That would in line with last year's sale. In fact, if I remember correctly I booked my Sake fare on Friday 13!

Wasn't the Sake Fare released on a Thursday (based on POS time). My e-ticket shows 01/13 but I'm ~90% certain that I booked on a Thursday.

my ticket shows 12 jan (thurday) too

Mine too

I booked mine already past midnight so... friday the 13 :D

These dates look suspiciously like the original dates for last years sale. Extended a couple of times due to errors in the texts and IT problems.
This may or may not be coincidence so we have to wait and see.

Curious are QR’s big fare sales bookable through OTAs (I.e. AMEX travel) or only through QR?

They are usually bookable through OTAs but if there are discount codes involved those codes only work on the QR site.

There was even a possible mistake made by an OTA in January 2016 when gotogate was selling QR OSL-BKK returns in J at a 25% ish discount to what QR were selling the same ticket for. I never found out whether it was a mistake but the tickets were honoured and were booked by many as it was all over the blogs. At such a good deal we took my mum as well - first time for her in long haul business class and she had a trip of a lifetime.

Even if they are bookable elsewhere, there are usually advantages to booking at the QR website. Add-ons like STPC, +Qatar, QPoint/QCredit upgrades, and the like, are often only available to you if you have a ticket which begins with 157. Some discounters can issue the tickets on QR "plates" (ticket number starts with 157, "plates" refers back to when travel agent tickets were paper tickets validated with metal plates for each carrier which were imprinted onto the ticket with a credit-card like imprinting mechanism); but I don't know whether QR treats such tickets the same as tickets purchased on the QR website. Logically, there's no reason not to, since airlines stopped paying commissions to travel agents decades ago, but I simply have no specific knowledge in this space.

Ask the AMEX person with whom you speak if the ticket is validated on 157. I suspect that it is. Certainly it will be on an all-QR ticket. You would have to ask QR if tickets issued by independent agents but validated on 157 still count for whatever program/benefit you're looking for.

This is very region/market specific. Sales commissions, and revenue incentives, are certainly prevalent in several Asian/African markets, especially in regions where a bulk of the bookings come in via TAs.

Very sad, no travel festival today. I guess the other speculation could well be right, no travel festival in January this year :(

ILikePancakes just because it did not happen today does not mean it will not happen. As has been reported on this thread in post 165 that it will start tomorrow (9 January). "the other speculation" mostly from me could still be wrong, I hope so!
Please have patience. Wait and see what happens!

lets hope it starts tomorrow. i am banking on that to book a few tickets!