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Frequent Flyer Programs: Complete Guide & Comparison. Frequent Flyer programs reward you for your everyday spending and help you get where you want to go sooner.
- American Airlines is celebrating three honors received by the AAdvantage. Best Elite Program and Best Airline Promotion.
- Airline reward programs are supposed to show some love to faithful flyers. 2013's Best And Worst Frequent Flyer Rewards Program.
Learn the ins and outs of these programs and receive various perks from flight upgrades to retail rewards and lifestyle. A frequent flyer program is at its most basic, a loyalty program designed to reward those who continue to fly with one airline or partnership of airlines. In Australia there are two major players in the frequent flyer rewards game; The Qantas Frequent Flyer program that lets you earn Qantas Points and The Virgin Velocity Frequent Flyer program. What is a frequent flyer program? Members of these programs earn points or miles for each flight they travel on, which can then be redeemed for a range of rewards, including free flights, upgrading to better seats or the ability to use points to purchase items or services from program partners.
Frequent flyer programs can also grant you access to swanky airport lounges and other incredible benefits the higher up the membership ladder you climb, so it pays to know how they work. What frequent flyer Programs are available? There are a great deal of frequent flyer programs available to consumers today. Some are based in Australia, and others aren't. Velocity Frequent Flyer. Virgin Australia's frequent flyer program, and the 2. Freddie Awards' Program of the year, Best Redemption Ability and Best Elite Program in the Middle East/Asia/Oceania region.
Qantas Frequent Flyer. The most well known Australian Frequent Flyer program, with almost 9 million members and partnerships with Jetstar, Emirates, American Airlines, British Airlines and Cathay Pacific to name a few. Jetstar Frequent Flyer.
The loyalty program of Qantas' low- cost subsidiary allows you to earn either Jetstar Dollars or Qantas Points if you’re a Jetstar Master. Card holder. flybuys loyalty program. One of Australia's largest loyalty programs.
News & World Report Ranks Best Travel Rewards Programs July. News & World Report today released its inaugural rankings. Sixteen hotel loyalty programs were evaluated for the 2013 Best Hotel.
Which Airline Frequent Flyer Program Is The Best? 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs. Which hotel loyalty program is the best for free nights? Mar 13, 2013, 1:23pm EDT Updated Mar 16, 2013, 6:01am EDT. Industries & Tags.
The rising tide of expectations necessitates that loyalty marketers develop truly innovative loyalty programs, utilizing loyalty.
The State of Hotel Loyalty Programs: A. Hilton has just announced a major devaluation of the HHonors program effective March 28, 2013 which. 1:1 point transfer to leading airline and hotel loyalty programs. 5 Best, 5 Worst Customer-Loyalty Programs Starbucks ranks among the best, and supermarkets have some of the worst. The census showed that the average U.S.
Flybuys has a focus on non- flight rewards, but members can still redeem their flybuys points for flights and travel rewards. Singapore Airlines Kris.
Flyer. Singapore Airlines enjoys a reputation as having some of the best service of any airline in the world, so it's no surprise Kris. Flyer enjoys the popularity that it does. Cathay Pacific Marco Polo and Asia Miles. Many mistake Asia Miles as being Cathay Pacific's frequent flyer program.
The reality is that Asia Miles is an unaffiliated program, but it is linked to the Marco Polo program. When you join the Marco Polo club, you'll also get Asia Miles membership. Marco Polo functions in much the same way as the membership tiers of the programs above, whereas Asia Miles work in the same way as frequent flyer points, allowing you to redeem Miles for free flights. Emirates Skywards. The frequent flyer program of one of the world's fastest growing airlines, based in Dubai. Skywards frequent flyers enjoy partnerships with Qantas, Japan Airlines, Korean air and more. Etihad Guest. Etihad is also one of the world's fastest growing airlines and has its base in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
Partners include Virgin Australia, Korean Air, American Airlines, Air New Zealand and airberlin to name a few. How do frequent flyer programs work?
As mentioned, the frequent flyer program at its core works on a points or miles system. You'll typically join the program by visiting an airline's website and filling out an application, or through a credit card which earns frequent flyer points. Signing up to a frequent flyer program can cost you, although if you're joining the program through a linked credit card this is sometimes waived. You'll then earn points for each eligible flight or transaction you make. For some frequent flyer programs, you'll also earn points for flights carried out with partner airlines. Credit cards which earn frequent flyer points are also a popular way to earn points through everyday spending. These cards will have a list of eligible transactions which will earn points, and those which won't.
