Hi tinkybelle,
<<I was most concerned about the 5000 point penalty for changing and award flight date.>>
For change of date/time the fee is 2500. The existing fee of 5000 points remains for change of name, class, route, etc.
<<I have a heap of tickets which I will not use untilwell into next year.>>
Why (just perplexed as to the reasoning!)? This is what the fee was introduced so that members would only book when they were sure of their travel plans - this is an effort to improve service levels for other members.
<<they told me that any ticket or booking issued BEFORE the changeover on 15th Sept will NOT iincur the penalty so it is my belief that anyone contemplating a flight next year get the ticket issued before then.>>
Correct.
<<I also asked if the points (as they are in kms) will be reduced by 40% to miles . they said definitely NO.>>
Correct. Points stay as points (no reduction in current balances). See above post on earning points for implications on the number of points earned under new versus old.
<<if that is true then anyone booking an around oz fare can use it till 15th sept 2002!!!>>
You can only book 355 days in advance - but yes you can book an around oz fare up to early Sept 2002 (must be booked before 15th Sept 2001). This long lead time was setup so that QF could meet the maximum number of redemptions under the old system (as points were earned under the old system) - although I am sure some sectors will be hard to get.
Cheers... Bruce