How strictly does QF enforce the 4~ requirement for retention of status?

[BAM1748]

Actually they've received a lot more of my money (or more accurately my employer's money) than if I'd flown two domestic Y returns and gained the 4~. (Not sure if you missed it but my one ~ so far was in J to LAX). Again - the number of ~ is not a measure of revenue that QF get from you.

We hear what you are saying, but STATUS is a measure of how much you actually fly QF. Otherwise I'm sure they would be happy to simply accept a cheque and give you status.

If you want the status with a particular airline, then you need to use them.


Matt

 

[dajop]

We hear what you are saying, but STATUS is a measure of how much you actually fly QF.

No it's not. It's a measure (loosely speaking) of how much money you spend flying on oneworld airlines (and/or other airlines on a QF code and/or Jetstar) with a requirement to make a small effort to direct some business to QF. You don't actually need to fly QF(metal) at all to get status (4 flights on EK, VN, OZ, etc metal on QF code will also do the trick.).

I also added the "effort" word as one of the biggest complaints is that someone can do 4 red e-deals SYD-CBR and is OK but someone doing J return LAX or LHR to SYD may only get 2 sectors. A little effort (eg change planes in DXB when travelling to/from LHR, or routing via alternative Australian gateway when travelling to/from LAX can solve this, often at little or no cost).

 

[BAM1748]

No it's not. It's a measure (loosely speaking) of how much money you spend flying on oneworld airlines (and/or other airlines on a QF code and/or Jetstar) with a requirement to make a small effort to direct some business to QF. You don't actually need to fly QF(metal) at all to get status (4 flights on EK, VN, OZ, etc metal on QF code will also do the trick.).

I also added the "effort" word as one of the biggest complaints is that someone can do 4 red e-deals SYD-CBR and is OK but someone doing J return LAX or LHR to SYD may only get 2 sectors. A little effort (eg change planes in DXB when travelling to/from LHR, or routing via alternative Australian gateway when travelling to/from LAX can solve this, often at little or no cost).

It is, after all I will have a higher status and spent less simply by using QF than the OP.

 

[Jack_OC]

It is, after all I will have a higher status and spent less simply by using QF than the OP.

If you have higher status than me and spent less than me, you must have flown a lot more than me in your last membership year. If you had earned the same number of SCs, but primarily with other OW airlines instead of QF, you would still have got the same status, as long as you got the 4~. So your higher status was not awarded simply because you use QF.

In other words, Dajop is 100% correct, and you were incorrect to say status is a measure of how much you fly QF. You might think that's the way it should be, but it is not the way the program currently works.

As I've said already, it would be very straightforward to award status in recognition of travel with QF specifically as opposed to OW airlines in general - simply introduce a requirement to earn x number of SCs on QF codes for each level. However, so far QF have not done that other than for P1.

 

[dajop]

It is, after all I will have a higher status and spent less simply by using QF than the OP.

It's not a a simply function of how much you fly on QF, unless aiming at lofty levels of WP1. To say it is to completely miss the point of the program and the alliance. There is a minimal QF need, sure, but by and large their a suite of airlines on which you can accrue status. There are countless examples, but to pick one - someone who does 2x SYD-MEL return on JQ (with plus package) + 2xSYD-PVG return on CX in J will get to QF SG. Contrast this to a commuter who does MEL-SYD return, on cheapest Y fare every fortnight. They will not be gold, yet have done 52 QF flights.

 

[JohnPhelan]

My point is that if you have only flown 4 QF flights you still can't claim to be a loyal QF customer.

If you have only done four flights in total for the year, and all of them are on QF, then you are an extremely loyal QF customer. Loyalty and frequency are not the same thing.

The way QF does it, they try to strike a balance between the two, but it's not perfect ....

 

[Jack_OC]

If you have only done four flights in total for the year, and all of them are on QF, then you are an extremely loyal QF customer. Loyalty and frequency are not the same thing.

