Qantas and Jetstar flight credit scheme criticised by Choice

Qantas and Jetstar have been criticised for their Covid credit scheme. Photo / 123RF

Qantas and Jetstar’s Covid credit scheme has been called “unfair” by consumer advocacy group Choice, despite the airlines extending the expiry date another 12 months.

Customers will have an additional 12 months to use Covid credits for flights they could not take during the pandemic, according to an announcement on Thursday.

This is the third time the scheme has been extended since 2020. Customers still have to book their flights before January 1, 2024, but can now book domestic or international flights for any date before the end of 2024.

Choice said the extension is not enough and more can be done to make the credit scheme “workable” for customers.

“Choice gave Qantas a 2022 Shonky award in large part for its unfair flight credit system, which has let customers down time and time again over the past few years,” said Choice’s head of policy and government relations, Patrick Veyret.

“The intense public outrage in response 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 could only be used for bookings of equivalent or greater value, Veyret explained, which was “clearly unfair”. So, if a flight cost $290 and a customer had $300 of flight credits, they may not be able to use them.

Customers have also noted that when they rebook a flight, the cost has increased.

The $2k credit for a $2k flight to LHR that’s now a $5k flight 👏👏👏 The government should be investigating these practices but noooo, they’re throwing cash at you.

— Alexander Swift (@alexanderswift) March 16, 2023

“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,” he said.

Instead, flight credits should work like gift cards, Veyret said.

“People should have the choice to transfer the credits to other people, as well as split the credits over a number of transactions.”

The scheme’s challenges may partly explain why almost half of the total flight credits have been cashed. Only AU$800m of the total AU$2 billion Covid credits have been used by Qantas and Jetstar customers according to a recent analysis.

Most (76 per cent) are worth less than AU$500, almost a quarter (24 per cent) are worth AU$500 - $5000 and less than 1 per cent are worth more than AU$5000.

After announcing the extension on social media, people were quick to fire back their opinions.

“The issue is not the time. The issue is the small print,” replied one Twitter user. “You can’t use those credits to by ‘cheaper’ fares. Need to buy at least same or even more expensive - you end up paying more/on top,” they added.

“The $2k credit for a $2k flight to LHR that’s now a $5k flight,” complained another person.

One criticised the language of Qantas and Jetstar “giving” consumers additional time.

“How noble of Qantas to allow customers to have the product they’ve paid for,” they wrote.

This is not the first time Choice has spoken out about the airline’s credit scheme.

In April 2022, the organisation filed a complaint about Qantas’ credit redemption policy to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).