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?

 

[Princess Fiona]

Received the below from the VIP Service Team regarding upcoming travel. Initially got excited as thought they might be offering me an opportunity to book the spa or something but reading through it's pretty generic. Will be interested to see whether I get any further updates in the event there are changes / delays to my flight.

View attachment 275374

I got one of those for my last QF long haul too.

 

[Fergo747]

I got one of those for my last QF long haul too.

And there I was thinking I was special (said well and truly tongue in cheek)...

 

[xtra]

Pre-COVID, the Brisbane Intl Lounge offered champagne to P1s from under the counter.

Now it seems to be $15 Seppelt sparkling for all. Another victim of the pandemic?

Is it the same at other stations where there is no First lounge (thinking LHR in particular)?

TBH the BNE lounge was incredibly underwhelming. The agent on entry was too busy gossiping on a personal call to give a welcome, gesturing for me to scan my pass with limited eye contact. The food at domestic was better stocked. And upstairs was closed, despite it being pretty chokkas.

 

[JessicaTam]

Pre-COVID, the Brisbane Intl Lounge offered champagne to P1s from under the counter.

Now it seems to be $15 Seppelt sparkling for all. Another victim of the pandemic?

Is it the same at other stations where there is no First lounge (thinking LHR in particular)?

TBH the BNE lounge was incredibly underwhelming. The agent on entry was too busy gossiping on a personal call to give a welcome, gesturing for me to scan my pass with limited eye contact. The food at domestic was better stocked. And upstairs was closed, despite it being pretty chokkas.

The QF SIN lounge had champers for P1s (and their equivalent! ) a couple of months ago.

 

[Fergo747]

Pre-COVID, the Brisbane Intl Lounge offered champagne to P1s from under the counter.

Now it seems to be $15 Seppelt sparkling for all. Another victim of the pandemic?

Is it the same at other stations where there is no First lounge (thinking LHR in particular)?

TBH the BNE lounge was incredibly underwhelming. The agent on entry was too busy gossiping on a personal call to give a welcome, gesturing for me to scan my pass with limited eye contact. The food at domestic was better stocked. And upstairs was closed, despite it being pretty chokkas.

Interested to know whether LHR has anything as I’ll be there Friday

 

[Kiwi_Flyer]

Interested to know whether LHR has anything as I’ll be there Friday

Dunno about lhr qf lounge, but cx f lounge definitely had champagne.

 

[New to this]

Interested to know whether LHR has anything as I’ll be there Friday

LHR lounge is operating normally, including champagne.

Regular champagne and then ‘the good stuff they keep for you guys’.

Not sure what it was, Perrier Jouet maybe

 

[DC3]

… Now it seems to be $15 Seppelt sparkling …

When I lived in Adelaide in days gone by, Seppelts we’re known for their outstanding vinegar.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Pre-COVID, the Brisbane Intl Lounge offered champagne to P1s from under the counter.

Now it seems to be $15 Seppelt sparkling for all. Another victim of the pandemic?

Is it the same at other stations where there is no First lounge (thinking LHR in particular)?

TBH the BNE lounge was incredibly underwhelming. The agent on entry was too busy gossiping on a personal call to give a welcome, gesturing for me to scan my pass with limited eye contact. The food at domestic was better stocked. And upstairs was closed, despite it being pretty chokkas.

No it’s not the same. There is proper champagne at LHR for P1. This was the case before Covid and still is now. Earlier in the year it was Laurent Perrier from memory.

EDIT @New to this is correct. It was PJ

 

[Kangol]

No it’s not the same. There is proper champagne at LHR for P1. This was the case before Covid and still is now. Earlier in the year it was Laurent Perrier from memory.

EDIT @New to this is correct. It was PJ

Gold stripe menu at LHR was Perrier-Jouet in early 2020.

Don't think I've seen Laurent-Perrier in any QF lounge.
Have seen PJ in LAX QF F.

JL and EK definitely have LP it in their lounges.

 

[xtra]

Great to hear the vinegar is an enhancement specific to BNE! It's pretty ordinary.

The posts above had me wondering ... how do people identify themselves as a P1 these days?

Pre-COVID, the LAX F lounge consistently led you to the reserved seating in front of the restaurant. It also always happened in HKG (RIP) but IME elsewhere you only get by politely showing your BP at the bar.

Am I missing a secret handshake?

 

[wannabeinvestmentbanker]

Probably identified by actually going to a QF lounge outside Australia when most other OWE are far superior

N.b..perhaps exception LAX

 

[Princess Fiona]

Great to hear the vinegar is an enhancement specific to BNE! It's pretty ordinary.

The posts above had me wondering ... how do people identify themselves as a P1 these days?

Pre-COVID, the LAX F lounge consistently led you to the reserved seating in front of the restaurant. It also always happened in HKG (RIP) but IME elsewhere you only get by politely showing your BP at the bar.

