Due to simpler and fairer will you drop status?

[esseeeayeenn]

My flying habits are subject to change so I can't predict the impact.

HOWEVER ...

I have done a lot of flying between Perth and Adelaide and that route is treated especially unfairly by the changes.

Compare the status credit earns:
PER - ADL PER-MEL
CLASS: DE FE DB FB DE FE DB FB
OLD SC: 20 40 80 80 20 40 80 80
NEWSC: 15 30 60 70 20 40 80 95

So while PAX bound to or from the east coast at least have an opportunity to earn more than before in flexible business, PAX between PER & ADL earn less no matter what fare they pay for.

Now compare fares:

PER-ADL PER-MEL
CLASS: RE FS FF DB FB RE FS FF DB FB
FARE: 245 509 1089 U/A 1409 285 565 1175 U/A 1739

The business fare to Melbourne IS significantly more expensive, although if you route via ADL you can pay less ($1673) and earn more: a total of 115 status credits each way!
Of course from now on I will add a weekend sidetrip to Melbourne onto the beginning and end of each working week in Adelaide and take the extra 90 status credits at only $2.93 each.

Comparing the cost of status credits:

PER-ADL PER-MEL
CLASS: RE FS FF DB FB RE FS FF DB FB
$ per SC: 16.33 16.97 36.3 U/A 20.13 14.25 14.13 29.38 U/A 18.31

So under the "fairer simpler" regime, where you supposedly earn according to what you pay, PER-ADL PAX are in fact paying between $2.08 and $6.92 more per status credit earned.
That may sound less petty when expressed as an extra 15% to 25% per status credit.
Also, it is not my contention that we should earn according to what we pay, that is the justification Qantas itself is offering for the changes!

The impact on Qantas point earning for the PER-ADL route is even worse.
It has dropped from 2,636 to 1,400 for a WP in discount economy. Base points dropped from 1318 to 800.

Finally, the injustice is compounded by the number of points you need to spend to book an award flight or upgrade.
From Perth, the destinations of Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are all in the same group for point redemptions.
So a one way economy fare from PER to ADL, MEL, SYD or BNE will all cost 18,000 points.
Similarly upgrades on flights from Perth to any of these destinations will also cost the same, in this case 20,000 points from discount economy to business.
And that has increased from 16,000 earlier this year.

Of course under the "fairer simpler" regime there are no simple tables or zones to refer to. The way QF calculates the points you earn is now completely opaque.
However it seems QF (like VA) still has a zone boundary at 1500 miles for earning points and status credits, but a zone boundary at 1200 miles for redeeming them.
PER-ADL falls between 1200 and 1500 miles.
However, VA does at least have a true "earn what you pay for" regime for points on domestic flights, with a transparent formula of 5 points for each dollar spent.

 

[Mongo]

Thanks Mannej, I think you are correct. Since the changes though it seems every flight I've taken has been at the lower SC earn rate, despite there being some variance in the prices paid for individual flights. Do the fare buckets posting full Y SC's still exist for discount Y? Based on my experience since April I'd say "no", but maybe I've just been unlucky.

 

[Ansett]

With all the changes and fare bucket consolidation I was wondering what actually eventuated after all these changes. I for one have dropped from WP1 to WP and next Year no Doubt to Gold and then all the way down to Bronze. with LTS/G as a saver.

 

[trippin_the_rift]

With all the changes and fare bucket consolidation I was wondering what actually eventuated after all these changes. I for one have dropped from WP1 to WP and next Year no Doubt to Gold and then all the way down to Bronze. with LTS/G as a saver.

What eventuated is people that care about their miles shifted away from QFF and those that only fly paid J/F solely on Qantas are happier and now earn more than ever before.

Most of my flights are intl and on one world therefore crediting to QFF no longer makes sense.

The vibe I get from AFF is that if you're lifetime gold and fly internationally you've scaled back sending flights to QFF and are now enjoying even more benefits with other programs.

 

[Princess Fiona]

What eventuated is people that care about their miles shifted away from QFF and those that only fly paid J/F solely on Qantas are happier and now earn more than ever before.

Most of my flights are intl and on one world therefore crediting to QFF no longer makes sense.

The vibe I get from AFF is that if you're lifetime gold and fly internationally you've scaled back sending flights to QFF and are now enjoying even more benefits with other programs.

Pretty much nailed it there

 

[Mattg]

Pretty much! I dropped down to silver at the start of this month courtesy of simpler & fairer. So instead of exclusively flying QF/oneworld, I'm now shopping around for the best price and taking advantage of more J awards using AA miles.

QF's loss if you ask me!