Increase in points required for QANTAS upgrades!

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dwarves

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Just got upgraded on an upcoming SYD-SIN sector. Booked in S, so upgrade should be 40k points, right? Wrong. I was charged 50k.

Immediately called QANTAS and spoke to a lovely lass who confirmed that points charges for upgrades have been increased across the board. What used to cost 40k now costs 50k. What used to cost 25k now costs 27.5k. Etc. Supposedly this happened two days ago.

She also confirmed that, nah, QANTAS haven't exactly advertised this change.

The final kick in the teeth was, even though I requested the upgrade when the charge was 40k points, and she was happy to agree that that's what I should have been charged (because that's what I agreed to, not 50k), she couldn't do anything about it because the points team only works 9-5, so I'm the one that needs to call back and explain the issue all over again. FFS.
 
You mean you don't read the bottom paragraph on the 7th page from one of the 12 emails Qantas sends weekly from 9 weeks ago? Shock horror!
 
The Frequent Flyer Concierge team takes the hard work out of finding reward seat availability. Using their expert knowledge and specialised tools, they'll help you book a great trip that maximises the value for your points.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

When did you request the upgrade? Was it before or after 16NOV16 ? If before should be the old points … if after this date … new rates applied for travel after 20FEB17
 
Just got upgraded on an upcoming SYD-SIN sector. Booked in S, so upgrade should be 40k points, right? Wrong. I was charged 50k.

Immediately called QANTAS and spoke to a lovely lass who confirmed that points charges for upgrades have been increased across the board. What used to cost 40k now costs 50k. What used to cost 25k now costs 27.5k. Etc. Supposedly this happened two days ago.

She also confirmed that, nah, QANTAS haven't exactly advertised this change.

The final kick in the teeth was, even though I requested the upgrade when the charge was 40k points, and she was happy to agree that that's what I should have been charged (because that's what I agreed to, not 50k), she couldn't do anything about it because the points team only works 9-5, so I'm the one that needs to call back and explain the issue all over again. FFS.

You know, for 46,750 points you could have flown Singapore Airlines Business Class in a seat twice the size of Qantas, on an aircraft with lower cabin pressure, with better champagne, with access to a better lounge and more flexible flight times, on a confirmed ticket with no bull**** upgrade lottery. In fact, those 46,750 points could take you to most destinations in Southeast Asia.

But instead you paid, what I estimate to be ~$700 + 50,000 points + significant risk of not even getting an upgrade.

Just putting it out there for anyone else who is blindly accumulating Qantas points.

(btw: I agree with the OPs sentiment that Qantas didn't provide adequate notification for those who already had an entry in the upgrade lottery)
 
When did you request the upgrade? Was it before or after 16NOV16 ? If before should be the old points … if after this date … new rates applied for travel after 20FEB17

It was after 16 November 2016. QF call centre confirmed that my screen showed a 40k points ask when I applied, hence why I'll be calling back to demand a 10k refund.

Re the variety of places it's apparently been publicised, I like to think I'm fairly well read, but seemingly I'm wrong about that!

You know, for 46,750 points you could have flown Singapore Airlines Business Class in a seat twice the size of Qantas, on an aircraft with lower cabin pressure, with better champagne, with access to a better lounge and more flexible flight times, on a confirmed ticket with no bull**** upgrade lottery. In fact, those 46,750 points could take you to most destinations in Southeast Asia.

But instead you paid, what I estimate to be ~$700 + 50,000 points + significant risk of not even getting an upgrade.

Just putting it out there for anyone else who is blindly accumulating Qantas points.

(btw: I agree with the OPs sentiment that Qantas didn't provide adequate notification for those who already had an entry in the upgrade lottery)

All very good points. I've been a dogged QF passenger for years - staying WP has been important for the Sydney lounge, seat selection, upgrade priority, etc. But going forward this change might be the nail in the coffin. 50k for upgrade vs 60k for a full seat? vs 47k for a full seat on SQ??? It's beyond the pale.
 
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You know, for 46,750 points you could have flown Singapore Airlines Business Class in a seat twice the size of Qantas, on an aircraft with lower cabin pressure, with better champagne, with access to a better lounge and more flexible flight times, on a confirmed ticket with no bull**** upgrade lottery. In fact, those 46,750 points could take you to most destinations in Southeast Asia.

