Qantas Platinum One experiences?

[aus_flyer]

To all the newly-minted Platinum One frequent flyers out there... I'm curious to hear... what's been your experience so far?

Anything different?

Free upgrades?

... or all hype?

 

[Kangol]

Yes that is exactly what happened to me.

Wow, so P1 potentially gives you an extra two years of WP, assuming a comp occurs. Depending on how far away you are, it might be worth it for that alone. You could consider the differential as a requalification in the hole, of sorts...

 

[juddles]

I can say that by late April I’ll become P1 (possibly youngest P1 on AFF at age 19?) thanks to the timing of my membership year and the last two double SC offers. Don’t stand a chance retaining it but I’m interested to see what the year is like.

From what I can gather... not super special

calmelb, excellent you get to achieve P1 just for having done so - and yes, I imagine very very few people have ever attained it at 19! IMHO to get there requires sufficient flying to be WRONG - ie bad for the body. I suggest that whatever makes you do so much flying you reexamine, and change

 

[juddles]

My cat has a more interesting profile than Mr Lego

I "hate" cats, but would so much prefer to read a story about your cat than the P1 newsletter.......

 

[ameno]

I won't requal for P1 this year due to relocating to Perth and halving my travel which is absolutely fine by me.

As for P1 itself, I won't miss it at all, as the amount of time and money taken to achieve it doesn't feel justifiably rewarded.

The only perk I'm truly glad to have achieved is LTG while being in my early 30's, as this status will 'hopefully' provide my young family and I a small luxury while travelling long into the future.

 

[La Mouette]

I "hate" cats, but would so much prefer to read a story about your cat than the P1 newsletter.......

Well you've got a lot in common with my cat then. She hates cats, too.

 

[La Mouette]

My name is C the cat. My travel crate label says that I'm a ginger DSH and that I'm friendly, but that's just PR spin. I'm orange, and I'm friendly to humans when they have something I want. I tolerate dogs, but I DO NOT LIKE CATS.

I was a bit of a hooligan in my youth, living on the streets of Sydney. But following my adoption of my current servant, I've built a successful career in the pest control industry.

I'm an Australian catizen, but I also have a pet passport that allows me to travel freely within the EU.

QF is my preferred airline, as there have been no published pet fatalities, unlike some US airlines in recent times. The QF A380 offers Pet Suites, which are spacious and offer mood lighting to allow me to nap on long flights. The Pet Suites are quite exclusive, with only three or so available in the new layout, and spaces sell out quickly. Servant quarters are available upstairs.

Given my PF1 (platinum feline 1) status, I'm the last to board the flight and the first off. The CSMs and pilots really seem to enjoy their job and do a great job notifying my servant that I'm on the manifest and who my fellow Pet Suite travellers are, remembering that I DO NOT LIKE CATS. There's even a dedicated special service team that tracks my servant's whereabouts to ensure she makes the flight as well.

Once onboard, I'm offered a choice of water or water served in a uniquely designed Chinese plastic container that attaches to my Pet Suite.

Prior to departure and during stopovers, my status entitles me to use the QF Pet Lounges. The finest water is served in the lounges, and there is no queue for the facilities.

Upon arrival into LHR, I also have access to the Pet Arrivals Lounge, which serves a range of food and beverages, catering to the fussiest of tastes. There is a separate lounge area for servants to wait while I'm dining and freshening up.

Chauffeur Drive is naturally available, but I prefer to be driven home by my servant. That way I get to sit in the front seat and navigate - which I refer to as catnav.

I appreciate that not every cat has had the same opportunities as myself in life, and I do my best to give back generously to the community (most notably through my extensive pro bono pest control work) ... well the human community that is, because I DO NOT LIKE CATS.

 

[Matt_01]

I can say that by late April I’ll become P1 (possibly youngest P1 on AFF at age 19?) thanks to the timing of my membership year and the last two double SC offers. Don’t stand a chance retaining it but I’m interested to see what the year is like.

From what I can gather... not super special

It all depends on what you expect from the program. My criticism of the QFF program it is not targeted at P1 it is general e.g. points required for awards, the QF taxes, the lack of defined P1 benefits and the inconsistency of P1 experiences.

The program is different now than a few years back, gone are the days when I could go to the lounge and asked to be put in J (domestic) and it just happened without using points. The P1 upgrades seemed to have dried out or are non existent, in saying that I tend to fly (domestic) at peak hour and in busy corridors.

As Richard mentioned QF has no real competition in this space so why do they even need to put any real effort into improving the program. VA has no real international reach, their lounge access rules with partners is complicated, points earning with partners is also complicated. At least with QF it is a bit and only slightly "fairer and simpler" fly QF (or EK codeshare) more SC and points, any other OW carrier stuff all points and SC, but you do get the F lounge access.

Now the bashing aside these are some of my positive experiences with QF P1 and the SST.

