Qantas unveils the biggest changes to status in program history

SYD+1 just asked me a curly one.

Someone who is LTG has a requal threshold of 0 SCs each year. Does that mean they rollover 50% of any SCs earned (up to 300)? šŸ˜‰

Edit:
The QF FAQ at the link above does states that Gold is eligible for rollover for any excess over 700 SCs. Although it doesn’t mention LTG. Curious, what does someone who’s LTG (but not P1/WP) see for ā€œretentionā€?
The FAQs include this:

[Who is eligible:] Members who attain or retain Silver, Gold, Platinum or Platinum One status, as well as members who hold Lifetime Silver, Lifetime Gold and Lifetime Platinum status.

Members who hold a higher annual tier than their Lifetime Status will receive the rollover amount of the higher annual tier (e.g. A Lifetime Gold member who holds an annual status of Platinum, will receive the Platinum roll over)

Reading between the lines, that sounds like that for a LT Gold who isn't Plat/Plat1, their threshold for rolling over credits will still be 700 SC like a normal Gold member. Below that, they're not going to take away your LT Gold obviously but you're not going to get any carryover.

As others said, it will be interesting as to how they handle rollovers when dropping a status - whether if you only get 600 SCs and ∓ don't retain Gold, whether they say you still "retained Silver" and get to keep the 75 SC you'd get as if you were Silver before. (I can see where this can then be used to construe reasoning for a hard landing if you ended up with <300, say, but I sorta feel like this'd be marketing suicide for them to do, rather than just say you have no carryover... time will tell)

-

I suspect my personal feelings on these are a wash, but I'm someone who kinda oscillates in the roughly "Silver + regular Pts Club" range usually, which means I'll be hanging on what they might do with the classic reward status earn of the latter - but the credits gained or lost either way aren't too much even with that. Those on higher status levels or have been able to reach Pts Club+ have reason to think about it a bit more, for sure.

Getting rid of the sub-programs at least helps focus their offering - that said, it'd be weird if they got rid of the "frequent spender" part entirely and in hindsight the 2025 earn-on-ground was a curious trial on whether they could get people to spend in more categories regularly rather than just pump multiple-'00k QF points through a credit card (either spend or new card bonuses) that could be used for Pts Club+. I wouldn't be surprised if the only main difference between 2025's EoG offer and the permanent offering is them bumping up the credit card offering to as much as 50 SC (from 20), to not discourage "frequent spender" types entirely.

Fair points made about how those who've earned enough to get the bankable Platinum year at 25k, 35k, ... aren't likely going to use them until they're finished flying enough to be earning Platinum naturally (assuming it's not enough to get LT Plat). If anything it's a way to get those at that end of the age scale to keep flying QF as part of the higher-end market (think tours, river cruises, etc) rather than go elsewhere I guess.

There's just so many variables with it, especially the consolidation of Pts Club that whether you're a winner, a loser, or a "meh, breaking about even" is going to end up very different compared to something that only affected flight earn. I don't think there's anything there that'd actively drive me to spend more with them, though maybe not much to drive me to spend less either.
 
Im not happy about the points club changes, but from a confusing point of view, it was definitely confusing for the masses. Lots of confusion around having a progress bar with points on it and a date (will i lose my points after the date, whay does it say one number here and my total is different).
That's probably because you fly way way too much @elanshin ! :D :D
 
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Thinking about this more, possibly the only thing this incentivises me to do right now is burn points (in the form of CRs) instead of booking rev flights for the current DSC. I was actually going to do the opposite, but I may as well earn SCs while the PC sun shines.
 
As I was reading through I got the impression that on the whole the changes are positive.
That is until I got to the retain devaluation, which is a massive backward step for me.
Retaining plat will mean an increase of 17% (similar for gold and even more for silver). So it's questionable whether I will get there at all, let alone having any SCs to roll over.
Time to move to a different program?
 
Curious....
Status Credit roll over
Get a head start on retaining your tier or reaching the next one with the ability to carry up to 50% of any excess Status Credits into your new Membership Year, based on your tier. This new feature is designed to give you an extra boost toward more benefits and will replace the existing Loyalty Bonus.

From the Program Changes FAQs -:
Will the Status Credits I earn on the ground contribute towards Lifetime Status?
Yes, the Status Credits you earn on the ground will count towards Lifetime Status.
They will, however, not count towards Loyalty Bonus, Platinum Bonus Reward, Platinum One Bonus Reward and Status Accelerator/Challenge earn requirements.

