Author: Matt Graham
Matt Graham
Matt was the editor of Australian Frequent Flyer from 2015 until 2025. His passion for travel has taken him to more than 100 countries - with a lot of help along the way from frequent flyer points! Matt's favourite destinations (so far) are Germany, Brazil, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. His interests include aviation, economics & foreign languages, and he has a soft spot for good food and red wine. You can connect with Matt by posting on the Australian Frequent Flyer community forum and tagging @Mattg.
Virgin Australia Status Extensions & Status Credit Gifts
Virgin Australia will extend the status of all Velocity Frequent Flyer members for 12 months. It will also gift its Silver, Gold and Platinum Velocity Frequent Flyer members with monthly bonus status credits for the next three months. Virgin initially announced that it was only offering extra status credits for 3 months. But now that … Continued
Qantas Extends Everyone’s Status for 12 Months
Qantas Frequent Flyer will give all members a 12-month status extension due to the current COVID-19 situation. All current Silver, Gold, Platinum and Platinum One members whose status is currently due to expire between March 2020 and February 2021 will automatically have their status renewed for another 12 months. This will occur regardless of the … Continued
Qantas Points Club Has Launched
Qantas has finally launched its much-anticipated Qantas Points Club, which offers benefits to “frequent buyers”. Qantas Frequent Flyer members that earn at least 150,000 points per membership year will automatically receive Qantas Points Club status. In addition, Qantas Points Club Plus membership can be reached by earning 350,000 points per year. Most of these points … Continued
Airline Call Centres in Meltdown
Airline call centres worldwide are struggling to cope with the current surge in demand, leaving many calls unanswered and others on hold for many hours. Qantas customers, for example, have reported waiting well over 5-6 hours on hold – or simply being hung up on – over recent weeks. Qantas call centre staffing levels were … Continued
New Arrival Cards for Entry to Tasmania
IN BRIEF | All travellers arriving in the Australian state of Tasmania will be required to complete an arrival card, starting from today. The new measure, designed to limit the spread of COVID-19, comes a day after the Australian government began requiring all passengers arriving in Australia from overseas to self-isolate for 14 days. Completing … Continued
COVID-19 Travel Update: 16 March 2020
Last Friday, we released a summary of the latest COVID-19 news relating to travel and loyalty programs. This article provides an updated summary of recent changes that are relevant to Australian frequent flyers, as of Monday 16 May 2020. A lot has changed in just three days. All travellers from overseas are now being required … Continued
Qantas Offers Free Cancellation Vouchers
Qantas yesterday released a new, more generous change & cancellation fee waiver after its previous policy attracted considerable criticism. Jetstar flights are also included in this. If you have an existing Qantas or Jetstar booking for travel until 31 May 2020, you now have the option to change dates or cancel your trip and receive … Continued
All Travellers Required to Self-Isolate on Arrival into Australia
The Australian government is now requiring all international travellers to self-isolate for two weeks after arriving into Australia. The measure, designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19, came into effect at midnight last night and applies to everyone – including Australian citizens – except for operating flight crews. At this time, the self-isolation requirement is … Continued
Virgin Australia Further Reduces International Flights
Just days after Qantas announced further cuts to international flights until September, Virgin Australia has revealed more flight reductions of its own. Among the changes, Virgin Australia will temporarily reduce flights to Japan, Los Angeles and New Zealand, and permanently axe its two fifth-freedom international routes. Frequencies on some domestic routes will also be reduced … Continued