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Home » Qantas » Warning: Qantas To Announce “Overhaul” Of Frequent Flyer Program
NewsQantas

Warning: Qantas To Announce “Overhaul” Of Frequent Flyer Program

Matthew Klint Posted onJune 19, 2019November 14, 2023 8 Comments

a woman in a chair with a woman in a chair

Qantas will unveil “the biggest overhaul to the airline’s loyalty program in its 32 year history” tomorrow. Be very afraid. A frequent flyer program that already lacks value will likely become even less valuable.

Forgive my cynicism, but when was the last time airlines actually made positive changes to their loyalty program? The best we can ever hope for, in the evolution of a frequent flyer program, is “not too bad” of a change.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce and Loyalty Chief Olivia Wirth will announce the changes at a formal press conference in Sydney at 10:30 AM local time.

On the one hand, Qantas Frequent Flyer (as the program is called) has interesting partners and at least relatively good deal on short-haul flights and some partner flights like EL-AL. On the other hand, fees are high and longhaul flights are often a very poor value.

> Read More: Why I’m Thrilled Qantas Is Now An American Express Transfer Partner

Perhaps the one hope we have is that Qantas must be careful not kill its cash cow. As the Sydney Morning Herald reports:

Qantas’ loyalty division made a $372 million profit last year, which is close to half what it made from its entire domestic airline business.

And not said, but the $175MN profit in the Qantas loyalty program was more than TWICE the combined profit of all Qantas’ international routes.

CONCLUSION

Now if Qantas just announced more “frequent-flyer only” flights and some additional new ways to spend your points, then fine. But that doesn’t sound like “the biggest overhaul to the airline’s loyalty program in its 32 year history.” My guess is the end of fixed-price awards and a move to dynamic pricing, following a long line of global competitors.

I don’t recommend taking advantage of the current American Express transfer bonus to Qantas Frequent Flyer unless you have an immediate booking you will make. Any major changes will likely not take

What do you think Qantas will announce tomorrow?

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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8 Comments

  1. Paolo Reply
    June 19, 2019 at 11:00 am

    One shudders to think what it might look like. But you are right to suggest that it’s not going to be good. The little weasel has 2 years left as CEO, and it would surprise no one if he engaged in some slash and burn, doing the bidding of the cretinous beancounters ( and even if that means handing a poisoned chalice to his successor).
    I’ve burned through more than a million QF points in the past year, partly in anticipation of adverse changes.

  2. Phil Duncan Reply
    June 19, 2019 at 12:12 pm

    It always amazes me the way airlines devalue programmes that are used by their best customers. By definition a frequent flyer in premium cabins is a good customer and yet over the years all the schemes make these people take a hit on what are profitable income streams and then wonder why their premium travelers are p*ssed off and take their business elsewhere.

    Qantas will do nothing good and indeed have a long history of the opposite at times like this. It will surely be a devaluation of earnings and an increase in the cost of redemptions. Their audience is a bit more captive than many because OW airlines require a certain number of flights on their own metal for status and while CX and MH provide good access to Australia neither is as perfect as the home team.

    It’s much easier to defect in *A as I did from LH when they devalued once too often.

    • Grant Reply
      June 19, 2019 at 10:43 pm

      I prefer the term “gutting”.

      Use it in a sentence please.

      Qantas is gutting their frequent flyer program.

  3. Howard Miller Reply
    June 19, 2019 at 1:57 pm

    So, for those who doubt the corrosive, or even toxic, effects that excessive industry concentration has (aka the killing off/elimination of competition) as has become commonplace over the past decade in the global airline industry as it coalesces into just three major “alliances” (oneworld, SkyTeam & Star), or the dearth of meaningful competition in the USA for anything other than which of the remaining cartelized airlines can be the “best as sucking” (screwing its customers) and getting away with it that most flyers know as the industry’s “race to the bottom” (which, of course, includes several rounds of frequent flyer benefit program devaluations to the point that most derisively refer to Delta’s SkyMiles as “SkyPesos”), I offer the following regarding QANTAS’ looming devaluation:

    Funny how this is taking place mere weeks after its anti-trust immunized joint venture “alliance” with American Airlines was approved by government regulators!

    “Cartels and oligopolies are great!” said NO ONE – except the exceptionally few profiteers who rape those who are now faced with fewer and fewer options as former competitors are granted licenses to steal when the allow companies to legally collude on fixing prices, fixing inventory/supply, and carving up markets amongst themselves such that they need not bother with the trouble and expense of actually “winning” business since they’re sitting together at the table (like Mobsters) and merely deciding who gets what from a market that they already control and few would dare to face the impossibly long odds of trying to be successful at outdoing those who enjoy the benefits of dominant positions and whom can collude in their efforts to “coordinate”/leverage their predominance to keep interlopers at bay!

    I guess we’ll all just have to wait a little longer until enough people realize just how badly they’re really being screwed when government regulators serve companies’ interests over consumers until things begin to change for the better for (already) abused and beleaguered flyers.

    And for sure, this is yet another example that these anti-trust immunized joint ventures are becoming colossal failures for flyers!

    Like I said above: “Oligopolies are great!” – said **NO ONE!**

  4. Howard Miller Reply
    June 19, 2019 at 2:04 pm

    And that’s “best AT sucking” in the above – NOT “as” ! 😉

  5. Nicholas Sundich Reply
    June 19, 2019 at 6:11 pm

    I am a Qantas Platinum and have some sense of dread towards this. But as I’ve seen said elsewhere if its going to be all bad why would they bother to hold a press conference and give a few days notice when they could just announce it via email at 5pm on a Friday and give no notice like they did the last time they overhauled their program? Maybe the devils will be in the details.

    • Matthew Reply
      June 19, 2019 at 6:12 pm

      I hope you are correct!

  6. Paolo Reply
    June 19, 2019 at 9:05 pm

    Lifetime Platinum @75000 status credits. I’ve been a member for 30 years and have 33000 SCs. At that rate of earn I’ll get LTP at age 108; ie, plenty of time to enjoy ‘golden years’ without fear of losing benefits. Piece of cake…
    Thanks Alan, you’re a marvel..

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