So Loyalty Bonus is being replaced by Status Credit roll over, but Loyalty Bonuses etc will be available (but not triggered by Status Credits On The Ground)? šŸ¤”
 
Time to move to a different program?
I’ve just updated my spreadsheet on Qantas earn and Qatar earn to reflect the new QFF Plat retain and the quantum of rollover.

On present bookings through to November, my scenario hasn’t changed. Still retaining QFF platinum and QRPC gold to Feb ā€˜27, but with fewer surplus QFF SCs that might’ve either being rolled over or put over to QRPC to go for platinum. So the net effect for me is negative.
 
Curious....


From the Program Changes FAQs -:


So Loyalty Bonus is being replaced by Status Credit roll over, but Loyalty Bonuses etc will be available (but not triggered by Status Credits On The Ground)? šŸ¤”
That’s not a change. You have always had to earn the 2500 SC on BIS flying on QF codes for the 50K/ Gold etc. No DSC, no SC on the ground.

EDIT: I think the second part is just reflecting what happens currently.
 
As I was reading through I got the impression that on the whole the changes are positive.
That is until I got to the retain devaluation, which is a massive backward step for me.
Retaining plat will mean an increase of 17% (similar for gold and even more for silver). So it's questionable whether I will get there at all, let alone having any SCs to roll over.
Time to move to a different program?

yeah it all seemed pretty good and positive until that - that seems like a strange decision which will decrease loyalty for a lot.
 
That’s not a change. You have always had to earn the 2500 SC on BIS flying on QF codes for the 50K/ Gold etc. No DSC, no SC on the ground.

EDIT: I think the second part is just reflecting what happens currently.
That's right. It's strictly from flying QF/JQ base sc earn. However the Plat bonus is at 2400sc for the 50k/comp gold not 2500. The P1 bonus does kick in at 5000sc though. Minor point but thought I'd clear it up for anyone going through angst of thinking they need an extra 100sc for the Plat bonus.
 
One thing worth flagging here is the following from their FAQ on these enhancements:
Is the number of Status Credits required to attain my status changing?
No, the number of Status Credits needed to attain Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One status as well as Lifetime Silver, Lifetime Gold and Lifetime Platinum are not changing.

So that means that at least for the next year or so we shouldn't see any surprise hike in the number of status credits to earn status.

As I was reading through I got the impression that on the whole the changes are positive.
That is until I got to the retain devaluation, which is a massive backward step for me.
Retaining plat will mean an increase of 17% (similar for gold and even more for silver). So it's questionable whether I will get there at all, let alone having any SCs to roll over.
The rollover bit is nice but yes I have to agree that this will make things trickier for people who just slip by. Last program year I earned exactly the 600 status credits required to keep QF Gold status and that was after taking a trip to INV from FRA in BA J.

On the other hand an argument could be made that eliminating the reduced status credit requirement to retain status is an improvement on the Lifetime status program since it now means you get closer to lifetime Silver/Gold every year you go for status. Then again, one wonders why they have rollover if their aim is to incentivize people to earn lifetime status.
Time to move to a different program?
If you think the grass is greener elsewhere, I'd encourage you to consider those alternatives before you pull the trigger. I think what you will see is many of the other frequent flyer programs are considerably less attractive than that of Qantas. Just look at Virgin where status is not only tied to $$$ spent on Virgin Australia flights but also the bulk of your flights must be through them too! And don't get me started with Delta, United or British Airways where you are going to have to shell out considerable bucks before you get any semblance of reasonable status. There is a reason why I, who am now based in Germany have sought to keep my Qantas Gold status even if it means figuring out a way to take those 4 QF flights every year!

-RooFlyer88
 
That's right. It's strictly from flying QF/JQ base sc earn. However the Plat bonus is at 2400sc for the 50k/comp gold not 2500. The P1 bonus does kick in at 5000sc though. Minor point but thought I'd clear it up for anyone going through angst of thinking they need an extra 100sc for the Plat bonus.
Thank you šŸ™šŸ»
 
The banked years of Platinum is a creative way to try to stop people having too many years of LTP.
 
Well, I've just requalified for PC+ until Sep 2027. Seems that it's down the gurgler now. Thanks Qantas. Talk about stringing people along.
 
So which one would you go for?
I guess everyone’s situation is different. I honestly don’t think any program is perfect but you need to consider your travel/spend patterns and weigh up the pros and cons. I closed my QF account and went to BAEC but their changes hurt big time so I’m currently QRPC and that works but is far from perfect
 

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