Am I missing a secret handshake?

LHR also always recognized P1.
At LHR they have a separate menu and seating area. Don’t know about the menu now as I was there at breakfast last time but there is still definitely reserved seating.

 

[Mrmaxwell]

A few things...

My Xmas trip to LHR was booked using a travel pass with DSC offer. Never received the DSCs and after several attempts chasing the VIP team I have given up...too many broken promises and countless complaint reference numbers to count with zero follow up.

A few recent trips to LAX in Premium Y I have had the bulkhead seat next to me blocked right up until boarding when QF staff magically appear and take the seat. These are initially blocked as bassinet seats so interesting that QF staff wait at the gate until the very last moment in case they get lucky.

 

[Kangol]

The posts above had me wondering ... how do people identify themselves as a P1 these days?

Pre-COVID, the LAX F lounge consistently led you to the reserved seating in front of the restaurant. It also always happened in HKG (RIP) but IME elsewhere you only get by politely showing your BP at the bar.

Am I missing a secret handshake?

In SIN (mixed lounge) before the F lounge opened, there was a F host at the entry. They were told by the attendants that you were P1. I remember once before the F lounge opened - Taittinger was available that the rest of the lounge didn't have access to.
They also had reserved seating.

 

[sudoer]

In SIN (mixed lounge) before the F lounge opened .. They also had reserved seating.

From what I saw during my brief stop in the SIN lounge over Easter, the reserved seating looks to have been reinstated in lieu of the F lounge remaining closed. There was a roped off area marked 'reserved' in the lounge area down towards the TV, and also in the dining area at the far end towards the shower entry. Not sure about the champagne situation for P1s.

As an aside, service in the lounge was excellent - there was an abundance of staff providing table service from the made-to-order food menu and also taking drink orders and offering refills. I am still at a loss for how this happened, but as I was entering the lounge one of the staff standing near the bar (who I hadn't interacted with at this point) greeted me by name and asked me if I'd like a drink from the bar or order from the dining menu. Presumably lounge entry desk had somehow communicated my name but I was still astonished to see this level of service in a QF lounge (for reference I was flying QF J as a WP with my journey starting in SIN)

 

[Ansett]

I can confirm this as a P1 with two visits in the last couple of weeks. There is definitely a reserved area to which you are shown to by the First Host. Definitely French Champagne and also reserved red and white wines. Service was great very attentive.

 

[Fergo747]

Couple of recent 'experiences' of mine.

As reported in this thread, I received a paltry cheese box when a hot meal was noted (luckily only a short dom flight so not a huge issue) and also some underwhelming crew behaviour in general.

I provided feedback via email to the VIP Service Team immediately post the flight and got a response the next business day (a call which I missed followed by an email) which said:

"I have provided our Qantas Crewing team with your remarks to enable us to look for opportunities to improve our service levels in the future. I would like to apologise for not living up to your expectations during this flight. Please let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with."

Whilst I was pleased to receive a response, I don't feel like much will come from this.

Second one was flying J, SYD-LHR, found it interesting that CSM didn't do the usual meet and greet on either leg of the flight - not just me / any other P1 on the flight but all other J pax as well. Didn't actually see either CSM the entire way. Maybe a change to the way they do things in the post-COVID era? I did however notice that the crew clearly took orders based on status of pax which was good.

 

[Daver6]

Couple of recent 'experiences' of mine.

As reported in this thread, I received a paltry cheese box when a hot meal was noted (luckily only a short dom flight so not a huge issue) and also some underwhelming crew behaviour in general.

I provided feedback via email to the VIP Service Team immediately post the flight and got a response the next business day (a call which I missed followed by an email) which said:

"I have provided our Qantas Crewing team with your remarks to enable us to look for opportunities to improve our service levels in the future. I would like to apologise for not living up to your expectations during this flight. Please let us know if there is anything else we can assist you with."

Whilst I was pleased to receive a response, I don't feel like much will come from this.

Second one was flying J, SYD-LHR, found it interesting that CSM didn't do the usual meet and greet on either leg of the flight - not just me / any other P1 on the flight but all other J pax as well. Didn't actually see either CSM the entire way. Maybe a change to the way they do things in the post-COVID era? I did however notice that the crew clearly took orders based on status of pax which was good.

My bolding above. I find this response condesending. Like somehow you have unreasonable high stadnards. The fact is, the airline failed to deliver the the expectation they set by not delivery the advertised product/service. It reeks of victim blaming.

 

[Fergo747]

My bolding above. I find this response condesending. Like somehow you have unreasonable high stadnards. The fact is, the airline failed to deliver the the expectation they set by not delivery the advertised product/service. It reeks of victim blaming.

I hadn't actually thought about it like that. Maybe my expectations of a hot meal (as advertised) and a drink top up (instead of the three crew members standing in the galley and gas-bagging the entire flight) were indeed unreasonably high...