Has anyone had success with the call-up "Marginal" xASA's?

[BD1959]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

There is every chance they are gone already. They gave us a few days to get our final flights booked at the old level before the end of financial year when they permanently disappeared. I can't really see the point dragging it out another 3 months.

If that was the case, wouldn't all "P" and "U" class availability have disappeared with the benefit?

I can see "U" still available out at next April (which is where it was when I booked my last JASA).

Regards,

BD

 

[blackjacknz]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Having no luck on the 1300 number.. have called twice trying to book 2 return flights from Perth to Broome. The charts on qantas.com show it should be 48K for economy or 96K for business. I have 45K points...so hoping to go business and pay the difference. 1st person quoted 148K points for economy...lol....2nd call i was quoted $5500 outright with a $400 reduction to $5100 if i used my points....
Im thinking i should be able to book business class to broome and back for 45K points plus a few hundred extra....so ill keep trying ...or am i dreamin?

This will probably the only chance i have to hit gold...im on 540SC...need another 160 by Oct 31....this business class will give me 120SC...so then just a quick flight to Adelaide should top me up

 

[Ansett]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

So once again QF is consistent in its inconsistency


Some people having success and others not kind of like service levels on board and PB Perhaps they will do away with PB too

 

[turtlemichael]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Given these latest examples if there ever was a time for Red Roo to explain the situation here, it is now.

 

[Princess Fiona]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Given these latest examples if there ever was a time for Red Roo to explain the situation here, it is now.

Yes, times a million :!:
In fact as an experiment to prove that my initial good experience wasn't beginners luck I'm tempted to book another and see what eventuates.
I'll confirm some dates for a Nov trip and give it a try after I get back from NZ next weekend.

 

[oz_mark]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Having no luck on the 1300 number.. have called twice trying to book 2 return flights from Perth to Broome. The charts on qantas.com show it should be 48K for economy or 96K for business. I have 45K points...so hoping to go business and pay the difference. 1st person quoted 148K points for economy...lol....2nd call i was quoted $5500 outright with a $400 reduction to $5100 if i used my points....
Im thinking i should be able to book business class to broome and back for 45K points plus a few hundred extra....so ill keep trying ...or am i dreamin?

For a return J flight PER-BME, used to require a minimum of 48K points, so they may not be allowing you to go below that number of points for this redemption.

 

[opusman]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

It was never possible to reduce the number of points below that of a classic award afaik.

 

[Bundy Bear]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

I found a flight that I wanted, PER-MEL in J classic award for 36,000 points. The new Points + pay = $703 + 41,130 points, (what I have left)

Took me awhile to find it, these new points + pay options are such poor value I don't know whether anyone will use them.

 

[serfty]

It was never possible to reduce the number of points below that of a classic award afaik.

Sometimes it seemed so with Great Circle O/D distance etc.

I found a flight that I wanted, PER-MEL in J classic award for 36,000 points. The new Points + pay = $703 + 41,130 points, (what I have left)

Took me awhile to find it, these new points + pay options are such poor value I don't know whether anyone will use them.

P&P have never been good value unless I guess there are some QFFers out there "blessed" with points. A bit like ?ASA's unless at classic award rates.

 

[turtlemichael]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

It was never possible to reduce the number of points below that of a classic award afaik.

Different experience here. One I'm familiar with HKG-BNE-CNS was, and is, 72K in J as a classic award. Via Syd it is 84K. Both routes as JASAs were 50K at the minimum. This is indeed less than the JASA minimum points level to HKG-SYD (60k).

 

[footy99]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Can anyone confirm for certain that ASAs have permanently disappeared and been replaced with points + pay without exception (even if they still want to try to call it an ASA to save the butt of whatever dropkicks claimed they would never disappear)??

 

[gizzard]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Can anyone confirm for certain that ASAs have permanently disappeared and been replaced with points + pay without exception (even if they still want to try to call it an ASA to save the butt of whatever dropkicks claimed they would never disappear)??

As outlined in my earlier posts, it took several calls but I managed to get a JASA via the call centre. The 1300 number put me through to the Premium desk and they couldn't work it out. The 02 number (for International) took me to the general desk and one particularly helpful person with the aid of their supervisor got me the flights that I wanted at the old points levels. So, yes, as of Monday morning it was still possible.....but not easy.