• Flying NRT to ADL via BNE flight was late and I was moved to a later connecting flight. On arrival I called SST and asked to be moved back to the earlier flight. I had approximately 50 min from doors opening (INT) to doors closings (DOM), and let SST know I should make it, end state back on earlier flight and home 3 hours earlier with luggage arriving on the same flight.
• Flying from US last year arrived late into MEL and missed the first connecting flight home. To this day I am not sure how QF knew who I was but I was approached at the MEL INT baggage carousel by a QF employee who started with "Mr..... here are your boarding passes, when you have retrieved you luggage leave them with me I will take care of them we are holding the plane for you" (a later connecting flight) or words to that effect. Fast tracked through security even more so than the normal express pass. Although we had been downgraded from J all three off use were in R4 so passagner reshulling must have occured. I am sure they did not hold connecting flight just for us and I suspect there were other P1 and CL connecting to the the same flight.
• MrsM flying QF managed to lose her luggage or could not locate it, I rang SST, by the time MrsM had caught a taxi to the Docklands and then walked back to Spencer St her luggage was already with the concierge.

If you want to do the simulator experience you will need to register your interest with SST. I got a call last year from the SST saying that they noticed I would be in Sydney on the day a space was available and did I want to attend. There must be a level of proactivity.

Each to their own with the P1 experiences and what they think of the program. Don't set your expectations to high and you will not be dissapointed.

 

[Princess Fiona]

My cat has a more interesting profile than Mr Lego

I "hate" cats, but would so much prefer to read a story about your cat than the P1 newsletter.......

Mr Lego is actually a member of this community and although hasn’t posted recently is active on Facebook and has in the past generously given away tickets here.

Anyway back on topic Shrek and I had a lovely evening at the Opera last night with dinner beforehand thanks to P1

 

[La Mouette]

Mr Lego is actually a member of this community and although hasn’t posted recently is active on Facebook and has in the past generously given away tickets here.

C the cat apologises to Mr Lego if her servant's comments were interpreted seriously.

 

[mrsterryn]

With a couple of unexpected trips I could make an effort to attain P1 however husband is already plat and I just don't see the value ?
Shame the membership can't be given to someone else

 

[RichardMEL]

C the Cat's trip report is the best I've read in ages.. and my own feline overload, also named C, approves (though she has no pet passport as she prefers to stay put in her castle while the servent is away). Sorry Juddles we can't be mates anymore if you do not like cats

Seriously though, Matt's comments above and examples show the power of the status being used for good in terms of travel experiences... as I noted earlier(and probably several times over this, and other, threads) P1 tends to be very valuable in terms of handling, specially within oz, for irregular events, irrops etc.

I think QF's "mistake" in execusting the whole thing is to make it a specific status level. While it's nice to have the white card to feel a bit special, I think it also breeds expectation. They got 2400SC "Platinum Bonus" level quite good in that respect.. you earn it, you get a little more, and great.

P1 as a defined level? Yes it maes it much easier to be recognised... ie I often have CSM's using the "oh you fly so much" line (when really, no... I just fly premium fares and earn SC's, but they don't really know that). It's a nice label, but it is also nice when it does kick inand QF do make extra efforts, and find ways to do the "little things" to make it all worthwhile ....

... but with everything QF then you get this sense of expectation... which true to form QF's consistent inconsistency means it won't happen. eg will the next flight be held for the late connection? Probably not. I don't think that's anyone's "fault" per se.. every situation is unique obviously and operationally any one flight will have many factors driving it's operation.

I honestly don't know. If QF insists on making P1 a separate status level, then they should up the game a la GGL published perks. Sure, P1 has a lot of published perks, only some of which may mean anything to many members.. eg.. I do not play Golf. I could give a cough about Golf club membership... or the perks at MONA (as good as it apparently is) or the lounge in Sydney city. Not going to use. Are they good things to offer? Sure, to specific people... but not to all.

and the whole thing about event invites and the like... PF and Shrek had the opera experience last week and it looked fantastic.. super!! Should we all expect things like this? Does it lower the "value" of the status if one does not get regular "gigs"? Conversely does it "raise" the value to have them? Personally I see those things as "side perks" of the status.. nice to have if I get an invite next week to something hey cool.. and maybe I can use it... but if not.. will it change my perception of P1 or QF? Nope, honestly not.

Again, if one gets the status as part of travel then it's great and can be very useful at unexpected times. I would NOT see it as a destination in terms of aiming specifically to make it, because then one s liable to be very disappointed.

 

[mviy]

With a couple of unexpected trips I could make an effort to attain P1 however husband is already plat and I just don't see the value ?

You do get a soft landing back to WP. Which may have some value to you depending how close you are and what your expected travel is in the next membership year. Some have been comped another year of WP the year after dropping to WP, but YMMV.

P1 has higher upgrade chance, probably has a better chance of getting reward seats released, can select the best seats on the plane straight away, gets a couple of FLounge invites to give away to family members/friends etc. There are some nice benefits depending on what your plans are but if you're a long way off the benefits would likely be greatly outweighed by the cost.

Shame the membership can't be given to someone else

I agree. I would find P1 much more attractive if the Partner Platinum could be given to any close relative. As I'd be increasing my regular travel by more SCs than what's needed to level up to WP by doing this I would see this as mutually beneficial both to me and to QF. It would give my relative a taste for WP benefits and once they have a taste for it they may end up chasing it for themselves.

