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.

SkyBus

Skybus Axes Velocity Points

Skybus will no longer offer Virgin Australia Velocity points after 31 January, 2020. This is sad news for travellers in Melbourne and Gold Coast that can currently earn 100 Velocity points per one-way Skybus ticket, or 250 points for a round-trip ticket. Currently, you can earn Velocity points when travelling with Skybus between Melbourne Airport … Continued

Santiago, Chile

The Ultimate Santiago Stopover Guide

Santiago is the gateway between Australia and South America. All flights between the two continents arrive in Santiago, the Chilean hub of LATAM Airlines. So if you’re headed to South America, chances are you’ll have a Santiago stopover at Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport. Santiago is perhaps not the most exciting city in South America, but … Continued

Oneworld Malaysia Airlines

Beware: Not All Oneworld Flights Earn Qantas Points

There is a common misconception that all flights on Oneworld airlines are eligible to earn Qantas Frequent Flyer points and status credits. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many flyers are surprised to learn after they’ve taken their trip that their flight with Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways, Malaysia Airlines or another Oneworld airline was ineligible … Continued

LATAM Airlines planes at Santiago Airport

Taxing Tourists is Counterproductive

Chile recently removed the reciprocity fee it charged to Australians when entering the country. This is great news as it makes Chile a more affordable and attractive destination to Australians, and will likely stimulate the country’s tourism industry. But, sadly, this goes against a recent trend of countries that have decided to introduce or increase … Continued

Finnair A350 business class

Finnair Business Class Deal: Hong Kong to London $2,709 return

Finnair currently has some nice Business class fares available from Hong Kong to London. You can fly all the way to London via Helsinki in the airline’s flagship Airbus A350-900 with lie-flat Business class seats from $2,709 return. This Finnair sale is running until 31 December 2019 (or sold out), and covers travel dates between … Continued

Redeeming Qantas points to Lord Howe Island is excellent value

Wide Open QantasLink Award Availability to Lord Howe Island

Located around 600km off the coast of New South Wales, Lord Howe Island is a terrific and unique holiday destination. As well as great snorkelling and hiking, this idyllic island offers a relaxing place to unwind. Flights from Sydney, Brisbane and Port Macquarie to Lord Howe Island with QantasLink are usually very expensive. This is … Continued

Mistake

Australia’s Unfair Airline Downgrade Policies Need Reviewing

Last week, we brought you the story of the Qantas passengers that were involuntarily downgraded on a flight from Tokyo to Melbourne after their Business class seats became inoperable. They were not given any alternative but to accept the airline’s paltry offer of compensation – which they still have not received because they’ve since been … Continued

How to Maximise Coles Flybuys & Woolworths Rewards Points

Woolworths Rewards Now Better Value than Flybuys?

For many years, the Flybuys loyalty program of Coles had an arguably better value proposition for frequent flyers. But, following recent positive changes to the Woolworths Rewards program, the tide may have turned. Back in 2015, Woolworths axed its partnership with Qantas Frequent Flyer in favour of a program where points were only earned on … Continued

Virgin Australia 737 Business Class Review (Auckland-Rarotonga)

With more than 80 aircraft, the Boeing 737-800 is the backbone of Virgin Australia’s domestic and international short-haul fleet. In this review, we test the Business class seats and service on one of Virgin Australia’s Pacific Island routes. Flight Details Flight number VA91 Route Auckland (AKL) to Rarotonga (RAR) Aircraft type Boeing 737-800 Class of … Continued