Qantas just expired 200k points I have earned and was hoping to spend soon on account of the points expiring. I have so far asked them to restore it but the only option they are giving is to spend more and earn fresh 3500 points to get it back. How much spend does one have to do at woolies to earn that much?
Has anyone had any luck getting Qantas to restore points outright?
Points take 18 months to expire and that only happens if there is no points activity on your account. You haven't earn any Qantas points at all in the last 18 months? Through Woolies, credit card spend etc?
Can we please change the title to 'I didn't read the QFF T's and C's ….LEL'?
Yeah, I can't muster up much sympathy to be honest. Especially on a site like OzBargain where a lot of deals are basically finding arbitrage opportunities in the terms and conditions of various sites…
Save by the smallprint, lose by the smallprint.
You guys are harsh. It totally sucks to get caught out like this. The same thing happened to me with cash rewards. Luckily they were happy to give my rewards back when I contacted them, without a fight like Qantas.
Woolies used to auto generate ff points so it wasn't an issue. Now I'm fearful of losing qff points and had to log on to my account, wife's account, daughter's account and mother's account to ensure we've all had activity. What a pita.
Now what? Set a calendar reminder to do this every 18 months?? I've done that to stop logons expiring and that's a pita too.
I'm not saying it doesn't suck. But losing FF points isn't like paying for something online and not getting the order, they're "bonuses" - it's closer to (but also not exactly like) finding a price-error and having the order cancelled. Hell, it's even fairer, because it's right there that if your account is inactive for 18 months you'll lose the points.
@HighAndDry:
It's about equivalent to forgetting about an order and it never being delivered, and when you chase them up they're like sorry, too late - T&C says have to complain within 30 days.
QFF points aren't just "bonuses". I made a decision to choose to fly Qantas or to make a purchase or use a card that generated those points - that was part of the deal made at the time. Without the points, I might have flown with an alternate airline, purchased somewhere else etc.
and when you chase them up they're like sorry, too late - T&C says have to complain within 30 days.
It's nothing like that, because T&C's can't override their legal obligation to send you what you paid for.
that was part of the deal made at the time.
So is the part that they expire if the account is inactive for 18 months. You can't just pick and choose which parts of "the deal" you want enforced.
Then let's stick with the non-hypothetical. You agree to the T&Cs, which are legal, that the points expire after 18 months of inactivity. OP's account was presumably inactive for 18 months. It's perfectly fair, even if it sucks for OP. Them's the breaks.
@HighAndDry:
Which brings us back to the start. My point is: the T&C suck. You say fair, I say sucks.
@SlickMick: It doesn't matter if they suck, they just need to be legal, and clear. They are legal, and they are clear. And OP agreed to them. OP either didn't read them, forgot about them, or just didn't abide by them. I don't see how that's anyone's fault other than OP's. Again - I agree that it sucks for OP. But OP really has noone else to blame.
@HighAndDry: I don't think the OP is blaming anyone - I expect just feeling gutted at had something he earned being ripped from him. I know that's how I felt.
Cash rewards told me the purpose of what they were doing was build loyalty, so it was in their best interest to give me my rewards back.
I thought a FF program was also supposed to be about building loyalty, if so QFF is a fail in this case at least.
Every $2000 spent converts to 870 qantas points, so you would need to spend around $8k at woolworths to get 3500 points. https://www.qantaspoints.com/earn-points/shopping/woolworths
There will be better ways of earning points than woolworths though. The wine suggestion sounds alright.
My mum lost 60,000 points to expiry recently and couldn't talk them out of it at all, even with proof she was hospitalised for a chunk of the previous 18 months so wasn't in a state to earn points, and that didn't sway them so you have done well to get them to give you this offer. What did you say? Do you have any frequent flyer status or anything?
No, 2000 Woolworths points converts to $10 Woolworths which they will convert to 870 Qantas FF points.
You don't need to speak $2k; always bonus points on offer at Woolworths to get you there sooner.
You can't do anything unfortunately. You didn't check the T's and C's and haven't earnt any points in the last 18 months - so they're gone. Haven't heard of anyone getting them back after expiring.
You could choose to never fly Qantas agai
If they've expired then you have failed to earn a single QFF point in 18 months.
So many ways to each points, Qantas FF Marketplace, Kogan, Woolworths, Credit cards, BigW, Qantas Hotels, Qantas Restaurants, Deliveroo really so many ways to earn now.
If you need to earn points quick perhaps sign up for a new credit card offer with bonus points.
These sort of "challenges" are not new (https://www.pointhacks.com.au/reader-win-reinstating-qantas-…)
Earning bonus points from an Epiqure deal is often the best way.
Earning bonus points from an Epiqure deal is often the best way.
+1
Did they expire because you didn't earn anything, or because of some mistake or oversight at their end?
Take the 3500pt challenge if its your fault, or ask really nicely. Otherwise let us know what they did wrong!
Q: Qantas Took Away My 200k Points. What Can I Do?
A: You can try post on ozb asking what you can do.
They can take your points, but they can never take your freedom.
hallelujah, brothers!
