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?

 

[funkyr]

I have a question about the 2x P1 lounge invitations. I want to gift these to some relatives so am going to gift them on the website.

They are flying ADL-MEL-SIN, SIN-MEL-ADL and would like to use the invitations for the SIN lounge on the return flight.



2 questions:

a) Will they get turned away from the SIN lounge if it's crowded? According to abt (Australian Business Traveller) Qantas club members, some Golds and holders of a complimentary Qantas club lounge pass are getting turned away to another lounge as the SIN lounge is now getting crowded from 5-11pm especially with the SYD-SIN-LHR route. NB the P1 benefit invitation is listed as being different to 'general' invitations:

"General invitations – these can be used at any domestic Qantas Club or Qantas operated International Business Lounge.
Domestic invitations – these can be used at any domestic Qantas Club lounge.
P1 - Benefit invitations – these can be used at any Qantas Club, Qantas International Business and First Lounges when departing on a Qantas operated flight booked on QF flight number. "


b) Presumably they can use the lounge invitations on any leg and not just the departing leg?

According to the website:
"To transfer the Complimentary Invitation to another person, please log in to the Complimentary Lounge Invitation section of qantas.com.

Once transferred, the person must link the Complimentary Invitation to the eligible departing Qantas flight they want lounge access for by logging into the Complimentary Lounge Invitation section of qantas.com.

An email confirmation will be sent to the person who holds the eligible flight with the linked invitation. Please print and take the email confirmation to the lounge on day of departure."

 

[juddles]

....... I want to gift these to some relatives .....

a) Will they get turned away from the SIN lounge if it's crowded? .....


b) Presumably they can use the lounge invitations on any leg and not just the departing leg?....

Hey there funkyr,

I am NOT an expert on these passes. No one is really - they are a newish thing. But my opinions/comments are the following:

It appears you have plural relatives - ie I assume two? So my opinion on question (b) is that each lounge pass is for a single lounge visit, and as you can only have two passes to gift, then if it is to two people it means only a lounge visit outbound or inbound for them, not both.

As far as (a), there is always the chance that someone gets turned away from a lounge. But being P1 passes I suspect that is very unlikely. In any case, if someone was turned away, I understand the lounge pass gets returned to you.

 

[kermatu]

I've had one poor experience with the P1 lounge invitations at an overseas port (LAX). Despite checking and getting an email confirmation from the SST that the recipients (plus two kids) would be able to access the F lounge, they were outright denied entry to the F lounge. It showed on their booking after I and they did everything required online, and the email was also shown. Nope. Denied.

Upon complaining after the fact, the SST told me the child policy was changed. But this was not communicated to the family before the flight, nor to me by the SST, nor was it the reason actually given at the lounge. The reason given at LAX was "these passes do not apply here". Total BS. I did see subsequently that the child policy had changed on the website. Pity that among the 20 emails I get from QF every month this wasn't included in one of them best I recall.

I did get the passes back (with a couple of months' eligibility remaining), and 2 free ones as compo. Which is nice -- but will probably all go to waste as this was a once in a lifetime trip for a family I wanted to do something nice for, and I failed. I'm not inclined to give the invitations out to any rando.

While it seems like kids aren't a factor in your scenario, my advice is not to use these for an overseas lounge. SIN is actually not that good, and will likely be crowded. I would not rely on lounge access. If your relatives have even 1 hour in MEL outbound I'd go for the Melbourne F lounge instead. If SIN is the more sensible option because of time, then as Juddles says if access is denied the passes can be used again, so might be worth the punt if you have alternative uses - and time - for it.

 

[juddles]

It really sucks that as a P1 they give us passes, but then we can suffer the embarrassment of gifting them to friends/family who then get denied. This is really unacceptable........

 

[kermatu]

It really sucks that as a P1 they give us passes, but then we can suffer the embarrassment of gifting them to friends/family who then get denied. This is really unacceptable........

Was the final proof to me that P1 really means nothing to the broader QF network, and that the SST also has zero standing. If a promise was made from the team that looks after a company's elites, it should be honoured, no questions asked.

Sure they can give you help in dire circumstances (a very valuable feature) but everything else is largely spin.

All first world problems. My family in question had a good time in the J lounge (courtesy of me gifting my Gold status bonus to one of them) so aside from my annoyance and my (plus their) embarrassment, no harm done.

 

[Chalkie]

I had a good P1 experience last Monday. I was flying on QF1016 HBA-MEL and the purser/CSM came to me before the meal was served and said "I just want to make sure that you get your preferred meal, Mr Chalkie, so please could you and your companion let me know what you would like and I will make sure that is set aside for you".

Impressive, particularly given we were travelling on award tix!

 

[Brettmcg]

I guessed as much about the mystery. So I'm guessing that I am one of the only 20 year old Platinum Ones? (And yes it is very scary, but thanks to DSC it made it pretty easy)

I qualified for the first time at 28, but yes you'd definitely be one of the youngest ones I would imagine.

