Latest news

Woolworths Rewards is Coming to Tasmania

EXCLUSIVE | With more than 12 million members, Woolworths Rewards is one of the most popular loyalty programs in Australia. Members can earn points for shopping at Woolworths, Big W & BWS, and those points can be converted to Qantas Frequent Flyer points. But until now, Tasmanian residents have been excluded from the Woolworths Rewards … Continued

15 May 2020 Woolworths Everyday Rewards

LifeMiles Safe (For Now) as Avianca Files for Bankruptcy

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

14 May 2020 Avianca

Rex Considers Connecting Capital Cities

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

14 May 2020 Rex & Regional Airlines

No Refunds, Only “Conditional Credits” for Virgin Customers

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

14 May 2020 Virgin Australia

Qantas Clarifies Air France, KLM Tier Benefits

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

13 May 2020 Qantas

No Qantas Status Upgrades for Grounded Flyers

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

11 May 2020 Qantas

Virgin “Pauses” Refunds, Travel Credits

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

9 May 2020 Virgin Australia

Update on Qantas Flight Credits (May 2020)

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

8 May 2020 Qantas

Qantas Market Update: Project Sunrise, A380 Upgrades On Hold

Qantas has secured an additional $550 million in debt funding, giving the airline sufficient liquidity to survive until at least December 2021, CEO Alan Joyce revealed in a market update this week. But this is not without trade-offs, with Project Sunrise now delayed indefinitely and Qantas’ A380 refurbishment program suspended. We may never see an … Continued

7 May 2020 Qantas

Cathay Pacific Has Eliminated Fuel Surcharges

Oneworld’s Cathay Pacific has almost completely eliminated fuel and carrier surcharges from both commercial airfares and award bookings. This includes Asia Miles awards and Classic Flight Reward bookings made using Qantas points, where carrier charges are no longer payable at all. The only exception is journeys originating in Japan, where a small fuel surcharge is … Continued

7 May 2020 Cathay Pacific

Qantas is Still Printing its In-Flight Magazine

Although Qantas is no longer filling its aircraft seat pockets with reading material, and many planes are temporarily grounded, Qantas has continued producing and printing its in-flight magazine. But this month’s Qantas Magazine isn’t written for passengers looking to pass the time during their flight. Instead, the magazine is being mailed out to selected Qantas … Continued

6 May 2020 Qantas

Earn Qantas Status Credits at Woolworths

It’s now possible to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer status credits at Woolworths supermarkets until 30 June 2020. If you’re a Woolworths Rewards member and have opted in to earning Qantas points, every 2,000 Woolworths Rewards points is converted to 1,000 Qantas points. This conversion happens automatically within 24 hours of reaching 2,000 Woolworths Rewards points. … Continued

5 May 2020 Woolworths Everyday Rewards