Benefits of Platinum Status

Status
Not open for further replies.

stuandmel

Intern
Joined
Oct 10, 2005
Posts
60
I have been a QC Life member for some time, so never really valued Gold membership which I've largely maintained for the past few years. After some recent periods of heavier travel I've finally passed through to the next level although the overt benefits seem few. I know you get:

Bus. check in on domestic
Access to 1st class lounges on Int
A few extra points via the multiplier

Is that really it in a practical sense? Maybe there are more benefits behind the scenes in terms of priority. Am I missing something?
 
One of the biggest benefits of Platinum FF status is the higher priority for waitlisted upgrades etc. Put you ahead of all Gold and Silver members, no matter how long before they joined the waitlist queue.

Also note that QC membership gets you access QF, BA, AA and US lounges when flying with that airline on the same day. QF Platinum FF status (OneWorld Emerald) gets you first class lounge access at any OneWorld airline lounge when flying any OneWorld airline on the same day. That means, for example, you can use the CX lounge in HKG when flying with QF or BA (much nicer than the QF/BA lounge).

Also, as a QF Platinum FF member you can use the Qantas Club lounges any time, even when not flying, and you can take in two guests to the domestic lounges. I use this sometimes when visiting the airport for pickup/dropoff purposes, or for meetings with vendors/suppliers. Just last week I took a family friend and her 4 kids to the airport to fly home to Melbourne, and took them all into the Qantas Club lounge for breakfast before they departed, even though I was not flying. A Gold FF member of QC Life member cannot do that.
 
stuandmel said:
Is that really it in a practical sense? Maybe there are more benefits behind the scenes in terms of priority. Am I missing something?
I was going to complain that the QF sky bed isn't that flat really.............. :( :oops:

Nah give me a good old cattle class sky bed anyday. :D :D :D
 
thanks - I do recall the frustration of not being allowed in the QC to farewell a family member depart on one trip and the CX lounge in HK is worth it given the alternative.
 
stuandmel said:
thanks - I do recall the frustration of not being allowed in the QC to farewell a family member depart on one trip and the CX lounge in HK is worth it given the alternative.
Yes indeed. Both benefits I have used often. But their value??? That is difficult to quantify.
 
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

I have definitely benefited from being Platinum in things like obtaining last minute FF seats, and CX more than others recognises the OW status.

But the value is a 2-way street, something the airlines often forget.
 
I thought the biggest benefit was having Geoff Dixon personally coming round to sing "we wish you a merry christmas" on eve of dec 24 .... or had I just had too much to drink...hmm

Seriously, the biggest benefit to me is the ability to select exit row seats at time of booking on international services

Dave
 
One thing that has been missed so far is the assistance the call centre and Qantas in general gives to Plat customers.

Several times I have been assisted greatly by the premium desk or checkin or ground staff doing things above and beyond what they have to do in relation to fare changes, reticketting etc.
 
Benefit List

THINGS THAT I PERSONALLY VALUE

1) 100% points bonus - for long haul trips this is a great way to bulk up your points

2) Entry in QC without booked flight with 2 guests. This is also a great benefit. I have used this several times when seeing off relatives or catching up with a friend who is transiting through.

3) Premium call centre access. One thing I notice is that when calling Qantas on 131313, my on-hold time is usually less than 20 seconds. This is a great benefit.

4) Prefered seating. Despite various complaints, whenever possible, QF always seats me in the first row behind Business class. I am on QF9 in a few days, Mel to Heathrow (in Y, not J, sob), and I am preallocated an exit row. You can't argue with that.

5) Business/First class bag tags. Nearly always speeds up the time that the bags come out.

6) Higher priority on upgrades and better availability of FF seats.

One thing that I don't value highly is using Business Class checkin counters (vs Qantas Club check-in) purely because the J check in is often over crowded and under serviced. I usually just use QC checkin as that is the fastest (vs J or Y)
 
Re: Benefit List

luckydog said:
One thing that I don't value highly is using Business Class checkin counters (vs Qantas Club check-in) purely because the J check in is often over crowded and under serviced. I usually just use QC checkin as that is the fastest (vs J or Y)

I don't find that at SYD. I rarely find any queue at the J check in since they nicely have separate queue for J and Platinum to the Qantas Club/Gold/Silver.

Since I normally have diving cylinders et al to check in, I can't normally bypass straight to QC anyways

Dave
 
stuandmel said:
Bus. check in on domestic
quote]

I didn't know you could checking at Business Class on domestic flights. I see too many Plat members in the standard QC queue in front of me so never thought to look.

Thats good to know and gives me more incentive to get those extra points.

