Qantas FF credit expiry within 2 weeks of earning them??

I just flew return business class, multiple legs, starting Sep 16h, returning mid Oct. I noticed that 150 of my status credits "expired" (ie., the ones from September), and when querying Qantas, they stated that my membership cycle is Oct 1st to Sep 30th each year.

So why would my newly flown status credits (ie., between 16 Sep and 30 Sep) all be earned, and then immediately expire? That's insane!

Happens to me nearly every year, I always seem to be in the middle of a trip across my membership anniversary, nothing new with this, they can't just keep it going in perpetuity, what if your trip was 3 months long.

It's pretty simple Marlon...

Status credits are different to points. SC's (as we often refer to them) relate only to your status tier with Qantas. At the end of your membership year they (a) reset back to zero, and (b) get added to your lifetime status total - which drives you toward lifetime silver, gold, or platinum.

Qantas Frequent Flyer points are different - they have no bearing on your status, and are earned and retained in your account whilst ever you meet the annual earn rules.

My membership year often falls around a time when I'm in the middle of an o/s trip. I was lucky this year I picked up a double SC offer and booked a return trip to the US which started 1w into my new year so I got my status year off to a flyer!

Next year I'm not so lucky, I'll kick off a trip to the US 8 days before the end of my status year (damn!).

It's also why you'll see a lot of threads on ET around doing Status Runs - the smart executive traveller knows the value in FF programs is the status...