- Joined
- Jun 3, 2014
- Posts
- 769
- Qantas
- Bronze
- Virgin
- Red
As it says in the title, I’m suffering from another Qantas System Failure.
I have already phoned the call centre many times, I have filed a Customer Care form via the QF website, and I have sent an email to Stephanie Tully (or at least an email address with her name on it that probably goes to an assistant of hers…). So far with no response, let alone solution...
To explain my predicament, following is a (slightly edited) copy of what I sent to Ms Tully:
In my email I tried to keep calm, stick to the facts, and provide realistic solutions. I don’t know what more I can do.
I think this case goes to the very core of the value proposition of accumulating QFF points by the general public.
Qantas goes to great lengths to promote the QFF program, showcasing the many ways of redeeming QFF points: Toasters, Coffee Machines, Gift Cards, Wine, Hotels, Upgrades, Domestic Flights, International Flights, etc.
But underlying it all is the message “if you collect the points, you’ll be able to get long haul international premium cabin award seats*”
* But in the fine print there might be a few passing references to the fact that these are sometimes not available when you want them...
In this instance, I had managed (despite all of the challenges brought by the CV19 period) to cobble together the holy grail of QFF point redemption: The OneWorld Classic Award, with a Europe section and a USA section, split by a “Stop” in SE Asia - only 8 sectors, but maxing out the milage.
As you know, the only way to get this done for a lowly Bronze such as myself, is to put in hours of planning 12 months before the first flight in the itinerary, and then hover over the keyboard on ’seat release day’ (which varies depending upon which carrier you seek) in an attempt to beat all the other like minded members trying to do the same thing.
Of course, for an itinerary that spans more than a few days (i.e. almost all of them…), the award sectors need to be added one or two at a time. But that can’t be done online; each time you need to run the gauntlet that is the Qantas Call Centre [Insert Rant here about the many deficiencies of the QF CC, particularly for lesser status members].
Sorry, I got carried away…
Back to the Core Value I alluded to earlier. There’s a lot involved with compiling a OWCA itinerary, and getting it fully ticketed, but for those with perseverance, time, & knowledge it is possible. But, the itinerary will generally be complete about 6 months before the first sector is due. Particularly now (during CV19 recovery), but even in ’normal times’, there’s a decent chance that there will be carrier initiated schedule changes. And so it can all go down the toilet if QF can’t get the itinerary re-ticketed after the change. With the high number of carrier schedule changes occurring, and the number of ticketing issues detailed by AFF members, the risk of creating an award redemption and later having it snatched away from you is very real.
Just as an aside… During the Europe leg of this itinerary (due to start in 6 or 7 weeks) we are walking about 1,000km from NW Italy to Rome, so I have about 60 nights of accomodation booked, most of them single nights - so its not just the award flights that are at risk here… (but I understand that has nothing to do with Qantas).
So…
If you’re still reading…
Can anyone suggest any other avenues that I can pursue (keeping in mind that I’m not the ‘go to Current Affair’ type, although a bit of written Social Media isn’t out of the question)?
Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give.
Best Regards,
"Jimmy"
I have already phoned the call centre many times, I have filed a Customer Care form via the QF website, and I have sent an email to Stephanie Tully (or at least an email address with her name on it that probably goes to an assistant of hers…). So far with no response, let alone solution...
To explain my predicament, following is a (slightly edited) copy of what I sent to Ms Tully:
In my email I tried to keep calm, stick to the facts, and provide realistic solutions. I don’t know what more I can do.
I think this case goes to the very core of the value proposition of accumulating QFF points by the general public.
Qantas goes to great lengths to promote the QFF program, showcasing the many ways of redeeming QFF points: Toasters, Coffee Machines, Gift Cards, Wine, Hotels, Upgrades, Domestic Flights, International Flights, etc.
But underlying it all is the message “if you collect the points, you’ll be able to get long haul international premium cabin award seats*”
* But in the fine print there might be a few passing references to the fact that these are sometimes not available when you want them...
In this instance, I had managed (despite all of the challenges brought by the CV19 period) to cobble together the holy grail of QFF point redemption: The OneWorld Classic Award, with a Europe section and a USA section, split by a “Stop” in SE Asia - only 8 sectors, but maxing out the milage.
As you know, the only way to get this done for a lowly Bronze such as myself, is to put in hours of planning 12 months before the first flight in the itinerary, and then hover over the keyboard on ’seat release day’ (which varies depending upon which carrier you seek) in an attempt to beat all the other like minded members trying to do the same thing.
Of course, for an itinerary that spans more than a few days (i.e. almost all of them…), the award sectors need to be added one or two at a time. But that can’t be done online; each time you need to run the gauntlet that is the Qantas Call Centre [Insert Rant here about the many deficiencies of the QF CC, particularly for lesser status members].
Sorry, I got carried away…
Back to the Core Value I alluded to earlier. There’s a lot involved with compiling a OWCA itinerary, and getting it fully ticketed, but for those with perseverance, time, & knowledge it is possible. But, the itinerary will generally be complete about 6 months before the first sector is due. Particularly now (during CV19 recovery), but even in ’normal times’, there’s a decent chance that there will be carrier initiated schedule changes. And so it can all go down the toilet if QF can’t get the itinerary re-ticketed after the change. With the high number of carrier schedule changes occurring, and the number of ticketing issues detailed by AFF members, the risk of creating an award redemption and later having it snatched away from you is very real.
Just as an aside… During the Europe leg of this itinerary (due to start in 6 or 7 weeks) we are walking about 1,000km from NW Italy to Rome, so I have about 60 nights of accomodation booked, most of them single nights - so its not just the award flights that are at risk here… (but I understand that has nothing to do with Qantas).
So…
If you’re still reading…
Can anyone suggest any other avenues that I can pursue (keeping in mind that I’m not the ‘go to Current Affair’ type, although a bit of written Social Media isn’t out of the question)?
Thank you in advance for any assistance you can give.
Best Regards,
"Jimmy"
