Airlines, miles, and points is the most popular topic at Australian Frequent Flyer. In this category, we provide expert tips, insider tricks, and facilitate discussions about Qantas, Virgin Australia, non-Australian airlines, and global airline alliances. From earning and redeeming frequent flyer points to maximising elite status benefits, we aim to help you get the most out of your travel.
We also cover every step of the journey – from planning and booking flights to experiencing the flight itself, and finally, arriving at your destination. Whether you're a seasoned traveller or just starting to explore the world of frequent flyer programs, you'll find valuable advice to elevate your travel experience.
See below for articles on airlines, miles and points.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club is offering a status match to top-tier members of the Virgin Australia Velocity program. The offer is also available to frequent flyers with Emirates, Etihad Airways, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines and South African Airways. If you’re eligible for the Qatar Airways Privilege Club status match, you’ll receive 12 months of complimentary … Continued
If you’ve had a flight cancelled due to COVID-19, you may have had to change your travel dates or ended up with a credit voucher to use towards a future trip. Unfortunately, these travel credit vouchers come with their own limitations. As well as limited expiry dates, one common complaint has been that the voucher … Continued
It’s once again possible to redeem Velocity points for Virgin Australia flights, almost four weeks after redemptions were temporarily paused due to Virgin Australia entering voluntary administration. Both Velocity Reward Seat and Any Seat bookings are now available. But it’s not all good news… Before you get too excited, redemptions are now only possible on … Continued
At the moment, most airlines are being more generous in allowing free changes. They need to, in order to encourage customers to continue booking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some airlines are offering to waive change fees once, for example, while still charging any fare difference that may apply. Emirates is going a step further, allowing … Continued
Emirates and Etihad Airways are both resuming commercial passenger flights to and from Australia. Qatar Airways, meanwhile, is also making a return to Brisbane in May 2020. Etihad Airways flights from Melbourne to London From today, Etihad will operate one flight per week from Melbourne to London via Abu Dhabi. The flight will operate on … Continued
Colombian airline Avianca has become the latest casualty of COVID-19, voluntarily filing for bankruptcy earlier this week. But the LifeMiles frequent flyer program is safe, at least for now. LifeMiles is the frequent flyer program of Avianca, a member of Star Alliance. It’s popular among Australian frequent flyers because LifeMiles are often sold at generous … Continued
Regional Express Airlines (Rex) has floated a crazy idea to start flights on domestic trunk routes between Australia’s capital cities, competing directly with Qantas (and possibly Virgin Australia, if it emerges from voluntary administration). Under the proposal, Rex would lease 10 narrow-body jets and operate on key routes such as Sydney-Brisbane and Melbourne-Adelaide. Rex normally … Continued
The federal court has approved a proposal by the Virgin Australia administrator to offer restrictive “conditional credits” to Virgin Australia customers instead of refunds. The new policy applies to Virgin Australia, Tigerair and Virgin Australia Holidays bookings made before the airline entered administration on 21 April 2020. Normal refund and travel credit policies – including … Continued
Last year, Qantas introduced a new frequent flyer partnership with Air France & KLM. Qantas Frequent Flyer members can earn & redeem points for Air France and KLM flights, and Qantas Silver, Gold, Platinum & Platinum One members receive reciprocal status benefits when flying with either airline. Unfortunately, as we reported in February, the implementation … Continued
Qantas is refusing to offer flexibility to frequent flyers that were on track to upgrade to a higher status tier before the COVID-19 travel shutdown. Several Australian Frequent Flyer members were just 10 or 20 status credits short of attaining Gold status before the travel restrictions were implemented and flights grounded. Under normal circumstances, they … Continued
If you have a cancelled Virgin Australia flight, the airline says that you can still request a travel bank credit. If you bought a refundable ticket, such as a Freedom fare, you can also apply for a refund. But Virgin Australia is not currently processing any new refunds or flight credits. In fact, it hasn’t … Continued
Qantas is now offering flight credits to passengers that were booked to fly until the end of September 2020 (previously July 2020). Qantas credit vouchers can also now be used towards multiple new bookings, rather than just one booking of equal or greater value. But the national carrier is no longer waiving change fees for … Continued
