P1 requesting upgrade for family members

[MEL_Traveller]

the terms and conditions state an upgrade sponsored by a platinum 1 receives the same priority as a platinum 1.

as a platinum 1 would never be in the position to be considered along with bronze, silver and golds, the only interpretation is that P1 upgrades are all considered at the same time. you cannot have the 'same high priority' for something you would never encounter!

the only time the terms and conditions could be manipulated to make sense otherwise would be if a P1 booked a day before departure, and put in an upgrade request at the same time. they would then be top of the pecking order amongst bronzes and silvers.

but that would be a very limited interpretation of the rule.

 

[anat0l]

the terms and conditions state an upgrade sponsored by a platinum 1 receives the same priority as a platinum 1.

as a platinum 1 would never be in the position to be considered along with bronze, silver and golds, the only interpretation is that P1 upgrades are all considered at the same time. you cannot have the 'same high priority' for something you would never encounter!

the only time the terms and conditions could be manipulated to make sense otherwise would be if a P1 booked a day before departure, and put in an upgrade request at the same time. they would then be top of the pecking order amongst bronzes and silvers.

but that would be a very limited interpretation of the rule.

This is the thing - when it was explained by Red Roo some time ago, this is not the interpretation that was given.

It would seem on the face of it that your understanding is what holds true. Which of course means anyone here who is related to a P1 has almost a 100% chance of getting an upgrade registered on their behalf, irrespective of the lower status. (They would likely have a good chance if the Red Roo interpretation held true as well, but in the "obvious" interpretation their chances are a lot better as they will be considered above all Platinums who have registered for an upgrade on the same flight).

In fact, the QFF T&Cs don't make a mention of this feature. It is only mentioned on the common information pages relating to Upgrades, as well as the Tier Benefits page under the P1 section, which reads the text quoted by danny09.

As it stands, upgrades are considered in three timed batches: Platinum Ones (7 days before departure); Platinums (48 hours) and then the rest (24 hours). So a P1 sponsoring a lower status member will still give a very good chance for the latter to get an upgrade, as the worst they will have in front of them is other P1 and WP members. The flight would need to have very few upgrade seats left and/or have a huge number of P1 and WP members registering for an upgrade in order for the sponsored request to be unsuccessful.

As I would understand it, if we take your interpretation, if an NB was sponsored by a P1, then it is possible that within the 7 days before departure (e.g. let's say at 5 days before), the NB member will receive an SMS saying that their upgrade has cleared. This means the NB member has been considered for an upgrade well and truly before any other non-P1 member, including WPs. Again, nice if that were true, but that doesn't match what we have been told by Red Roo.

Now if the P1 and NB were travelling together, then this whole discussion is moot.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

This is the thing - when it was explained by Red Roo some time ago, this is not the interpretation that was given.

Appreciate that but - perhaps importantly - while AFF might be privy to the explanation, anyone not on here wouldn't. I think the reasonable interpretation of the benefit (and resultant expectation) would be that P1 sponsored upgrades will trump all other status upgrades.

Either that, or the section needs to be rewritten to make it clear.

 

[anat0l]

Appreciate that but - perhaps importantly - while AFF might be privy to the explanation, anyone not on here wouldn't. I think the reasonable interpretation of the benefit (and resultant expectation) would be that P1 sponsored upgrades will trump all other status upgrades.

Either that, or the section needs to be rewritten to make it clear.

That wouldn't be the first time for the former, and not only to Qantas issues.

As I said (sorry, changed my post), it is also mentioned in the P1 benefits section (Tier Benefits), where it is slightly clearer (not fully) because it mentions that the "priority" only applies at the time the sponsored member has their upgrade considered.

In any case, not to get completely sidetracked, but for the OP, the chances of an upgrade will increase if their P1 cousin registers them for an upgrade. There should be no issues in doing this as I assume all Premium Economy fares are eligible for upgrades to Business (T class isn't mentioned on the website), and the fare rule table for Premium Economy doesn't mention any fare types which are not eligible for upgrades. I'd ask the cousin to try again with the P1 team if this is not the case.

 

[boomy]

From my experience anyone who is sponsored by P1 gets P1 priority, regardless if they travel together or not.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

That wouldn't be the first time for the former, and not only to Qantas issues.

As I said (sorry, changed my post), it is also mentioned in the P1 benefits section (Tier Benefits), where it is slightly clearer (not fully) because it mentions that the "priority" only applies at the time the sponsored member has their upgrade considered.

