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.
Cathay Pacific Business Class to Hong Kong for $945!
Purchase & Redeem Alaska Airlines miles for $945 and fly Business class to Hong Kong! Alaska Airlines is currently offering up to 40% bonus miles when you purchase Mileage Plan miles before 1 July. These miles can then be redeemed with any partner airline on selected routes. Cathay Pacific is one of Alaska’s partner airlines, … Continued
Avianca Devalues Popular LifeMiles Program
The frequent flyer program of Star Alliance member and Colombian flag carrier Avianca has long been popular with Australian frequent flyers. Avianca’s Life Miles program sells miles, often accompanied by generous bonuses (such as the current 140% bonus miles being offered). These miles can then be redeemed for premium cabin travel on other Star Alliance … Continued
Priority Pass Adds Sydney to Lounge Network
Priority Pass membership comes with access to airport lounges all over the world, with members entitled to use over 1,000 lounges in 130 countries. Unfortunately, only 3 of these lounges are located in Australia. But Priority Pass has recently made arrangements for its members at a forth Australian airport. Within Australia, Priority Pass members currently have … Continued
Optimal Strategy for 14 Annual Europe Trips
One member faces the unenvious prospect of taking up to 14 trips between Brisbane and Dublin over the next year. As this member will be paying for the flights themselves, they are looking for strategies to optimise their travel experience and hopefully score a few upgrades along the way. I’m looking at doing either 13 or … Continued
End of an Era for Alitalia
The future of Italian flag carrier Alitalia is in doubt after the debt-ridden airline filed for bankruptcy. The announcement came as the airline, which is losing more than a million dollars per day, failed to reach an agreement with its employees that would have seen jobs and salaries cut to more sustainable levels. Alitalia flights … Continued
BP Seeks End to Velocity Tie-up
BP is seeking to pull the plug on its partnership with Velocity Frequent Flyer, ahead of its acquisition of 527 Woolworths Petrol outlets next year. This would mean that Velocity points can no longer be earned or redeemed at BP petrol stations. It is likely that, going forward, BP will seek to form a partnership with … Continued
First Class for a Fraction of the Price
First Class provides the ultimate in luxury in the air. It’s also usually prohibitively expensive… but thanks to frequent flyer points, it doesn’t have to be! One member recently flew First class on Etihad’s Airbus A380 from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, and they absolutely loved the experience. This member said they felt like they were … Continued
Hainan Airlines: A 5-Star Experience?
There are only 9 airlines in the world that have been given a 5-star rating by Skytrax. One of them is China’s Hainan Airlines. Hainan Airlines’ 5-star rating brings it in line with carriers such as Singapore Airlines, ANA and Qatar Airways. But did it live up to such high expectations when our member Wanderlust_tim recently … Continued
Redeem Points for LATAM Business Class to Chile
Excellent value & award availability: Redeem your points to fly Business Class to South America! Redeeming frequent flyer points to South America has traditionally been very difficult. But thanks to some new direct flights between Australia and South America, award availability to South America is actually very good at the moment. LATAM Airlines will begin … Continued