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.

Many Qantas Economy fare classes are ineligible to earn Qpoints or Qmiles, even on international flights

Get a Partial Refund on Qantas Economy Awards

As part of last week’s Qantas Frequent Flyer changes, the airline has reduced the number of Qantas points required for Classic Flight Reward bookings in Economy class. Qantas also reduced the carrier charges payable on Economy award bookings. Although the changes to reward pricing in premium cabins will not take effect until 18 September 2019, … Continued

Qantas A330

Podcast #14: Qantas Frequent Flyer Changes

Last week, Qantas announced a major shake-up to its Qantas Frequent Flyer program. Some changes have already been introduced but many take effect from September 2019. In Episode 14 of the AFF on AIR podcast, former Head of Loyalty at Malaysia Airlines Enrich, Mark Ross-Smith, joins Matt to discuss the changes, why Qantas has announced them … Continued

Qatar Airways Named World’s Best Airline in 2019

Qatar Airways has been named the world’s best airline in the Skytrax 2019 World Airline Awards. The result is based on over 21 million votes cast by members of the public between September 2018 and May 2019. The surveys were available in English, French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese and Russian. Based in Doha, Qatar Airways is … Continued

Qantas Frequent Flyer Changes – AIR014

  Last week, Qantas announced a major shake-up to its Qantas Frequent Flyer program. In this episode, former Head of Loyalty at Malaysia Airlines, Mark Ross-Smith, joins Matt to discuss the changes, why Qantas announced them and what this all means for frequent flyers.   Episode contents: 1:05 – Fortnightly news round-up 4:07 – Overview … Continued

Virgin Australia 777 in Abu Dhabi

Delays to Virgin Australia Los Angeles Flights

Virgin Australia’s long-haul network is in disarray after one of the airline’s Boeing 777s was taken out of service nearly two weeks ago. As a result, multiple Virgin Australia flights between Australia and Los Angeles have been cancelled or rescheduled over the past weeks. The affected aircraft is still undergoing maintenance. Virgin Australia has just … Continued

Dunedin New Zealand

Virgin’s Alternative to Lounge Access in Dunedin

Since Virgin Australia’s divorce with Air New Zealand in October last year, Virgin passengers have no longer been able to use Air New Zealand lounges. Since then, Virgin Australia has built new lounges or made alternative arrangements at most international airports across Australia and New Zealand. For example, it opened a new lounge at Wellington Airport in … Continued

Aer Lingus cabin crew

Last Chance to Book Aer Lingus Award Flights

It’s now your last chance to book Aer Lingus award flights using Qantas points or Cathay Pacific Asia Miles. Both Qantas and Cathay Pacific will end their partnerships with the Irish airline on 1 July 2019, meaning your last day to book award flights will be next Sunday, 30 June. It’s not all bad news, … Continued

Qantas Reopening Domestic Lounges from 1 July 2020

Lifetime Qantas Platinum Status Isn’t Worth It

Qantas announced in June’s Qantas Frequent Flyer changes that it will introduce a lifetime Platinum status tier. This is sure to pique the interest of many frequent flyers. Unfortunately, the bar has been set so high that it’s not worth aiming for. To earn lifetime Qantas Platinum status, you would need to achieve a lifetime total of … Continued

Virgin Velocity status cards

Virgin Australia Considers Lifetime Velocity Status

Velocity Frequent Flyer could launch lifetime Velocity status, following the announcement that Qantas will introduce a lifetime Platinum status tier. Qantas announced last Thursday some significant changes to its frequent flyer program, including changes to frequent flyer redemptions and the introduction of a Points Club. As Qantas Frequent Flyer’s main competitor in Australia, Virgin’s Velocity … Continued