Having a nightmare with Qantas FF

[sergeyvzn]

How about common courtesy and customer service? Even if Qantas is not going to extend the status for 15 days shouldn't they at least call back (as promised) and say something like "very sorry, can't do it but thanks for asking"? Honestly it's just bad

 

[love_the_life]

So Bermuda, your anniversary date is 31 May? What is your FF account showing as to when you have re-assessment? How many SCs will you have by then, remembering that you need 600 to retain Gold? Given that you usually take 2 -3 trips each year, you may be close anyway (and it would be worth therefore taking a short SC run to get you over the line).

Regarding the upgrade request, I'm glad you recognise you may not get one. Four is an awful lot! As a SG and travelling as a twosome mostly, I've found that I almost never get one anymore. Anyway in PE, the kids will probably sleep better than the adults!

 

[JohnK]

Sorry to hear about your predicament Bermuda!

Expecting 4 upgrades to come through as a Gold is not going to be easy. It's difficult with higher status as well.

Also I am guessing all 4 people are on the one PNR? You could try splitting the booking via the call centre as there is a possibility of 2 upgrades coming through and from there it's up to you how you use the upgrades.

 

[Bermuda]

serg don't sweat it. Alway someone like Andy around. Hence the "Awesome Andy". "No wonder they ignored you!" "some people fly 6X the amount you do" blah blah blah. I'm only surprised he didn't add a "like me!".

I've never claimed to be a somebody Andy but when I spend in the region of say 20K a year on travel I think ANY size company should at least take a close look into the matter. At least I've got a choice on which airline I fly and who's rewards program I use on my cards. Only today I priced a flight from Australia to UAE to Thailand to China and back for business. I would have NEVER thought of using another airline but this matter has in theory already made me decide to spend over $25K with airlines I would NEVER have used last week.

"So what" you no doubt say Andy. Tells me a lot.........like Qantas FF.

 

[Mark3000]

serg don't sweat it. Alway someone like Andy around. Hence the "Awesome Andy". "No wonder they ignored you!" "some people fly 6X the amount you do" blah blah blah. I'm only surprised he didn't add a "like me!".

I've never claimed to be a somebody Andy but when I spend in the region of say 20K a year on travel I think ANY size company should at least take a close look into the matter. At least I've got a choice on which airline I fly and who's rewards program I use on my cards. Only today I priced a flight from Australia to UAE to Thailand to China and back for business. I would have NEVER thought of using another airline but this matter has in theory already made me decide to spend over $25K with airlines I would NEVER have used last week.

"So what" you no doubt say Andy. Tells me a lot.........like Qantas FF.

Bermuda I think you have the wrong attitude. It's unreasonable to expect them to change their rules for you. Especially when doing so will potentially discriminate against someone who did qualify for gold. Have you considered the people you might bump out of these upgrades if Qantas did extend your Gold?

 

[defurax]

serg don't sweat it. Alway someone like Andy around. Hence the "Awesome Andy". "No wonder they ignored you!" "some people fly 6X the amount you do" blah blah blah. I'm only surprised he didn't add a "like me!".

I've never claimed to be a somebody Andy but when I spend in the region of say 20K a year on travel I think ANY size company should at least take a close look into the matter. At least I've got a choice on which airline I fly and who's rewards program I use on my cards. Only today I priced a flight from Australia to UAE to Thailand to China and back for business. I would have NEVER thought of using another airline but this matter has in theory already made me decide to spend over $25K with airlines I would NEVER have used last week.

"So what" you no doubt say Andy. Tells me a lot.........like Qantas FF.

Not sure if the 25k is for a single passenger, but usually QF prices SCs at around 8 to 25 AUD/SC so you should be able to get near WP with this. I understand your frustration re:not being called back, but if you want status with your favourite airline you should stay on AFF and learn a few tricks. For 25k someone could reach WP1 by flying MEL-SYD-CGK return 12 times at 2k/ticket in J

 

[mannej]

I see some unrealistic expectations with an empty threat of moving to VA.

With all due respect do you expect VA to act any different with respect to changing your status year in the same situation (not withstanding the lack of a response).

 

[Awesom Andy]

There are customers you would rather not retain, and that applies in various different industries. If you need/want more attention, either increase your worth to the company, or switch to one that is more aligned to your needs/wants. I'll leave it at that.

 

[legroom]

.... I want NOTHING from them other than to keep "Gold" to have a chance to be in a good spot in line ....

Yes, it is NOTHING (your upper case) to you but the criteria for statuses are well known to all.

We don't have a dedicated thread for status 'runs' because we love to see TSV !

Upgrades are never certain - whatever status you may have.

 

[RichardMEL]

I'm interested to know who promised to call you back? Was this as a result of an email exchange or on the phone?

Either way if you were expecting a return call from QF I agree it is poor to have not done that within a reasonable time.

However I'm also, in general, in agreement with the general feeling here - SG is not too hard to retain (and before May you could well do a trip or something to get some SC's... if you're much closer to 600 that could potentially sway QF - but you didn't indicate how many you currently have).

It takes two to tango, and on the bass of what you've posted you're asking for things but not really backing it up apart from the promise of spend on the transpac flights (and yes 4xY+ is a fair spend) - but then what further? Also good luck with VA in your quest. Have you considered the current NZ sale which has J to LAX at the $5400 p.p. type level which seems in line with your projected spend (but the dates could be the problem, given you say June - or US Summer, which is a peak time).

