Widow "cranky" after Qantas denied late husband's points claim
A widowed grandmother has been left frustrated after Qantas refused to let her claim the 6,800 frequent flyer points in her late husband's account.
72-year-old Rhonda told Yahoo that she reached out to the airline after Brian - her husband of 52 years - passed away in May.
Rhonda hoped to claim his frequent flyer points, but was met with a brutal rejection letter instead.
While they offered their "sincere condolences", it also stated Qantas' "terms and conditions" didn't allow such a transfer, and Rhonda was asked to send through a copy of Brian's death certificate so they could close his account.
"I know it's not a lot of points but it's the principle of it because, damn, you get hardly anything out of it anyway," she told Yahoo.
"I just thought it would naturally come to me so, once I told them he passed away, I could've easily gone in and transferred them to myself without telling them but I wanted to do the right thing."
Four months later, Qantas announced that from October they would change their policy to allow next of kin to claim frequent flyer points.
When Rhonda heard about this, she reached out to the airline again.
"I immediately wrote back and said that, 'After hearing the news item, I was under the impression you were now looking at this'," she said.
"I haven't heard a word back since. I don't know if they're just ignoring me.
"I've just had enough," she added.
The grandmother-of-five added that she was "cranky" with the airline.
"Everywhere I turn there's a barrier, and what's 6,800 points to them?
"They are trying to keep their reputation intact and until I heard that announcement I was done with it. Now I still haven't heard and I am cranky about it," she concluded.
Fortunately, after Rhonda shared her complaints with the media, Qantas eventually credited her the points, although she remains unimpressed with the "ridiculous" process.
A Qantas spokesperson has also offered their sincere apologies to Rhonda.
"Our customer team have been in contact with her to advise that her husbands' points have now been transferred to her frequent flyer account," they said.
Rhonda said that she hopes to use the points for a holiday and explore the outback in the iconic The Ghan train next year.
Image: Daily Mail/ Getty