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]

Have a somewhat good experience to report - weeks ago, had a domestic Y trip where checked bags did not make the connection (same PNR, inbound aircraft was early at the gate ).

With a 24 hr delay of bags, P1s are given a small cash allowance (<$100) for toiletries only - reimbursement upon providing receipts.
That took a couple of weeks and some phone calls to get, but it came through in the end.
Apparently it's the policy for P1s only.
Don't know what the policy for J pax (non P1) is, don't want to be in a position to find out! Haha

 

[defurax]

I also had a good P1 experience earlier this week. It felt like 2019 again!
I was seated in 4C and 4A was also a P1 (with 4B blocked). After J cabin meal service was done the CSM came to row 4 with his iPad for a quick chat and offered us some wine from J and a few refill. Considering how depressing interactions with airport staff have become ( the competent staff are not allowed to do anything useful since the lounge service desk are closed and everyone else seems to be in training) it was great to see a CSM genuinely caring about customer satisfaction.

 

[Matt_01]

Not so much an experience rather than a question has anyone noticed any changes to the 1300 number in the last day or so. When I called the 1300 on Tuesday it worked as normal however when I called it to day there was a wait so I put the phone on speaker and continued working. I lost track of time and when I looked at the phone I had been on hold for around 30 minutes so I gave up and called back thinking it might be a call routing problem. When I called back I noticed that the initial message said the usual 'thanks' stuff and 'welcome to the special services team' or words to that effect.

This evening I called the 02 number and the greeting was 'welcome to the VIP team' and was advised that the call would be answered in 15 minutes. When I got through I dealt with the reason for the call and then asked if there had been any changes to the 1300 call routing mentioning 'welcome to the special services team' the agent advised that the special services team tend to take care of mobility and other special requests. To cut a long story short the agent advised it would be escalated and to use the 02 number for the next 48-72 hours.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Not so much an experience rather than a question has anyone noticed any changes to the 1300 number in the last day or so. When I called the 1300 on Tuesday it worked as normal however when I called it to day there was a wait so I put the phone on speaker and continued working. I lost track of time and when I looked at the phone I had been on hold for around 30 minutes so I gave up and called back thinking it might be a call routing problem. When I called back I noticed that the initial message said the usual 'thanks' stuff and 'welcome to the special services team' or words to that effect.

This evening I called the 02 number and the greeting was 'welcome to the VIP team' and was advised that the call would be answered in 15 minutes. When I got through I dealt with the reason for the call and then asked if there had been any changes to the 1300 call routing mentioning 'welcome to the special services team' the agent advised that the special services team tend to take care of mobility and other special requests. To cut a long story short the agent advised it would be escalated and to use the 02 number for the next 48-72 hours.

This is what happened to me when I tried last week to make an Award booking. The 1300 number put me on hold for 20 minutes and ultimately I think the person who answered was having a bad day.
So I think maybe the 1300 issues might be variable or going on for longer than just the last few days.
I haven’t called for anything this week.

On a completely different topic I notice that my auto seat assignment has dropped off.
On a completely empty flight I’m now allocated row 5 instead of row 4. Has been happening for the last few weeks.

 

[RichardMEL]

re phone number shuffle.. I wonder if this is related to QF getting angsty about the use of the "priority airport numbers" and pointing those to the general lines, and somehow the P1 number has gotten rerouted to the wrong desk by accident.

(personally I have never called that number as the general number works fine for me given putting in the FF# gets routed really quickly - not that I have called much recently)

re auto seat assignments.. I've noticed they have been more "accurate" lately for me in terms of the most fwd option being offered, but what has seemed odd to me has been the algorithm might pick 1A one time, then 1F the next (or row 4 if you like) even if the other is vacant (I have a window as preference in profile). It's more of a fun oddity than anything I worry about but have noticed this on a few flights now.

 

[Matt_01]

re phone number shuffle.. I wonder if this is related to QF getting angsty about the use of the "priority airport numbers" and pointing those to the general lines, and somehow the P1 number has gotten rerouted to the wrong desk by accident.

I would not disagree and would suggest that a change may have been raised at the QF CAB for the 'special services team' and forgotten this was the former team that supported P1. There are heaps of threads around the quality of QF ITS.

 

[Fergo747]

I also had a good P1 experience earlier this week. It felt like 2019 again!
I was seated in 4C and 4A was also a P1 (with 4B blocked). After J cabin meal service was done the CSM came to row 4 with his iPad for a quick chat and offered us some wine from J and a few refill. Considering how depressing interactions with airport staff have become ( the competent staff are not allowed to do anything useful since the lounge service desk are closed and everyone else seems to be in training) it was great to see a CSM genuinely caring about customer satisfaction.

Good to hear this experience - thanks for sharing. It's funny (well sad) to think that I remember this kind of service / interaction when I was a mere WP probably circa 2016 - and I'm talking on a triangle route too, not just on longer flights when they have a bit more time. Ah well, that's enough from me about the 'good ole days'.

 

[Ansett]

Advised by Qantas today via standard email that a flight had been changed between HKT-KUL-SIN from the 25th of the month to the 24th of the month I am supposed to be connecting on QF 36 to Melbourne on the 25th. They cant transfer me to the 24th on QF36 and cant get me to Singapore on the 25th. Looked at alternatives and they tell me cant even get me from Bangkok on the 25th. Not happy. P1 Team seemed disinterested.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Had an invite to a dinner in Sydney (no not Neil Perry this time). At the new Kimpton.
Unfortunately will have to pass as I’ll be in LHR.

