In positive news for anyone with Qantas flight credits left over from the shutdown of air travel, the flying kangaroo and Jetstar are giving customers an additional 12 months to use their COVID-19 credits.
The third and final extension of credits means customers now have until December 2024 to complete their travel when using their credits, instead of the previous deadline of 31 December 2023.
However, customers will still need to book their travel before the end of this year.
The announcement follows other Qantas Group initiatives around COVID credits including double points offers for Frequent Flyers, a “Find My Credit” tool, the creation of a dedicated helpline with specialist staff, credit balance reminders and prompts to use credits when booking flights.
Qantas Group chief customer officer Markus Svensson said Qantas and Jetstar had literally “millions of bookings that were cancelled during several waves of lockdowns and border closures”.
“No airline had systems that were designed to manage that in a seamless way and we realise there’s been frustration for some customers as a result,” Svensson remarked.
“Now that we’re flying again, a huge amount of effort has gone into making it easier to use your credit, from putting 250 specialists into our call centres to building dedicated websites.
“Our main goal is for everyone who has a COVID credit to be able to put it to good use, which is why we’re doing one final extension of the travel expiry date by 12 months.
“This is on top of all the system changes we’re making, so people can be reunited with credits they might have forgotten they even have.
“Whether it’s for a domestic flight in Australia or internationally, this year or next, the extension of the travel date really opens up more opportunities for our customers to plan their next trip.
“Our COVID credits can also be used on sale fares and frequent flyer flight promotions, so customers can get maximum value.”
CHOICE sceptical
Following the announcement, Patrick Veyret, Head of Policy and Government Relations at consumer group CHOICE, said “the intense public outrage” around the flight credit system “has clearly had some impact on the airline – but there’s much more to do to make all credits workable for all consumers”.
“Some Qantas flight credits can only be used for a booking of equivalent or greater value – so if you have a $300 flight credit, you can’t use it to book a $290 flight. That is clearly unfair,” Veyret explained.
“Qantas customers also frequently complain that when they go to rebook a flight at the same time on the same route, they have to pay significantly more when using a credit than they paid for the original flight.
“Flight credits should work like gift cards. People should have the choice to transfer the credits to other people, as well as split the credits over a number of transactions.”
Qantas customers can call the Travel Credit Concierge Team on 1300 171 505 or visit the Travel Credits Hub for information about their credits, while Jetstar customers can use LiveChat.
In February, the Qantas Group named Cameron Wallace as the new CEO of Qantas International & Freight.
