Qantas announces fare discounts to Aquire members

[Standby]

After yesterday's announcements regarding new routes & increased frequencies now a push to SMEs
found this link

Qantas steps up battle for small business | Business News | Business and Finance News | | The Mercury

 

[Steady]

Some more info on this

New Aquire Flight Deals - Arriving 28 July

We're offering your business savings of up to 10% on selected airfares booked in advance[SUP]1[/SUP]. Simply book through Qantas Business Direct, our free travel management tool or your participating travel agent to access your most rewarding travel yet.

Fare class	Saving	Book In Advance
Domestic
Economy Flex	5[SUP]%[/SUP]	7 days
Business	10[SUP]%[/SUP]	10 days
International
Economy Flex	5[SUP]%[/SUP]	7 days
Premium Economy Saver	10[SUP]%[/SUP]	10 days
Business Saver	10[SUP]%[/SUP]	10 days

Looking back at what I have paid for BNE-PER flex Econ tickets - they have gone up exactly $10- every month since the change in Feb - this will help a little.

 

[JessicaTam]

Is that line in the sand back again?

 

[Steady]

The "Aquire Deal" flights are showing up on the QF site today when logged into Qantas Business Direct.

 

[Red Roo]

Here's a direct link to information about Aquire Flight Deals: Aquire Flight Deals | Qantas

 

[medhead]

Discussed briefly during the Sydney quiz night last night. The one question was whether the discount fares are available to use with a gift voucher.

I also did a search yesterday, ADL-SYD flexi discounted from $416 to $396. So almost back to the price of a couple of months ago. Business was $770 to $696-ish. Pretty sure J was $550 earlier this year. It's a nice discount, but it only seems to have neutralised the recent fare increases. Perhaps those fare increases are why the flight monday morning was mostly shadows

 

[ReLoad]

Just a bit of an update on this and an interesting observation and a small gotcha.

The Aquire discount fare only shows when it is cheaper than what available otherwise, or else it doesn't apply or show at all. (a good feature)

Here is an example.
In the Aquire spiel International "business saver" attracts a 10% discount off the base saver fare.
Earlier this week I had to book MEL/SIN/MEL for early October, the business saver fare is booked in D class and was available on both direct flights, albeit a higher fare on the way over $1954 and the return $1729 (which incidentally was a lot cheaper than SQ)
In the terms and conditions it says that the business saver fare must be in D class which it was.

However the discount wasn't automatically applying (showing on the cost screen), so after being transferred 3 times and going amongst a few operators they dug up that it doesn't apply to the fare basis D50. (a 50 day advance purchase airfare).

So whilst the system has it right and only offers you the cheapest fare, the aquire discount was in reality a bit of a furphy in that it is not only availability bucket specific but also fare rule type specific!

Anyway, so the take away point I learned (and the 3 people at QF business direct) is, even though logged into business direct, if the aquire fare discount doesn't show, don't panic, it just means the fare offered is lower than with the acquire discount.

Still was 1k cheaper than SQ on the dates I needed and the new J config on both dates, so I guess that's a win right?

 

[kevrosmith]

The one question was whether the discount fares are available to use with a gift voucher.

The answer to this question is No.

Seems existing bookings (which are in credit) or gift vouchers cannot be used in the Business Direct portal. Something to do with the Booking Office that is assigned to the existing booking shell, even if the ABN (of the Aquire account and the Business Direct account) is already in the booking.

Not very happy about this: they have increased the price of public tickets to offset the discount possible via Business Direct. E.g. SYD-BNE Flex fare booked on 25-June was $388.99, now $395. So now that they already have my money in existing credits and vouchers, they are going to gouge even more due to the at least 2 or 3 price increases in the last 9 months, with no way to take advantage of the Business Direct discount.

November last year, Flexi CNS-BNE was $267. That's now jumped to $285 on the public site and is still $273 via Business Direct.

Also, the 5% discount on Flex Domestic is a bit of a furphy:
SYD-BNE-CNS Flex is $335 on public site, and $321 on Business Direct. Last time I did maths, 95% of $335 was $318.25. And while they will claim the caveat that the discount is on base fares, considering Qantas *never* show the breakdown of fares, unlike VA, they really could get away with anything in that regard. Surely there's something to do with false and misleading advertisement in that somehow...? They've got to publish the base fares before they can claim that people will save 5% or 10%, surely?

