P1 and Granting Partner Platinum

[Ansett]

Hi

As others have posted in a previous thread members who were nominated as WP as part of the P1 Benefits have now been reassessed and a number dropped from WP to bronze due to a change in the Status of the P1 member.

My partner was Gold in her own right and half way through her year when I nominated her for the complimentary WP status. I have dropped to WP and she has now been assessed, before the end of her status year, and has been dropped to Bronze.

She failed to earn the credits to retain WP and even gold or silver and with the remaining time left for her membership will still fail to meet either.

Whilst it is with in the rules of the Complimentary status as per below,

https://www.qantas.com.au/fflyer/dyn...ravel-benefits

It is disappointing and perhaps a sign of the times, in terms of Soft landings for all. Had my partner not been nominated she would have dropped down to Silver as a bare minimum but now she is bronze.

Would you agree that this is a tad harsh or deserved and the way it should be?

Is this the start of the removal of soft landings?

Interested in your thought's

Cheers the Ansetts

 

[incumbent]

Have you checked your wife's account to see whether any Qantas Club membership was added?

 

[Ansett]

Have you checked your wife's account to see whether any Qantas Club membership was added?

Hi Just checked and it does say Qantas Club Bronze. which looks like expiring at the end of her traditional year.

 

[incumbent]

"Show Additional Status Information" should give you the exact date.

I've also heard a convincing (to me) rumor about soft landings disappearing, but it wouldn't surprise me if this were just another IT fustercluck.

 

[Ansett]

"Show Additional Status Information" should give you the exact date.

I've also heard a convincing (to me) rumor about soft landings disappearing, but it wouldn't surprise me if this were just another IT fustercluck.

Actually had a call from QF and they advised that NO she drops to Bronze end of story basically. Have done that and it shows her normal end date

 

[trippin_the_rift]

On the Platinum 2400 Tier, Gold membership has a soft landing to Silver.

I would expect the Platinum 3600 Tier, Platinum to soft land to Gold, then Silver.

 

[Willy]

Same story here - Mrs Willy dropped from partner WP back to PS today. Had she not accepted Partner Platinum, she would still be SG under her normal renewal qualifying SC's - we tend to accumulate SC's at specific times of the year, and this oversight of the rules has now caused much angst in the Willy household - she has been SG for years. A PM has gone to RedRoo to see what can be done. What is particularly frustrating is that I easily exceeded the 2400 SC's prior to losing WP1 but chose the 50000 points, not the partner SG - didn't think I would have to. Notwithstanding the T&C's, something doesn't sit well with this hard nosed approach.

 

[JohnK]

Strange that Partner Gold has soft landing but Partner Platinum doesn't have soft landing.

 

[incumbent]

Just had a chance to look at the relevant part of the T&Cs (below). The first message in this thread is too confusing in terms of SCs earned and timing, so I can't comment on that, but I don't have a problem with the lack of a soft landing in this instance. The whole soft landing thing could just turn out to be a software glitch that QFF haven't managed to solve for a decade. Or something.

Your Nominated Partner will receive Platinum status for as long as you remain a Platinum One member.If your status changes, your Nominated Partner's status will be assessed on the number of Status Credits they have earned in the 12 month period immediately preceding the change, and their membership status adjusted accordingly.

 

[opusman]

So it's a double-edged sword, they get platinum for free but lose any soft landing they might have had without it.

 

[Ansett]

So it's a double-edged sword, they get platinum for free but lose any soft landing they might have had without it.

It would appear that way yes

 

[michaele]

Just had a chance to look at the relevant part of the T&Cs (below). The first message in this thread is too confusing in terms of SCs earned and timing, so I can't comment on that, but I don't have a problem with the lack of a soft landing in this instance. The whole soft landing thing could just turn out to be a software glitch that QFF haven't managed to solve for a decade. Or something.

Your Nominated Partner will receive Platinum status for as long as you remain a Platinum One member.If your status changes, your Nominated Partner's status will be assessed on the number of Status Credits they have earned in the 12 month period immediately preceding the change, and their membership status adjusted accordingly.

Would this suggest the membership date would move in alignment with the P1 Partner (who has subsequently lost their P1 status?)

 

[incumbent]

Would this suggest the membership date would move in alignment with the P1 Partner (who has subsequently lost their P1 status?)

