Success! Requesting additional award seats via QF Platinum Service Desk

[MarcB]

Had a great experience yesterday with booking an ASA via the QF Premium Desk. I needed 2 x PE seats from BNE to JFK. I could see on EF that there was "Z" x 2 on BNE-LAX but only "Z" x 1 on LAX-JFK on the date I wanted. Rang the Premium Desk and consultant set up the booking - which they apparently need to do to request the extra "Z" seat. It came back confirmed straight away!

I had to pay $60 pp booking fee, but well worth it not to have to do separate bookings for the LAX-JFK leg...and in Y!

First time I have used this feature of my Platinum membership and I was really impressed with the service and the speed.

 

[AnonymousCoward]

You got an extra ASA seat released? or a classic award seat?

 

[spentan]

You got an extra ASA seat released? or a classic award seat?

This! If its an ASA, mind=blown!

 

[flyingfan]

Good news. About time us WPs had a win

The one time I needed to call about an award seat it went well and I ended up getting what I wanted.

 

[MarcB]

You got an extra ASA seat released? or a classic award seat?

Booked as an ASA - well technically she said they call it "points plus pay". But it's definitely "Z" class. The ASA terms and conditions also say that any Classic Award can be redeemed as an ASA - so I guess this includes those released for WP members.

I should note though, that I'm still waiting for the e-ticket...so maybe I should wait to see if that says ASA first!

 

[amaroo]

I'm running at 8 requests for 8 rejections......Well done, so happy to hear a success

 

[MarcB]

I'm running at 8 requests for 8 rejections......Well done, so happy to hear a success

Wowsers...perhaps my luck was only because they only had to release a seat on the QF107 service from LAX to JFK. I wasn't asking for a "0" to be changed to a "2" for instance. There was "Z" available on all the other sectors for the 2 pax. Plus it was PE, not J or F...with very light loadings!

 

[AnonymousCoward]

Booked as an ASA - well technically she said they call it "points plus pay". But it's definitely "Z" class.

FWIW, Classic PE awards are also Z class. If you've managed to get an ASA seat opened up, I think that will be a first. But at least we know now that it's technically possible to do.

I should note though, that I'm still waiting for the e-ticket...so maybe I should wait to see if that says ASA first!

Yes - might be worth doing that Please do keep us updated.

 

[spentan]

FWIW, Classic PE awards are also Z class. If you've managed to get an ASA seat opened up, I think that will be a first. But at least we know now that it's technically possible to do.



Yes - might be worth doing that Please do keep us updated.

Please advise, I've got a Classic Award in the works which I wanted to price match through Citibank travel etc etc, but if I can get them to convert it to an ASA, then holyyy cough, that'd be amazing!

 

[MarcB]

FWIW, Classic PE awards are also Z class. If you've managed to get an ASA seat opened up, I think that will be a first. But at least we know now that it's technically possible to do.

Yes - I understand that the classic's book into Z - I was just trying to make the point that she called it a "points plus pay" when I was referring to an ASA, to make it clear that we were not talking about a classic on the phone.

I will definitely update once it's ticketed.

 

[MarcB]

By way of promised update...the e-Ticket arrived in my inbox last night. Checked the fare basis on checkmytrip and can confirm it is ZBPASROW - i.e. an ASA.

 

[Kangol]

The ASA terms and conditions also say that any Classic Award can be redeemed as an ASA

Really?

Well done btw, we will truly know what the outcome is when points/credits are issued (or not) after the flight.
When are you travelling?

 

[MarcB]

Really?

Well done btw, we will truly know what the outcome is when points/credits are issued (or not) after the flight.
When are you travelling?

I couldn't find the specific reference in the T&Cs, but on this page Frequent Flyer - Using Points - Qantas & Jetstar Any Seat Awards there's this statement towards the bottom:

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]You cannot combine a Qantas & Partner Classic Award with a Qantas & Jetstar Any Seat Award in the same booking [/FONT]but seats available on Qantas as Classic Awards with a QF flight number may be redeemed as a Qantas & Jetstar Any Seat Award[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif].[/FONT]

​

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]​

I fly in November - but I am confident given the fare basis (which is different from the classic award basis) that it will post SCs and points.​

​

 

[Kangol]

I couldn't find the specific reference in the T&Cs, but on this page Frequent Flyer - Using Points - Qantas & Jetstar Any Seat Awards there's this statement towards the bottom:

You cannot combine a Qantas & Partner Classic Award with a Qantas & Jetstar Any Seat Award in the same booking but seats available on Qantas as Classic Awards with a QF flight number may be redeemed as a Qantas & Jetstar Any Seat Award.

​

I fly in November - but I am confident given the fare basis (which is different from the classic award basis) that it will post SCs and points.​

That's awesome. The part in bold by itself is what most of us want but have not been able to get, however the first part of that sentence is the part that may be up for interpretation. They could say that it is referring to combining two award ticket sectors (as you have done), not redeeming a single sector booking.

I say this because a few lines above your quoted passage from the same T&Cs page, shows this:

"A Qantas & Jetstar Any Seat Award cannot be changed to a Classic Award or vice versa."

I'll be interested to see what points/SCs get posted for you and your travelling partner on the LAX-JFK leg, hopefully both of you will get credited with full SCs/points!
Please report back

If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay for the tickets?

 

[Kangol]

Just had another thought, if the only way you can "convert" a classic to an ASA (hopefully still at cheap "classic award rates") is to combine a classic with an ASA, then in theory this may be possible:

Say you wanted to go MEL-LHR in J and there were no "cheap" JASAs available, you could combine: MEL-SYD (JASA) with SYD-LHR (J classic) and then end up going MEL-SYD-LHR as a JASA at the classic points rate.