But instead you paid, what I estimate to be ~$700 + 50,000 points + significant risk of not even getting an upgrade.

Just putting it out there for anyone else who is blindly accumulating Qantas points.

(btw: I agree with the OPs sentiment that Qantas didn't provide adequate notification for those who already had an entry in the upgrade lottery)

It's easy to rubbish them when you have achieved LTG and live somewhere with considerably more choice. ;)

Unfortunately, Australia will never be Asia.
 
All very good points. I've been a dogged QF passenger for years - staying WP has been important for the Sydney lounge, seat selection, upgrade priority, etc. But going forward this change might be the nail in the coffin. 50k for upgrade vs 60k for a full seat? vs 47k for a full seat on SQ??? It's beyond the pale.

Asia miles can effectively be 40k for full seat in biz to asia with ultra low taxes. Heck, you can redeem Asia miles on qantas flights at a cheaper rate than qf points on qf flights!! The earn rate from credit cards is identical.

It's easy to rubbish them when you have achieved LTG and live somewhere with considerably more choice. ;)

Unfortunately, Australia will never be Asia.

I won't disagree! But in saying that when overlaying qantas burn onto a chart of other one world carriers, it doesn't paint a favourable picture. There's a lot I like about QF... but burn rates (post-xASA days) are not one of them :)
 
You know, for 46,750 points you could have flown Singapore Airlines Business Class in a seat twice the size of Qantas, on an aircraft with lower cabin pressure, with better champagne, with access to a better lounge and more flexible flight times, on a confirmed ticket with no bull**** upgrade lottery.

Although one has to consider the earn side as well. If earnt by CC @ 1:1, clearly SQ is superior. If earnt by flying on the "home" carrier (assuming Elite Silver or above on SQ, WP on QF, and for simplicity pre-simpler & fairer) 46,750 KF points = 37400 miles travelled in economy = 74800 QF points for a WP. Of course post-simpler and fairer really complicates the analysis :rolleyes:
 
It was after 16 November 2016. QF call centre confirmed that my screen showed a 40k points ask when I applied, hence why I'll be calling back to demand a 10k refund.

Re the variety of places it's apparently been publicised, I like to think I'm fairly well read, but seemingly I'm wrong about that!


An announcement was included toward the end of the November activity statement. I've learnt to check what is at the end of those emails!
 
I won't disagree! But in saying that when overlaying qantas burn onto a chart of other one world carriers, it doesn't paint a favourable picture. There's a lot I like about QF... but burn rates (post-xASA days) are not one of them :)

There's always going to be both good and bad with every program. What works in one part of the world wouldn't necessarily work here, and though some might think it'd be great, standing by the gate waiting for my name to appear at the top of a list doesn't strike me as fun, nor does paying for drinks in a lounge you've already paid to get into, but for a while, that airline was one of the big comparisons to QF and if you take the good, you also take the bad. Nothing is perfect, though if they are, it's not for long.
 
Update for anyone who cares. As original post says, the lass I spoke with told me I should only have been charged 40k, but I had to call back to get a 10k points credit arranged. So I did call back and have been awaiting the 10k points. They hadn't been credited as of today so I have now called QF a third time. And this time the chap at the other end says nooooooooo, 'a pop up box' said that if my flight was after 24 Feb then the points required would be higher, so they're not going to credit me at all.

So:
1. The one line next to the 'upgrade' box that I clicked told me in bold it would be a 40k point spend
2. Two QF staff have since told me I should get 10k points back
3. The second of those two told me that was being arranged,
......but now they're saying no.

Seems that being WP doesn't stop you being treated like dirt.
 
Just put in a request for J---> F for Lhr to Syd...wow, has gone up from 60K to 75K...have to think hard now whether it is still worth it :(
 
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Final update. Got 10k points refunded today. And all it took was seven calls to QF, totalling around two hours of my time.
 
Just put in a request for J---> F for Lhr to Syd...wow, has gone up from 60K to 75K...have to think hard now whether it is still worth it :(

Seriously? An extra 15,000 points would deter you from applying for an upgrade for the whole LHR-SYD flight? Really?
 
Seriously? An extra 15,000 points would deter you from applying for an upgrade for the whole LHR-SYD flight? Really?
Unfortunately, Qf F* is nothing special but I agree that QF F is better than QF J ;)

* Imo, on A380, EY F > SQ F / EK F > TG F > QF F :)
 
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