It's all show-and-tell and nothing which substantially helps Small Business... just more marketing and advertising. C'mon Qantas, you can do a better job than this.

 

[iqis60]

I've been taking a look at the domestic business class options and I'm wondering which fare bucket the business class domestic fares book into. Both the vanilla Qantas site and the business portal show one column for business fares these days, so you don't really know until after booking if you are getting a domestic business flex fare. I'm interested to know, because it obviously helps status credit wise if the domestic business fares with the acquire discount are in the fare buckets that rate as flexible domestic business.
Has anyone booked domestic business yet with the acquire discount and can tell me the fare bucket they flew in?
Thanks!

 

[medhead]

Possibly the best option will be to review this thread for ways to see the booking class before purchase.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....ent-flyer-program/qf-booking-class-22124.html

There is a greasemonkey script put together by Serfty that is really useful.

http://www.australianfrequentflyer....gram/qf-booking-class-22124-2.html#post849536

I've just done a ADL-SYD search and reviewed the page source suggests it is D. If you click the little arrow next to the Business at the top of the column, that brings up the fare conditions, which say the flights are classed as business for points earning.

Edit: My greasemonkey script doesn't seem to work.
Did a bit more searching. The above fares that seemed to be D were $695 each way with discount. I found a fare that was $959, viewing page source suggests that is C. However, the fare conditions pop up still claims it is classed as business for earning. On ADL-SYD that is an expensive extra 5 SC for $265. I could've got ADL-Whyalla* return for $170 during the last sale and earned 20 SC, for 3 hours of my time.

PER-SYD will get an extra 15 SC for flexi business. Not sure of the price difference but I can't see it being worth while.

I've been taking a look at the domestic business class options and I'm wondering which fare bucket the business class domestic fares book into. Both the vanilla Qantas site and the business portal show one column for business fares these days, so you don't really know until after booking if you are getting a domestic business flex fare. I'm interested to know, because it obviously helps status credit wise if the domestic business fares with the acquire discount are in the fare buckets that rate as flexible domestic business.
Has anyone booked domestic business yet with the acquire discount and can tell me the fare bucket they flew in?
Thanks!

* Contrary to reports of its demise, Whyalla hasn't been wiped out yet.

 

[iqis60]

Thanks for the detective work medhead! I had the same experience as you of seeing the same business conditions coming up for different priced fares, hence being confused on what buckets the fares really go into. The thread on figuring out booking class by checking the page source code is great, I'll definitely make use of that trick!

I've been having a look at some of the older MASA routes, specifically the ones that had multiple hops at a low points base, as the route didn't fly direct to see if they yield enough points on a discount business fare to be worth while. There are some around the $8-$9 dollar per status credit, which seems to be about as good as it gets for domestic flying in Australia. It gets a little better if you start in Auckland and fly non-direct into Australia, but the international business discounts are not flex, so it's still not the elusive low priced Australian based status credit we are all looking for. I know there are some red-e deals that get things down to $6.5 per status credit, but I like to fly business because I only ever fly if I have a reason to be somewhere and I don't need be at enough places to rank up in discount economy .

Your tips definitely help with my snooping, I'll let you know if I stumble across any domestic business fares that are booking into the flex classes on the lower price base.

 

[medhead]

Starting in AKL is a good tip.
Pretty sure I picked up a Whyalla turn around for $5.90 per SC. But I was doing that to get the T-shirt, not for the SC. Besides it's a bloody large number of flights to get any meaningful SC out of such flying. One trip a week for 50 weeks = 1000SC. :shock:

 

[Mac502]

Any issues if using business direct to book leisure trips?

 

[TheRealTMA]

Any issues if using business direct to book leisure trips?

If you've got an ABN then that's between you and the tax man, not Aquire. And it's impossible to tell what the flight is for.

 

[kevrosmith]

The answer to this question is No.

Seems existing bookings (which are in credit) or gift vouchers cannot be used in the Business Direct portal. Something to do with the Booking Office that is assigned to the existing booking shell, even if the ABN (of the Aquire account and the Business Direct account) is already in the booking.

Not very happy about this: they have increased the price of public tickets to offset the discount possible via Business Direct. E.g. SYD-BNE Flex fare booked on 25-June was $388.99, now $395. So now that they already have my money in existing credits and vouchers, they are going to gouge even more due to the at least 2 or 3 price increases in the last 9 months, with no way to take advantage of the Business Direct discount.