(We can only hope)

 

[MarcB]

That's awesome. The part in bold by itself is what most of us want but have not been able to get, however the first part of that sentence is the part that may be up for interpretation. They could say that it is referring to combining two award ticket sectors (as you have done), not redeeming a single sector booking.

I say this because a few lines above your quoted passage from the same T&Cs page, shows this:

"A Qantas & Jetstar Any Seat Award cannot be changed to a Classic Award or vice versa."

I'll be interested to see what points/SCs get posted for you and your travelling partner on the LAX-JFK leg, hopefully both of you will get credited with full SCs/points!
Please report back

If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay for the tickets?

I think the restriction on changing from Classic to and ASA and vice versa is specifically a reference to changes after booking. For example, if I booked BNE-JFK via LAX as a Classic Award, I can't then ring and ask for it to be changed to an ASA. Of course, you could always cancel the Classic and hope that the award seats reappear and then try to purchase as an ASA, but I would not be holding my breath for the award class availability to reappear.

I think all the statement I have emphasised in bold is saying, is what we all already know - that if a Classic Award is available for a particular flight, it can be redeemed as an ASA.

I should clarify as well, this was all done as a through booking not by combining 2 separate sectors - the ticket shows BNE QF X/LAX QF NYC. It was 96k points (the rate for BNE-JFK) plus about $500 in taxes per passenger.

 

[MarcB]

Just had another thought, if the only way you can "convert" a classic to an ASA (hopefully still at cheap "classic award rates") is to combine a classic with an ASA, then in theory this may be possible:

Say you wanted to go MEL-LHR in J and there were no "cheap" JASAs available, you could combine: MEL-SYD (JASA) with SYD-LHR (J classic) and then end up going MEL-SYD-LHR as a JASA at the classic points rate.

(We can only hope)

I don't think so because you can't combine them - not on the same booking anyway. The only way to book a cheap JASA the whole way would be to ring and request an ASA and then see if they will release the seats in that class (U) for that flight. Or is that what you are suggesting? Find a cheap MEL-SYD and then ring and tell them you want MEL-LHR but there is no U class on SYD-LHR can they please consider releasing??

It's also entirely possible that the consultant I got made a boo-boo as it did take an inordinate amount of time to ticket. However, I suspect if that was the case, they would have either called me to tell me "no can do" or at least to say, "we've made an error, we will honour this booking but please be aware it's not standard procedure".

 

[Kangol]

I don't think so because you can't combine them - not on the same booking anyway. The only way to book a cheap JASA the whole way would be to ring and request an ASA and then see if they will release the seats in that class (U) for that flight. Or is that what you are suggesting? Find a cheap MEL-SYD and then ring and tell them you want MEL-LHR but there is no U class on SYD-LHR can they please consider releasing??

It's also entirely possible that the consultant I got made a boo-boo as it did take an inordinate amount of time to ticket. However, I suspect if that was the case, they would have either called me to tell me "no can do" or at least to say, "we've made an error, we will honour this booking but please be aware it's not standard procedure".

What I'm suggesting, is to have QF release a classic award when one is not available and combine that with a connecting ASA (onto the same booking) so that the classic that was newly released becomes an ASA. AFAIK QF don't release ASA tickets for WPs if you ring up and ask them... or do they? Is it just the "cheap" ASAs that they are not able to release? But if all ASAs and classic awards book into the same class, then how do they differentiate between the cheap and expensive ASAs?

By doing the above, you in theory can get them to "release an ASA" by making the most of a loophole...

What I don't know is if the above was done, what the cash component of your newly released ASA becomes - in the example of MEL-LHR in F, the expensive ASAs come in at nearly 1 million QFF points all inclusive (or 192,000 + $7400) which is a lot more than the cheap ones of ~240,000 QFF points all inclusive (or 192,000 + $626).
The classic equivalent is 192,000 points + $458.

Depending on how points rich you are, if you were able to get an ASA released it would kinda be a waste to not be able to get it at the cheap classic award rate, that is - if that would be possible in the first place.

Wishful thinking maybe....

 

[MarcB]

What I'm suggesting, is to have QF release a classic award when one is not available and combine that with a connecting ASA (onto the same booking) so that the classic that was newly released becomes an ASA. AFAIK QF don't release ASA tickets for WPs if you ring up and ask them... or do they? Is it just the "cheap" ASAs that they are not able to release? But if all ASAs and classic awards book into the same class, then how do they differentiate between the cheap and expensive ASAs?

By doing the above, you in theory can get them to "release an ASA" by making the most of a loophole...

What I don't know is if the above was done, what the cash component of your newly released ASA becomes - in the example of MEL-LHR in F, the expensive ASAs come in at nearly 1 million QFF points all inclusive (or 192,000 + $7400) which is a lot more than the cheap ones of ~240,000 QFF points all inclusive (or 192,000 + $626).
The classic equivalent is 192,000 points + $458.

Depending on how points rich you are, if you were able to get an ASA released it would kinda be a waste to not be able to get it at the cheap classic award rate, that is - if that would be possible in the first place.

Wishful thinking maybe....

I still think you would struggle getting them to combine it with another booking - you can't actually combine 2 separate commercial bookings AFAIK. You can link PNRs, but that will not deliver the result you are looking for. Strictly speaking, I think it's unlikely that QF will release an ASA if asked - mainly because by definition, an ASA is only available when there are commercial seats available for sale - so you can't really ask for an ASA seat to be released. Asking for an award class to be released and then redeeming it as an ASA might be OK by virtue of the fact that award classes are not, strictly speaking, commercial booking classes.