Sorry if it wasn't clear, I meant someone who has Gold or Platinum by virtue of a lot of OW travel, but only 4 flights on QF. The example I gave was someone who makes WP but only flies 2 dom Y rtns with QF. Although in the interests of clarity, it is actually possible for someone to get Gold if they only took 4 flights in total in a year, and I agree if someone does 100% of their travel with QF, they might well be a loyal QF customer. On the other hand, it could also just be fluke - eg if someone took only 2 rtn flights and QF just happened to be the best or only option on both occasions.

Anyway, the 4~ requirement does nothing to measure what proportion of your travel is with QF, and I seriously doubt if QF concern themselves with how to reward infrequent flyers, even if they are diehard QF fans. In any case, that type of loyalty can't actually be measured by QF, as they have no way of knowing how much travel you do outside of OW (or even with OW partners, if you don't credit to QFF).

 

[nonpop]

What about Life Time Gold. Does one still need 4 ~ to retain Gold (OWS) ?

 

[samh004]

What about Life Time Gold. Does one still need 4 ~ to retain Gold (OWS) ?

No. But you need 1400SC and 4~ to get to Platinum from that spot, incase you're wondering

LTG ≠ 600/700SC being your new start point you still have to start at 0 to earn anything else.

 

[nonpop]

No. But you need 1400SC and 4~ to get to Platinum from that spot, incase you'r wondering

LTG ≠ 600/700SC being your new start point you still have to start at 0 to earn anything else.

Sweet. So once LTG achieved then potentially the sweet spot is achieved if ones flying was to reduce i.e due to retiring. This then gives OW lounge access even if never stepping foot on a QF ~ flight. ok i have a new target to knock over LTG.

 

[samh004]

Sweet. So once LTG achieved then potentially the sweet spot is achieved if ones flying was to reduce i.e due to retiring. This then gives OW lounge access even if never stepping foot on a QF ~ flight. ok i have a new target to knock over LTG.

Yes, hence why it's a good goal for a lot. And it does keep people earning I think.

My next stop is LTS next year.

 

[OATEK]

If you have only done four flights in total for the year, and all of them are on QF, then you are an extremely loyal QF customer. Loyalty and frequency are not the same thing.

The way QF does it, they try to strike a balance between the two, but it's not perfect ....

I think the 4~ requirement is hard to understand as merely a measure of loyalty. You can get your 4 legs very cheaply with discount Y tickets, but if you do a QF1/2 trip in J you get only 2~ but an absolute stack of points. That is because the qualifying legs are based on flight numbers, rather than actual legs flown. So a SYD-DXB-LHR-DXB-SYD trip would achieve more legs if on a mix of QF and EK metal (with QF flight numbers) than flying it all on QF.

But overall, 4~ does not seem onerous.

 

[suparockin]

4 legs seems like a very low bar for a 'frequent' flyer program to me?

 

[opusman]

So a SYD-DXB-LHR-DXB-SYD trip would achieve more legs if on a mix of QF and EK metal (with QF flight numbers) than flying it all on QF.

You can also do that by switching from QF1 to QF9 or vice versa (and same for QF2/QF10) in DXB. Gets you an extra ~ and an extra 40SC each way, often for the same price.

 

[dajop]

4 legs seems like a very low bar for a 'frequent' flyer program to me?

The "frequent" applies to oneworld not just QF. As pointed out above the 4 ~ legs is more about getting business from US based flyers (and maybe Europe based as well), where 4 ~ is more difficult. In the US they tend to use QF to get lounge access during domestic travel (which the home program - AA - does not give you). If you are in Australia, NZ, plus a few Asian destinations (Singapore, KL, Bangkok, Jakarta, Tokyo) , the 4 ~ are not that difficult to get.

 

[Mal]

As a UK based flyer it is very hard for me to retain platinum. But next weekend is my squiggles weekend and I will get there.

I haven't set foot on a Qantas plane for one year and two days. Qantas shows the same loyalty to me as well... EU members are treated poorly overall.

Now do I make Qantas money or cost them? My qualifying flights are not cheap (over 4x the cheapest way in Australia), yes Qantas pay for my lounge access within UK but also receive money from BA and other airlines that I fly.