One of Australia's biggest communities of airline rewards experts, Point Hacks, has today released its research into the 2020 frequent flyer points market.
Point Hacks has found eight new avenues for frequent flyers to make their travel smoother and more enjoyable while getting more bang for buck in their rewards programs:
1. Qantas Points Club: This is a new tiered loyalty program that rewards members who use most of their Qantas points on non-flying related items. By joining, members can earn a minimum 150,000 points on the ground annually.
2. Qantas Frequent Flyer and BP: QFF members have a new fuel partner in BP, commencing in February, whereby points can be earned through filling up and in-store purchases.
3. New 'Oneworld' network: Oneworld - an airline alliance consisting of Qantas, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, Qatar and more - will announce the location of its first branded 'Oneworld' business lounges. The alliance's CEO has hinted that it will focus on a presence where member alliances are not present.
4. New airport in Berlin: Berlin's new Brandenburg airport will open October 31, which will enable visitors easier access to the city, replacing the German capital's two existing airports. Oktoberfest anyone?
5. ANZ Frequent Flyer Black: This credit card from ANZ offers cardholders 120,000 bonus Qantas Points, $275 back on your new card, two Qantas Club lounge access passes per year, and complimentary QFF membership. You can also earn 1 Qantas Point per dollar spent, with no offer end-date. Point Hacks has crunched the numbers and you can currently, in economy class, purchase a return flight Sydney to London for 110,400 points.
6. Increased flights to Tokyo: From March 29 there will be four additional flights from Oz to Tokyo Haneda airport, with Qantas, Virgin, Japan Airlines and ANA each allocating one. This is in anticipation of the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics.
7. Qantas Points with Uber: Uber Rewards loyalty program launches early this year, with a four-tier membership program: Blue, Gold, Platinum and Diamond. Gold members and above can convert their rewards to Qantas Points. There is 1 point per dollar spent on UberPool and Uber Eats; two per dollar spent on UberX, UberXL, Comfort and Assist rides, and three per dollar on Uber Premier rides. 750 Uber Rewards gets 200 Qantas Points in conversion.
8. Fast tracking Aussies into the US: New 'Global Entry' platform enables eligible Aussie passport holders through US airports, with its Department of Home Affairs set to allow 500 travellers in a trial to apply for Global Entry for low risk travellers. This is reported to reduce one-two hour wait times at passport control to just a few minutes. Australia joins ten other countries in this program, including the UK, Singapore, Germany and India.
Frequent flyer expert and Point Hacks' spokesperson Daniel Sciberras said that 2020 brings exciting new avenues for frequent flyer programs.
“The Point Hacks team is regularly on the hunt for news it can share with frequent flyers to improve their travel," he said.
"The start of a new decade brings with it a number of exciting new products, launches, or programs that will help Aussies travel with more convenience and comfort, and have greater opportunities to earn frequent flyer points on the ground and in the air.”
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