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.
One member is furious after Qantas cancelled their flight, then downgraded them from Business to Economy on the replacement flight. To make matters worse, this member has not received any compensation for the downgrade. This member was travelling with their wife and infant son from Sydney to New York, with a stopover in Los Angeles. … Continued
Qantas recently increased the number of points required for a flight upgrade to Premium Economy, Business or First class. An Economy to Business class upgrade to Los Angeles, for example, increased from 72,000 to 90,000 points. So, do Qantas point upgrades still represent good value? The short answer is that upgrades are still good value for … Continued
This week a Platinum Velocity member is seriously considering abandoning their loyalty to Virgin Australia. Until now this member has flown Virgin exclusively. But after recent devaluations to the Velocity program and poor experiences with Virgin’s partner airlines, they’re on the lookout for greener pastures. Qantas’ superior international network is one reason for jumping ship. … Continued
Qantas is phasing out the card-sized Qantas Club lounge passes that come with certain credit cards and are given out to Qantas flyers with Silver-level status. These physical passes will instead by replaced by digital passes that can be accessed online. The reason for the change would appear to be to combat the sale of lounge … Continued
Qantas has begun offering its frequent flyers the option to “purchase” Platinum status using their frequent flyer points. Multiple AFF members have been contacted by Qantas over the phone with the targeted offer. The asking price? 100,000 Qantas points. In each case, the contacted member had already held Platinum status for several years but had … Continued
Virgin Australia will re-brand its extra-legroom Economy seats as “Economy X”, adding additional benefits including priority boarding and dedicated overhead locker space for Economy X passengers. As part of the new product launch, Virgin will reconfigure its Boeing 737 aircraft to offer three rows of extra-legroom seating at the front of the cabin. This is … Continued
The tipping scam plaguing Qantas’ Los Angeles lounge appears to have returned, with Qantas flyers reporting falling victim to the scam as recently as last month. The scam, which was first reported on AFF two years ago, involves the showers in Qantas’ First and Business class lounges in Los Angeles. When showing lounge guests to … Continued
Virgin Australia is expanding into Asia with the launch of 5x weekly flights between Melbourne and Hong Kong. The flights will operate to a rather bizarre schedule with the first flight departing for Hong Kong on 5 July, 2017. VA87 will depart Melbourne for Hong Kong at 10.25am on Mondays and 9.40am on Wednesdays, while … Continued
Status matches are a great way to gain status with another airline for free, simply by leveraging your existing status. From time to time, airlines will try to attract the frequent flyers of other airlines by offering a complimentary status match. Sometimes such status matches are promoted by the airline, while at other times it … Continued
Frequent flyers with Virgin Australia are getting a raw deal when it comes to lounge access, according to our members. Virgin Australia flyers with Gold or Platinum status are entitled to lounge access, at least in theory, when flying with Virgin’s partner airlines. But our members are unimpressed by the many gaps in Virgin’s lounge … Continued
Is it better to have many points in one or two frequent flyer programs, or many small balances of points spread across many international programs? Would love some advice regarding the membership of ff programmes. Currently belong to QF (but never seem to be able to redeem points for flights, even with the wonderful Award … Continued
Would you like a quick and easy boost to your Virgin Velocity point balance? Our members have discovered a clever way to earn 2,500 Velocity points for free, and it only takes a couple of minutes! The trick is to sign up for a CrownBet Rewards account. CrownBet Rewards is currently offering 5,000 bonus points … Continued