Looking for more cards? Check out our more detailed frequent flyer credit card comparison. Membership tiers. As you earn more points, you’ll also earn status credits which you can then use to move up the membership tiers.
As you ascend the membership levels, you’ll receive extra perks and opportunities to earn more points. Some of the benefits you can expect from membership tiers include: Greater availability of tickets and seats, and in some cases guaranteed seats.
Extra baggage allowances. Priority check- in or boarding. Priority customer service phone lines. Benefits for family and friends. Waived fees and charges. Free airport lounge access.
Partner benefits such as late checkouts at hotels or discounts on car rentals. Once you reach a membership tier, you’ll generally need to maintain a certain number of status credits to remain at that level. Emirates Skywards membership tiers. How do I climb membership tiers? In addition to rewards points earned for flying, you'll also usually earn separate status points used to calculate whether or not you're eligible to progress to the next membership level.
Some frequent flyer programs such as Emirates Skywards will also give you the ability to move to the next membership tier simply by flying a certain number of times in a given qualification period. Membership tiers come with benefits which get better as you get higher up. These include: Bonus frequent flyer point earn rates - these start at 2.
Greater availability of tickets and seats, and in some cases guaranteed seats. Extra baggage allowances. Priority check- in or boarding. Priority customer service phone lines.
Benefits for family and friends. Waived fees and charges. Free airport lounge access. Partner benefits such as late checkouts at hotels or discounts on car rentals. Not only do you need status points to get you higher up the membership tier system, but you also need status points to keep you at a tier once you get there.
Airline Partners and Alliances. Part of the appeal of a frequent flyer program is in the partners and airline alliances your chosen airline is a part of. Good partners can mean you can use your points to pay for flights or upgrade your cabin class on flights leaving your home and all the way to your destination, no matter how obscure or far away it is. There are a number of airline alliances, including: Star alliance. The Star Alliance includes 2.
Members of the Star Alliance include US Airways, Air New Zealand, Air Canada, Lufthansa, Thai Airways, Singapore Airlines and Air China. Star Alliance program and partnered credit cardsoneworld alliance. The oneworld Alliance includes 1. Some of the member airlines include Qantas, Malaysia Airlines, British Airways, American Airlines and Cathay Pacific.
Alliance and partnered credit cards. Skyteam. Skyteam has 2. Carriers include Air France, Alitalia, Delta Air Lines, China Southern and Korean Air. Virgin Australia’s alliance. Virgin Australia doesn’t currently belong to an alliance, but Velocity Frequent Flyers can still earn and redeem rewards with partners. These partners include Air New Zealand, Delta Air Lines, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Virgin America, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Samoa, Air Berlin, Hawaiian Airlines and South African Airways.
There may be some restrictions on the types of flights you can redeem rewards on depending on the alliance and airline, so make sure to check the terms and conditions before booking your flight. Airport lounges. When your flight has been delayed, you have a long layover or you just got to the airport early, trading the noisy public waiting areas for an exclusive airport lounge is the way to go. Many frequent flyer programs allow you to redeem your points for lounge passes or grant you access to particular lounges depending on your membership status. To show you how lounge access works, we’ve highlighted some examples from the Qantas Frequent Flyer program: Qantas. Qantas Club members receive complimentary access to Qantas lounges, but frequent flyers’ access will depend on their tier. Silver. If you’re a Silver Frequent Flyer, you’ll receive a complimentary single- visit Qantas Club lounge invitation.
Gold. Gold members can access Qantas Clubs and International Business lounge passes for them and one guest and up to two children (aged between 4 and 1. Qantas and Jetstar flights. You could also access over 6. Platinum. Platinum members can access Qantas First Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne, Qantas Business lounges in more than 2.
International lounge access for you and a guest. Plus, you can access Qantas Business Lounges in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Canberra plus Qantas Clubs located around Australia. You can usually only take advantage of lounges if you’re flying with the airline that day and may only bring a guest depending on your membership level.
Make sure to read the terms and conditions for your loyalty program to see whether you can access your lounge. Compare some of the world’s top airport lounges. The Qantas First Lounge, Sydney International Airport. The Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounge at JFK airport, New York. They come in a few different flavours, including basic, business and first class lounges. From putting greens, 9. Business travellers can also get access to office work spaces and meeting rooms so they can minimise any downtime caused by their travels.
Different frequent flyer programs and membership levels grant you access to different lounges, so do some searching on Google to find out how you can get access to the lounge of your choice if this is a major attraction for you. Compare credit cards with complimentary airport lounge access.
How do I earn frequent flyer points? There are many ways to earn frequent flyer points.