 

[Brettmcg]

Had some really good experiences with P1/SST recently:

• Had allocated some general (not P1) Lounge Passes to a friend and her partner for a domestic trip they were taking. In the end, because of time constraints, they weren't able to utilise the passes. Unfortunately, one issue with the new electronic allocation system is that once the scheduled flight time expires, the passes disappear regardless of whether they have actually been used or not. Contacted the SST team who followed up internally and had both passes restored to my account within a matter of days.
  
  
• Was flying QF35 x/ QF1 on 20JUN in F. MEL-SIN flight was great and left on time, however upon arrival into SIN I discovered the QF1 still hadn't left SYD (at that stage it was showing a 5hr delay, but ended up being 24+ hrs). Headed straight for the lounge to set up my computer so that I could call the SST to discuss options as I had an onward connection to DUS. At the Lounge, one of the F Hosts grabbed me as soon as I walked in to discuss three options that they had worked out in conjunction with P1 - rebook to BA in F, rebook to EK via DXB and LHR, or overnight and wait for the next day's QF1. All of this had been sorted out before I even hit the ground in SIN, so my only concern was choosing which option I preferred. In the end I opted for the BA flight which actually got me into LHR earlier than originally planned.
  
  
• Yesterday, arriving into PER from LHR on QF10, I was met at the a/c door by a Chairman's Host who escorted me through to the Lounge. Gave me a full tour of the facilities and had pre-booked a shower cabin for me if I wanted it (I did take up this offer)! I have flown rev F in and out of MEL to LHR for the past 4-5 years and never once had this service offered to me. Very much enjoyed it. Thanks, Stephanie!

 

[kermatu]

met at the a/c door by a Chairman's Host who escorted me through to the Lounge. Gave me a full tour of the facilities and had pre-booked a shower cabin for me if I wanted it (I did take up this offer)!

That's fantastic. Good to hear.

Was there any reason behind giving you a tour - is CL access going to be a thing for P1s on this flight? I presume this is what CLs get in Perth.

 

[Brettmcg]

That's fantastic. Good to hear.

Was there any reason behind giving you a tour - is CL access going to be a thing for P1s on this flight? I presume this is what CLs get in Perth.

Sorry, I wasn't clear in the post - a tour of the Perth Transit Lounge (ie. the QF9/10 lounge). I think her title was simply Chairman's Host, because they have no F in or out of PER.

 

[kermatu]

Sorry, I wasn't clear in the post - a tour of the Perth Transit Lounge (ie. the QF9/10 lounge). I think her title was simply Chairman's Host, because they have no F in or out of PER.

Understood. Bit of wishful thinking on my part. Good service in any event.

 

[calmelb]

Understood. Bit of wishful thinking on my part. Good service in any event.

I’ve had a discussion with them about it. There are first hosts and chairman’s hosts and their jobs are allocated by your internal ranking with qantas (can’t remover what it’s called). So there’s 1-2 chairman’s hosts and 1-2 first hosts, and they get allocated down the list of CL/P1 on the flight

 

[RichardMEL]

Funkyr - is there a reason your relatives would not want to use the passes for the MEL F lounge (probably not enough time from ADL-MEL to MEL-SIN? If the aim was to use the SIN lounge I'd allocate a "normal" pass (say from a CC or similar) than a P1 one.. but of course if none others exist to gift then there's no choice, but I'd prob suggest the MEL F lounge myself to make best use of the pass.

Similar to Kamatu's experience re the P1 passes and access issues right after they cme in nearly a year ago I gifted one to my sister who was flying MEL-SIN in Y. The F lounge refused her access.. I think they did not realise the P1 ones were new and alolowed access and told her to go to the J lounge. Well, I contacted the SST and they apologised, followed up with the F lounge(or so they said) and replaced the pass of their own accord. No doubt there have been a number of issues with these things since they have come in, but I felt the SST acted as well as they could with the situation. I was just so disappointed for my sister who is a rare flyer, and Y at that and I wanted her to have a treat. The J dungeon really isn't much of one!

One of the biggest issues with these electronic invites, apart from having to be tied to a particular flight or PNR, os that nothing seems to print on the BP as "proof" or that is clear to any lounge agents. I mean when one flies with EK or SQ or most airlines they print clearly "You're invited to use the Wing First" or TPR or whatnot. QF have fields for service information on their BP's - can't the system print something like "Access to Mel First Lounge" or "Access to SIN Qantas Lounge"? on there? When you have NOTHING on a BP to indicate you even have the pass that confuses everyone IMHO.

 

[kermatu]

QF have fields for service information on their BP's - can't the system print something like "Access to Mel First Lounge" or "Access to SIN Qantas Lounge"? on there? When you have NOTHING on a BP to indicate you even have the pass that confuses everyone IMHO.

