Using Points for Surcharges

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Shano

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Not sure if this has arleady been posted.....

The article is in todays Australian Points to 'double' flight cost | Aviation | The Australian:

The Australian said:
USING frequent flyer points to pay for taxes and surcharges will almost double the cost of some trips when Qantas introduces a system for domestic flights next week.

A return economy trip between Sydney and Melbourne will jump from 16,000 points to 29,000 points using the flat 6500-point levy for each leg of the flight.

Qantas's numbers show customers will pay dearly for the convenience of using their points instead of paying cash for the taxes and charges.

Applying the fees that Qantas charges travellers who want to buy top-up points, 6500 points cost $230 and 13,000 points equate to $412.50. This puts the value of the points used for the return Sydney-Melbourne flight at four times the taxes and surcharges of about $100.

"I think it's outrageous," frequent-flyer.com.au founder Clifford Reichlin said.
"By allowing people to buy points, Qantas has put a nominal value on a point and that should work in reverse."

Qantas defended the 6500 point cost, saying there was no specific value for frequent flyer points and it came down to a question of customer choice.

"In a nutshell, there is no straightforward comparison between dollars and points," a spokeswoman said.

"Points don't have a fixed value because it depends how you use them. In the case of top-up points, they can't be used for the more than 15 per cent of award flights and can only be purchased once every 12 months."

The spokeswoman said there were no restrictions on members who chose to pay for their taxes and charges, and the airline believed the system would be most popular with those who had big balances.

"We introduced using the points to pay for taxes and charges in response to feedback, but ultimately it is up to each member to decide whether they want to use their points in this way," she said.

Mr Reichlin said the value people derived from frequent flyer points depended on how they were used, with seat upgrades providing the best value.
 
In my opinion the only ones who will benefit from this deal are Qantas and those who have more points than they will ever need.
 
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If only you could use points for status credits!!!
 
Hmmm... I like the idea of paying the fuel fines etc with FF points, but this does seem a bit rich when you look at it. :(
 
one9 said:
If only you could use points for status credits!!!

Thankfully you cannot. That would be bad for flyers since greatly expand the ranks of elites. Result - more competition for the few benefits and also removal of some of the remaining valuable benefits.
 
Kiwi Flyer said:
Thankfully you cannot. That would be bad for flyers since greatly expand the ranks of elites.
Totally agree. Airlines need to go back to rewarding their frequent flyers. It will be a truly sad day if all you have to do is be able to earn 2,000,000 FF points a year via credit card and qualify as a WP without having seen the inside of an aircraft.
 
Kiwi Flyer said:
Thankfully you cannot. That would be bad for flyers since greatly expand the ranks of elites. Result - more competition for the few benefits and also removal of some of the remaining valuable benefits.
I must admit that I am liking the DJ "no status" model more and more. I always feel that with QF I am not actually getting what my status should give me (e.g. access to forward cabin seating, better access to award seats, etc) and the reason why is never clear. QFF seem good at dangling the carrot but not always delivering, and the benefits continue to decline over time.
 
JohnK said:
Totally agree. Airlines need to go back to rewarding their frequent flyers. It will be a truly sad day if all you have to do is be able to earn 2,000,000 FF points a year via credit card and qualify as a WP without having seen the inside of an aircraft.

On AAdvantage 1 million miles total (earned any method, flying, hotel, credit card, flowers, etc) gets lifetime Gold and 2 million miles total gets lifetime Platinum.
 
Yada Yada said:
I must admit that I am liking the DJ "no status" model more and more. I always feel that with QF I am not actually getting what my status should give me (e.g. access to forward cabin seating, better access to award seats, etc) and the reason why is never clear. QFF seem good at dangling the carrot but not always delivering, and the benefits continue to decline over time.

The reason is obvious to me - you need a name like Aaron Aarons instead of Yada Yada :D
 
Kiwi Flyer said:
The reason is obvious to me - you need a name like Aaron Aarons instead of Yada Yada :D
If only they would sort FF's in reverse. Perhaps they'd give me the jump seat. :shock:
 
Kiwi Flyer said:
The reason is obvious to me - you need a name like Aaron Aarons instead of Yada Yada :D
That would be trumped by all the Aaron Aardvarks out there :p .
 
Kiwi Flyer said:
On AAdvantage 1 million miles total (earned any method, flying, hotel, credit card, flowers, etc) gets lifetime Gold and 2 million miles total gets lifetime Platinum.
Yes I know but it still does not make it right. Anyway I was referring to QFF.
 
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