This has long been a cause of complaint and as a general rule once they are forfeited you can kiss them goodbye. Qantas don't take any prisoners!
Same thing happened to me.
Every few months I'd look at those points & think of the great trip I'd have when I use them.
But there was no points activity - just me eyeballing them & dreaming.
One day I logged onto my account & it was zero. I rang Qantas in a panic but they played hardball. No points Youfah, too bad.
OP, the point are gone, gone gone.
spend more and earn fresh 3500 points to get it back
I don't understand how you can go 18 months without earning points. QFF isn't even my primary program and I still manage to accidentally earn points every now and then.
Download the qantas assure app and walk to get some points
surprised no one else mentioned this.
i changed jobs and i dont fly much anymore..but the qantas assure app just sits there giving me like 1 point or something irrelevant a day.
for having my phone in my pocket pretty much..
Geez. Acquire 3500 pts to get 200k points back!
I'd even buy a ten year supply of tampons to get them back!
Average of 6 hours between tampons so 1 tampon every 6 hours = 4 tampons per day x 5 days of a period = 20 tampons per cycle. 10 years has 120 months which means 120 cycles of having your period. This is equal to 20 tampons per cycle * 120 cycles = 2400 tampons. At 32 tampons per box, that's 75 boxes x $7 = $525.
It will cost you $525 to get your points back. Pretty good deal, should post it up as a bargain.
Should have gone to Costco.
Tampons are much cheaper in bulk
Disclaimer: may or may not be true
Here are few ways to earn some quick QFP
Buy few bottles of vines from Qantas Epiqure https://www.qantasepiqure.com.au ( FASTEST )
1K bonus QFP through every Airbnb Bookings via Qantas https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/hotels-and-airbnb/a… ( AT LEAST WITHIN TWO MONTHS )
Transfer $3500 to your Qantas Cash account in foreign currency and earn 3500 QF points ( up to 50K, depending on how much you transfer ) https://myaccount.qantascash.com/junebonus-registered? alt_cam=au:cs:n:qfapp:ff:junebonuspoints_300518:midcampaign:n:n:n ( WITHIN ONE TO TWO MONTHS )
Pay few months of your rent in advance through rental rewards and earn QF points https://rentalrewards.com.au ( WITHIN FEW DAYS. BUT, TO YOUR QF ACCOUNT, END OF THE STATEMENT )
Also, your first Uber ride booked through Qantas give you 2k Bonus points https://www.qantas.com/au/en/book-a-trip/uber.html ( AT LEAST WITHIN TWO MONTHS )
Don't know how many of these are relevant to you but hopefully will help
https://www.qantasepiqure.com.au/p/Bird-in-Hand-Rose-2017/BI…
$120 to get 5000 points and the full restoration of your balance.
This!
I had the same thing happen to me with Qantas with approximately 250,000 points back around 2013.
All points were accrued through legitimate flying with Qantas - and not the supermarket 'spend money on loyalty card' variety.
I used to travel with them internationally quite regularly for work to the US both economy and business class. Then we had 1st kid and I put a stop to work travel for a couple of years.
There was no bold warning emails or anything like that from Qantas stating that your points were about to be wiped. I logged in to QFF one day and noticed my point balance was zero. Queue phone calls and messages.
Basically there response to my telephone appeal call and facebook post was your out of luck and you could have accrued points in supermarket to keep the account ticking over which would have prevented points expiring. Qantas also made it clear that the frequent flyer part of the business was run as a completely different entity to the actual flight/airline component, and the flight side of things had little influence on the frequent flyer entity regardless of how much business I had spent with them in the past.
My response to them was along the lines - that as can be seen all points were earned actually flying with Qantas - and that I would likely avoid them wherever possible going forward.
Pretty much I've kept my word at least from a 'business' flight perspective (which is where they typically make their margins due to the need for fully refundable fares etc.). For personal flights, I'll generally choose the cheapest.
When approving travel of my staff now, I pretty much direct them away from Qantas and instead request them to use Air NZ, United Airlines or Virgin. Over 5 years, this would have amounted to a couple of hundred thousand dollars of work flights just for my little team.
I've also got out of the trap of focusing on accumulation of a single airline's loyalty points and rewards status tier points. I'll fly the airline with best service / smallest trip duration etc now, rather than only flying Qantas so I get my Gold status or whatever.
The ironic thing is that Qantas' very own loyalty program and its disloyal strict terms and conditions is the reason I now try to avoid them.
A sad tale in a way as it verifies "The Power Of One" is pretty much mythical but also a strong tale as you're stuck it out. Well played madam.
All those who pledged to ban slug 'em GST Hervey please note.
Read this forum
https://www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au/community/threads…
there are lots of hints in there how to get points quickly - Qantas wine is one of the best.
Why is OP asking us? Qantas have already replied.
OP was also fully aware that points were expiring.
Total waste of Ozbargainers time.
Apart from:
- I actually got my points back at one point
- he got suggestions on how to get the 3500 points using "Qantas Wine"
- a reminder to people to check their own points.
