QFF Platinum requesting release of extra Classic Reward seats?

[vhojm]

Hi all
requesting your help, as I'm looking to make my first request for reward seats.
A change of circumstances means I'm hoping to book six MEL - MCY seats during September school holidays, staying on the Sunshine Coast for a week, dates flexible.
- is there any hope, or am I wildly optimistic?
- will the call centre try different dates & flights for me, or do I need a specific request?
- any advice for maximising my chances?

Thanks for your advice!

Just call and ask and report back.
You can look at loads on expertflyer to see if there is availability before you request and request multiple different flights and be willing to split 3 and 3 or 4 and 2 if you are asking for 6.

 

[J-P]

Hi all
requesting your help, as I'm looking to make my first request for reward seats.
A change of circumstances means I'm hoping to book six MEL - MCY seats during September school holidays, staying on the Sunshine Coast for a week, dates flexible.
- is there any hope, or am I wildly optimistic?
- will the call centre try different dates & flights for me, or do I need a specific request?
- any advice for maximising my chances?

Thanks for your advice!

There are 6 seats available on Jetstar September 29, September 30, October 1, October 2 etc, no call required.

There are 0 seats available on Qantas so I think asking for 6 is optimistic.

 

[_TheTraveller_]

Hi all
requesting your help, as I'm looking to make my first request for reward seats.
A change of circumstances means I'm hoping to book six MEL - MCY seats during September school holidays, staying on the Sunshine Coast for a week, dates flexible.
- is there any hope, or am I wildly optimistic?
- will the call centre try different dates & flights for me, or do I need a specific request?
- any advice for maximising my chances?

Thanks for your advice!

It'll be tough. The earliest date for MEL-MCY is 26/9 and after 29/9 - 3/10 (N Class). No other dates during the Term 3 Vic school holidays have any availability.

 

[dustydustydusty]

Just call and ask and report back.
You can look at loads on expertflyer to see if there is availability before you request and request multiple different flights and be willing to split 3 and 3 or 4 and 2 if you are asking for 6.

Thanks - wasn’t sure if I needed to call with exact flights, or if they would tolerate multiple tries.

There are 6 seats available on Jetstar September 29, September 30, October 1, October 2 etc, no call required.

There are 0 seats available on Qantas so I think asking for 6 is optimistic.

View attachment 508493

Thanks for checking, that’s much appreciated.

 

[dustydustydusty]

It'll be tough. The earliest date for MEL-MCY is 26/9 and after 29/9 - 3/10 (N Class). No other dates during the Term 3 Vic school holidays have any availability.

Thanks for checking this for me, that’s really helpful. I think I’m stuck with reward flights with a Sydney stopover, unfortunately!

 

[PatoRojo]

What did you end up doing? Is the successfully released seat currently being held in your PNR (but unticketed)?

If you’re thinking about it, just remember you’ll need to act soon if you want to keep the CR before it falls away. No guarantees you’ll be successful if you need to request again.

I did end up letting this one fall off. I couldn't justify the additional cost this time.. I will keep my fingers crossed for the upgrade gods to be kind .

 

[_TheTraveller_]

1 x Y seat:

ZQN-SYD 10/6/26 - L9/S8/V8 - denied by bot and manual review.

Times be tough

Edit:

Does anyone know if manual review outcomes change week to week? I'm curious if I put in a manual request T-5 days from departure whether the outcome could possibly change?

Update:

L9 was manually released a week later.

 

[Katie]

Just called and got BNE-SYD-DFW-MCO in mid-August released in Y+ (Y for domestic legs).

 

[muppet]

Managed to get SYD-MEL released in J for the end of the long weekend coming up which is pretty good considering Y fares are going for $500-600. Would have preferred Y but no N class available other than very early morning. WP

 

[philr2000]

Hi all,

I've used the request for release seats successfully before as Platinum, but it's been a few years now...

I'm looking to head to Tokyo in Sept/Oct school holiday period - when I look at Expert Flyer for a range of dates, there's (unsurprisingly) very little availability for Business (I), but zero Economy (Q) when i look over a 2 week window.

i'm looking to call and have economy seats released, but nothing is showing. Is this more likely a reflection of the current climate (peak travel period as school hols, Tokyo popular, fuel prices high etc)? or will seats in Economy 'open up' - i guess other way of asking is , what would have to happen for them to open up?

 

[sudoer]

i'm looking to call and have economy seats released, but nothing is showing. Is this more likely a reflection of the current climate (peak travel period as school hols, Tokyo popular, fuel prices high etc)? or will seats in Economy 'open up' - i guess other way of asking is , what would have to happen for them to open up?

Inventory in those classes would need to be added for you to make the request. If Qantas runs an economy sale on the route, they may load Q class inventory which then allows you to request seats. But it's still no guarantee of a release. You can set up alerts for inventory with a paid ExpertFlyer subscription.

The September school hols are typically when all the group exchange trips between Australia and Japan happen, due to when the high school terms fall in both countries. Y is usually jam-packed with group bookings so I wouldn't hold much hope of Qantas running a sale that covers this period.

 

[elanshin]

Managed to get SYD-MEL released in J for the end of the long weekend coming up which is pretty good considering Y fares are going for $500-600. Would have preferred Y but no N class available other than very early morning. WP

Nice, I've done this a fair few times myself now. Sometimes find J CR even outright. The value per point (even when compared with an Y ticket $) has been solid too.

Hi all,

I've used the request for release seats successfully before as Platinum, but it's been a few years now...

I'm looking to head to Tokyo in Sept/Oct school holiday period - when I look at Expert Flyer for a range of dates, there's (unsurprisingly) very little availability for Business (I), but zero Economy (Q) when i look over a 2 week window.

i'm looking to call and have economy seats released, but nothing is showing. Is this more likely a reflection of the current climate (peak travel period as school hols, Tokyo popular, fuel prices high etc)? or will seats in Economy 'open up' - i guess other way of asking is , what would have to happen for them to open up?

Couple of things to note. Hoping to have Economy open up is actually a lot harder than business. School holiday travel period is definitely going to go against you and Tokyo is a very popular destination. That said, what is available today may completely change in the future (both directions of availability).

That being said have you check all 4 QF flights? That is MEL / BNE - NRT and SYD - HND (twice daily). BNE - NRT generally is the most open. On top of that, you can also do curveball options such as Australia - HKG, Australia - MNL (note BNE - MNL is swapping to a narrow body), Australia - CGK. All of those have JL flights that connect on (and for HKG, CX flights). Singapore is an option too, but it'll be harder to release those than TYO.

 

[sudoer]

On top of that, you can also do curveball options such as Australia - HKG, Australia - MNL (note BNE - MNL is swapping to a narrow body), Australia - CGK. All of those have JL flights that connect on (and for HKG, CX flights). Singapore is an option too, but it'll be harder to release those than TYO.

Hardly worth the hassle of connecting once factoring in taxes on an economy award. Just fork out for cash fares I think.

 

[elanshin]

Hardly worth the hassle of connecting once factoring in taxes on an economy award. Just fork out for cash fares I think.

I guess that depends on cash fare costs. Ive seen some 2k+ AUD return Y fare during peak periods.

 

[philr2000]

Thanks all - cash fares are hovering at $2k return, hence the hunt for points fares! my own fault leaving it to last minute. Will let you know how I get on