I can't even work it out any more. Husband's originally moved in line with mine when I first gave him Partner Gold at 2,400 SCs, which in a way was "wasted" (I would have preferred the 50,000 points in retrospect) when I then got the option to give him Partner Platinum. But his anniversary date is now back to what it was before. Not sure if the additional period of Qantas Club membership is supposed to compensate for the unused Gold membership or something else.

 

[samh004]

Seems like a rather poor way to treat the partner of someone who was once one of your best customers.

I just checked my sisters account (they didn't have a problem with me giving it to her when the privilege was announced) and she is indeed Bronze QC with 10SC, however in the previous 12 months she has actually earned 65SC, not 10SC... not that it adds up to much.

The more annoying thing though is that I do check her account and her reassessment date has always been aligned with mine, so I expected she would have Platinum with or without a soft drop until at least February. After that, fair game. If she hadn't had QC before taking my partner Platinum status this would be even worse as we'd booked solo travel for her based on her status. Funnily enough, I'm the only one in my family who blindly buys Qantas tickets, the others have choice per price and status they hold. Seems like the shackles are off for my sister.

I'm not saying they should keep her Platinum forever as she doesn't use the lounge much etc... just that I would expect the system to work better and actually reassess her on the day it says it's going to. FWIW I haven't had P1 for 10 months and she's only now losing her partner status - right before her christmas flights home!! Poor form.

 

[kermatu]

On Ansett's point - seems very harsh but the T&C do seem clear. An unexpected drawback that I agree does not sit well with the concept of "you are our most special customers".

But also - first I've heard of a partner award going to someone other than a "partner'. I was told that was not possible.

 

[incumbent]

There was also this clarification at the time. It was a pretty generous way of implementing it initially.

Qantas sweetens Platinum One frequent flyer status - Australian Business Traveller

Partner Platinum membership will be tied to the membership year of the Platinum One nominating them, so that if the Platinum One member drops back to Platinum status their partner would lose the gifted Platinum status and revert to their previous membership tier.

However, Tully tells Australian Business Traveller that “a number of people will get extended partner membership because we don’t want somebody to have the new benefit for only a month.”

“If you’re due to downgrade from Platinum One within four weeks of today’s launch of partner Platinum, your partner will still get Platinum membership for 13 months”.

 

[incumbent]

So one hypothesis is that people who got less of a "freebie" out of Partner Platinum being granted through November 2015 (say, someone who had P1 through August 2015 rather than through December 2014) would have been given more complimentary Qantas Club at the end of it.

When you give someone Partner Gold at the 2,400 SCs level, do they get it for the rest of your current year and the whole of the next one, for one year at minimum, or what?

 

[incumbent]

xx_ has an anniversary year that runs through September.

Hits 2,400 SCs in March 2014 and gifts Partner Gold. Partner gets it through September 2015? (Not sure about this bit)

Hits P1 in September 2014, keeps it through September 2015.

Gifts Partner Platinum in October 2014 when it first becomes available; granted through November 2015 (a two-month "freebie" in this case).

Partner becomes bronze as of December 2015. Under previous Partner Gold would have been Gold through September 2015 and then SIlver via a soft landing through September 2016.

All sorts of permutations depending on anniversary dates and when status was achieved and lost. What would be the “worst case” scenario?

 

[Ansett]

There was also this clarification at the time. It was a pretty generous way of implementing it initially.

Qantas sweetens Platinum One frequent flyer status - Australian Business Traveller

Partner Platinum membership will be tied to the membership year of the Platinum One nominating them, so that if the Platinum One member drops back to Platinum status their partner would lose the gifted Platinum status and revert to their previous membership tier.

However, Tully tells Australian Business Traveller that “a number of people will get extended partner membership because we don’t want somebody to have the new benefit for only a month.”

“If you’re due to downgrade from Platinum One within four weeks of today’s launch of partner Platinum, your partner will still get Platinum membership for 13 months”.

Bolding is mine and for me that was and is the critical part of the announcement through ABT and taken as dropping partner to Gold as that was her tier at the time of being gifted.

I confess to not having read the full T and C,s of the program and perhaps I should have as would not have gifted WP to my Partner instead would have let her drop down via the usual soft landings that one would expect.