Can anyone else who’s going please report back ?

Cheers

 

[sudoer]

Had an invite to a dinner in Sydney (no not Neil Perry this time). At the new Kimpton.

Luke Mangan (ex VA) runs the kitchen at the new Kimpton... P1 sneak peek of a new Qantas menu???

 

[Brettmcg]

Advised by Qantas today via standard email that a flight had been changed between HKT-KUL-SIN from the 25th of the month to the 24th of the month I am supposed to be connecting on QF 36 to Melbourne on the 25th. They cant transfer me to the 24th on QF36 and cant get me to Singapore on the 25th. Looked at alternatives and they tell me cant even get me from Bangkok on the 25th. Not happy. P1 Team seemed disinterested.

That's interesting, as I was originally booked on the QF24 on 23APR22 which was subsequently cancelled. I called P1 VIP and explained I needed to be back in Melbourne on 24APR (next available QF24 service). They offered to put me on TG to SIN or elsewhere to connect with a QF flight, even where no I class was available - comment was "we can do anything we need to on our own services for P1s".

In the end I got them to change the departure point from BKK to SGN (had my choice of VN or 3K to SIN) on a combination of 3K and QF36 to MEL. As @Princess Fiona said up thread, it can still be very much HUACA even with the VIP line.

 

[Ansett]

Not having a good experience so far today.

Have a flight that has been changed and the proposed changes are not suitable, trying to get an alternative. I have called the VIP line and advise was Call would be answered in Under 30 Minutes. Currently at the 20 minute mark. If it takes this long for a VIP I sure as hell wouldn't want to be a Bronze member......

UPDATE Call dropped out and I just rang back on the VIP Number and wait time is now more than 2 HRS WTF???? Have decided to email the VIP Team and get them to call me back. It really isn't good enough. Be interesting to see how long that takes.

Well its approaching an hour since emailing the VIP team and so far nothing also decided to use my second phone and call them so far its been 35 minutes on Hold

Now sitting at 55 minutes on Hold. No email response from VIP Team and no call back either.

Finally after 1 Hr and 38 Minutes on Hold VIP team answered. Still No Email response or call back as requested. Ended up having to cancel part of the trip and book a much more expensive Fare. Not Happy Jan

 

[RichardMEL]

over an HOUR?! That is ridonculous !

I wonder if the Double (things) promo and sale has put extra pressure on the CCs?

 

[Peasant]

I’m not a P1 but can empathise with your experience as a vanilla Platinum who has now been on hold for more than three hours. What on earth is going on!?!

 

[mviy]

They could improve the call times dramatically simply by improving the website to be able to do more online (too many basic things require calling QF) and/or bothering to train up and maintain much higher staffing levels.

 

[Princess Fiona]

over an HOUR?! That is ridonculous !

I wonder if the Double (things) promo and sale has put extra pressure on the CCs?

It shouldn’t matter what DSC or sales are on.
The entire point of the VIP team and number is that it’s supposed to be a dedicated team for P1.

As it requires qualifying for Platinum three times over then I’m expecting a service that’s commensurate with the business I give to QF.

I know I’m preaching to the choir here but I think there are ominous signs here in this thread and elsewhere on SM that the VIP service is at the very least showing the strain and at worst is not fit for purpose.
I was one of the people praising them given my interactions with them during Covid.
Now that travel is starting to get back to full tilt I’m afraid that the set up is not dedicated to P1 and is not resourced to deal with P1 customer service as quickly and efficiently as the previous SST was.

I hope that I am wrong but I don’t get a good feeling about this.

 

[RichardMEL]

Choir is singing "I still call Australia Home" in full agreement....

 

[Matt_01]

@Princess Fiona I have no planned international travel with QF (it is all with SQ and EK) however that could change. I am waiting read/ hear about how the VIP team deal with IRROPS. Posts on this site and P1 FB page is leading me to the conclusion that the VIP Team are just the more experienced AU based CC staff. Like yourself I was all for the VIP Team when it was introduced and they were extremely helpful and at times proactive posted here

@Ansett if you are calling the 1300 number and if so the next time you have to call QF try the standard 131131 number. I have found this to be much quicker and suspect QF have made routing changes to the IVR and buggered it up.

For those of us who have been P1 for while the benefits/service has gone up and down over time but for anyone new I get their frustration or disappointment with the tier level based on what what QF publish. I can still recall the times when being P1 was very beneficial this was one of the times and there were many others some I posted others I did not. Then there is the whole subject of invites enough said.

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

I had irrops 0600 last Thurs which was threatening to cause a misconnect (with next flight not for 2 days). Emailed vip team for assistance. Still haven't received a response.

 

[RichardMEL]

The VIP team is definitely a downgrade on the SST and I miss those CBR based guys/gals (I hope they have somehow retained positions within QF). They are good but they are not great, and I get the feeling the little extras we used to get via the SST are gone. Now to be fair I did get a great VIP team member last week who changed my flights without question and without fare change fee which was greatly appreciated (but given the situation it is what SHOULD have happened with any res agent tbh) but there was still a fair wait on the eau de cologne and it is telling.

It is no secret how the majority of QF customers are being treated by the long wait queues on the phone which is terrible, but seriously for your P1 and CL to have to wait minutes, or even over an hour as above, is simply insane.

How the powers that be can think this is OK is beyond me.