Qantas unveils the biggest changes to status in program history

[jase05]

How about on top of fixing the SC earn, they sort out redemptions with their founding OW partner QR...

No thanks
I’m quite happy with QR and QF being enemies

 

[Invisible Monkey]

Current WP retain threshold (if you earn the loyalty bonus): 1150SC

New WP retain threshold: 1400SC

Rollover SC only start accumulating after 1400SC.

Yes, the removal of the bonus is a negative but they have now made SC earn on the ground permanent, which would be up to 140SC earning potential away from flying. So that almost replaces the removed SC bonus.

Also depends on how easy they are to earn on the ground. I completed eight of the ten categories last year, with not too much effort.

 

[lurker]

Absolutely zilch in this for P1s who are QF's most loyal FFs.

If there's 500 SC for rollover available to WP, does this mean you only have to earn 3100 SC for P1?

There might be something small here for some P1s... if the 500 SC rollover counts exclusively towards the QF marketed 2700 SC threshold, that might make it easier to requalify for those who prefer to get their SCs from Oneworld Partners vs. Qantas (i.e. only requiring 2200 QF marketed SCs)

 

[levelnine]

Yes, the removal of the bonus is a negative but they have now made SC earn on the ground permanent, which would be up to 140SC earning potential away from flying. So that almost replaces the removed SC bonus.

Also depends on how easy they are to earn on the ground. I completed eight of the ten categories last year, with not too much effort.

Not really, because you are losing 150SCs from PCP and Green Tier.

 

[TheDefenestrator]

That ability to earn status credits on flights booked with points is perhaps the most sought-after benefit of Points Club. My understanding is that Qantas is currently considering ways to continue offering this as part of its program, but hasn’t yet committed to anything.

This is probably one of the big benefits of Points Club I would like to see rolled into QFF proper, seeing as Points Club is getting axed.

 

[serfty]

My Lifetime SC figure is 42k, earning another 3K would see me with up to 3 banked WP years. I dont see the 4th or 5th in my future.

The two banked WP years I would already give me until the end of 2029 in any case. I'd be approching 72 years of age.

I credited over 600 SC worth of flights to other programs in the last few months as had already requalifed with 1200 SC and I could not see the value. Hindsight is wonderful.

 

[SYD]

Yes, the uncertainty around PC/PC+ is my only concern. Earning SC from CRs is a great benefit. I’ll probably make PC+ for the first time this year (and sounds like it’ll be the last), oh well that could mean 100 + 500 SC rollover! I think I already have 600 or 700 SCs locked in for next member year (without relying on DSC).

GT was fun while it lasted (when it was cheap and easy). Let’s see what the sustainable earn on the ground is, but 10 or 20 SCs for say a bottle of Green Leaf wine might be easier.

Devils in the detail, but it’s not as nasty as the VA hatchet job.

I have a banked year of WP already, so that’s also another good start.

 

[SimonR32]

While this is formally being removed with the retirement of Points Club, I understand that Qantas is considering bringing back the ability to earn status credits on Classic Rewards through a different mechanism. This isn't yet decided or confirmed yet.

This would be good because loss of status on classic rewards (via points club) would be a massive devaluation

 

[Invisible Monkey]

Not really, because you are losing 150SCs from PCP and Green Tier.

Like I said previously, some will benefit more than others from these changes. Impossible to keep everyone happy.

I never achieved PCP or Green Tier so will not miss those SCs.

I usually earned the 50 SCs loyalty bonus once or twice during my membership year so will miss those when they are removed.

 

[offshore171]

Current WP retain threshold (if you earn the loyalty bonus): 1150SC

New WP retain threshold: 1400SC

Rollover SC only start accumulating after 1400SC.

My reading of Matts article is that the rollover scheme starts at Silver though. So a Silver who goes over 300 but doesn't reach gold will gain. Say he reaches 500 for example.

That's 200 excess, which becomes 100 rollover for the following year. A decent head start on retaining silver or attaining gold.

The tiers are like a pyramid, There's far, far more people in the lower tiers, so this potentially benefits a lot of customers.

 

[hb13]

Moving one step closer to a spend-based program with more emphasis on on-the-ground earn.

Does anyone else think that QF is heading this way? I'm assuming with Velocity for example, they would have lost a lot of members after moving to a wholly spend-based program. I'd be keen to know how that affected Velocity and also BA.

 

[CaptJCool]

Seeing LTG took many many years, and I’m using points on classic rewards, and double points not DSC I’m not earning SC AT the rate where I’d qualify for one free WP year. Zero in this for people in the slow and steady boat

 

[levelnine]

My reading of Matts article is that the rollover scheme starts at Silver though. So a Silver who goes over 300 but doesn't reach gold will gain. Say he reaches 500 for example.

That's 200 excess, which becomes 100 rollover for the following year. A decent head start on retaining silver or attaining gold.

The tiers are like a pyramid, There's far, far more people in the lower tiers, so this potentially benefits a lot of customers.

That's right. I was talking about WP. Though the same math could be applied to SG. The only beneficiaries are Silver members because they never got the loyalty bonus in the first place.

 

[buggy00]

The change for the attainment and retainment values in 2027 is interesting. Depending on how they introduce it, I might run into the situation that i need 200SC to meet the 1200SC retainment milestone, but then they pull the rug and make it 1400SC, leaving me short of a total of 400SC in the middle of my membership year.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

It doesn’t affect me so I suppose I can be a bit more laissez-faire with most of the changes. But I can understand getting rid of the overlapping schemes and paths to status… like green tier and PC.

QFFF has to evolve and keep engaged with a new demographic… ones where attention spans extend to a second - or fraction of a second - on social media scrolls. Do they have the time to be researching SCs from green tier if they complete four tasks, or spending $ here to get PC to get SCs from award flights? Or difference between earn and retain levels?

They (we, me!) want simple!

For those still willing to be engaged there’s ongoing opportunity with roll-overs etc.

 

[justinbrett]

My reading of Matts article is that the rollover scheme starts at Silver though. So a Silver who goes over 300 but doesn't reach gold will gain. Say he reaches 500 for example.

That's 200 excess, which becomes 100 rollover for the following year. A decent head start on retaining silver or attaining gold.

The tiers are like a pyramid, There's far, far more people in the lower tiers, so this potentially benefits a lot of customers.

Silver only keeps 25% of excess SC

 

[Beer_budget]

My reading of Matts article is that the rollover scheme starts at Silver though. So a Silver who goes over 300 but doesn't reach gold will gain. Say he reaches 500 for example.

That's 200 excess, which becomes 100 rollover for the following year. A decent head start on retaining silver or attaining gold.

The tiers are like a pyramid, There's far, far more people in the lower tiers, so this potentially benefits a lot of customers.

It's only 25% rollover for PS though, so 50 rollover SCs.

 

[RooFlyer]

‘Simpler and fairer’ - 2026 edition

 

[openseat]

Interesting incentive for LTGs -although only for those who still do a lot of flying.

 

[shuuy]

My Lifetime SC figure is 42k, earning another 3K would see me with up to 3 banked WP years. I dont see the 4th or 5th in my future.

The two banked WP years I would already have give me until the end of 2029 in any case. I'd be approching 72 years of age.

I credited over 600 SC worth of flights to other programs in the last few months as had already requalifed with 1200 SC and I could not see the value. Hindsight is wonderful.

I looked back at my travel. Had lifetime platinum been an option when I was in my heavy travelling phase for work, I would have hit 65k status credits in this period.

Instead I diversified for SQ PPS, VA Platinum, AA Exec Platinum.

As a result only have 35k.... and now 1 free Platinum year someday.