Great suggestion. And obviously the SST can add messages, so makes sense for the P1 invites. Even if we need to give them details of who and what flight we've allocated it for, I'd be happier doing that and having some comfort. Given the pax must be flying a QF flight this should be manageable, I'd have thought.

 

[RichardMEL]

Great suggestion. And obviously the SST can add messages, so makes sense for the P1 invites. Even if we need to give them details of who and what flight we've allocated it for, I'd be happier doing that and having some comfort. Given the pax must be flying a QF flight this should be manageable, I'd have thought.

well it should be automated. I mean if they are going to stuff around making people link passes to bookings/flights then the system knows, in theory, what flight you are on, out of what port, and thus what lounge(s) you should have access too. Saves on confusion and time wasting about if one is eligible or not and all that.

Again, other airlines seem to manage it without much fuss... QF? A convoluted system in the first p;lace made harder with zero confirmation.

If they can't do that on the BP, then what about a printable copy of your invite (eg: in manage booking, have a "print invitation"?) option? and/or have it show in tee app to show agents. There are all sorts of ways they could do this to make life easier....

 

[kermatu]

well it should be automated. I mean if they are going to stuff around making people link passes to bookings/flights then the system knows, in theory, what flight you are on, out of what port, and thus what lounge(s) you should have access too. Saves on confusion and time wasting about if one is eligible or not and all that.

Again, other airlines seem to manage it without much fuss... QF? A convoluted system in the first p;lace made harder with zero confirmation.

If they can't do that on the BP, then what about a printable copy of your invite (eg: in manage booking, have a "print invitation"?) option? and/or have it show in tee app to show agents. There are all sorts of ways they could do this to make life easier....

And actually in my case (as yours too from memory) I did contact the SST beforehand which still failed. So yes, an automatic system would be better.

And I should correct some faulty info I gave earlier. I got the two lounge invitations back and another two, all if which have expiry in Feb 2019. So pretty decent recovery even if it doesn't make up for the family in question.

 

[redwoodw]

One of the biggest issues with these electronic invites, apart from having to be tied to a particular flight or PNR, os that nothing seems to print on the BP as "proof" or that is clear to any lounge agents. I mean when one flies with EK or SQ or most airlines they print clearly "You're invited to use the Wing First" or TPR or whatnot. QF have fields for service information on their BP's - can't the system print something like "Access to Mel First Lounge" or "Access to SIN Qantas Lounge"? on there? When you have NOTHING on a BP to indicate you even have the pass that confuses everyone IMHO.

IIRC when I used the P1 pass courtesy of @Matt_01 or a general electronic pass my boarding pass is printed a small QPAS on the bottom left corner. Not sure if that's an indication per se?

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

Out of interest, does anyone know of a star alliance airline that offers this? I am with Avianca and they have such a thing, but one of the many requirements is reaching 60 years of age

("Cenit" program - 1,000,000 qualifying miles flown, 15 years active membership, and 60 years of age)

Asiana has lifetime *G at 500k status miles. Not minimum number of Asiana flights, no minimum number of years (I took less than 3 years) and no minimum age.

 

[La Mouette]

I received an interesting invite today, confirming:

• QF still does not know where I am
• QF F will remain!

I'm actually tempted to try to rearrange my travel to attend this.

Dear LM

Phil Capps, Head of Product and Service Development at Qantas is pleased to invite you to attend an exclusive First experience workshop at the Qantas Centre of Service Excellence.

As one of our most valued First Class flyers, we would like your input into the design of the First experience for Qantas' Project Sunrise, the development of a direct flight from East Coast Australia to destinations such as London and New York.

By joining us you will be contributing to the creation of a new era of long haul flying - and taking part in what we hope will be an interesting discussion with fellow First travellers and members of the Qantas Customer Experience team.

Rockpool canapés and selected First wines will be served.

Date: Thursday 02 August 2018

 

[kermatu]

I received an interesting invite today, confirming:

• QF still does not know where I am
• QF F will remain!

I'm actually tempted to try to rearrange my travel to attend this.

Dear LM

Phil Capps, Head of Product and Service Development at Qantas is pleased to invite you to attend an exclusive First experience workshop at the Qantas Centre of Service Excellence.

As one of our most valued First Class flyers, we would like your input into the design of the First experience for Qantas' Project Sunrise, the development of a direct flight from East Coast Australia to destinations such as London and New York.

By joining us you will be contributing to the creation of a new era of long haul flying - and taking part in what we hope will be an interesting discussion with fellow First travellers and members of the Qantas Customer Experience team.

Rockpool canapés and selected First wines will be served.

Date: Thursday 02 August 2018

Good to hear- on many levels.

If you, or anyone else, attends - can we lobby you with our suggestions?