Qantas 'Enhances' Upgrade Rates

[Cool Cat Phil]

this was long before the days of point whales on the ATO

Gold.... Love that phrase "point whales" ..... Absolute Gold.

None of those live here on AFF.... Surely not !

 

[kooky]

In the November newsletter published yesterday the change to upgrades is included in the 'News' section. It ranks last and is below 'Fly to China on Qantas or China Eastern; enjoy more!'

So I guess we are all overreacting then; it's obviously not important.

I thought that was really lousy.
Must more prominent was earn e.g. 750 point os on your next taxi trip

 

[anat0l]

I have a 100% success rate for upgrades as PS and as SG and only 50% as WP.

You must be unlucky as I know plenty of WPs who hold upgrade success ratios close to 100%.

Kind of odd how it seems your upgrade success has decreased as you've increased in status. Is it mainly because you request more upgrades as a WP compared to when you were a lower status? (i.e. it's a numbers thing)

Looking at this from a different angle. We have all been wanting the ability to upgrade on EK with QF points however the feedback was that EK considered Qantas allowed upgrades too cheaply.

Could this change be a sign that perhaps we may soon have the ability to upgrade on EK with QF points?

Doubt it, and even then the competition would be insane. There will be countless EK elites who will be out to murder every single QF elite who are taking their upgrades, both points and "operational".

That said and done, it has been "rumoured" that QF elites seem to get well looked after upgrade-wise on EK as it is right now. Adding the ability you state might see that part of the sentiment go away.

 

[mviy]

Well a small sample size. 1 as PS, 1 as SG and 2 requests as WP. Considering the failed request was for a flight arriving on Cup Day and in an A330 (less upgrade opportunity than the 747 my successful upgrades were for) I guess that's not too surprising.

 

[katiebell]

Luckily the price of toasters hasn't gone up.

the toasters don't last as long anymore -> greater need for toasters -> more FF points needed i.e. toaster inflation by stealth

 

[Danger]

For some reason I always envisage this to be the scene at QF Loyalty HQ after one of these changes:

The Qantas lapel pins show real dedication here.

 

[CaptJCool]

Could this change be a sign that perhaps we may soon have the ability to upgrade on EK with QF points?

Tell em they're Dreamliner flyin right past EK DUBAI

 

[trippin_the_rift]

The increase in points actually reduces the desirability of cash fares, as full award tickets look much more valuable now rather than paying+lottery upgrade.

Clearly, this is the precursor toward another award devaluation.
Problem is, Qantas can't increase points required without other competition in the region taking the lead on devaluations. Qantas is already more expensive (points+tax total per mile) than almost every competitor flying to Australia.

 

[RichardMEL]

On the times, I endeavoured to receive an upgrade, I ran into no can do. Oh, and QantasLink pilots coming back from Seattle flight sim training, oh and not understanding the order of upgrades.
First status level, then fare level nested inside status level. The higher the fare paid, the higher in the status level order.
So, if I'm a mere silver buying red e-deal, I'm a Long long way down the priority order

Seems fair enough to me really.

I'd always been surprised getting upgrades on sale J fares->F as a Platinum and then P1.

This isn't a loyalty system it's a revenue based system - revenue to QF. This is about extracting yield (higher fares in theory) AND reducing point liability

IMHO.

 

[Deleted member]

The big advantage is that you're getting points for doing something you were going to do anyway !!

Epicure is great value for points - as a wine lover I am amazed how my preferences are affected by the number of points I can get for a dozen red. With the right choice your J class flight is only a few dozen bottles away.

 

[kpc]

Print money (throw QF points around everywhere) and then increase the price (increase Qf points requirements)....

 

[mannej]

For some reason I always envisage this to be the scene at QF Loyalty HQ after one of these changes:

View attachment 84300

You are missing the upgrade increases in 2014.

 

[fairbasa]

Haha, there's heaps I'm missing I'm sure. Loss of any-time lounge access, introduction of award fare change charges, increase in award fare change charges. Who can keep track of them all!

 

[Pleb Status]

Everybody appears to be taking this 'enhancement' very calmly. Particularly as 'the other side' gets absolutely crucified at even a rumour of a potential change (most with far less impact than this change).

I have found that upgrades were one way of getting some reasonable value out of QFF points without paying the completely unjustifiable fuel surcharges that QF levy on award tickets (unless you live in HKG of course). With the upgrade costs now being just a few thousand points cheaper than a J award ticket (say 90,000 vs 96,000 BNE/SYD/MEL-LAX), they are no longer good value even if QF confirmed the J upgrade at the time of booking.

Having flown all of my revenue QF flights this year as J upgrades (except for one downgrade back to Y), this 'enhancement' has potentially a very large effect moving forward. Luckily, QF have also just downgraded my most frequently travelled QF flight from an A330 to a 738, so I certainly will not be paying 25,000pts to upgrade on that (or even the current 20,000pts) and PER has effectively no QFi service to upgrade on as well (which is not a 738 also).

 

[mviy]

If it's business travel and work pays for a fare that can be upgraded then upgrades still provide good value.

 

[Ansett]

If it's business travel and work pays for a fare that can be upgraded then upgrades still provide good value.

Why not Book redemption flight with points and have confirmed Business seat as opposed to a lottery and get the company to pay the Taxes.

These higher upgrade rates are now as others mentioned not much different than booking a redemption seat and paying taxes.

 

[fairbasa]

No doubt it's a significant 'enhancement'. However, from reading the comments it seems even WPs struggle getting upgrades often enough to make them anticipate actually getting one.

As others have mentioned, the next step is invariably upping award redemption rates to keep them inline with the 'enhanced' upgrade rates. It's at that point I think we'll see a lot more people cry bloody murder.

I for one am already embracing AMEX MR much more for the flexibility it provides. The continuing devaluation of QF points and lack of friendly ways to gain status makes that decision even easier!

 

[mviy]

My business travel may only be approved about 2-4 months or so before the flight if even that. One might be able to plan a holiday a year out but not everyone can do that for work travel.

Also I need SCs. If the upgrade fails (hopefully only in one direction) I still have points for another time.

 

[Princess Fiona]

For some reason I always envisage this to be the scene at QF Loyalty HQ after one of these changes:

View attachment 84300

Maybe in the good old days......
Given QF's dwindling involvement here these days I doubt anyone at Mascot even reads AFF

 

[Pleb Status]

Maybe in the good old days......
Given QF's dwindling involvement here these days I doubt anyone at Mascot even reads AFF

It is like the old Red Roo has got on a job on the 'other' side as the VFF rep has been alot more visible lately (from a very low presence previously).