Qantas To Revise Points Scheme For Frequent Flyers

15th Aug 2014

Frequent flyers members of Qantas will soon see a revised rate at which they will earn points when they take flights operated by its partner airlines like British Airways, Emirates, and Cathay Pacific.

The airline hopes to implement the new scheme towards the end of next month.

In the present system, which the airline had just implemented recently, members can earn Qantas Points based on the cost and type of the ticket booked, rather than the mileage they travel.

According to Stephanie Tully, Qantas Loyalty?s Chief Marketing Officer, the rates for Qantas Points of their partner airlines will still follow the same matrix as Qantas.

Under the new scheme, passengers will potentially earn more points if they travel with partner airlines in business class as well as premium economy class than when they fly on discounted tickets. The points earned will also depend on which geographical zones the flight falls into?such as West Coast to Europe?rather than the total distance the flight covered.

The state carrier has already reduced the number of status credits earned for travelers taking flights operated by its partner airlines, making it more difficult to secure the gold or platinum Qantas card.

Qantas, however, assured its loyal customers that the points they will earn when flying with its partner airlines like Emirates and Oneworld members shall be more balanced and still conform to the existing scheme for Qantas' own flights.

Earning points for the revised frequent flyer program on partner airlines is somewhat complicated as it will vary widely depending on which airline and class the passenger is seated.

If a member is taking a flight operated by either Alaska Airlines, Iberia, Fiji Airways, and LAN/TAM, for example, he will earn one Qantas Point for every mile flown plus a bonus of 25% if he books the business class seat.

However, if he flies on a British Airline-operated flight, he will only earn 1/4 point for every mile flown. The same point-per-mile rate applies to flights operated by Malaysian Airlines and Qatar Airways.

Qantas has integrated an 'interactive route map' in their website to make it easier for flyers to calculate how much points and status credits they earn for the particular flight they take.