The biggest overhaul to Qantas’ loyalty program in its 32-year history has been unveiled and Frequent Flyers have come out on top thanks to a big fee drop for international reward flights.
The changes, which are part of a $25 million investment, will also see Frequent Flyers have access to more seats and enjoy more rewards for earning points on the ground.
Let’s take a look at the major initiatives to be rolled out to members over the next 12 months,
Firstly, The Flying Roo will be adding more than 1 million extra reward seats available annually on Qantas and new partner airlines.
They will be slashing carrier charges (the additional costs associated with flights booked with Points) by up to 50% on international bookings. That’s a big win and will save members on average $200 per return journey.
Qantas is also changing the points required for reward seats on domestic and international flights including an up to 10% reduction in the number of points required for international Economy Classic Reward seats.
Heads up though, they are increasing the points required for upgrades and Classic Reward seats in premium cabins.
They’re also creating a new tiered Points Club program to “better reward members who earn most of their points through on-the-ground transactions”.
Finally, they will introduce Lifetime Platinum status, the ultimate recognition for the airline’s most loyal flyers.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the changes are about strengthening Qantas Frequent Flyer to keep delivering for its almost 13 million members.
“These changes are about making it easier for members to access those rewards and help to keep them highly engaged, which in turn is good news for our business as a whole.”
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce
“We know the majority of our members want to use their points to take a dream trip overseas, so we are adding more reward seats including First, Business and Premium Economy, to places like London, Los Angeles, Tokyo and Singapore as well as slashing carrier charges,” he said.
“While the points required for business class seats on international and domestic flights will increase slightly, it is the first increase in 15 years and the product has improved a lot in that time.”
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