If you can't offer anything helpful then why bother commenting.
We spent 6 months arguing with them
I'm sorry but even for 200k points, 6 months of my time is far more valuable doing literally anything else, and most people don't have that amount of free time to spend on getting FF points. I know that you got them back, but it really really doesn't serve as useful precedent for about 99% of people.
That is elapsed time, not actual time. It involved a number of emails going back and forth. I did do many other things for that period as well; sounds like some people can only single task. I think it was worth my time to get $4000 worth of ticket value. I thought I was hard done by then but at least I got my holiday; sounds like it could've been much worse. Speaking of wasting time, surely reading a post and the scolding the OP has to be the biggest one. It takes a couple of secs to glance at the title if you have nothing constructive to say then move on rather than adding a comment.
No way - reminded me to check on my activity.
and a warning to us all to be diligent lest we likewise slip up.
The question is how did you manage to avoid earning any qff points in 18months? easiest way is woolies (unless you are in Tasmania). So maybe sign up for woolworths rewards, ask them if you can buy something on the qantas store? They have sale at the moment maybe they will be happy for you to spend some as least if that saves you from losing them all…
What's the go with Woolies rewards? They ditched the QFF points. Can I still get auto regular QFF activity through Woolies??
You need to go online to the Woolies reward system and indicate you want the points to go directly to Qantas. However, depending on how many points you acrue it might be worth just transferring when they have the bonus offers. I would suggest you switch it on and off a few times a year just to be sure.
Use AwardWallet in the future. They let you know when your points are about to expire.
Love AwardWallet! Has helped me a few times with some of my lesser-used programs not have points reach expiry.
You need to go call them up again and see if there is a note against your account that the 3500 points offer is active and to restore your 200k points.
If not, then you are just being tricked. This is a marketing technique which they can use to trick you and palm you off.
True story, happened to a mate of mine.
Good luck, I would probably try doing the 7% woolies gift card offer like others on ozbargain to reach the goal.
People aren't being helpful here.
How long do you have to earn the 3,500 points in order to restore the 200K balance? Here are the options in order of attractiveness
1) If point transfers are eligible, ask a family member or friend to loan you 3,500 points by transferring it temporarily
2) If time and financial situation allows: get a credit card with a 1.5 points/$ or 1 point/$ earn ratio and
i) Hit the spend yourself
ii) Find friends or family who have sizeable purchases coming up and purchase it for them on your card
3) Meet the spend by by purchasing something refundable, then use up your points balance before refunding the item so Qantas can't claw them back
Not sure if everyone knows about the Qantas Mall? The easiest way to ensure your points do not expire is to use the Qantas Mall to shop. There are heaps of shopping options there including eBay, Apple, Appliances on Line to name a few. For me the easiest way is to ensure any eBay purchase I make is via the Qantas Mall. As long as your cookies are enabled it is easy. Even if you buy something for $1.00 you will earn points and you will never loose the points you have. You need to be smart and maximise the your points. The rules are clear, earn or redeem points within an 18mth period.
I have about 1000 points if you need them, not sure if this counts
Three options come to mind..
1- buy items (like wine) from Qantas website. These sometimes come with xxxxx extra points.
2- If you qualify (which probably you would given that you haven't earned any points in 18 months), apply for Amex Platinum Qantas card. You'd earn 3X points per dollar in supermarket spend so it is easier to build up 3500k points, i.e. under $2k. You would probably earn welcome bonuses too.
3- Hire a qantas point rescue professional from OZB?
Late to the party. But just finished up a Red Plant Survey and thought of you. Was awarded 150 Qantas points. Can't help with how to get your points back. But may I make this suggestion to those who want to make sure their points don't expire. Nobody seemed to mention this. Sign up for the Portal for Red Planet. www.redplanetportal.com.au They send you surveys OFTEN directly to your email. I receive them at least weekly. Even if you don't qualify (which happens very often - they seem to be very picky) you still receive at least 10 Qantas FF points just for accessing the survey and submitting it. Doesn't usually take but a few minutes. Easy way to make sure you acquire points without having to spend any money.
Now I have a question…I have 412,000+ Qantas points. Am not living in AUS anymore but the USA. What's the best way to use them? Can I transfer them to American Airlines? Another post? PS: For those who remember the Ansett clusterf@ck…After that, I swore to never to lose any FF points again for the time that I traded instead of time spent with family and friends. Lost over 200,000+ Just Use them!
Many years ago we had roughly that number of points, enough for 2 round the world economy tickets. We had a similar problem where the points expired. That was back when it was harder to build points without flying. We spent 6 months arguing with them and they wouldn’t budge. I went back over my past emails and pointed out the used to tell us the expiry date in their emails and they had stopped. They huffed a bit then told us we could have our damn points back but we had 1 week to book them. Canada, France we were done. Probably harder to argue nowadays as you can hook them to your credit card, Woolies reward cards etc. Look at this site there have been a number of deals lately, including home delivery ones. If push comes to shove you could look at the Qantas wine deals. Their Giant Steps Chardonnay is not too bad value and that will give you 5000 points.