 

[Aussie_flyer]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

It was never possible to reduce the number of points below that of a classic award afaik.

YASA was a 5000 minimum where classic was 8000 on the zone 1 redemption

 

[Nizar]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

As outlined in my earlier posts, it took several calls but I managed to get a JASA via the call centre. The 1300 number put me through to the Premium desk and they couldn't work it out. The 02 number (for International) took me to the general desk and one particularly helpful person with the aid of their supervisor got me the flights that I wanted at the old points levels. So, yes, as of Monday morning it was still possible.....but not easy.

Well I think that's the plan from QFs point of view.
Make it so hard so that people won't bother.

 

[equus]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Different experience here. One I'm familiar with HKG-BNE-CNS was, and is, 72K in J as a classic award. Via Syd it is 84K. Both routes as JASAs were 50K at the minimum. This is indeed less than the JASA minimum points level to HKG-SYD (60k).

That's what Serfty said about Great Circle distances being used for the minimum ASA calculation.

The minimum for the ASA is 50k because the Great Circle distance HKG - CNS is 2,998 which as a QF metal award in U would be 50k.

Your classic HKG-BNE-CNS is 72k because the distance HKG-BNE-CNS in total (according to QF) is 5180 which falls into the 72k classic redemption bucket. Likewise, the total distance HKG-SYD-CNS is 5,806 according to QF - just tipping it into the 84k bucket.

Classic distance was calculated as the sun of the sector lengths. ASA minimum, although using the same table, was calculated using the distance between endpoints, which could give a lower minimum if you were taking the long way around.

 

[will2rob]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

I booked a JASA for November on the second go. SYD-BNE-TSV-BNE-MEL-SYD. 72K QFF and $530 co-payment for 260 SC which tips me into SG. Not cheap but the complimentary QP membership will take some of the sting out.

 

[awilcockson]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

I've been saving my points for a while to take my wife and kids to HKG for a holiday (only in Y unfortunately ...).

The dates I am after will open up shortly, so I did a dummy booking for the School holidays leading up to the ones I am after ...

Cash - $3200
Classic - 240,000 points + $1387
Points + Pay - 240,000 points + $1380 (this looks very much like an ASA at classic rate!)

I then rang the "special" number, apologised for taking their time and explained I was doing a dummy booking to see what it was going to cost me in a couple of weeks when the seats I wanted opened up.

Interesting fact #1 ... the operator has to put in dummy names and go through to the final booking step to see the cost
Interesting fact #2 ... the operator needed my PIN number, so I'm guessing they are logging into our accounts and going to the old booking engine which is hidden from us

Then she came back with the price (I asked for it at the 60K points per person rate to make comparisons easy) ... 240,000 points + $1964

I thanked her and hung up ... I am totally confused, might as well just book a the points plus pay rate online, which is cheaper!

I also have one final comparison to add to the mix:

Booking the flights by redeeming Qantas travel vouchers and paying for a retail fare with the same cash component of $1380:
voucher value required = $3200 - $1380 = $1,820
Vouchers are 13,500 points per $100 = 243,000 points
So total cost would be 243,000 + $1400 or almost exactly the same as points + pay

 

[moa999]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

awilcockson.
Not surprising. There have been cases before the change where points+pay was cheaper than ASA - particularly in Y...
Less likely in J/F given the substantial boost in cash prices.

 

[awilcockson]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

awilcockson.
Not surprising. There have been cases before the change where points+pay was cheaper than ASA - particularly in Y...
Less likely in J/F given the substantial boost in cash prices.

Fair enough, I've never booked a YASA before, only JASA/FASA.

 

[will2rob]

re: Has anyone had success with the call-up method for "Marginal" xASA's?

Booked another JASA in October for SYD-ADL-PER-ADL-SYD. 72k QFF points & $534 co payment for 280 SC. The guy on the desk kept trying to tell me it was more expensive in points & cost to book an ASA than points plus pay or a classic award "That's why we're phasing out ASAs"

I pointed out that Points plus pay would have cost either $2748.81 in cash or 72k points plus $2279.81 so they were hardly comparable.

Classic award worked out at 72k