November last year, Flexi CNS-BNE was $267. That's now jumped to $285 on the public site and is still $273 via Business Direct.

Also, the 5% discount on Flex Domestic is a bit of a furphy:
SYD-BNE-CNS Flex is $335 on public site, and $321 on Business Direct. Last time I did maths, 95% of $335 was $318.25. And while they will claim the caveat that the discount is on base fares, considering Qantas *never* show the breakdown of fares, unlike VA, they really could get away with anything in that regard. Surely there's something to do with false and misleading advertisement in that somehow...? They've got to publish the base fares before they can claim that people will save 5% or 10%, surely?

It's all show-and-tell and nothing which substantially helps Small Business... just more marketing and advertising. C'mon Qantas, you can do a better job than this.

Okay, bit of an update after my little rant here...

Received an unexpected message from Red Roo, and then a phone call from the Premium Service Desk about this. They have been able to update their procedures, and, as I understand it, existing Credit Vouchers and Gift Vouchers can be used to book Aquire discount fares, but they have to be done over the phone through the Qantas Reservation Call Centre (e.g. the Premium Desk for WPs etc., as opposed to the Business Direct number - details are a little sketchy). I think they also mentioned multiple vouchers could be used on a single booking (In my previous experience, this has been up to four vouchers).

After receiving the previous information, and having resigned myself to not being able to use the vouchers to receive the discount, I had already booked some flights. The operator in the Premium Service Desk took the details of the bookings, and has re-processed them and I've received a refund on the price difference. A very good outcome, I believe.

The fares are still M class, but the fare conditions have changed from MQFLEX to MQUA.

I asked if there was a way for others to be able to point operators to the correct procedures (e.g. a Right-on-Q number), but I guess they've learnt the lesson from giving those numbers out (e.g. for bookings MASAs), and was told operators could look up the Qantas Business Direct procedure to get the correct details.

Overall, I'm happy for the outcome, and once again, am thankful for Red Roo's involvement in this forum: while I'm not across the detail of their internal workings, it appears they were able to highlight the gap in this process, and have helped QF come up a with a positive solution for the customer.

As always in these instances, YMMY, but good luck all the same.

 

[Isochronous]

Do Aquire discounts only apply to fares that originate in Australia? e.g. can I still get the discount if I book SIN-MEL instead of MEL-SIN?

 

[QF WP]

Looks like I'll buy some Aquire deals as well as getting some vouchers this year...but still the same $ but less points .

 

[kevrosmith]

I asked if there was a way for others to be able to point operators to the correct procedures (e.g. a Right-on-Q number), but I guess they've learnt the lesson from giving those numbers out (e.g. for bookings MASAs), and was told operators could look up the Qantas Business Direct procedure to get the correct details.

A further update on anyone wanting assistance to book Aquire Flight deals using Gift Vouchers: the very helpful N*****e (let's call her N) in the BNE call centre was not aware that this was possible, but was determined to help me out and make it happen. I provided as much info as I could, including key words for searching their Right-on-Q guides, codes, such as MQUA fare conditions, and prior booking references. Finally, after discussion with a supervisor, the correct guide was found and away we went. Seven bookings later, and I've been able to take advantage of the 5 pts per dollar gift voucher promotion as well as the additional 5% discount on Flex fare purchases for travel prior to 31 March.

After some discussion, N gladly provided the Right-on-Q number for the Qantas Business Direct Booking guide, and indicated that there is a "chapter" within that guide which deals with Aquire Flight deals. Under the current promotion, the fare condition code is MSPUQA. So for anyone wanting to help guide the Call Centre agents to the correct information, the Right-on-Q number is 6815. N could understand that some agents may not appreciate suggestions of help provided by the customer ("how do you know about Right-on-Q numbers?") but in this instance, felt that providing the number would help to reduce the time needed to get the right procedure. It took about 25 minutes to locate the right guide, and then another 45 minutes to complete all seven bookings.

Once again, it is a shame that such knowledgeable and helpful staff will be walking out the door after June next year once the BNE call centre closes. N reported that there was apparently 4000 years (maybe 400 years?) of collective experience and knowledge lost when the MEL call centre closed.

YMMY.

 

[JessicaTam]

Thanks for the detailed help kevrosmith.

 

[medhead]

I've just had an email with more Aquire discounts. Book by 29 Feb 2016, fly by 30 June - 5% off red-e-deals and Y saver, 10% for flex Y and 15% for J. Domestic only.