Is QF considering Lifetime Platinum?

[TonyHancock]

I don't think it is about abandoning an airline. In my case it will be about abandoning a loyalty program, not an airline.

I could not agree more. It is so easy to forget that the airline and the FF program really are two separate businesses.

 

[Pushka]

I want Lifetime status to make it easier to use the points I earn from credit card churning. There’s not a lot of point credit card churning if you won’t have the ability to use the points.

I tend to fly popular international routes, so I feel that if I was a NB I’d find it very difficult to use my points for classic reward seats or upgrades. Each level I’m above NB making it easier to use my points.

Obviously there’s never any guarantees with upgrade requests but if you pick wisely when you fly you can maximise your chances.

I’m focusing on building towards lifetime status at the moment as I figure once I have some the downsides for my status of booking classic reward seats won’t be as great and getting lifetime status ASAP will get me maximum value from it.

It’s why I always hand over the points to the highest status passenger in the family to make award bookings. Thankfully that’s currently me for the next 14 months.

 

[RichardMEL]

QF don't really like the people who do things like churn CC's and take full advantage of the system. Oh, short term they love the churners because thos bonus points == revnue to QF loyalty from the bank buying those bonus points to give away but longer term it's a big liability. QF is going to prefer the people who either redeem points for toasters and other high yield(to them) options or even have them expire.

Let's face it the average AFF member who plays all the games is a minor blip in the mix of QFF membership. The number of high yield and even status pax whoi have no idea and no interest in such things would probably shock most people here.. and QF loves these people (eg I know of a guy who was doing a federal government contract flex Y back and forward weekly for years hit Plat.. had no real idea what to do with it... I htink may have used the F lounge once with his wife, but mostly didn't even use domestic ones, probably didn't know or care about releasing awards, let alone churning cards, "magic" and all the rest of it. Man QF would love that guy. cha ching! (and by that guy, I mean the Australian Taxpayer ugh, but that's a whole other issue).

My point is that for those of us that care for LT status there's far more who would be happy to see the backside of a plane once their corporate travel requirements are done. Yeah maybe they'd go oh that's nice for the next time I take the partner to Bali or something, but not really care one way or the other.

As for 28k LTSC v 56k(or more). I'd say 36k LTSC would be a reasonable compromise, though 28k is the logical number IF it was to ever happen (which i doubt)

The other thing is, measures of "years of Platinum" basing it on the bare minimum SC's (eg: 1400 to attain, then 1200 to requal) is a nice idea, but not really realistic. Many earn far in excess of those numbers every year (eg: if you've been a P1 for the past 4 years like me, that "number of years" value goes out the door if you use an averager of 3600 - I mean 4 years of P1 is LTG!) so it's never going to be quite that simple, or even if someone averages say 1600 or 2k SC's a year...

In the ever increasing nod to revenue based it could well be that some longer term "rewards" could become based on overall "value" rather than just mles flown or SC's earned.

It could also come to pass that QF could suggest a LT Plat level, at 28k QF group SC's ... that's going to be a LOT harder for many people....

again though all that aside I really think chances of LTP are right up there with me winning tatts

still we can always hope, but I wouldn't base my flying choices on it. (Though I'm nearing 27k LTSC so I've kept with QF like others anyway0

 

[JohnK]

It's interesting that there seems to be an automatic assumption that the moment you achieve a status goal, you'll abandon the airline you've achieved it with. Speaking personally, I enjoy traveling with Qantas. Being WP means I get a comfortable level of service and when I click over 1200 SC's, I don't feel any urge to rush off and book elsewhere. This may seem unimaginative, but surely it's the point? If an airline can't hold your loyalty, even though you're getting the upper level of service, their service and your aspirations are obviously not coinciding.

I wouldn't call it an automatic assumption that people will abandon the airline after achieving a certain goal. A few might.

I'm Qantas Platinum. I'd want to do the majority of my flying with Qantas to reap the benefits. Some of my flying will go to Virgin to try maintain Gold and some flights may credit to AAdvantage but I have no burning desire to fly economy on other airlines.