As it stands currently Partner Platinum would be completely useless for me.

 

[Matt_01]

Well 5 days ago I was stating "The P1 upgrades seemed to have dried out or are non existent, in saying that I tend to fly (domestic) at peak hour and in busy corridors." now it's time to eat my words.

Just checked in for my flight tomorrow evening, and noticed I have been moved to J with the note at the bottom "enjoy your flight from the platinum one team".

Maybe all hope is not lost.

 

[RichardMEL]

My last comp upgrade had no message... not that I'm complaining just typical QF inconsistency at work

 

[danielt25]

Just checked in to notice a P1 complimentary upgrade red e deal to J CNS/BNE for 9/4 QF655 (this afternoon)

QF are still selling red e deals on this flight and standard fare J tickets, so flight mustn't be all that busy.

In chatting to a colleague who is WP he says he receives 1:4 complimentary upgrades on his domestic legs. (Anecdotal of course)

As I usually travel paid domestic J I havent tried the 1:4 upgrade lottery...see what happens I suppose

 

[dairyfloss]

Just checked in to notice a P1 complimentary upgrade red e deal to J CNS/BNE for 9/4 QF655 (this afternoon)

QF are still selling red e deals on this flight and standard fare J tickets, so flight mustn't be all that busy.

In chatting to a colleague who is WP he says he receives 1:4 complimentary upgrades on his domestic legs. (Anecdotal of course)

As I usually travel paid domestic J I havent tried the 1:4 upgrade lottery...see what happens I suppose

I'd hate to call your colleague a liar, so I'll go with fibber instead If it's true, though, then he must have a very high PCV to only be at the lowly loft of WP, but receive comp upgrades 20% of the time... We'd love to know the trick if there is one!

Cheers,
Matt.

 

[danielt25]

Yes to me it seemed a little far fetched 1:4 complimentary upgrades! Although he may have been on oversold flights.

 

[Chalkie]

P1 is not that special until you need them to come through for you and it seems people's experiences when in a pinch have been (mostly) positive. I've never really been in a irrops hole where I've needed them, and I've had very good ground and in the air treatment from QF staff (within the limits of QF's usual levels of service anyway). From reading various people's experiences and talking with others it seems they have done well most of the time in sorting out snafus or aiing to get people out of a pickle. Yes, there have been a few very poor examples(just read this thread) but in general they seem to be fairly good with that sort of thing.

I think we need to take the invites, flight sims and all that "extra" stuff out of the equation when defining the "benefit" of P1. To me, when I've been able to make same day changes, even to apparently full flights, or had things waved, or recently an F seat opened up at shortish notice has proven the worth of P1 in respect of the operational side of the travel experience. The extra stuff is nice(when we get it) and all, but I do not see it as the core of what P1 is.

many road warriors I think would appreciate things like same day changes, flexibility and yes upgrade priority(they almost always clear) as being useful and clear benefits.

Of course, having published and definited benefits like GGL has over at BA would be amazing.. sadly QF has no incentive to offer these things (same with LTP).. their closest competition has nothing even close, so again nothing giving incentive for QF to make more efforts.

Would I see P1 as worthy to attain in and of itself? Not really. Platinum is a very very nice status with the F lounge access, priority, perks on partners like AA and the like. If flying and getting there comes as part of it.. great. I'm on 3320 SC for this year and likely will fll over the line again which is nice, but I don't think I'd cry if I missed out. At least I wouldn't have to put up with Sendle again!

Spot on. I've reached the conclusion that it's the P1 team and line that's the most valuable aspect of being P1. My experience is that they will try and accommodate any reasonable request (which in my case has been limited to asking for award seats (only one at a time) to be released. I've only had one knock back, and the circumstances were such that the knock back was objectively justified, so I couldn't really complain.

That's not to say that the extras shouldn't continue!!!

 

[GoldCanyon340]

Myself and Mrs 340 recently returned from NZ where I celebrated a birthday. It was a late decision to go but managed to get a red e-Deal hence unable to upgrade with points across the Tasman. Didn't receive a P1 upgrade on any leg, however, when boarding the A330 AKL-SYD back home received a "Happy Birthday Mr 340" at the door. "That's nice and remarkably well coordinated," thought I as we trudged to the bulkhead exit row seats at row 44. This was comfortably the furthest back I've been in a Qantas aircraft since 1997 (DPS-SYD operated by a Boeing 747 and was sat near the Donahers from Sylvania Waters - ah, what a TV show).

On reaching the bowels of the aircraft the flight attendant positioned at the door says, "Ah, so you're my VIPs." Received chocolates before push back (faux birthday cake), G&Ts for both of us after departure then J wine for the meal service and beyond. Got a great welcome from the CSM who, to be fair, did do the rounds of the cabin greeting all the Plats and above.

 

[juddles]

..... Sorry Juddles we can't be mates anymore if you do not like cats ......

"maybe" I just pretend to hate them - they appear to love me......

rest of post is spot on!