Would You Have Expected a Points UG?

[Shano]

A last minute change to the already last minuted changed plans saw me flying HKG-MEL on QF30 yesterday.

I spoke to a QFF rep to change the routing from HKG-SYD-MEL to the direct HKG-MEL. while I was on the phone I asked for him to lodge a points UG request. This was at about 6:45am HKG time on the 5th (i.e. ~ 24 hrs prior to departure).

I had been checking EF as a day or so before QF30 was showing as fully booked in Y. I rechecked again before ringing QFF to make sure that there would be seats available.

Business class at the time was showing J8 C8 D8 I8 so I was reasonably confident of getting the points UG. When I logged onto my QFF account yesterday morning before leaving the hotel to go to the airport, there had been no reduction in points balance and upgrade status still showing as requested. This was at 7am for a 9:40 am departure. From this it was clear that the UG had not been granted. Out of interest I rechecked EF and saw the following availability: J8 C8 D8 I7

At check-in I also asked how many J seats were available and was told "lots".

So I am a bit surprised that the UG did not come through, particularly as I am WP and the # of empty J seats.

I sent a message to QF via the feedback function on their website asking if there was any reason that the UG was not processed.

Anyone else experienced this before with this much availability?

 

[Platy]

Maybe QF decided they couldn't afford the cost of a J class meal service...or maybe the staff who deal with upgrades had been re-assigned to Brisbane check in...or maybe, just maybe, QF can't be bothered to make the effort to look after a WP customer...

 

[simongr]

My guess would be that the UG wasn't logged by the QF staffer

 

[Shano]

My guess would be that the UG wasn't logged by the QF staffer

I was concerned that it may not have been lodges so I checked the booking under Manage My Bookings on the QF website to check that the upgrade request had been made - it was showing "upgrade requested" so I assumed that it had been submitted correctly.

I was travelling on a full Y class ticket so would have only been 25,000 points for the UG, versus 40,000 had I have been in discount Y.

 

[serfty]

... This was at about 6:45am HKG time on the 5th (i.e. ~ 24 hrs prior to departure). ...

I hazard a guess you missed "the boat" by an hour or so.

From experience many morning flight upgrade requests are processed the day before around 9am MEL/SYD time - 6:45am in HKG is 9:45am in MEL.

Maybe in this case they did not revisit requests for this flight at a later time.

 

[Shano]

Hmm, something to consider next time.

I have been successful at the T - 25 hour mark for an evening flight out of HKG, but never chanced my luck like this for a morning flight.

When I initially asked, the QFF rep said it was too late, but I questioned whether it was "more than 24 hours before departure", which he agreed and therefore submitted the request.

Oh well, 25,000 points to use another time.

 

[Shano]

Just for the sake of going through exercise, I used the feedback function on the QF website to question the points upgrade process.

Following is a snippet of the reply I received (within 24 hours which I thought was pretty good)

Dear Mr Shano

Thank you for your recent feedback regarding Frequent Flyer Upgrade Award availability.

I can understand your disappointment [EDIT: maybe I was being a bit melodramatic] at not being successful in obtaining an upgrade on your recent Qantas flights. I’d like to explain that the conditions for obtaining upgrades are tied in with commercial demand. Upgrades are subject to capacity controls and availability is limited.

We allocate a certain number of Business class seats for passengers upgrading using points or credits. Seats for domestic upgrades are made available on a first come, first served basis, in the same manner as those for other award or paid fares. International upgrades are allocated by Status level, five hours prior to check-in.

The number of seats made available depends on a range of factors; including date, season and destination. There is also a balance between making available the optimum number of seats to be sold while also preserving a supply of seats for upgrade redemptions.

On routes where demand is high, award seats are often booked well in advance of the flight departure. However, we regularly monitor our flights and depending on demand, we may be in a position to make additional seats available for upgrades closer to the time of departure.

The interesting point here is the "5 hours prior to departure". This seems to be at odds with what has been reported on this site as well as past experience, where points are deducted and the booking class changes to BUSINESS at about the T-20 hour mark.

Either there is no methodology to how the UG's are processed (I do not think this is the case) or the CSR that replied to my inquiry does not understand the process correctly (most probably the case).

 

[simongr]

Interestingly as a QF SG my upgrades seem to be processed around the 5 hour mark. Perhaps it is different for WP?

 

[Shano]

Possibly. I have only ever been successful with points UG's as a WP. The most recent one being LAX-SYD, where the UG was confirmed the morning of the flight when I logged into my account - some 18 hours before departure.