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?

 

[amaroo]

We've been through SIN 4 times this year travelling F - me as PI, wife as plat. My conclusion, F gets all love..... as it should IMO.

 

[RichardMEL]

Well yes I was in F too so I guess that was a factor

just as an aside.. when I was sitting in the reserved area (and a group of loud frequent flyer types were disturbing the peace - you know who you are ) I noticed a level up of fawning going on.

The table next to the one I'd picked right in the corner of the reserved area was set up as usual. While I was sitting at my table with bubbles and waiting for food one of the lounge managers(ie not the usual wait staff) came to the table and very specifically set up glasses of orange juice and some other stuff (I tried to not sticky beak) prior to anyone showing up. While I was eating the pork belly dish of the day (pretyt nice!) a couple showed up. From accents UK based. I got the feeling the gent was a VIP of some note but his companion(wife I assume) was not a regular as he was telling her about the dishes in the lounge and that they usualy do a pretty good noodle soup or whatever (I was not evesdropping on purpose - they were right next to me!). The manager returned several times while I sat there and was definitely most interested in their happiness and comfort. Heck maybe he was a somebody I should know. I didn't (and I don't care either way) it was just interesting the pre-set up of the table with the drinks etc prior to the pax showing up - so they obviously expected them and had some sort of standing order for their requirements.

I do not think it was TonyHancock & Giselda though - he wouldn't bother with the QF lounge these days

 

[kitkatff]

just to confirm I received the ipad/laptop sleeve thing with my initials. My current laptop could fit at a pinch but I can't close it properly. I think the new laptop model used at work is thinner and would fit better, looks like I need a hardware upgrade ...

I experienced my first time choosing a seat on row 4 on domestic (MEL-CBR), felt nice

Next step will be trying to get some international J seats, unlikely as it'll be during school holidays, but I'll have to see once SWMBO has made up her mind on dates.

 

[La Mouette]

so they obviously expected them and had some sort of standing order for their requirements.

I'm not a VIP, but I find that the SIN lounge staff remember everything about me. Most flights, unless there's someone more important or needy on board, they walk me to and from the gate, and they remember the stories I tell them. Then they know the exact order I do things in the lounge and what I eat. They haven't set up a table for me, but they have proactively apologised when my dish wasn't available before I actually ordered it! I've wondered if they track all this in a massive CRM system, or if they just remember it ...

I don't receive this kind of service anywhere else. The LHR team used to have some good people, but I think they've had some turnover. One guy there who I haven't seen in awhile knew that I go to the Emirates lounge and would ring the front desk there to page me when the flight was boarding.

 

[chickentalon]

Question for P1s who have lost their status the following year with only a handful of SCs. Do you fall back to WP? or Gold? or Silver or.........Bronze?

 

[calmelb]

Question for P1s who have lost their status the following year with only a handful of SCs. Do you fall back to WP? or Gold? or Silver or.........Bronze?

This year I dropped from P1-> WP with 2000 or so SCs, so I'm guessing its soft landing down the ladder.

On a side note, got a call at the end of last week, just saying I have been reevaluated as Platinum and my status has been updated. Very informal from the beginning (eg instead of Mr [lastname] I got Hi Callum). Also no points on what benefits I lost which for some could be helpful. Felt like I was in a list of people who she just had to read a script for

 

[TonyHancock]

Question for P1s who have lost their status the following year with only a handful of SCs. Do you fall back to WP? or Gold? or Silver or.........Bronze?

When I dropped I had two years of WP. this was three years ago. I had next to no credits because I had defected to BA.

 

[calmelb]

When I dropped I had two years of WP. this was three years ago. I had next to no credits because I had defected to BA.

I'm guessing this is first a year of soft landing then a comped via the average year?

 

[JessicaTam]

I'm guessing this is first a year of soft landing then a comped via the average year?

It is not a soft landing as WP1 is still WP. QF look at the average of your last 3 years. If it is more than 1200 (1400?) SCs then you get WP for the next year. In @TonyHancock's case I suspect he had quite a few SCs so that the three year average kept him at WP for two years, not one.

Paging @serfty for confirmation.

 

[zenyattamondatta]

It is not a soft landing as WP1 is still WP. QF look at the average of your last 3 years. If it is more than 1200 (1400?) SCs then you get WP for the next year. In @TonyHancock's case I suspect he had quite a few SCs so that the three year average kept him at WP for two years, not one.

Struggling to make sense of any of this, especially the "WP1 is still WP" bit.

The bare minimum of 3,600 for P1 is equivalent to an average of 1,200 over three years, and I can also confirm that with something like 3,800 for P1 I then received WP for the next two years, which I'd certainly call "a soft landing and then a comped via the average year", or basically what calmelb said.

 

[amaroo]

Since 3600 is the threshold for that year ..... I'm guessing the drop to plat is guaranteed.

P1 is certainly not the same as plat.

 

[juddles]

Year 1 = 3600 SC. Status is then P1 during rest of Yr 1. Also gets you P1 for Year 2.
If in Yr2 you earn zero SC you still have P1 status during that year.
At the end of Year 2 your three year average would be calculated on Yr-1, Yr 1, and Yr 2. This will be a minimum of 3600/3 due to the 3600 SC you earned in Year1. So you would get WP status for Year 3.

So you start out Yr3 as comped WP. If you didn't earn SC during this year then at the end of Yr3, to calculate a 3 yr average, would be done over earning years YR1, Yr2, and Yr3. So still 3600/3 to give you comped WP for Yr4. So that is now two years of comped WP.