Flying. The original way to earn frequent flyer points involves you simply taking a flight and being rewarded for it. Flights will earn more or less points depending on a number of factors, which may change depending on the program. These include: Distance travelled.
Tyranny of Airline Loyalty Programs. Work with a Flightfox travel expert now! Guaranteed Savings . The parallels between loyalty programs and the economic instability in Argentina sparked the idea to approach this article in a unique way. What if these loyalty programs were considered as sovereign countries? To rephrase, what if each loyalty program represented a different country? What if when considered together, these ?
What would Loyaltania look like? Would it's countries be even more flawed than those on planet earth?
In keeping with this Sci- fi approach, we would consider the following: Frequent flyer miles = Currencies. Loyalty program . Let's jet off for a closer look at the land of Loyaltania. Anti- democratic Governments.
The political systems of most countries in Loyaltania deny citizens any participatory power. These citizens have little say when it comes to the proposal and creation of governing laws. Similar to a totalitarian regime, those in power of Delta (and most others nations such as American, United and Qantas), have complete authority to upheave their laws at anytime. Even more boldly, United reserves ? What if Delta's President, Richard Anderson, becomes particularly moody? What if Jeff Smisek, the President of United, doesn't like Mondays?
Or, what if Prime Minister Franz of Lufthansa has a bad hair day? The Ultimate Betrayal. When the sovereign nation of United merged with that of Continental, it became obvious the citizens had little say. With the merger, United's most loyal citizens, the Million- Milers (a particularly loyal classification of United frequent flyers), lost nearly all of their lifetime benefits and had no means to get them back. Lifetime regional upgrades were taken away, bonus miles were slashed, and boarding priority was dropped.
The majority of these citizens spent decades exclusively flying the United flag in order to arrive at their Promised Land of lifetime rewards. But in one fell swoop those in power completely changed the rules. Talk about the ultimate betrayal!
If hard- earned status is rendered meaningless overnight and citizens have no say in the decision, there's no denying that the nation of United is a tyrannical dictatorship. Out- of- this- World Inflation Rates. The United government also recently announced massive inflation to Mileage. Plus redemption rates, which affects all members, not just Million- Milers. The mayhem is set to begin on February 1, 2. These changes mean a massive devaluation of miles via an increase in the amount required to redeem award flights.
Instead of just increasing the cost of most United award flights, the country has also increased the cost of partner rewards. As of dooms day, the number of miles required to redeem with Star Alliance partners will go up as much as 9. Let's look at a Round- trip Mileage.
Plus First Class Award Flight from the US to Middle East: Mileage. Plus Award. 20. 13 Cost. Cost. Increase. United Airlines. Star Alliance Partner. This devaluation is effectively the same as an unstable country's high inflation rate. Let's take the (real) nation of Argentina, which is renowned for having a high inflation rate. In some cases, United's inflation is about 9.
You thought you were safe living in the US, UK or Australia? If you're a United Mileage.
Plus member, you'd be much better with Argentine pesos under the mattress. Elitism and Capitalism Rules.
The elitism that sweeps throughout the nations of Loyaltania is at an all- time high. Not only do select individuals control its economy and political power, but few citizens are able to benefit from the system itself. Similar to corporate capitalism where the rich get richer, only the elite profit from the current systems that dominate the lands of Loyaltania. To properly navigate the various nations of Loyaltania, it requires Ph.
D- levels of study. Laws are ambiguous and require extensive research. Without this research, citizens only get a fraction of the value of their miles.
Essentially these airline nations are mandating gigantic taxes on the time- poor. Those few who have invested the time in researching and experimenting the best use of miles are the airline loyalty elite; they are often referred to as . These elite are the only citizens consistently getting great value living in Loyaltania. The rest spend more money, redeeming blindly, passively awaiting their big break. As an example, with Air Canada's Aeroplan program, an Around the World trip costs a whopping 4.
But, a citizen of the elite could construct the same for just 1. It's the same way that massive corporations in our real world use their expertise and political clout to structure their businesses in tax havens and pay a fraction in taxes that average citizens do. Life in Loyaltania Looks Bleak. The most premium airline loyalty programs are as unstable as the least developed countries on earth. These programs are plagued with economic uncertainty, their political systems are unjust, and they're particularly elitist. If loyalty programs were originally designed to reward the most loyal, why are these latest moves designed to betray their loyalists?
If airlines are permitted to peddle their own currencies, just like sovereign nations, why aren't they similarly held to account for causing great economic upheaval? Until this happens, life on Loyaltania is only set to get worse. Brace for the apocalypse.