Actually - that seems to make more sense when you look at the benefits page... particularly if you read two separate sections together:

Read this part (my underlining)​:

Highest priority, right up until departure

You'll receive priority over other Frequent Flyers for International upgrade requests right up until the day of departure, giving you the best chance of having your request confirmed.
Plus, we'll let you know as soon as we can of your successful upgrade via SMS* even on the day of departure, giving you as much notice as we can so that you can plan accordingly.

In conjunction with this part:

Sharing your points, sharing the benefits

It's nice to be able to share your benefits. When you use your points to upgrade an eligible family member, they too can benefit from your Platinum One status. At the time their upgrade request is reviewed (which is based on their Frequent Flyer status) they'll have their upgrade processed at the Platinum One priority level, even if you're not travelling.

and it makes sense!

However - it would then seem that if one seat opened on the day of departure, a P1 sponsored bronze would trump a platinum or gold for the one seat.

 

[anat0l]

However - it would then seem that if one seat opened on the day of departure, a P1 sponsored bronze would trump a platinum or gold for the one seat.

This is what I would also suspect.

In this case, this would mean that some Platinums were unlucky not to get a seat in the 48 hour period and their request held over. Had there been no more releases of seats, absolutely no one else would (or should) then receive an upgrade, but then no-shows and last minute cancellations probably don't manifest themselves clearly until at least the last 24 hours before departure anyway (which would be grounds to open upgrade space, including upgrades up to the gate).

 

[ozbeachbabe]

We recently did a points upgrade to J & all 3 of us got the magic text at T-60 (3 separate pnrs). All of us are WP so it gave us time to select seats together & order our Q-eat selections.

So can one assume any P1 sponsored NB pax wouldn't get a look in until T-18 ish?

However - it would then seem that if one seat opened on the day of departure, a P1 sponsored bronze would trump a platinum or gold for the one seat.

On the day of travel or at flight close when commercial no shows are apparent a P1 sponsored NB would still have had to 'opt-in' for an airport upgrade though would they not?

 

[cmon0005]

I know this is a long shot but thought I would ask anyway, I am aware that only family members of a P1 get higher priority for family upgrades and that is published.
But does putting a link between 2 PNR's give an upgraded family member(NB) any extra (unpublished) priority for upgrades if I am on the same flight(WP).
I know this is not documented anywhere, just want to hear anecdotal evidence of people who have tried this if it does/doesn't make a difference.

 

[cmon0005]

I know this is a long shot but thought I would ask anyway, I am aware that only family members of a P1 get higher priority for family upgrades and that is published.
But does putting a link between 2 PNR's give an upgraded family member(NB) any extra (unpublished) priority for upgrades if I am on the same flight(WP).
I know this is not documented anywhere, just want to hear anecdotal evidence of people who have tried this if it does/doesn't make a difference.

Bump!...anyone?

 

[Princess Fiona]

Tried it a couple of times and made no difference. NB didn't get upgraded.

 

[cmon0005]

Tried it a couple of times and made no difference. NB didn't get upgraded.

Thanks PF, thought so was just hoping there was some 'unpublished feature' wishful thinking haha, hopefully fare class comes into it.. my relative whilst a NB has purchased the ticket in B class

 

[Princess Fiona]

Thanks PF, thought so was just hoping there was some 'unpublished feature' wishful thinking haha, hopefully fare class comes into it.. my relative whilst a NB has purchased the ticket in B class

Good luck

 

[Kendall Roy]

Tried it a couple of times and made no difference. NB didn't get upgraded.

Situation I'm likely to face in 6 months that could end up in a divorce

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Tried it a couple of times and made no difference. NB didn't get upgraded.

That doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't work as it just may have been a full flight in J so no points upgrades were possible.

I thought I read somewhere that despite the upgrade bit being based on the tier status of the P1 pax for ranking/PCV purposes, when the upgrade is done is still based on the status of the pax ie processed the day prior if the pax is an NB as opposed to up to 7 days prior in the case where the P1 is the traveller.

I've only done a points upgrade request once SYD/HNL for myself, SO & brother (all WP) who were all on separate pnrs as travelling on different fares ex different cities however all three of us received the sms from the upgrade fairy at T-60.

Technically speaking we could assume that we as WPs would trump a NB pax doing an points upgrade from a P1 account if the latter had to wait until T-24. It may have been that there was enough of a buffer for everyone with points upgrade requests to receive the upgrade if we received advice that early?