At the end of Yr4, if still no SC earned, then at the end of Yr4 the calculation would be over Yr2/ Yr3 / Yr4 = 0/3. So loss of any status at all for you in Yr5.

I am not sure if QF actually does always use the 3 year rule. Or even if they do, exactly how they work it. But if they do use some version of it, the interesting thing mathematically is that the possible two years WP comp is all you will ever get. Unless you actually earn WP in Yrs2+ you will always fall (the effect of those mega SC in Yr1 only affect the next two years) So it doesn't matter if you earnt 3600 (the minimum for P1) or some mind-boggling thing like 10,000 SC for that last year - this has no effect whatsoever on how long comps would play for.

 

[serfty]

It is not a soft landing as WP1 is still WP. QF look at the average of your last 3 years. If it is more than 1200 (1400?) SCs then you get WP for the next year. In @TonyHancock's case I suspect he had quite a few SCs so that the three year average kept him at WP for two years, not one.

Paging @serfty for confirmation.

While the 3 year calculation was confirmed by @Red Roo as being the general case some years ago, more recent anecdotes seem to indicate this was no longer being applied and some other methodology may be in use. There have been other tales as well (e.g. offers to retain status with points).

Notwithstanding any of that, it has seemed at the very least that the soft landing exists ... i.e. P1→WP→SG→PS→NB ...

 

[chickentalon]

Thanks everyone. I was trying to decide if I should chase P1 as I approach the end of my SC year. I don’t have much flying the following year, but I can move some big double SC bookings into the next SC year and rebook the current flights in this calendar year. Or even fly VA and retain Gold with them. This would cause me to just under qualify for P1.

But if P1 guarantees a soft landing to WP the following year then it makes a lot of sense to achieve P1. Just a shame I wouldn’t actually be using it much.

All this is also complicated by the fact that I might try to request the Status Hold for a new child. Which is not available to P1 according to the Ts n Cs. The reason why I won’t be flying much.

Thanks everyone, responses have been very helpful.

 

[pjohn]

I can move some big double SC bookings into the next SC year and rebook the current flights in this calendar year

Pretty sure if you amend these bookings you'll lose any DSC promotion that was applied against them...

 

[Brettmcg]

Pretty sure if you amend these bookings you'll lose any DSC promotion that was applied against them...

Only if you move them to a date outside of the 'Fly by...' period. Just don't let your TA or QF move them to a new PNR.

 

[chickentalon]

Only if you move them to a date outside of the 'Fly by...' period.

Yep, they’d be within the “fly by”

 

[RichardMEL]

I don't see the point - if one is going to not fly very much than having P1 for that year would not be worth much. I mean why not just put the spend into NEXT year to earn/retain WP anyway? Seems like a lot of cost and effort to achieve a status that would barely be used. Yes, I get the soft landing and all, but if one can be flexible to move various trips around as you suggest I don't see how one couldn't just move bookings into the next membership year.. then get WP anyway?

 

[chickentalon]

I don't see the point - if one is going to not fly very much than having P1 for that year would not be worth much. I mean why not just put the spend into NEXT year to earn/retain WP anyway? Seems like a lot of cost and effort to achieve a status that would barely be used. Yes, I get the soft landing and all, but if one can be flexible to move various trips around as you suggest I don't see how one couldn't just move bookings into the next membership year.. then get WP anyway?

Yes, there wouldn’t be much point to P1 next year, it’s the soft landing benefit which would be helpful. That is, the WP year after the P1low activity. This is when I would be flying a lot again and the WP be handy to have. As opposed to dropping back to silver that year and doing a lot of flying with no status and a higher earn required for WP (earn v retain)

 

[RichardMEL]

Yes, there wouldn’t be much point to P1 next year, it’s the soft landing benefit which would be helpful. That is, the WP year after the P1low activity. This is when I would be flying a lot again and the WP be handy to have. As opposed to dropping back to silver that year and doing a lot of flying with no status and a higher earn required for WP (earn v retain)

Yes. I understand the logic. This just seems to be an awfully wasteful way to ensure WP in two years time (and there's no guarantee that the rules won't change by then, of course).

My point is regarding your comment about "moving" DSC bookings into the next membership year (or from it). This implies you have one of the targeted ones, since the last general DSC offer allowed for travel till 31 August this year. However, I'll use that as an example

If your membership year ended on July 31 then you're suggesting you could move some DSC eligible flying from August to prior to the end of July this year. Remember I don't know YOUR exact circumstances, I am just making up dates here.... so the idea would be to get enough to make 3600 inc DSC by the end of July.

Not knowing how short you are of 3600 at this point, but I'll assume 800. Reading between the lines of the above, you have enough current bookings under DSC conditions to get, for exampe, 800 SC. Seems you do not have enough to make 1200 because if you did this wouldn't be an issue, you'd leave those bookings in the next membership year and have nigh on two membership years of WP.

But what if you, instead of moving the DSC trips into THIS membership year, but you kept them in the next and then fly the extra as status runs in your next membership year? Yes, I know you have little planned flying (dropping to silver obviously imlies a sub 300 earn). Of course if you're WP now, you'd drop to Gold next year anyway, but that would then, I presume, drop to Silver the year after which you want Wp for. If it were me, I would keep the DSC trips in next membership year, and do a couple of status runs, which would up back to WP, which would continue for the year after. You wouldn't have P1, but you'd still achieve your goal.

IMO.