Qantas has quietly slashed the number of frequent flyer points and status credits earned when flying on many partner airlines. It’s the second major change in as many years, and many members are not happy.
Status credits determine a member’s elite status level with the airline, so a decrease in the number of status credits earned will make it more difficult to attain Silver, Gold or Platinum status.
Qantas members flying on Qatar Airways and Malaysia Airlines seem to be the worst affected. For example, Qatar’s flights between Sydney, Melbourne and Doha now earn just 40 status credits in Business class. This is half of the amount currently earned and about a fifth of the number of status credits earned on Qantas’ own flights to Dubai.
The complete program overhaul leaves many routes worse-off, but thankfully there are some exceptions. A handful of routes, including flights between Asia and Europe will actually see a modest increase in earning rates. There are no changes to earning on Qantas’ own flights.
A number of confused members have unkindly described the new system as a “dog’s breakfast”. Europe is now divided into three separate zones, and the number of different tables required to explain partner airline earning rates has increased from one to thirteen. Some members are also critical of the short notice provided by Qantas. The changes come into effect on 1 December, meaning Qantas has given just half of the required three months’ notice flagged in the program’s own terms and conditions.
The easiest way to see how your flights will be affected is to use the Points Calculator on the Qantas website. Simply input dates before and after 1 December, 2015 to compare earning rates under the old and new systems.
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