Qantas Platinum Status – Got it! Guide

NOT an offical Guide

This is not an official guide to the benefits or otherwise of gaining Qantas Platinum Frequent Flyer status. In fact its the opposite. It’s the undocumented benefits I have noticed about service from Qantas since I attained Platinum status.

Lets start with a summary of the official benefits . . .

The Official Benefits

Here is a quick summary of the listed benefits of the Qantas Platinum tier of Frequent Flyer membership:

• Priority check-in
• Priority baggage on Qantas, regardless of your class of travel
• Extra checked baggage allowance
• Priority boarding
• 100% more Qantas Points
• Loyalty bonuses
• Priority International upgrades
• Additional access to some Classic Flight Reward seats
• Priority Economy seat purchase for two
• Preferred seating
• Domestic business lounge access before or after your flight
• Guest access to lounges for 2 guests
• Business and First Lounge access – including OneWorld member lounges
• Status Hold – Parental Leave benefit
• All the benefits of OneWorld Emerald Status

The Unofficial Benefits

Below is my list of unofficial benefits as experienced by me, myself as a Platinum Member:

Booking seats

About 3 days out, rows 4 and 5 (first two rows of Economy) become bookable on domestic 737-800’s, and I find that I have more access to the desirable row 4. Previously as a Gold member – I think these only became available one or two days out.

Domestic Upgrades

Although in the published benefits of Platinum Status, you are promised priority for upgrades on international flights, the official benefits do not mention domestic upgrades. My experience is that you get priority here as well.

I have requested 3 domestic upgrades recently: for two seats on SYD-PER and one on PER-ADL (Sydney to Perth, and Perth to Adelaide). All have been granted, and I have been notified about 3 days out. When I severed my booking with my husband who is only Gold Status – he did not get an upgrade on the PER-SYD, whereas I did on my rebooked PER-ADL.

Earlier flight

Due to traffic and potential complications of bad weather, I got to the airport a couple of hours early, intending to work in the lounge. On check in, I was immediately offered an earlier flight, that was in the process of boarding, but was told that only middle seats were available. I declined the offer because – I hate middle seats, and if there was a delay or cancellation to my booked flight – there was still a later flight available.

In flight recognition

On most flights since achieving my Platinum Status, I have had the flight manager come up to me and acknowledge my status, and ask if there is anything I wanted, or they could do for me. Sometimes this has been a little ‘by-the-book’ but other times it has been warm and felt genuine. Its also made asking for that extra wine easier!

Premium Passenger phone assistance

This may just be co-incidence, but when I have had to deal with the frequent flyer call centre, and have entered my member number, I have been referred to the Australian call centre, instead of the overseas service you usually get. The Australian premium call centre seems to have a little more discretion, and a can-do attitude to passenger issues. They swiftly dealt with flight changes when I needed to separate and re-route a domestic flight so I could attend a friends mother’s funeral.

2PAXfly Take Out

I have been in the air each week of the last five weeks, mainly travelling on my own, and including some long domestic trips (3 to 5 hours).

Much as I like flying, I find being regularly in the air often lonely and dispiriting.

The small touches of recognition and the priority for upgrades have taken some of the drudgeries out of this kind of constant flying. It is the unexpected small acts of kindness like offering to hang your suit bag, or gesturing for you to head through to the business class toilet – when you are heading for the economy toilets at the back of the plane – that induce loyalty.

On the other hand, it is the incidental discourtesies such as that exhibited by the Qantas Mean Girl, that can destroy that loyalty in one act.

Have you experienced any undocumented benefit of being a Qantas Platinum Frequent Flyer?