My biggest problem is I have over 1 million QFF points and can't use them as taxes and surcharges are ridiculously high and don't look like coming down to earth anytime soon. I don't want to waste the points but have no choice and as I hang on to them there is a huge chance they will devalue as is usually the case where corporate greed is involved.

 

[mviy]

As for 28k LTSC v 56k(or more). I'd say 36k LTSC would be a reasonable compromise, though 28k is the logical number IF it was to ever happen (which i doubt)

Yes, I think if they introduced it (I doubt it too, but I hope we're wrong) it would be somewhere around 36k too.

In the ever increasing nod to revenue based it could well be that some longer term "rewards" could become based on overall "value" rather than just mles flown or SC's earned.

Indeed. One of the reasons I'm in a hurry to try to reach LT status that's currently available (LTS & LTG) in case the rules change making it far harder to obtain.

It could also come to pass that QF could suggest a LT Plat level, at 28k QF group SC's ... that's going to be a LOT harder for many people....

Indeed.

I wouldn't call it an automatic assumption that people will abandon the airline after achieving a certain goal. A few might.

Indeed.

Furthermore I fly both to the US and to UK. If I was only flying to the UK internationally then perhaps if I got LTG and was still expecting to fly a lot BA would be attractive but flying to both means I'm best to stick with QF. I don't think I could get to BA LTG (LT OWE) so there'd probably be little point me switching to crediting to BA anyway.

I'm Qantas Platinum. I'd want to do the majority of my flying with Qantas to reap the benefits.

Indeed. I fly QF as much as possible as a WP as well.

My biggest problem is I have over 1 million QFF points and can't use them as taxes and surcharges are ridiculously high and don't look like coming down to earth anytime soon. I don't want to waste the points but have no choice and as I hang on to them there is a huge chance they will devalue as is usually the case where corporate greed is involved.

The best value use for points is for J/F classic rewards (have to book nearly a year out for these generally though) or for upgrades. But then if you're travelling with family and/or don't find flying J as beneficial as some of us do for sleeping then you may not put the same value on flying J/F that others of us do.

If my points devalue a bit I can easily improve my points balance through credit card churning back up to where I'd like it to be.

 

[JohnK]

If my points devalue a bit I can easily improve my points balance through credit card churning back up to where I'd like it to be.

Not everyone can do that. I'm a frequent flyer not a frequent churner/spender.

I realise there isn't any value in economy with high taxes and surcharges but in my opinion the best value for points is to travel as often as possible with those points. I don't need the premium travel especially with family now and going back to Thailand 2-3 times a year.

Perhaps need to plan better when they have 30%-50% off awards. This year was burning last minute United miles so not too organised.

 

[RichardMEL]

Points mean different things and different value to people. I mostly use mine on upgrades, and as P1 absolutely the chances of that request clearing are FAR better than most which is fantastic. Rewards with all the charges are far less appealing, but when I need them to work they have like being able to secure an F seat in relatively short notice (again thanks P1)...

... and both of these are a status related benefit. Sure, we're not talking lifetime P1, but Plat still has some (yes I know not much JohnK! ) priority in this regard... so there would still be some value int hat status for life (at least with how the system currently is set up, which is no doubt always going to be "enhanced")

However each to their own in terms of use.

I do certainly have far far more points than I use and I am not a churner. but that's just me. Maybe blow some on the new EK F suite sometime...

 

[amaroo]

We haven't bothered with churning cards .... IIRC the last cards either of us got was back in 2014.

 

[mviy]

Which just goes to show that we're all different.

As someone who flies a lot less frequently than most here, but who has status I'm sure QF is making a healthy margin on providing the benefits to me that they do and that if I were to get LTP (if they do decide to offer it and I do the required flying) they would have done very well out of my flying to get there.

 

[serfty]

This week I ticked over 33K LT SC's. That does not include the notional 3400 SC's I would have earned for travel on 260+ flights taken before September 1998 when TC's/SC's were introduced.

All in all I have travelled nearly 1.5 Million miles on over 1200 flights on Qantas .

I don't see LT WP occurring soon.

