Plat on QF codeshare (AAmetal)

[openseat]

I have a small problem. We have a new corporate travel agent who is completely dim witted. She booked an upcoming trip in the US on as many QF codeshares as possible - despite clear instructions to book using the AA codeshare on the trans pacific sector and AA around the US. Due to the length of the trip and changes in travel policy I have to fly Y to and around the US.
I know I can't use 500miler upgrades since I'm on 081 stock and the QF codeshare flight number, but can I use my Plat status to request seats?
I'd be grateful to hear of people's experiences.
Also, does anyone know if W & T on QF receive the same bonuses as the same codes on BA? The website doesn't make any mention of these fare codes under the QF page. I'm worried I'd end up with nothing!
I'd like to convince the powers that premium economy is actually economy, but I'll stick to H or B fares if T & W fares on QF mean no miles.

 

[simongr]

Using the points calculator on a sample itinerary - SYD-HKG the following points are advised will be earned for a PE flight:

Status 	Base   	Cabin  	Status 	Total  	Status 
Plat 	4,581 	459 	4,581 	9,621 	60
Gold 	4,581 	459 	2,291 	7,331 	60
Silver 	4,581 	459 	1,146 	6,186 	60
Bronze 	4,581 	459 	- 	5,040 	60

Hope that helps

 

[openseat]

Actually simongr I'm actually AA Plat, not QF WP.
I thought by placing the thread on the AAdvantage board that it would have been clear enough, I'll know in future to put AA Plat.

 

[simongr]

Apologies for that - my fault entirely, obviously not concentrating this morning.

 

[Travel Guru]

I think you'll find most regular contributors to the board use the 'today's post' function and don't check where a thread originates from, so it's not quite as obvious as you'd have expected....perhaps in the same way your instructions to the agent weren't as obvious as you thought

TG

 

[DTM1]

now now, I think someone is taking this too personally....

My experience is that no matter how clear you make your instructions, the corporate TAs will generally put you on what seems them to be the most logical routing/flight numbers - they simply don't "get" the idea of status runs, plat challenge, bouns status miles etc, as they don't usually deal with it - they normally just get asked to book a fare from A - B.

 

[Travel Guru]

Travel Guru never takes anything personally, he just loves to stir.

I guess when you appreciate the workload corporate TA's work under, as well as having to deal with different requirements from different clients, it's no wonder things like that slip under the radar, and often its got nothing to do with experience, as most corporate TA's have yrs of experience in retail before dealing with suits.

From experience (and i'm not saying you didn't openseat), if you need something specific, spell it out, don't expect the agent to realise, and don't expect the agent to know as much as you do about every f/flyer program and maximising SC's and points within them, its just not feasible to expect them too.

TG

 

[NM]

Its quite possible that your corporate TA is just following their instructions from your company regarding the company's travel policy. In many cases, corporate travel policy dictates that wherever possible a certain airline be used. Some corporate agreements with airlines includes minimum commitments based either on $ spend or % of overall travel spend going to a particular airline.

A previous agreement my company with a major airline meant we received a larger discount if using the QF flight number than if we used another airline's flight number on the same code-shared flight. So their was a significant financial incentive to use QF flights wherever possible, including on AA operated US domestic services. In fact, I saved over $1000 on one DONE4 fare by ensuring that all flights bar the trans-Atlantic segment were QF flight numbers.

So if your company has such an agreement with QF, its quite likely this will have been explained to the travel agency and they would required to book you on the QF flight numbers if they exist, thus saving money.

And it is possible to use some forms of AA upgrades (e.g. EVIPS) when the ticket is originally issued on 081 stock. I have done this myself, though it may have helped that the original booking was made in Sabre so AA could see the entire itinerary in their system and hence were able to reissue onto 001 for the upgrade.

 

[openseat]

My apologies simongr, my reply above reads much more gruff than I intended.

TravelGuru, yes I use the new post function, so the problem was mine, must learn to think second thoughts first!

NM, my first question to the new corporate TA was her understanding of our organisation's travel policy. There was no restriction to airline usage in that policy. We do have a discount with QF, but it is fairly minimal - probably because we don't spend so much with them these days since there is a fairly tight BFOD policy here - at least domestically. I think the corporate TA is frightened to book anything that is not in her previous experience.
Thanks for the info about eVIPs. Something to remember if I get to EXP.


I guess I'll have to wait on the news about QF PE being credited to AAdvantage.

 

[wandering_fred]

I have had no problems using 500 mile stickers on AA flights (in the USA) on a BA issued tickets.

Another possibility is to consider the one world visit North America pass.
Especially since QF doesn't code share "everywhere" in NA.

The coupons are not particularly cheap but they do book in L class at a reasonable price whereas almost all of the cheap AA fares are in O, Q, N or S class. Whether they are less expensive than QF code-shares (with discount) would probably depend on how close to flight date you need to book. Last year I gave up trying to get a reasonably priced flight out of TUS (> 60 days in advance) that probably would have had L class availability. Minimum is 2 coupons.

Happy wandering.


Fred