Qantas flyers urged to redeem extra perks

by James Wilkinson

Qantas Frequent Flyer has revealed over 100,000 Points Club members have unclaimed travel benefits like lounge passes, hotel discounts and bonus points waiting to be used.

The carrier launched Points Club in March 2020 to reward members who earn lots of Qantas Points through ‘frequent buying’ on the ground, like doing their weekly Woolworths shop, using their credit card or paying an energy bill. The program is designed to complement the existing flying tiers that reward members who travel regularly.

Points Club has two tiers with entry to each based on earning enough points in one membership year. ‘Points Club’ is accessed by earning 150,000 Qantas Points, while the exclusive ‘Points Club Plus’, which offers richer member benefits, has a higher annual threshold of 350,000 Qantas Points.

A recent audit identified that although eligible frequent flyers had been notified that they qualified for Points Club, a large number had not taken advantage of the program’s perks including Qantas Club memberships and lounge passes, car hire upgrades, bonus points on hotel bookings and discount wine.

Qantas Loyalty CEO, Olivia Wirth, said while Points Club had grown by 35 per cent in the past year, thousands of members were yet to use the program to its full potential.

“We introduced Points Club to ensure that our frequent buyers who earn lots of points on the ground, got to enjoy travel perks associated with frequent flying,” she said.

“As travellers head off for a holiday, they could be missing out on enjoying our lounges or getting discounts off their hotel stay. We’re encouraging all Frequent Flyers to check their accounts to see if they are Points Club members.

“Over the past 12 months members have accelerated their balances, earning an average of 160,000 points from non-flying activities. In recognition of the growing number of frequent buyers in the program, we’ve added even more travel and lifestyle perks to reward their loyalty.

“Around two-thirds of Qantas Points are earned on non-flying activity so the potential to build large points balances on the ground is huge.

“Last year, one member earned close to three million points on the ground alone, that’s enough points for 25 Sydney to Auckland return Classic Flights in Business or a month’s stay at The Langham hotel in Melbourne,” Wirth said.

All Qantas Frequent Flyers including Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members are automatically eligible for Points Club and once they achieve the points threshold are informed via email and through the Qantas app.

New benefits added today include a Qantas Hotel voucher, a Qantas Wine Voucher, a reward of 2,500 points for earning 250,000 eligible Qantas points and exclusive access to flying offers.

From today until 20 May, Points Club members will have exclusive access to a Double Status Credit offer on flights to anywhere in Australia and New Zealand. Points Club members were also given exclusive pre-sale access to the Qantas Mystery Flights.

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