If points are important to you flying oneworld airline check your subclass.

[FIFO-Medic]

If frequent flyer points are important to you flying and you chose to fly one of the Oneworld airline please check your subclass, I had no idea that I was booked on Economy N class on Cathay Pacific from Brisbane to UK.

I used to be a strong supporter of Qantas, but after a trip to UK and not receiving any Status and or QFF points I'm now looking at other airline. It upset me that I had done everything the webpage had asked as part of the T&C the only thing I did different was booking through a Travel agent and therefore I didn’t get any points for my travel, as the class subclass was not on the list.

I have provided medical assistance on some of my flights and they still wouldn’t look at my cases, Qantas stating that the rules. I used to fly every 2 week from Brisbane to Perth return and fell short on my Qantas point to maintain Platinum and if I was awarded these points for my UK trip I would have maintained Platinum.

 

[theweaselsteve]

This happened to me too. Travel agent booked discount economy tickets with CX and no points earn. Disappointed in the travel agent more than anything. I expected that when I suggested I wanted OW only for points/status earn, I shouldn't have to check the fare bucket of each and every booking. lesson learnt. Them's the rules I'm afraid.

 

[mannej]

Did you ask the TA to book a points earning fare to the U.K.?

 

[Himeno]

When I'm booking with an agent, where the ticket type itself doesn't require an exact fare class (eg, DONEx must be in D [in most cases]), I tell them exactly what fare classes I want them to look at. I might tell them, "BKK-SIN, CX, B, H or K booking class"

 

[knasty]

Have to agree this is a TA issue rather than a Qantas issue.

 

[theweaselsteve]

To be fair, it's only a TA issue if the TA was advised of the importance of points/SC earn. If the TA isn't aware of this how would they know they needed to avoid certain fare classes?

 

[oz_mark]

Keep in mind, that when flying on partner airlines, there is an agreement made between Qantas FF and the partner airline as to which subclasses get what.

Obvioulsy in this case, Cathay aren't paying Qantas for the points.....

 

[YSSY]

I got caught with one of the non QFF earning fare class on Qatar airways, needless to say I'll be a little more cautious in future.

 

[FIFO-Medic]

Yes your right it is a TA issue, but there is no way we know what class we where flying until we received our boarding pass, our flight itinerary only stated economy class no subclass and yes we did let the TA know that points were important that's why we said to fly Cathy pacific.

 

[theweaselsteve]

I think its worth remembering that there are many who will collect points and status with a particular airline but rarely give the subject much thought. More of an afterthought. They will happily accept the points that come their way but rarely check the details or take the steps to ensure they maximise their earn. When I brought it up with my TA he didn't even know their were none points earning fare buckets. My employer requires me to use the company agent otherwise I'd be booking all of my own flights unless it was something very specific/complicated.

 

[JohnK]

Not an ideal situation but we live and learn. If I book through travel agent I tell them the exact classes I want.

 

[lathiat]

Definitely important, sadly with Cathay though I found the cost to go up to a points earning fair was pretty harsh if there are still sale tickets for your route. Like literally double.

On the flip side, nothing sweeter than when booking QF metal for work and the sale fares are all gone. With 5-10% off for Acquire business it's been like 10s of dollars extra to upgrade to fully flex which I pay myself and then reel in the extra SCs and upgrade opportunity.

 

[mannej]

Yes your right it is a TA issue, but there is no way we know what class we where flying until we received our boarding pass, our flight itinerary only stated economy class no subclass and yes we did let the TA know that points were important that's why we said to fly Cathy pacific.

That is not correct, a TA has access to this information. Lesson learned, but as mentioned previously, you can pick an eligible fare bucket from the Airline earning table and ask the TA to book that fare class.

 

[samh004]

Obviously in this case, Cathay aren't paying Qantas for the points.....

Conversely, if switching to say Cathay Pacific Marco Polo as your milage program, there might be some QF flights that don't earn... it all depends on what agreements are in place and you have to pay attention when booking.

 

[FIFO-Medic]

That is not correct, a TA has access to this information. Lesson learned, but as mentioned previously, you can pick an eligible fare bucket from the Airline earning table and ask the TA to book that fare class.

I didnt say they didnt know, they never informed us and we maded it quite clear that we wanted to fly Cathy for the points.

 

[jenib]

Yes your right it is a TA issue, but there is no way we know what class we where flying until we received our boarding pass, our flight itinerary only stated economy class no subclass and yes we did let the TA know that points were important that's why we said to fly Cathy pacific.

Good warning for people. I had a TA book my flights to Europe and, as per the rules of my client, they booked the cheapest economy fares for the route. The itinerary did say the booking class which was not upgradeable. I paid an extra $600 for the upgradeable booking class plus the points to upgrade from economy to business. I always double check my booking on Qantas.com - you can see the booking class if you expand the trip details. If the travel agent has a different booking number from the airline and it isn't on your itinerary, ask them for the airline booking numbers.

 

[morfergus]

The main reason I have not used a TA in over ten years is because they will never care as much about getting the details of the booking right as I will. I know some people have good TAs that they trust but I prefer to do things myself and then I know they will be done right. When forced to use one for work reasons, you may not have much say in the booking class, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

 

[shadoan]

I recently booked a flight Dubai to Adelaide for next March, I specifically requested Qantas and was told that it would cost me more than an EK booking. I agreed to pay the extra so that I could fly Qantas and use my QFF points to upgrade to business for the long haul over night flight. I have now found Qantas has ditched its Dubai to Adelaide flights and left it all to Emirates and code share QF and EK. My flight is now QF on EK and I cant upgrade. That was the purpose of choosing Qantas and paying extra.

 

[JohnK]

I have now found Qantas has ditched its Dubai to Adelaide flights and left it all to Emirates and code share QF and EK. My flight is now QF on EK and I cant upgrade. That was the purpose of choosing Qantas and paying extra.

You can call and change the flights to go via SIN. Probably EK to SIN then QF to ADL. You should also be able to get refund and plan again. I know it's not desirable but sometimes these changes affect existing bookings.

 

[mannej]

I recently booked a flight Dubai to Adelaide for next March, I specifically requested Qantas and was told that it would cost me more than an EK booking. I agreed to pay the extra so that I could fly Qantas and use my QFF points to upgrade to business for the long haul over night flight. I have now found Qantas has ditched its Dubai to Adelaide flights and left it all to Emirates and code share QF and EK. My flight is now QF on EK and I cant upgrade. That was the purpose of choosing Qantas and paying extra.

You are mistaken as QF never flew between ADL and DXB. Regardless of what you have paid, you were never going to be able to use your QFF points to upgrade on that flight.

Essentially, nothing has changed.

You can call and change the flights to go via SIN. Probably EK to SIN then QF to ADL. You should also be able to get refund and plan again. I know it's not desirable but sometimes these changes affect existing bookings.

QF don't fly SIN-ADL. You'd over to go SIN-PER/MEL/SYD/BNE-ADL to fly QF home.