hope this starts again soon!
 
Anyone got any hot tips on when to call the premium line
Trying to do MEL/SYD - YVR and SFO - MEL/SYD classic rewards available in QF Y or J on Japan Air via NRT but I’d rather QF metal in J.

Assume you have an ExpertFlyer sub to check availability?
 
Ah ok maybe manual assessment is what I’ve got the agent to use in the past. Lets hope this starts again soon!
This is just my take based on discussions with the VIP team. As QF is opening up/ sureing up the schedule the bots response to release seats is being updated based on flight assurity and requests for around 6 months out are starting to be approved. This seems to be consistent with what has been reported upthread for flights to SIN in Apr 22. In past years the seasonal SYD-YVR J used to show up in the general reward search availability however there were many more seats on the 747. Depending on your preference if J is available with JL I personally would lock these in and worry about QF in the future. You can change or cancel classic flight reward bookings made before 28 February 2022 anytime up to 31 Dec 22 free of charge (points tax).
Assume you have an ExpertFlyer sub to check availability?
I think the route is also a consideration, I made my first request request for x2 in J for QF103 (the old QF3 SYD-HNL) on the day the fights were released, D and I were showing as available however the bot said 'no' I am also looking at the school holiday period. From experience if booking for the school holidays routes to the US, UK, HNL and JP (QF25/26) do not normally display J or F availability. When requesting seat release on these routes sometimes the bot says 'yes', sometimes 'no' however with SST and manual assessment resulted in a positive outcome.
 
Last edited:
I think the route is also a consideration, I made my first request request for x2 in J for QF103 (the old QF3 SYD-HNL) on the day the fights were released, D and I were showing as available however the bot said 'no' I am also looking at the school holiday period.

D or I availability is certainly not a guarantee, but I find it saves a lot of time knowing which specific days & flight numbers to request for.
 
D or I availability is certainly not a guarantee, but I find it saves a lot of time knowing which specific days & flight numbers to request for.
100% agree, the intent of my comment was that QF seems to have certain routes or flights that the bots automatically says 'no' to. I am only posting based on my experience which is requesting x2 J seats for the start and end of school holidays give or take a week at either end. This has been my experience:
  • AU-US if LAX or DFW bot says 'yes' if to JFK bot says 'no'. I get this as QF funnels the MEL,SYD, BNE, flights onto the single LAX-JFK flight.
  • AU-UK the bot always says 'no'
  • SYD-HNL for this route the bot seems to always says 'no' at anytime, I have requested these for my parents who are not date constrained.
  • AU- to most QF locations in Asia the bot says 'yes' this includes JP but into or out of NRT. QF25/26 was normally a 'no', I was interested to see if this was going to change after additional slots at HND became available however covid struck before this could be tested.
The after the bot says 'no' the manual assessment kicks in.
 
Last edited:
As I have said many times of this thread, certain routes, peak periods and even days of the week are programmed to decline. I have seen documents that instruct agents not to submit requests because the droid will decline.

In addition, it’s not just status that factors into the decision, exception being P1. Customer value, revenue, class flown, number of previous release requests etc are all calculated to determine whether a release will be successful.
 
Question for the brains' trust:

Six of us are flying to BME in a couple of weeks (B738). My brother and I snared all 4 U bucket seats that were available for us and partner/SWMBO.

The other couple can only muster one SG between them.

EF is telling me that there are 4 I bucket seats available.

My plan is to keep monitoring EF with a view to alerting my mate to ask for points UPGs in the lounge.

However, I'm wondering whether anyone here has any experience or thoughts about whether a WP asking for a release on behalf of (non-related) travelling companions would have any chance of success?
 
Question for the brains' trust:

Six of us are flying to BME in a couple of weeks (B738). My brother and I snared all 4 U bucket seats that were available for us and partner/SWMBO.

The other couple can only muster one SG between them.

EF is telling me that there are 4 I bucket seats available.

My plan is to keep monitoring EF with a view to alerting my mate to ask for points UPGs in the lounge.

However, I'm wondering whether anyone here has any experience or thoughts about whether a WP asking for a release on behalf of (non-related) travelling companions would have any chance of success?
Surely your brother/sister P1 member can request the upgrade for you? ;)
 
Sponsored Post

Struggling to use your Frequent Flyer Points?

Frequent Flyer Concierge takes the hard work out of finding award availability and redeeming your frequent flyer or credit card points for flights.

Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, the Frequent Flyer Concierge team at Frequent Flyer Concierge will help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

Question for the brains' trust:

Six of us are flying to BME in a couple of weeks (B738). My brother and I snared all 4 U bucket seats that were available for us and partner/SWMBO.

The other couple can only muster one SG between them.

EF is telling me that there are 4 I bucket seats available.

My plan is to keep monitoring EF with a view to alerting my mate to ask for points UPGs in the lounge.

However, I'm wondering whether anyone here has any experience or thoughts about whether a WP asking for a release on behalf of (non-related) travelling companions would have any chance of success?
I thought that seat release for Plat 1s domestically came from the "D" bucket
 
I thought that seat release for Plat 1s domestically came from the "D" bucket

That is the case, but for mere WP, as I am, it is only from I bucket, as I understand it.

In other words, for a WP1, I bucket gets subsumed under D bucket, thereby broadening the scope over what a WP can get.
 
Data point. 27th April 2022 BNE-LAX U Class. 2 seats. Requested over the phone and approved at the same time. I x 3 showing at the time.
 
Not too surprising but request for one business or one economy seat not successful on:
QF81 SYD-SIN 25 Dec 2021
QF82 SIN-SYD 3 Jan 2022
 
Success for one business seat on:
QF35 MEL-SIN 17 Sep 2022 (showing I9 in EF)

Unsuccessful:
QF36 SIN-MEL 25-Sep-2022 (showing I0 in EF)
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Enhance your AFF viewing experience!!

From just $6 we'll remove all advertisements so that you can enjoy a cleaner and uninterupted viewing experience.

And you'll be supporting us so that we can continue to provide this valuable resource :)


Sample AFF with no advertisements? More..
Back
Top