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

It's interesting that there seems to be an automatic assumption that the moment you achieve a status goal, you'll abandon the airline you've achieved it with. Speaking personally, I enjoy traveling with Qantas. Being WP means I get a comfortable level of service and when I click over 1200 SC's, I don't feel any urge to rush off and book elsewhere. This may seem unimaginative, but surely it's the point? If an airline can't hold your loyalty, even though you're getting the upper level of service, their service and your aspirations are obviously not coinciding.

The status benefits are of most benefit if you continue flying.

 

[RichardMEL]

Exactly. bugger all point getting status (IF that is the aim) then not flying lol

the only thing would be to say not fly QF after getting LT Status, then going on to fly other OW airlines using that status.....

 

[drron]

The status benefits are of most benefit if you continue flying.

But not neccessarily on the airline of your FF program.Major advantage of my LTQP and mrsdrron's soon to be LTG will be access to ACs in the US.They work no matter which FF number I have on my BP.That status really means little on QF.
The travel we now do means we come up short even for WP requalification but will get us OWE with BAEC.That will quite possibly get us better attention on QF but certainly on other OW airlines.
Our life time goals have been met.Absolutely no prospect of LTP if they introduce it.If we travelled enough or if we were younger LTP may have been an incentive to remain with QF.As it is now our OS flights from December 2017 are now paid BA or AA tickets.

 

[oz_mark]

Where the LTP benefits would kick in, is when they cease flying for work and are no longer clocking up the SC's. In which instance, is it unreasonable that they get rewarded for years of loyalty? The points they have accumulated would be used on flights for personal benefit, rather than as a substitute for purchased tickets.

It's a conundrum really. Are the big status earners on corporate travel really 'loyal' to the airline?

 

[mviy]

It's a conundrum really. Are the big status earners on corporate travel really 'loyal' to the airline?

I agree. A lot of corporate travel is booked with no thought to the airline preference of the one travelling

 

[nutwood]

I agree. A lot of corporate travel is booked with no thought to the airline preference of the one travelling

That's very fair comment and it's getting worse. I generally organise my own travel but occasionally it's done for me. When it's done for me, it's promptly subbed out to some travel agency who make a complete mess. They automatically book the cheapest flight with no other consideration. Ironically their choices actually work out far more expensive, As a Qantas WP, I have generous baggage allowances. Booking the cheapest fare when you're travelling with a couple of heavy bags suddenly isn't so cheap! I've given up fighting it. I've had baggage charges which were twice the fare. I just smile and tell them to charge to the client.

 

[amaroo]

The majority of my LTG was from OPM (other peoples' money) ... maybe 75%. Since then, it's been 99% self funded - so all up a 40/60 split (buisness/self) with my 25,000SC.

QF is not the best airline - it's not the worst. Being based in Oz it's certainly the best for my circumstances. I'll continue to feed the money towards QF... if they continue to restrict awards in the favour of high value customers - I'm all for it.

 

[boomy]

I wish QF introduce LTP but TBH it will hurt them. If SC earn is no longer a goal there will be no point to pay for tickets when one can use points to fly J at the price of Y domestically or fly with better OW airlines internationally.

 

[MH_fan]

Reaching LTG is really the main reason I'm swayed towards flying QF (and OW) and that's probably 1.5 years away for me. If there's no LTP, I'll definitely be jumping ship. I buy my tickets outright for overseas travel >90% of the time and long-haul (Oz-Europe or Oz-N America) is almost always in J. There is no need for "status" when I'm buying J tickets anyway. If there's no incentive to keep flying QF, I definitely won't be! I can easily get J tickets at 1/2 or 2/3 what QF want to charge for theirs!!

 

[Princess Fiona]

28k is only 20 years of WP. Realistically LTP should be a fall back for those used to having P1 status. Considering BA and AY both set the bar for getting LT OWE considerably higher than 28k I would be surprised if QF introduces a LTP if they set the bar as low as 28k.

No not really in the case of BA. LTG with them AKA LT OWE is equivalent to about 23 years of OWE. 28K is about the same.
Also remember that BA doesn’t (yet) penalize TP earn rates on other OW carriers.