And that's the last point. YOu're not looking to travel at a shoulder or low season, but a peak season. Chances of all those upgrades as a Gold will be tough. Sure not impossible by any means, but difficult given the 4 pax (I did like the idea to split bookings as above should this be attempted so at least say a parent and a child could sit in the good seats).

If it were me I'd contact QF again and remind them that you had been expecting a return call and had not heard anything and to politely enquire on that - ie; remind them of their CS failure *may* see some flexibility but honestly I don't the rules will be bent for this sort of thing.

Why not try to get to 600 SC's ? If you've already done at least 1 US trip in youc current membership year you'd have, I'd guestimate, >300 SC's? How far off 600 are you? You have time to make them up

 

[ComeFlyWithMe]

If it's any consolation, I'm WP and have been chasing the reissue of gift vouchers since October. I have placed no fewer than 6 calls - 3 promised callbacks - none received, had a dialogue with RedRoo the QF rep on here twice, and still I haven't been contacted nor the issue resolved now we're in mid-February.

So it's not personal, nor status based, they just ignore all of their customers equally.

 

[Pushka]

Hmm. I'm keeping everything crossed for two of us being upgraded Syd-HK as platinum so SG status for four upgrades is asking a lot.

That's why some here call them the Upgrade Fairy. It's magic.

 

[Daver6]

My read on this is that it really shouldn't matter what the request the OP made of QF. If they said they would return a call, they should. Even if its to say sorry, it can't be done. It seems that the OP is annoyed by the lack of common courtesy, not the fact he won't get the upgrades or status extended. Of course, I've been known to be wrong.

 

[kevrosmith]

And hang on, I'm not quite following the dates for when you qualified for Gold and when your membership year ticks over.

It seems that your membership year ends 31 May (2015). If you attained Gold sometime during your 2014/2015 year, then you get the status for the remainder of that year, AND for the next year, (2015/2016) during which you will then have the time period to earn enough SCs to retain Gold. When you get to the next level for the first time, you always have it for more than 12 months before you drop down.

So you won't drop down from Gold as at 31 May this year... Or am I missing something? (It does imply that you earnt Gold during the first couple weeks of your membership year last year, but that is fairly doable with an international trip)

 

[ozbeachbabe]

I want NOTHING from them other than to keep "Gold" to have a chance to be in a good spot in line as I'm booking far in advance (for me anyway!). I also spoke to an agent who knows someone who got a green light for this very same situation!!!

That other person may well have been 'comped' if their SC earn the previous year was in excess of what they were short to requalify at the end of the current year so you may have given a bum steer by the TA. I think the agent is mistaken as I don't believe such a scenario exists.

Bermuda I think you have the wrong attitude. It's unreasonable to expect them to change their rules for you. Especially when doing so will potentially discriminate against someone who did qualify for gold. Have you considered the people you might bump out of these upgrades if Qantas did extend your Gold?

If they did this for one person then they'd have to do that for everyone such as extending a Platinum's membership for 2 weeks to he/she would have a better chance of a points upgrade which could possibly gazump you - would you be okay with that?

 

[mannej]

That other person may well have been 'comped' if their SC earn the previous year was in excess of what they were short to requalify at the end of the current year so you may have given a bum steer by the TA. I think the agent is mistaken as I don't believe such a scenario exists.



If they did this for one person then they'd have to do that for everyone such as extending a Platinum's membership for 2 weeks to he/she would have a better chance of a points upgrade which could possibly gazump you - would you be okay with that?

Or to get F-Lounge access after they drop back down to a SG!

 

[Bermuda]

Thank you everyone for your feedback. I'll just have to go and figure out which direction I'm going to go in. I'm very aware that I'm a very small fish in the Qantas pond and that's fine. They have EVERY right to make choices, as do I. No doubt it will be a loss for me if I decide to leave something that wasn't "broken' (until last week anyway lol) but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

All the best to people that took the time to help. Bye.........

 

[medhead]

I see nothing wrong with the request in principle. Nor the attitude behind the request. The OP is/was gold and was spending a big chunk of cash. Things that normally might see a business try to maintain a relationship

But it does miss the point that QF are no longer about loyalty. It does miss the point that qantas no longer seem to want to maintain relationships with customers.

I guess the one thing that might also have been missed is the opportunity to get that automatic free extension for 12 months. A bit of an issue of trying to preempt things without knowing to wait to see what happens.

 

[mannej]

All the best to people that took the time to help. Bye.........

I am sorry but the people who don't share your opinion aren't being unhelpful. To me this says you are feeling aggrieved about the situation (the only issue here is the lack of a response - the length of status is set out in concrete barring a comp, so it isn't as if you didn't know of your expiry date prior to the flights), but anyone who disagrees can get knicked.

Yes Qantas may choose to maintain your SG status complimentary, but prompting them to do so isn't a guarantee that it will happen, nor is your TA's advice sound or wise.

Good luck but I wouldn't hold expect to keep the SG status unless your earned the required SC's prior to your flight.

 

[Pleb Status]

But it does miss the point that QF are no longer about loyalty. It does miss the point that qantas no longer seem to want to maintain relationships with customers.

I propose that this experience (along with others) actually shows that QF is starting to show some loyalty to customers who show loyalty to them. If the OP was a 'good' customer, they would have retained SG status over the past year and none of this would have been an issue.

Giving away status and benefits to those who do not earn it spits in the face of those who do earn it in accordance with the rules of the program.