Regards
Daniel
 
danielh said:
I didn't know you could checking at Business Class on domestic flights. I see too many Plat members in the standard QC queue in front of me so never thought to look.

It's only a benefit at a few ports such as SYD and MEL where there are separate J and QC queues. At most airports there is a single queue to service both business class and qantas club

Dave
 
Some of the advantages are less obvious.

Today QF187 (MEL-SYD int.) was cancelled. My colleague, who is WP, was rescheduled on QF430 (MEL-SYD same time). I (PS) was scheduled on an inconvenient flight and there were no seats left on QF430.

MD
 
Priority waitlisting is an unseen bonus which is worth it's weight in gold for me. No matter how late I list for a flight I have always managed to get the one I wanted and I tend to make late changes on popular routes. I have a colleague who is gold and he recently had trouble with waitlisting not coming through on a leg he was waitlisted for over a week on. My experience has been no matter the leg to get it within a day or 2 max of listing.

Add to that the first class lounges on international, not so much for the lounge itself which are not that different, but for the staff who seem to go out of their way that bit more for you. Generally I have found you get that bit more enthusiasm to help as platinum, even over gold.

And having the choice of lounges regardless of airline flown is a little bonus in some ports.

In short - I'd say it is never as green as you expect once you get over the fence, but it is definitely worth the effort if you are close.
 
A lot of what is being said here also applies to FF gold. I have never had a points upgrade refused, I never wait more than 20 seconds for the Qantas phone to be answered, I always get exit row seats on international if I ask for them or else the first row behind business class, etc etc. Sorry if that bursts anyone's platinum bubble.
 
Anna said:
A lot of what is being said here also applies to FF gold. I have never had a points upgrade refused, I never wait more than 20 seconds for the Qantas phone to be answered, I always get exit row seats on international if I ask for them or else the first row behind business class, etc etc. Sorry if that bursts anyone's platinum bubble.

Are you saying that you are able to get them to pre-assign the exit row at time of booking or at check in? According to QF, the selection at time of booking for exits is limited to Platinum and higher.

Dave
 
Yep, being able to pre-assign an exit row seat 7 days before travelling is a great perk. Didn't end up using it cause I upgraded... but still....

Had to ring QF recently. 15 second wait on the premium line. 10+ minute wait on general lines as the friendly lady I chatted to told me. As a gold yep the delays were short, but I believe they are shorted with Plat.

the list goes on....

Different shades of Green grass. Is Plat more worthwhile to me than Gold? Yes! Have I seen benefits with it that I wouldn't get as Gold? Yes!
 
I have found a couple of extra benefits which are very useful. Being able to access a Qantas lounge even when not flying Qantas has been particularly useful. On a number of trips to Beijing I would end up changing flights to Dragon Air in HK. Company policy was business class all the way but because the flights were often booked within a week of travel, I wouldn't get business class on the HK - Beijing leg. This meant no access to the Dragon Air lounge. Once I discovered I could use the Qantas lounge even when not flying, I used it on every trip even when I did get business on Dragon Air.
The priority phone number for platinum also makes a difference.. A few weeks ago I was travelling to Adelaide and tried to get on an earlier flight than my 20:00 departure. Unfortunately, all the flights were full. When I arrived for my 20:00 flight I discovered I'd been upgraded to business class. I'm sure this was as a result of the person not being able to get me on the earlier flight.
First class lounges are some what better than business class lounges. Although I have noticed them getting busier over the last couple of years.. And the staff are definitely more eager to help. However, when flying Cathay, I was able to use their first class lounge in HK.. This is certainly a lounge which is much more luxurious than the business class lounge. Eg. they have a 'restaurant' where you sit down at a table and are served for your drinks - food is obtained from the buffet. They have bath/shower rooms with beds. A 'library' in which to read and of course slightly better alcohol served to you where ever you sit.
I may have received upgrades or FF flights when I was waitlisted more easily being platinum but I'm not sure of that. Either way, platinum is a very nice status to reach and keep.
If I was just short of platinum and I had never experienced platinum, I think I would to a SC run just to see what it was like for 12 months providing I thought I would be travelling international.
 
To respond to Anna's comment, I agree Gold is good and a huge leap over silver, but all Platinum's have been there at some point. Platinum is definitely up an extra level of service all round, but particulary when travelling OS when all the extra benefits start to make the difference. For domestic travel it is not very different I agree.
 
Anna said:
... I always get exit row seats on international if I ask for them or else the first row behind business class, etc etc. Sorry if that bursts anyone's platinum bubble.
I have only ever been PS and most of the time I ask for and get aisle seat in the first row behind business class as well. Sometimes not everything associated with travel is based on status. Booking early and being polite can go along way to achieving this.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top