QFF Platinum requesting release of extra Classic Reward seats?

[jimmy hutspah]

I actually don’t think this would be helpful. Too many nuances of fare buckets available and alternative dates/ routes etc for QF IT to ever get a sensible solution.

Yea maybe a pipe dream an IT solution. I just get so frustrated spending an hour or two every time trying to do it via the 13 number. Maybe if they could guarantee an actual Premium operator for WP and above would alleviate that. I don’t call that much but in the last 5 years I reckon I only get Hobart 1 out of every 10-15 calls.

 

[DAC1]

Source?

Wait and see…

 

[levelnine]

Source?

It's not yet public. I'll share more once it is.

 

[elanshin]

Yea maybe a pipe dream an IT solution. I just get so frustrated spending an hour or two every time trying to do it via the 13 number. Maybe if they could guarantee an actual Premium operator for WP and above would alleviate that. I don’t call that much but in the last 5 years I reckon I only get Hobart 1 out of every 10-15 calls.

I've found south Africa to be adequate these days. Its pretty clear they got a lot more training and power to do stuff iver the last couple of years.

They're not perfect nor are they (typically) as good as the Aussie teams, but for platinum requests they're usually more than capable of that.

 

[vhojm]

No Luck with the droid on March 21st for the following:

• QF80 NRT-MEL
• QF108 CTS-SYD
• QF26 HND-SYD

All flights showing as either I7 or I8. Escalated for manual review but instantly declined as they are unwilling to release any more seats to Japan in March or April Would have thought coming back from Japan in that week wouldn't have been an issue as its not holidays yet and cherry blossoms start shortly after.
Also, due to the DSC, all other Asian cities have had I fares zeroed out in March and was advised to call back after the promo.

Hobart team, extremely helpful and even offered me routes home via LAX lol.

Ended up booking HND-PVG-TPE-MEL on JAL and China Airlines as was able to find Classic rewards that way. Will certainly be trying to get a last minute released business reward on CX HKG-MEL or something similar.

QF79 had readily available business reward seats that week on the way there.

 

[levelnine]

Another year, another successful release of 2x seats to the US over peak Christmas season. Only J on the outbound (F on the inbound), but I'm fairly confident I'll be able to call and get F released closer to the date. Main priority was creating the booking during the DSC period.

 

[justinbrett]

Just got U released on the inaugural SYD/LAS QF55, and QF56 5 days later. Both only had D available. Very impressed.

 

[mviy]

Is ExpertFlyer still the recommended tool to check loads ahead of requesting seat releases?

 

[elanshin]

Is ExpertFlyer still the recommended tool to check loads ahead of requesting seat releases?

If you already have access to it, yes its quite helpful.

 

[mviy]

If you already have access to it, yes it’s quite helpful.

I have only ever had the free version. Thinking of subscribing to it or another tool if a different one is preferred.

 

[henrus]

Is ExpertFlyer still the recommended tool to check loads ahead of requesting seat releases?

ExpertFlyer still works fine but given how many things it used to do that no longer exist I can't justify paying for it.

Before requesting I just do a search on the Amex website, it shows the fare classes and for domestic point to point not a problem as married or return fares don't play a part. On an international flight 99% of the time a return search captures it. Navan is also good one if you register yourself for a free account. ExpertFlyer shows some odd results so can't be trusted.

Likewise for a WP looking for international, if you see a "sale" fare type in Economy, PE or Biz then it's got the right fare types.

Now sure these searches don't show the exact picture but if you see something in the following fare category then it's fare game (pun intended).

	WP	P1
Dom Eco	E, G, L, M, N	E, G, L, M, N
Dom Biz	D	D
Intl Eco	E, N, O, Q (also easy as these are all the Economy Sale fares)	E, N, O, Q, G, K, L
Intl P Eco	T (also easy as the only PE Sale fare type)	T, R
Intl Biz	I (also easy as the only Biz Sale fare type)	I, D
Intl First	A	A, F

 

[Daver6]

Is ExpertFlyer still the recommended tool to check loads ahead of requesting seat releases?

If you haven't already claimed your free trial, then try that.

I just paid for a month during the DSC to make my life easier trying to find flights that are likely to have seats released. $10 USD well invested I thought.

 

[Captain Halliday]

I have only ever had the free version. Thinking of subscribing to it or another tool if a different one is preferred.

If you do opt for a paid subscription, my referral offer - or that of another AFFer - will get you and the referee a small credit.

See here