Major changes to Qantas Frequent Flyer program

Hi all – Qantas announced major changes to their Frequent Flyer program, arguably one of the leading loyalty schemes in the world.

Key changes (some of which will be rolled out over the next 12 months) are:

• More than 1 million extra reward seats available annually on Qantas and new partner airlines (being Air New Zealand, China Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines).
• Reduced carrier charges – the additional costs associated with flights booked with Points – by up to 50 per cent on international bookings saving members on average $200 per return journey. See examples below for changes in carrier charges and points.
• Changing the points required for reward seats on domestic and international flights including an up to 10 per cent reduction in the number of points required for international economy Classic Reward seats.
• Increasing the points required for upgrades and Classic Reward seats in premium cabins to better reflect the value of this premium experience.
• Creating a new tiered Points Club program to better reward members who earn most of their points through on-the-ground transactions.
• Introducing Lifetime Platinum status, for those who accrue 75,000 status credits. This will be introduced in September.

So, the big winners are

• Flyers who who redeem economy flights, as they see reduced points required, and lower carrier charges.
• People who earn significant amount of points, but don’t travel, as they will see some benefits available to higher status member (who get this through paying for flights)

Small losers are those who redeem for business / first class seats, though the redemption rates for those seats were very generous, and given the quality of product has significantly improved, it was understandable.

See below for examples of changes in points and fees.

So overall, some decent changes (in particular, lifetime platinum, extra seats, and lower carrier charges). This will ensure the Frequent Flyer program remains a leading program for Australians!